Why in the News?

Tamil Nadu CM stressed the need to declare the Thirukkural as a national book and to set up a major organisation in Delhi to promote Thiruvalluvar’s ideas.

Literature in News: Thirukkural

About Thirukkural:

Overview: Thirukkural is a classical Tamil literary work consisting of 1,330 couplets (kurals), each containing seven words.
Form and Message: Composed in the Kural Venba poetic form, it is renowned for its universal values, secular ethics, and moral guidance that transcend time, religion, and culture.
Authored by: The text is traditionally attributed to Thiruvalluvar, also known simply as Valluvar.
How old is it: Scholars date the text between 300 BCE and 500 CE, though its exact period remains debated.
Components: The Thirukkural is divided into 3 major sections:

1. Aram (Virtue / Dharma): Deals with personal morality, non-violence, and ethical conduct—emphasizing values such as truth, charity, self-control, and compassion.
2. Porul (Wealth / Artha): Focuses on social, political, and economic life, including governance, justice, taxation, warfare, diplomacy, and administration.
3. Inbam (Love / Kama): Explores human emotions, love, and personal relationships, especially themes of romance, domestic life, and emotional well-being.

Key Features of Thirukkural:

Ethical Emphasis: Promotes timeless values like non-violence (ahimsa), truth, self-restraint, gratitude, and hospitality.
Societal Themes: Highlights issues such as education, friendship, agriculture, social justice, and temperance.
Cultural Reverence: Referred to by honorifics such as “Tamil Veda” and “Divine Book”, symbolizing its moral and spiritual stature.
Literary Qualities: Celebrated for its brevity, clarity, and philosophical depth, making it accessible and universally admired.

Back2Basics: Sangam Literature

Overview: It refers to the ancient body of Tamil texts composed during the Sangam period, traditionally dated from 3rd century BCE to 3rd century CE.
Meaning: The word Sangam means “assembly” or “academy”, referring to gatherings of Tamil poets under the patronage of Pandya kings.
Historical Context: According to Tamil tradition, there were three Sangams:

1. First Sangam (Madurai): No known literary works have survived.
2. Second Sangam (Kapadapuram): Only Tolkappiyam (grammar and poetics) survives.
3. Third Sangam (Madurai): Source of most surviving Sangam literature.

Nature and Content:
- Literary Form: Written in classical Tamil poetry, the texts reflect secular themes like love, war, charity, governance, agriculture, and trade.
- Societal Insight: Offers a detailed glimpse into the social, political, and economic life of ancient Tamil society.
Key Texts:

- Tolkappiyam: The earliest Tamil grammar and work on poetic theory.
- Ettuthogai (Eight Anthologies): Collections of short poems.
- Pattupattu (Ten Idylls): Longer narrative poems.
- Padinenkilkanakku (Eighteen Minor Works): Didactic works focused on ethics and morality.
- Three Epics: Silappatikaram, Manimekalai, Sivaga Sindamani/. These were compiled later but are deeply influenced by Sangam themes.

[UPSC 2023] Which one of the following explains the practice of Vattakirutal’ as mentioned in Sangam poems?

Options: (a) Kings employing women bodyguards

(b) Learned persons assembling in royal courts to discuss religious and philosophical matters

(d) A king defeated in a battle committing ritual suicide by starving himself to death*

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Why in the News?

About Thirukkural:

Key Features of Thirukkural:

Back2Basics: Sangam Literature

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