What Is Thirukkural, A Masterpiece By Sant Sri Thiruvalluvar?

What Is Thirukkural?: January 15th is celebrated as the birthday of the great Tamil rishi Tiruvalluvar, whose work, the Tirukkural, is known as the Tamil Veda.

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What Is Thirukkural, A Masterpiece By Sant Sri Thiruvalluvar?: Sri Thiruvalluvar is fondly referred to as Valluvar by Tamils. His ‘Thirukkural’, a collection of 1,330 couplets (‘kurals’ in Tamil), are an essential part of every Tamil household, in the same way as the Bhagavad Gita or the Ramayana are in traditional North Indian Hindu households.

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Context

In News: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on January 16, 2023 paid homage to Sri Thiruvalluvar on Thiruvalluvar Day and recalled his noble thoughts. He urged the youth to read the Kural, the book containing Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar’s thoughts.
Background: January 15th/16th is celebrated as the birthday of the great Tamil rishi Tiruvalluvar, whose work, the Tirukkural, is known as the Tamil Veda. The work consists of couplets of incredible wisdom each of which has only seven words.

About Sri Thiruvalluvar?

Sri Thiruvalluvar is fondly referred to as Valluvar by Tamils.
Thiruvalluvar is also revered as an ancient sant, poet, and a philosopher.
His ‘Tirukkural’, a collection of 1,330 couplets (‘kurals’ in Tamil), are an essential part of every Tamil household — in the same way as, say, the Bhagavad Gita or the Ramayana are in traditional North Indian Hindu households.

He is an essential anchor for Tamils in tracing their cultural roots; Tamils are taught to learn his couplets word-for-word, and to follow his teachings in their day-to-day living.
In the early 16th century, a temple dedicated to Thiruvalluvar was built within the Ekambareswarar temple complex in Mylapore, Chennai. Locals believe that this was where he was born, underneath a tree within the temple complex.

Important Fact

Thiruvalluvar’s primary work Thirukkural contains 1330 couplets (kurals) that are divided into 133 sections of 10 couplets each. The text is divided into three parts with teachings on dharma, artha, and kama (virtue, wealth and love).

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What Is Thirukkural?

How Old?: The Thirukkural is dated from anywhere between the 3rd century BCE to 5th century CE. The latter date is pretty certain as the upper bound because a verse from the Tirukkural is cited verbatim in Manimekalai, one of the five famous works of the Tamil Sangam period.
How Is The Text?: The Tirukkural consists of 1330 couplets in 133 chapters (adhikaram), each with 10 verses.
How Many Parts?: The work is divided into three major parts (pal) namely, virtuous conduct (aram), prosperity (porul), and pleasure (kamam). In Tamil, these three, along with a fourth element of liberation (vitu) are together called urudhiporul, that is “the things” (porul) that provide the “foundational basis” (urudhi) for life. While the text does not address vitu (liberation) since it is meant for people living in society, it does cover turavaram (renunciation), as a means to attaining liberation. Exactly the same as the four purusharthas of Vedic Hinduism, namely, dharma, artha, kama, and moksha.
An Essential Part Of Sanatana Dharma: Thirukkural is also a key evidence in affirming that Tamil culture is one of the most beautiful flowers in the bouquet of Sanatana Dharma, and not something distinct from the Vedic tradition. As Several kurals refer to Vedas, duties of brahmins, protecting cows, and deities such as Indra, Lakshmi, and Vamana.