Thiruvalluvar: The Tirukkural and Its Author

Thiruvalluvar, also written Tiruvalluvar, is the poet to whom Tamil tradition credits the Tirukkural, a classic of Tamil literature made up of 1,330 couplets on virtue, wealth and love. Almost nothing certain is known of his life, his date or his religion. Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and secular Tamil thinkers have all claimed him, and the Kural itself names no religion. This page sets out what the text says and what the different traditions hold, without deciding between them.

What is known of the poet

The Kural does not name its author, and no early record gives his life. The name Thiruvalluvar comes from later tradition. Popular stories, for example that he was a weaver of Mylapore in Chennai and that his wife was named Vasuki, appear in much later accounts, and scholars treat them as legend. The traditional image of him, seated, bearded and holding a palm-leaf manuscript, is modern.

The Tirukkural

The Kural is arranged in three books:

• Aram (virtue), 38 chapters, on household life, ascetic life and moral conduct, such as truthfulness, non-violence, gratitude and not eating meat.
• Porul (wealth), 70 chapters, on kingship, government, ministers, friendship and the ways of the world.
• Inbam or Kamam (love), 25 chapters, on love before and after marriage.

Each chapter has ten couplets, and each couplet has seven metrical feet. The book's teaching is general rather than sectarian, which is one reason it has been translated so widely; G. U. Pope's English translation appeared in 1886, and there are now translations in many languages.

The first couplet, in the chapter on the praise of God, reads:

> அகர முதல எழுத்தெல்லாம் ஆதி பகவன் முதற்றே உலகு

> "A, as its first of letters, every speech maintains; the 'Primal Deity' is first through all the world's domains." (Kural 1, trans. G. U. Pope, 1886)

The Tamil text above follows the Project Madurai edition. Readers disagree over how to understand "Adi Bhagavan", the "Primal Deity", as the next section explains.

The debate over Thiruvalluvar's religion

• Jain reading. Many scholars, among them the Czech Tamil scholar Kamil Zvelebil, have seen Jain ideas in the Kural: its stress on non-violence and vegetarianism, and epithets for God, such as the one "who walked upon the flower", that echo descriptions of the Jina. Several other Tamil moral works of the period were written by Jains.
• Hindu reading. The medieval commentators, most influentially Parimelalakar in the 13th century, read the Kural in the light of Hindu thought, and many Hindus see Shaiva or Vaishnava devotion in its opening chapter. Temples to Thiruvalluvar exist, such as the one at Mylapore.
• Buddhist and other readings. Some writers have argued for Buddhist influence; others for no religious affiliation at all.
• Secular and universal reading. Dravidian movement thinkers and Tamil Nadu governments have presented the Kural as a universal ethical work for all people, sometimes called "ulaga podhumarai", the common scripture of the world.

The question became a public controversy in November 2019, when an image of Thiruvalluvar in a saffron robe posted by the Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP drew protests from the DMK and other parties, who said he should not be given a religious colour. The debate has continued since.

HinduTone includes Thiruvalluvar in its Famous Hindus section because the Kural is honoured by Hindus among others. We do not claim him for any one religion; on the evidence of the text, his religion is not known.

Legacy

The Kural is one of the most quoted works in Tamil, taught in schools and displayed in public buildings and buses in Tamil Nadu. A 133-foot statue of Thiruvalluvar, one foot for each chapter, stands on a rock off Kanyakumari; it was unveiled on 1 January 2000. Thiruvalluvar Day is celebrated in Tamil Nadu during the Pongal festival in January.

Frequently asked questions

Who was Thiruvalluvar?

The poet credited by Tamil tradition with the Tirukkural. His life, date and religion are not known for certain.

How many couplets are in the Tirukkural?

1,330, in 133 chapters of ten, divided into three books on virtue, wealth and love.

What was Thiruvalluvar's religion?

It is not known. Jain, Hindu, Buddhist and secular readings all exist, and the Kural does not name a religion.

When did Thiruvalluvar live?

The date is uncertain. Scholars' estimates range from the last centuries BCE to about the 5th–6th century CE.

Who first translated the Tirukkural into English in full?

Several translators worked on it in the 19th century; G. U. Pope's complete English translation of 1886 is the best known.

Sources

• Tirukkural, Tamil text, Project Madurai (projectmadurai.org), etext no. 1; cross-checked with thekural.pages.dev.
• G. U. Pope, The Sacred Kurral of Tiruvalluva-Nayanar (W. H. Allen, 1886).
• Kamil V. Zvelebil, The Smile of Murugan: On Tamil Literature of South India (E. J. Brill, 1973).
• ThePrint, "Why DMK and BJP are sparring over Tamil Nadu icon Thiruvalluvar"; The Federal, "Why everybody wants to appropriate Thiruvalluvar".
• The Logical Indian, "Fact Check: What Is Saint Thiruvalluvar's Actual Religion?" (2019).

Last reviewed: 12 November 2026.

Related: Famous Hindus · The Nayanars · The Twelve Alvars · Raja Raja Chola