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Elelasingan
Elelasingan ( ta, ஏலேலசிங்கன்) ( 2nd or 1st century BCE), also known as Elelasingan Chettiyar, Elela and Alara, was a Tamils, Tamil merchant who lived in Mylapore, by the shores of the Pallava Kingdom, trading between India and Ceylon. He is best known as the contemporary, friend, and disciple of the celebrated Tamil people, Tamil poet and philosopher Valluvar. Biography It is said that Elelasingan is mentioned as Ellalan, Elaela and Alara in History of Sri Lanka, Ceylon history, who lived between 144 BCE and 101 BCE. M. S. Purnalingam Pillai cites that, according to Mahāvaṃsa, Mahavamso tradition, Elelasingan ruled Lanka as Ellalan with his capital at Mahasena of Anuradhapura, Annuradhapura between 205 BCE and 161 BCE. However, given the fact that Elelasingan was a contemporary of Valluvar and with the date of Valluvar remaining dubious, it is still under debate whether Elaela of Cylone was the same person as Elelasingan. According to T. S. Srinivasan, Ele ...
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Thiruvalluvar Temple, Mylapore
The Ekambareswarar–Kamakshi Temple, commonly known as the Thiruvalluvar Temple, is a Hindu temple dedicated to the poet-saint Thiruvalluvar, Valluvar in the neighborhood of Mylapore in Chennai, India. The shrine is located within the Ekambareswarar temple complex. Believed to have been constructed in the early 16th century, the temple was extensively renovated in the 1970s. Traditionally believed to be the birthplace of Saint Valluvar, the temple is the oldest ever built to Valluvar. The temple also serves as the venue for meetings of Tamil language enthusiasts. While many consider the temple as the birthplace of Valluvar, some consider it as his samadhi (place of cremation). Tradition and history The temple was originally believed to be a village temple dedicated to Shiva during the times of Valluvar. Valluvar is traditionally believed to have been born under the ''Iluppai, iluppai'' or butter tree within this temple complex, where he was found and taken for adoption by his fos ...
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Tirukkural
The ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'' ( ta, திருக்குறள், lit=sacred verses), or shortly the ''Kural'' ( ta, குறள்), is a classic Tamil language text consisting of 1,330 short couplets, or Kural (poetic form), kurals, of seven words each. The text is divided into three books with aphoristic teachings on virtue (''aram''), wealth (''porul'') and love (''inbam''), respectively. Considered one of the greatest works ever written on ethics and morality, it is known for its universality and secularity, secular nature. Its authorship is traditionally attributed to Thiruvalluvar, Valluvar, also known in full as Thiruvalluvar. The text has been dated variously from 300 BCE to 5th century CE. The traditional accounts describe it as the last work of the third Sangam literature, Sangam, but linguistic analysis suggests a later date of 450 to 500 CE and that it was composed after the Sangam period. The Kural text is among the earliest systems of Indian epistemology and meta ...
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Vasuki (wife Of Valluvar)
Vasuki ( ta, வாசுகி) was a Tamil woman who lived around the late or post Sangam era (between 1st century BCE and 5th century CE). She was the wife of the Tamil poet-philosopher Valluvar. She is traditionally considered a faithful wife and a model of Tamil womanhood. Biography Very little is known about the life of Vasuki other than her being the wife of Valluvar. According to Maraimalai Adigal, Vasuki was also known as Nagi. She was one of the daughters of Margaseyan (or Margasahayan), a farmer who lived near Kaviripakkam, and his wife Ambujam. It is said that when Margasahayan's crops contracted disease, Valluvar helped with curing them. As a token of gratitude, Margasahayan offered Valluvar his daughter in marriage. Legend has it that Valluvar asked Vasuki to cook a handful of sand in order to test her before taking her in marriage, and Vasuki miraculously turned it to boiled rice and served him a scrumptious meal. She is widely known as a chaste and pious woman a ...
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Kural Text
The ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'' ( ta, திருக்குறள், lit=sacred verses), or shortly the ''Kural'' ( ta, குறள்), is a classic Tamil language text consisting of 1,330 short couplets, or kurals, of seven words each. The text is divided into three books with aphoristic teachings on virtue (''aram''), wealth (''porul'') and love (''inbam''), respectively. Considered one of the greatest works ever written on ethics and morality, it is known for its universality and secular nature. Its authorship is traditionally attributed to Valluvar, also known in full as Thiruvalluvar. The text has been dated variously from 300 BCE to 5th century CE. The traditional accounts describe it as the last work of the third Sangam, but linguistic analysis suggests a later date of 450 to 500 CE and that it was composed after the Sangam period. The Kural text is among the earliest systems of Indian epistemology and metaphysics. The Kural is traditionally praised with epithets and alte ...
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Karaiyar
Karaiyar is a Sri Lankan Tamil caste found mainly on the northern and eastern coastal areas of Sri Lanka, and globally among the Tamil diaspora. They are traditionally a seafaring community that is engaged in fishing, shipment and seaborne trade. They fish customarily in deep seas or on shore, and employ gillnet and seine fishing methods. The Karaiyars were the major maritime traders and boat owners who among other things, traded with pearls, chanks, tobacco, and shipped goods overseas to countries such as India, Myanmar and Indonesia. The community known for their maritime history, are also reputed as a warrior caste who contributed as army and navy soldiers of Tamil kings. They were noted as the army generals and navy captains of the Aryacakravarti dynasty. The Karaiyars emerged in the 1980s as strong representatives of Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism. The nuclear leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have background in the wealthier enterprising section of th ...
