Thiruvalluvar Day

Syllabus: GS1/Indian History; Culture Context:

∙ The Tamil Nadu Governor paid floral tributes to a portrait of Tamil poet-saint Thiruvalluvar on Thiruvalluvar Day.

About

∙ Thiruvalluvar Day was first celebrated on May 17 and 18 in 1935.

∙ In the present time, it is usually observed either on January 15 or 16 in Tamil Nadu and is a part of Pongal celebrations.

Who is Thiruvalluvar?

∙ He was a great poet, and philosopher, and regarded as a cultural icon by Tamils.

∙ 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).

Social Influence

∙ A temple was built within the Ekambareswarar temple complex in Mylapore and it was dedicated to Thiruvalluvar in the early 16th century.

∙ Valluvar Kotam, a temple memorial built in Chennai in 1976. It has one of the largest auditoriums in Asia.

∙ Thiruvalluvar Statues in Kanyakumari and Ulsoor, near Bengaluru were unveiled in 2000 and 2009 respectively.∙ A statue of Valluvar was also erected outside the School of Oriental and African Studies in Russell Square, London.