26): Sant Thiruvalluvar – The poet saint of Tamil Nadu on the occasion of the 8th World Tamil Conference:;Honouring prominent Saints and temples of India

Honouring prominent Saints and temples of India:

Thiruvalluvar – The poet saint of Tamil Nadu on the occasion of the 8^th World Tamil Conference:

The Reserve Bank of India has taken out several coins commemorating the lives of prominent saints in India. In 1995, the RBI took out coins honouring the Tamil poet-saint Thiruvalluvar. Coins of one ,two and five rupee denominations were issued at the time of the 8^th World Tamil Conference was convened in Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu), India. The one rupee coin was issued in Ferritic Stainless Steel (FSS) which the two and five rupee coins were issued in Cupro-nickel.

Sant (Saint)Thiruvalluvar :

 Thiru means “honourable “or “Shri” or “Mr”, while, “Valluvar” is an appellation (the poet, perhaps, belonged to the Valluvan caste or occupation). In other words, the poet himself is unnamed and only goes by the caste-name he belonged to or the occupation that he was involved in during his lifetime – he may have been a weaver by profession –   of which nothing much is known, and his works, mostly carried down generations, through oral and written traditions, too remained unnamed, unlike the practice of some poets, who include their names somewhere in their writings or in the verses, so as to pass down the authorship. Instead he is mentioned only as the “Thiruvalluva-nayanar” (sacred devotee). 

The period when he lived is  also, not certain, and varies from the 2^nd century B.C (most acceptable timeline) to much later, primarily because very little is known of his lifetime ,either, through oral traditions or his various works in the field of Tamil literature. The place where he came from or lived is, also open to conjecture.

 In a way, this is befitting to the great poet-saint, because, his works and teachings are timeless and archetypal of any era bygone, or, to come in the future.  He is also referred to as, “Deiva Pulavar” (Divine poet).

The Tamil calendar is also named after him and is referred to as Thiruvalluvar “Aandu” (Year).

The essence of his teachings was that, a person involved in a daily materialistic or “Grihastha” (household) life can also follow the practices of a spiritual life of purity and sanctity, while continuing to lead a daily materialistic life. The stress was on righteous living, rather than giving up a material life in search of spirituality and, that, there was no need to give up one way of life for the other.  All his teachings are found in a book called the “Thirukkural” (Kural stands for “common creed” and the work is in verse or couplet form).  In other words, the Thirukkural is, also, a treatise on Ethics and portrays the dignity and preciousness of “Grihastha” life and elevates it to the status of sacredness. 

The Thirukkural consists of three parts – “Aram” (correct conduct – morals),”Porul” (correct manner of conducting public/social affairs – Wealth) and “Inbam” (attraction between man and woman – love). The entire work consists of 133 chapters or “athikarams”.

The “Thirukkural” is one of the greatest works of Tamil Literature.

Some other Tamil works are also, attributed to him “Gnana Vettiyan” and “Pancharathanam” are works on medicine, although, no proper authorship has been passed down in these works too, over generations.

A beautiful temple-like memorial in his honour stands in Chennai called “Valluvar Kottam” . There is also a 133 feet tall statue at Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India. It is said that the statue is symbolic of the Thirukkural – the 133 feet represent the 133 chapters of the Kural, the three upturned fingers represent the three parts – “Aram”, “Porul” and “Inbam”.

                                   

Obverse of a 5 rupee coin, showing the Lion Capital with the words “Satyameva Jayate” (Truth always Prevails) below it. The numeral “5” indicating the denomination of the coin is below the symbol. On the left are the words “ Bharat” and “Rupiye” in Hindi, while the words “India” and “Rupees” are on the right side of the coin.

Reverse of the above coin.  The words “Aathwan Vishwa Tamil Sammelan – Sant Thiruvalluvar” in Hindi are on the top left hand side of the coin, while, on the right side are the words “World Tamil Conference- Saint Thiruvalluvar” in English. The Saint sits on an “asana” (seat) in the yogic “Padma-asana” pose with a scroll fashioned out of tree-bark in his left hand. Below his image is the year of issue 1995. Due to lack of space, and to maintain symmetry on the coin, the Mumbai mint which has minted this coin, has placed its mint mark “diamond” to the right of the year of issue.

Obverse of a one rupee Ferritic Stainless Steel (FSS) coin, showing the Lion Capital with the words “Satyameva Jayate” (Truth always Prevails) below it. The numeral “1” indicating the denomination of the coin is below the symbol. On the left are the words “ Bharat” and “Rupiya” in Hindi, while the words “India” and “Rupees” are on the right side of the coin.

Reverse of the above coin exhibiting the same features as the above  5 rupee coin coin.  The words “Aathwan Vishwa Tamil Sammelan – Sant Thiruvalluvar” in Hindi are on the top left hand side of the coin, while, on the right side are the words “World Tamil Conference- Saint Thiruvalluvar” in English. The Saint sits on an “asana” (seat) in the yogic “Padma-asana” pose with a scroll fashioned out of tree-bark in his left hand. Below his image is the year of issue 1995.This coin has been minted at Kolkata mint. Notice that there is no mint mark on this coin.

Note on the  The International Association of Tamil Research (IATR)

The International Association of Tamil Research (IATR) was the brain-child of Jaffna’s (in Sri Lanka) Tamil scholar Father Xavier S. Thaninayagam.  Fluent in several languages, he wanted to apply modern linguistic techniques to research in Tamil language, literature and culture, which he believed was the language of “Bhakti” (devotion).

With that aim in mind, he started an International Journal called “Tamil Culture” which attracted  Tamil research scholars from different parts of the World. Encouraged with the response, he mooted the idea of creating an “International Association of Tamil Research (IATR) , for which he received encouraging support world-wide, including  the Government of Malaysia where Tamil is one of the four official languages.

As a corollary the first in the series of World Tamil Conferences was held in Kuala Lumpur in 1966. Other nations places where the conference was held over several years, are, Chennai(India), Paris (France), Jaffna (Sri Lanka), Madurai (India), Port Louis (Mauritius) . The eighth and last of the World Tamil Conferences was organized in Thanjavur in 1995.

 After he passed away in the seventies, the journal “Tamil Culture”became defunct.

Presently, an Organization called “The International Institute of Tamil Culture and Civilization (IITCC) a USA based Organization has now taken upon itself to revive   Father Thaninayagam’s life’s work, including the publication of his journal “Tamil Culture”.






Links to other articles on coins issued on Prominent saints and temples of India: 

1) 25 Years of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board

2) Lord Mahavir: 24th Teerthankar of Jainism

3) Sant Thiruvalluvar

4) Celebrating 1000 years of Brihadeeshwarar Temple

5) Mother Teresa  

6) Jagathguru Sree Narayana Gurudev

7) Mahatma Basaveshwara

8)   Sant Dnyaneshwar and Sant Tukaram

9) Swami Chinmayananda : Celebrating his Birth Centenary: A Rs.10/- coin issued by the Hyderabad Mint 

10) Commemorating the Birth Centenary of Acharya Tulsi of Jainism by issuing a Rs.20/- coin 


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2) Saint Alphonsa: The first Catholic Woman Saint of India 

3) Pope Francis: 80th Birthday on 17.12.2016: 6 Commemorative coins issued by Cook Islands 

4) Christ Church Fort Teppakulam, Trichirapalli 

5) St. Joan of Arc: The patron Saint of France 

6) Archbishop Benedict Mar Gregarious Centenary Celebrations

7) Bicentenary of the Old Seminary in Kottayam