Tiruvalluva Maalai

Tiruvalluva Maalai (Tamil: திருவள்ளுவ மாலை), literally 'Garland of Valluvar', is a collection of ancient Tamil paeans containing fifty-five verses each written by different poets praising the ancient work of the Kural and its author Valluvar. The collection is believed to have reached its present form by 11th century CE. With the historical details of the ancient philosopher and his work remaining obscure, much of the legend on the Kural and Valluvar as they are known today are chiefly from this work. The collection also reveals the name of the author of the Kural text as 'Valluvar' for the first time, as Valluvar himself composed the Kural text centuries earlier without indicating his name anywhere in his work. Indicating this, Monsieur Ariel, a French scholar of the 19th century, famously said of the Tirukkural thus: Ce livre sans nom, par un autre sans nom ("The book without a name by an author without a name.")

Tiruvalluva Maalai is a collection of verses said to have been composed by gods, goddesses and poets of different times, all belonging to the legendary Tamil Sangam at Madurai. A total of 55 poets have composed their encomia in 55 verse in the collection, all written several centuries after the composition of the Kural text. With the exception of Avvaiyar and Idaikkadar, both of whom composed their verses in Kural venpa metre (couplet form), all the 53 poets have written their composition in the Venpa (quatrain) form.

Following is a sample verse in quatrain from the collection, written by poet Kapilar (c. 2nd century CE):

The meaning of the above verse can be laid thus: As the tiny dew upon the blade of a grass reflects the whole of a tall palm tree nearby, so the pithy Kural couplets of Valluvar reflect the wholesome thoughts of humanity.

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