It is generally believed that great Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar could be born in Mylapore or Madurai. Yesteryear modern Tamil writer and noted literary critic Ka.Naa.Su alias Ka. Naa. Subramanyam even penned a Tamil novel on the title Thomas Vandhaar (And came Thomas) fictionalizing St. Thomas the Apostle and the philosopher-poet Thiruvalluvar as close friends in the then Madras! The eternal didactic work Thirukkural by Thiruvalluvar has transcended generations and is learned and admired by mankind across the world. However, its impact on the people of the Kongu region is yet to be known to many.
It is generally believed that great Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar could be born in Mylapore or Madurai. Yesteryear modern Tamil writer and noted literary critic Ka.Naa.Su alias Ka. Naa. Subramanyam even penned a Tamil novel on the title Thomas Vandhaar (And came Thomas) fictionalizing St. Thomas the Apostle and the philosopher-poet Thiruvalluvar as close friends in the then Madras! The eternal didactic work Thirukkural by Thiruvalluvar has transcended generations and is learned and admired by mankind across the world. However, its impact on the people of the Kongu region is yet to be known to many.
“Ancient palm leaf manuscripts, stone inscriptions and copper plate grants discovered in various places of the Kongu region, throw light on how the people here followed the morals in Thirukkural” says eminent Kongu historian Pulavar.Se. Rasu, the former head, Department of Epigraphy and Archaeology, Tamil University, Thanjavur.
The historian says that the Meikeerthis of the chieftains and local rulers in Kongunadu have recorded how they stood by the ethics mentioned in Thirukkural. A Meikeerthi is a poem, which details the genealogy and achievements of a king, with a prayer for his and his queen’s long lives and a mention of his proper name and regnal year.
A palm-leaf manuscript called Poonthurainattu Melolai reads that a chieftain led a righteous rule based on the virtues mentioned in Thirukkural. The script compares the service of Thirukkural to mankind with a mother, feeding her hungry, crying child. ‘Poonnthurainadu ‘is one of the 24 divisions of ancient Kongunadu.
“A line in the copper plate grant Karaiyur Cheppedu reads that by learning the three sections of Thirukkural - Aram ( Virtue), Porul ( Wealth), Inbam ( Nature of love), one had chosen the good from the bad” points out Rasu.
The other copper plate grants Palladam Cheppedu and Palani Veeramudiyalar Cheppedu also admire Thirukural and respectfully address Thiruvalluvar as ‘Muthamizh Vinodhan’ and ‘Muthamizh Therindhon’ (The legend, who mastered the three sections of the Tamil language – Iyal, Isai, Natakam)
“The Pazhaya Kottai Pattakarar, a local ruler, some 200 years ago, brought Muthu Pillai, a Tamil scholar with his family from Thiruvavaduthurai Aadheenam, a Saivite Mutt in Nagapattinam district and founded a school at Aanur, near Kangeyam. A palm leaf manuscript speaks about this incident in a long poem. It informs that the school was built for some 200 children, and they were taught Thamizh Marai, Sanganoolkal, and Nigandu. The manuscript mentions ‘Thamizh Marai’ as Thirukural. The Palayakottai Pattakarar donated 28 acres of land to Thiruvavaduthurai Mutt for providing its Tamil scholar Muthu Pillai to teach at Aanur. The land donated by the local ruler is still called Thambiran Valasu in Kangayam” adds Rasu.
Citing the Annual Report of Epigraphy from the Archaeological Survey of India, 1929, numbered 18, the historian informs:
“A pontiff once lived in Kabilarmalai at Kabilakurichy in Namakkal district. Interestingly, his name was Thiruvalluvar !. What’s more, a stone inscription even mentions the northwest part of Coimbatore as ‘Valluva Nadu! (The country of Thiruvalluvar)”
“Ancient palm leaf manuscripts, stone inscriptions and copper plate grants discovered in various places of the Kongu region, throw light on how the people here followed the morals in Thirukkural” says eminent Kongu historian Pulavar.Se. Rasu, the former head, Department of Epigraphy and Archaeology, Tamil University, Thanjavur.
The historian says that the Meikeerthis of the chieftains and local rulers in Kongunadu have recorded how they stood by the ethics mentioned in Thirukkural. A Meikeerthi is a poem, which details the genealogy and achievements of a king, with a prayer for his and his queen’s long lives and a mention of his proper name and regnal year.
A palm-leaf manuscript called Poonthurainattu Melolai reads that a chieftain led a righteous rule based on the virtues mentioned in Thirukkural. The script compares the service of Thirukkural to mankind with a mother, feeding her hungry, crying child. ‘Poonnthurainadu ‘is one of the 24 divisions of ancient Kongunadu.
“A line in the copper plate grant Karaiyur Cheppedu reads that by learning the three sections of Thirukkural - Aram ( Virtue), Porul ( Wealth), Inbam ( Nature of love), one had chosen the good from the bad” points out Rasu.
The other copper plate grants Palladam Cheppedu and Palani Veeramudiyalar Cheppedu also admire Thirukural and respectfully address Thiruvalluvar as ‘Muthamizh Vinodhan’ and ‘Muthamizh Therindhon’ (The legend, who mastered the three sections of the Tamil language – Iyal, Isai, Natakam)
“The Pazhaya Kottai Pattakarar, a local ruler, some 200 years ago, brought Muthu Pillai, a Tamil scholar with his family from Thiruvavaduthurai Aadheenam, a Saivite Mutt in Nagapattinam district and founded a school at Aanur, near Kangeyam. A palm leaf manuscript speaks about this incident in a long poem. It informs that the school was built for some 200 children, and they were taught Thamizh Marai, Sanganoolkal, and Nigandu. The manuscript mentions ‘Thamizh Marai’ as Thirukural. The Palayakottai Pattakarar donated 28 acres of land to Thiruvavaduthurai Mutt for providing its Tamil scholar Muthu Pillai to teach at Aanur. The land donated by the local ruler is still called Thambiran Valasu in Kangayam” adds Rasu.
Citing the Annual Report of Epigraphy from the Archaeological Survey of India, 1929, numbered 18, the historian informs:
“A pontiff once lived in Kabilarmalai at Kabilakurichy in Namakkal district. Interestingly, his name was Thiruvalluvar !. What’s more, a stone inscription even mentions the northwest part of Coimbatore as ‘Valluva Nadu! (The country of Thiruvalluvar)”