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 Unquestionably,
the greatest Tamil poet ever, Thiruvalluvar was a man of
few words. A man who could pack a wealth of meaning in two
phrases.
Thiruvalluvar was a phenomenon. In the words of Tamil Poet
Bharathiyar, Tamil Nadu has become universally famous,
because of Thiruvalluvar. Though much is not known about
his life, he is said to have been born in 31 B. C to Athi
and Bhagavan. His birthplace was Mylapore in Madras. He was
a weaver by profession.
His major work the 'Thirukkural', has been translated into
several Indian and Foreign languages, including English,
French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese. The Thirukkural
has three sections - Arathupaal (Principles), Porutpaal
(Public life and Relationships) and Kamathupaal (Love). The
work has 133 chapters; each chapter containing ten
couplets, totalling 1,330 couplets.
All the 1,330 couplets are inscribed on the granite pillars
that surround the auditorium in Valluvar Kottam (built in
memory of the poet-saint, in 1976, at Nungambakkam,
Chennai). There is also a 101-feet high temple chariot
structure, with a life-size image of the poet in it. The
base of the chariot depicts the 133 chapters of the
Thirukkural.
In 2000, a colossal Thiruvalluvar statue, 133 feet high,
was opened to the public, on the rock adjacent to the
Vivekananda rock, Kanyakumari.
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