Tuesday, June 10, 2008
STATUTE DETAILS
Labels: 133 ft, staute details, thiruvalluvar statute 133 ft
Posted by sankar at 10:17 AM 0 comments
Thirukkural
Thirukkural is a precious gem among the classics, unique in the deliverance of code of conduct to the mankind to follow for all time to come. It enshrines in it 1330 couplets under 133 chapters, each chapter comprising 10 verses. The chapters again fall under three major divisions. Virtue, Wealth and Love. This treatise encompasses the whole gamut of human life and by Thiruvalluvar, its illustrious author illuminates every bit of it! This classical work written in Tamil, has been translated in over 60 languages of the world.
The Government of Tamil nadu had a vision (for beyond) the Horizon. Yes to rise a statue for Thiruvalluvar in Kanyakumari, the southern tip of the mainland at the confluence of the three seas befitting the stature of this Saint-poet. The statue that was dedicated at the dawn of the new millennium, stands out as a beacon of light to guide human life for ever.
Measures adopted for the statue of Thiruvalluvar :
The statue with 95' and the pedestial supporting it with 38ft, the structure is thus a standing mammoth commanding a total height of 133 feet. An artistic peripheral wall around the statue, thereby forms a captivating mandap.
The measures what they stands for? :
The pedestal represents the 38 chapters on 'Virtue' and the 95' statue standing on the pedestal represents 'Wealth' and 'Pleasure' signifying that Wealth and Love be earned and enjoyed on the foundation of Virtue solid.
The rocks for the sculpture came from :
Sirudhamoor, Pattumalaikuppam Hills and Ambhasamudram Hills
Labels: 133 ft, Thirukkural, Thiruvalluvar Statue
Posted by sankar at 10:13 AM 0 comments
Saturday, June 7, 2008
15. On Begging and its Evil (106-107):
15. On Begging and its Evil (106-107):
Labels: definitions, kural, Tamil literature, thiruvalluvar
Posted by sankar at 6:56 AM 0 comments
14. On Poverty (105):
14. On Poverty (105):
We are living in a very challenging environment. Of the 6 billion people living on the planet earth today, 4.8 billion, i.e. 80 percent of the world population, live in the developing countries. These 4.8 billion receive only around $ 6 trillion, i.e. 20 per cent of global GNP. Imagine the demography of the next 25 years: about 2 billion will be added to the planet of which 95 per cent will be in the developing world. Besides the critical global problem of poverty, the demographic disequilibrium is another challenge to be faced now.
Global inequalities in income have increased alarmingly in the last hundred years. More than 30,000 children die everyday from preventable diseases. Some 120 million children are excluded from primary education. About 500 million women are illiterate. 1.5 billion people have no safe drinking water. One woman dies for every 260 live births – which is one woman in a minute. More than 20 million have died of AIDS, 34 million people are living with HIV/AIDS, and everyday 15,000 are infected. About 790 million people are hungry and 1.2 billion live on less than one dollar a day. I am reminded what Subramani Bharatiyar wrote: “Even if there is only one individual person without food to eat, I shall destroy the world.”
Labels: Tamil literature, Thirukkural, thiruvalluvar
Posted by sankar at 6:55 AM 0 comments
13). On Agriculture (104):
13). On Agriculture (104):
Valluvar says that the world depends on agriculture. “Though laborious, agriculture is the best form of craft that sustains all on earth and is the worthiest of crafts. Farmers are the lynchpin of the world; they alone are independent citizens, others are dependent on them; If the farmer’s hands are slackened, even ascetics will fail in their meditation. If a man does not attend to his land personally, it will behave like an angry wife and yield him no pleasure. More than ploughing is manuring, then weeding; more vital than water management is plant protection.” Valluvar has emphasized the importance of agriculture and its primacy over all other occupations. In the same line Daniel Webster stated: “ Farmers are the founders of civilization”. If the ploughmen cease to work, the entire economy will collapse. We also find in the Kurals the elements of “Green Revolution” except high yielding variety of seeds: extent of ploughing, manure and fertilizers, water-management, weeding at the right time, and protection against pests and diseases.
Labels: tamil, Tamil literature, Thirukkural, thiruvalluvar
Posted by sankar at 6:53 AM 0 comments
12). On Good Army and Soldiers (77-78):
12). On Good Army and Soldiers (77-78):
Valluvar has given great emphasis to people whose political and economic support was the prized possession of the kind, and army and its exploits. “Valour, honor, following in the footsteps of its predecessors and trustworthiness constitute the safeguard of an army. The army that conquers without fear is the chief wealth of the king. A good army is one that stands firm and does not desert to the enemy.” It must be capable of united resistance. An army cannot last long without brave generals. What if a host of rats roar like the sea? They will perish at the mere breath of the cobra.
Valluvar rightly says that it is the affection of the people that keeps the morale and efficiency of the army. If people hate the army, then it will dwindle. The army in garrison has to be used in active service; otherwise they will lose their efficiency. A soldier’s achievement is in his Valour; on the days he has not received wounds in action are days lost to him. Centuries later, Machiavelli in his Prince said: “ The chief foundations of all States are good laws and good armies… where there are good armies, there must be good laws….” I am reminded of Late Prime Minster Lal Bahadur Sastri’s popular slogan “ Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan” during the Indo-Pak war.
Labels: tamil, Tamil literature, Thirukkural, thiruvalluvar
Posted by sankar at 6:52 AM 0 comments
11). On Wealth (76):
11). On Wealth (76):
In Kurals 215, 216 and 217 Thiruvalluvar presents three smiles: First, just as the village lake (pond) is filled with drinking water so also is the great wise man endowed with wealth for the world; the second is, if wealth is in the hands of a man of propriety it is like a fruit-bearing tree ripe at the centre of the village; and finally, wealth in the hands of a great man of dignity is like the medicine from an unfailing tree.
Labels: tamil, Tamil literature, Thirukkural, thiruvalluvar
Posted by sankar at 6:51 AM 0 comments