The Prime Minister has extended his venerations to Thiruvalluvar on the Thiruvalluvar Day.
Key Points
About the Thiruvalluvar Day:
It wasfirst celebrated on 17th-18th May in 1935.
In the present time, it is usually observed either on 15th or 16th January in Tamil Nadu and is a part of Pongal celebrations.
About Thiruvalluvar:
Thiruvalluvar, also called Valluvar, was aTamil poet-saint
He isregarded as a cultural and moral icon for Tamils across caste and religious lines.
Theperiod when he lived is debated, as is his religious identity
Some call him a Hindu; some trace his past to Jainism; Dravidian groups count him as a saint, as he dismissed the caste system.Some place him in the third or fourth century; others put him in the eighth or ninth
His primary work Thirukkural (contribution to Tamil Literature) contains1330 couplets (kurals).
The text is divided into three parts with teachings on dharma, artha, and kama (virtue, wealth and love).
Social Significance of Thiruvalluvar:
Astatue of the legendary Tamil poet was unveiled in Ulsoor, near Bengaluru, in 2009. A statue of Valluvar was also erected outside the School of Oriental and African Studies in Russell Square, London.
A 133-foot tall statue of Thiruvalluvar stands at Kanyakumarias well.
TheThiruvalluvar Universitywas established in Vellore district of Tamilnadu by the Government of Tamilnadu in October 2002.
In1976,a temple-memorial called Valluvar Kotamwas built in Chennai and houses one of the largest auditoriums in Asia.
In the early16th century, a templededicated to Thiruvalluvar was builtwithin the Ekambareswarar temple complexin Mylapore, Chennai
Sangam Age
The ‘Sangam’ describes a period from the sixth century BC to the third century AD encompassing today’s Tamil Nadu, Kerala, the southern parts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, and northern Sri Lanka.
The Tamil Sangams or Cankams were assemblies of Tamil scholars and poets that, according to traditional Tamil accounts, occurred in the remote past.
It is named for scholarly congregations in and around the city of Madurai, located about 400 km southwest of Chennai.
The period is noted for its Tamil literature and its literary output is closely associated with a significant politico-literary movement in early 20th century TN, which held that the Dravidian people could be descended from the people of the Indus Valley civilisation.
The Sivaganga discovery is the first major one of its kind in the state that claims to attest to the presence of an ancient urban civilisation in the subcontinent’s south, a civilisation that has often been pooh-poohed as political rhetoric.
It also strengthens the purported connection between the Indus Valley settlers and the ancient residents of Keezhadi.