Meena Kandasamy’s feminist intervention on the Tirukkural

In the vast expanse of the Tamil literary landscape, the Tirukkural – an ancient treatise that offers wise counsel on almost every matter pertaining to living – holds a singularly enviable place. The first-century BCE text remains arguably the most loved, commented on and translated volume in Tamil. The Tirukkural is universal. "It does not belong to one class, religion, race, language or country," says the renowned Tamil scholar Thiru Vi Kalyanasundaram. "It is the text that belongs to the world." The comment is as much about the secular nature of the Tirukkural as it is about its universality. Little is known about its author, Tiruvalluvar, who remains an enigmatic and widely honoured figure in Tamil culture. Every attempt to dissect his identity and every claim made to his overawing legacy has been overwhelmed by the magnificence of the text. That Tiruvalluvar could pack so much wisdom for humankind, transcending time and worlds, into two-line and seven-word verses, remains a feat nonpareil.

The Tirukkural holds formidable sway in everyday Tamil life – literary, cultural, social, political and otherwise. Not a day passes in Tamil Nadu without Tiruvalluvar being remembered by politicians, actors, writers or activists. From its incarnations in folk arts, like parai and theru koothu, to its various literary interpretations, the Tirukkural generates a world of endless possibilities. But it is perhaps the text's political appropriation that continues to influence Tamil life like no other literary work.