Jain Journal 1985 07

Author(s): Jain Bhawan Publication
Publisher: Jain Bhawan Publication

Page 25

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JAIN JOURNAL
Tiruvalluvar is said to have been born in Valluvanadu in Kerala. He belonged to the Harijan community. As the name of Valluvanadu indicated this locality was predominantly inhabited by Valluvars. It was their permanent habitat in Kerala. Valluvar was educated under Jaina Acaryas of Kerala and Madura. He was proficient in both Sanskrit and Tamil. There was no Malayalam language in the early centuries of the Christian era. Valluvar was well-versed in the classical literatures of Jainism and Hinduism. In the Tiruvalluvamalai, an ancient poetical work containing several tributes paid to Valluvar by a number of renowned Samgham poets there are some verses which also prove that Valluvar was an eminent scholar in both Tamil and Sanskrit classical literatures. He was also proficient in Prakrit. Poet Kasi Kannar in his tribute has stated that Valluvar composed the Kural rendering it from Vadarmozhi (Prakrit and Sanskrit for the easy understanding of the Tamil people. The Tirukural has dealt with the five mahāvratas of Jainas. He composed the Kural in revolt against Brahminism--animal sacrifices, meat-eating, begging for alms without renouncing family life, the evils of caste and class distinctions and the necessity for moulding a sterling humanitarian character for reaping the blessings of lifebrotherhood and peace.
Tiruvalluvar was a house-holder and not an ascetic. After his marriage he settled down in Mylapore, the noted town of the Jainas in Tamilnadu. He was held in high esteem by kings, the learned, the rich and the poor. Tradition tells us that Tiruvalluvar had a weaving factory in Mylapore. Many miracles are attributed to his wife, who was also a learned Valluvar lady, chaste and faithful to her distinguished husband. There is every reason and logic to state that Tiruvalluvar had met Kundakunda at Mylapore and discussed with the Acarya about his aspiration to compose the Tirukural for the benefit of Tamil people. Kundakunda was delivering sermons, conducting religious ceremonies and building temples in Mylapore at that time. And Tiruvalluvar, as I have stated in my booklet on the Adisvar temple of Polal, had been worshipping the Adinath image installed by Kundakunda Acarya.
The people of Tamilnadu enjoyed peace and lived in brotherhood till the advent of Tirujnanasambandhar, the leader of the Saivaite revivalist movement in Tamilnadu in the 7th century A.D. Tirujnanasambandhar was born in Sirkazhi, a Brahmin village noted for scholars in Tamil and Sanskrit. He studied all the classical literature and turned exceedingly proficient in them. Even in his young age, he dreamt of reviving Saivism in Tamilnadu and destroying Jainism from the land. Sambandhar was a young man at the time of putting his dream into practice.