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Work Songs
A work song is a piece of music closely connected to a form of work, either sung while conducting a task (usually to coordinate timing) or a song linked to a task which might be a connected narrative, description, or protest song. Definitions and categories Records of work songs are as old as historical records, and anthropological evidence suggests that most agrarian societies tend to have them. Most modern commentators on work songs have included both songs sung while working as well as songs about work since the two categories are seen as interconnected. Norm Cohen divided collected work songs into domestic, agricultural or pastoral, sea shanties, African-American work songs, songs and chants of direction, and street cries. Ted Gioia further divided agricultural and pastoral songs into hunting, cultivation and herding songs, and highlighted the industrial or proto-industrial songs of cloth workers (see Waulking song), factory workers, seamen, lumberjacks, cowboys and miners. ...
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Madurai
Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in Tamil Nadu after Chennai and Coimbatore and the 44th most populated city in India. Located on the banks of River Vaigai, Madurai has been a major settlement for two millennia and has a documented history of more than 2500 years. It is often referred to as "Thoonga Nagaram", meaning "the city that never sleeps". Madurai is closely associated with the Tamil language. The third Tamil Sangam, a major congregation of Tamil scholars said to have been held in the city. The recorded history of the city goes back to the 3rd century BCE, being mentioned by Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador to the Maurya empire, and Kautilya, a minister of the Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya. Signs of human settlements and Roman trade links dating back to 3 ...
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Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hinduism. Shiva is known as "The Destroyer" within the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity which also includes Brahma and Vishnu. In the Shaivite tradition, Shiva is the Supreme Lord who creates, protects and transforms the universe. In the goddess-oriented Shakta tradition, the Supreme Goddess ( Devi) is regarded as the energy and creative power (Shakti) and the equal complementary partner of Shiva. Shiva is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. Shiva has many aspects, benevolent as well as fearsome. In benevolent aspects, he is depicted as an omniscient Yogi who lives an ascetic life on Mount Kailash as well as a householder with his wife Parvati and his three children, Ganesha, Kartikeya and A ...
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Paravar
Paravar (also known as Bharathar or Bharathakula and sometimes colloquially as 'Fernando') is a Tamil maritime community, mainly living in the state of Tamil Nadu in India and in Sri Lanka. Pandyas aka Bharathavars are the Ancient Sea Farers and Kings who established First Kingdom (first of its kind) in the world. Historically,they were inhabitants of the ''Neithal'' (coastal) lands of Tamil Nadu, and find mention in various ancient Tamil literary works. In modern India, Paravars are concentrated along the coastal belt extending along the Gulf of Mannar, from Kilakarai to Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin). They also live in some pockets along the Arabian sea coast in Kanyakumari District. Paravars have been significant among the population of the port city of Thoothukudi, since the 1580s. Apart from Thoothukudi, Paravars also live in many of the big cities and towns in South Tamilnadu like Nagercoil, Tirunelveli and Madurai where they are into diverse professions. In Sri Lanka, the Pa ...
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Tamils
The Tamil people, also known as Tamilar ( ta, தமிழர், Tamiḻar, translit-std=ISO, in the singular or ta, தமிழர்கள், Tamiḻarkaḷ, translit-std=ISO, label=none, in the plural), or simply Tamils (), are a Dravidian ethno-linguistic group who trace their ancestry mainly to India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu, union territory of Puducherry and to Sri Lanka. Tamils who speak the Tamil Language and are born in Tamil clans are considered Tamilians. Tamils constitute 5.9% of the population in India (concentrated mainly in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry), 15% in Sri Lanka (excluding Sri Lankan Moors), 7% in Malaysia, 6% in Mauritius, and 5% in Singapore. From the 4th century BCE, urbanisation and mercantile activity along the western and eastern coasts of what is today Kerala and Tamil Nadu led to the development of four large Tamil empires, the Cheras, Cholas, Pandyas, and Pallavas and a number of smaller states, all of whom were warring amongst ...
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Mylapore
Mylapore, also spelt Mayilapur, is a neighbourhood in the central part of the city of Chennai, India. It is one of the oldest residential parts of the city. It is also called Tirumayilai. The locality is claimed to be the birthplace of the celebrated Tamil philosopher Valluvar, and the Hindu saint and philosopher, Peyalvar. Mylapore is known for its tree-lined avenues, Kapaleeshwarar Temple, Katcheri seasons, and Ramakrishna Matha among many others. St. Thomas Cathedral Basilica, Chennai which is believed to house the tomb of Thomas the Apostle, is in Mylapore. Etymology The word ''Mylapore'' is the anglicized form of the Dravidian word ''Mayilāppūr''. It is derived from the Tamil phrase "மயில் ஆர்ப்பரிக்கும் ஊர்" (''Mayil ārparikkum oor''), which means "Land of the peacock scream".Saints, Goddesses and Kings By Susan Bayly Historically, peacocks have been known to thrive in the area, which is evident from the several statues in ...
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