Thiruvalluvar

Thiruvalluvar, commonly known as Valluvar, was a Tamil poet and philosopher best known as the author of the Tirukkural, a collection of couplets addressing ethics, political and economic matters and love that is considered one of the most cherished works of Tamil literature. Almost no reliable biographical information survives about him, and scholars date his likely floruit anywhere from the fourth century BCE to the early fifth century CE, with linguistic analysis of the Tirukkural itself suggesting a date around 500 CE; he is traditionally associated with the town of Mylapore, part of present-day Chennai. Valluvar has been claimed by multiple religious traditions as one of their own and has long been venerated as a sage whose influence spans ethical, social, political, economic and spiritual thought in Tamil culture.