Tiruvalluvar

Thiruvalluvar திருவள்ளுவர்
The Thiruvalluvar statue in Kanyakumari
Born	Probably between 4th and 1st centuries BCE; possible date: 31 BCE (as approved by the Government of Tamil Nadu) Possibly at Thirumailai (present-day Mylapore, Chennai) or Thirunainar Kuruchi, Valluvanad (present-day Kanyakumari district)
Other names	Valluvar, Mudharpaavalar, Deivappulavar, Gnanavettiyaan, Maadhaanupangi, Naanmuganaar, Naayanaar, Poyyirpulavar, Dhevar, Perunaavalar
Notable work	Tirukkural
Spouse(s)	Vaasuki
Era	Sangam
Region	Present-day Tamil Nadu
Notable ideas	Common ethics and morality

Thiruvalluvar, known commonly as Valluvar, is a celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher whose contribution to Tamil literature is the Thirukkural, a work on ethics. It is believed that he was born either in Thiru Mylai (Mylapore) Chennai in Tamil Nadu or in ThirunainarKuruchi, a village in Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu. Thiruvalluvar is thought to have lived sometime between the 4th century BC and the 1st century BC. The Tamil poet Mamulanar of the Sangam period mentioned that Thiruvalluvar was the greatest Tamil scholar and Mamulanar also mentioned the Nanda Dynasty of northern which ruled until the 4th century BC. This estimate is based on linguistic analysis of his writings, as there is no historical evidence for when and where he lived.

Thirukkuṛal itself does not name its author or authors. The name Thiruvalluvar was first mentioned in the 10th century in a text called Thiruvalluvarmaalai ("Thiruvalluve traditions of Thiruvalluvar" appeared after this text had been written. It is generally believed that the name Thiruvalluvar consists of Thiru

He is said to have been a weaver and the supposed house he lived is now converted to a temple. His wife's name is Vaasuki. There are lots of legends about the pair Thiruvalluvar and Vaasuki. Two of them are: 1) Once Vaasuki Ammaiyar was fetching water from well and Thiruvalluvar called her and she left the water and ran in immediately, but the water pot stayed in mid air. Such was her austerity and dedication towards her husband Thiruvalluvar; 2) Thiruvalluvar used to sit every day for meal with a cup of water and a wooden tooth pick. He did this to pick any grain of rice spilled out from his leaf when Vaasuki Ammaiyar served food. It was said that Thiruvalluvar could not even pick a grain of rice every day. Such was the dedication in serving meal by Vaasuki Ammaiyar. Thiruvalluvar may have spent part of his life in Madurai because it was under the Pandiya rulers that many Tamil poets flourished. There is also the recent claim by Kanyakumari Historical and Cultural Research Centre (KHCRC) that Valluvar was a king who ruled Valluvanadu in the hilly tracts of the Kanyakumari District of Tamil Nadu.