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Thiruvalluvar (Tamil: திருவள்ளுவர்) is a celebrated Tamil poet who wrote the Thirukkural, a well known ethical work in Tamil literature. He is claimed by both the Tamils who practice Hinduism and the Tamils who practice Jainism as their own.[1] Nevertheless, some consider him as a Jain showing internal textual evidence from Thirukural.[2]
The statue of Tiruvalluar at Kanyakumari
The statue of Tiruvalluar at Kanyakumari

Thiruvalluvar's period (based on the Thirukkural per se) is between the second century BC and the eighth century AD. [3]

Both Thiruvalluvar's faith and identity are disputed. His disputed identity includes a low-caste Hindu, Jain, Buddhist, crypto-Christian, high-caste Hindu, Brahmin, half-Brahmin [4], and Sengunthar (weaver descent).

There are little or no clues available to trace Thiruvalluvar's background. However, according to one of the legends, Valluvar was the son of a Brahmin father(Bhagavan) and an 'untouchable' mother (Adi). Further, it is said that he was abandoned as a child to be picked up by a Vellala (high non-Brahmin, landowning caste) woman who named him 'Tiru-Valluvar'. Following objections by her neighbours, the Vellala woman too abandoned Valluvar to be picked up this time by a family of Paraiyars(untouchables). It is said that he later moved to Mylapore(part of Chennai, now) where he worked as a weaver. The name Valluvan might have been a common name representing his caste/occupation rather than his proper name. Even today, the people who earn a living by textile weaving trace their ancestry to the caste of Thiruvalluvar. However, the question of whether the author of Thirukkural (Valluvan) is named after his community or vice versa remains unanswered.

The name Thiruvalluvar (ThiruValluvar) consists of Thiru (a polite Tamil word, similar to Mr, from Sanskrit:Shri)[5] and Valluvar (a polite name for Valluvan, according to Tamil tradition).

There are a few legends abound about the birthplace of Thiruvalluvar. One legend associates him to Madurai, the ancient capital of the Pandya rulers who vigorously promoted Tamil literature. According to another he was born and lived in Mylapore, a part of present day Chennai city and travelled to Madurai to submit his work, the Thirukural, for approval of the king (Pandian) and his college of poets.[6]

There are, also, traditional stories citing the Tamil Sangam of Madurai (the assembly/conference of eminent scholars and researchers conducted on a regular basis) as the authority through which Thirukkural was introduced to the world. Thiruvalluvar might have spent most part of his life in Madurai because it was under Pandia rulers that many Tamil poets flourished. There are also recent claim by Kanyakumari Historical and Cultural Research Centre (KHCRC) that Valluvar was a king who ruled Valluvanadu in the hilly tracts of Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu. [7]