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Thiruvalluvar 123
Thiruvalluvar (Tamil: திருவள்ளுவர்), commonly known as Valluvar, was a celebrated Tamil poet and philosopher. He is best known as the author of the ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'', a collection of couplets on ethics, political and economical matters, and love. The text is considered an exceptional and widely cherished work of Tamil literature. Almost no authentic information is available about Valluvar, states Kamil Zvelebil – a scholar of Tamil literature. His life and likely background are variously inferred from his literary works by different biographers. There are unauthentic hagiographic and legendary accounts of Valluvar's life, and all major Indian religions, as well as Christian missionaries of the 19th century, have tried to claim him as secretly inspired (''crypto-'') or originally belonging to their tradition. Little is known with certainty about his family background, religious affiliation, or birthplace. He is believed to have lived at least in the t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tondaimandalam
Tondaimandalam, also known as Tondai Nadu, is a historical region located in the southern part of Andhra Pradesh and northernmost part of Tamil Nadu. The region comprises the districts which formed a part of the legendary kingdom of Athondai Chakravarti. The boundaries of Tondaimandalam are ambiguous – between the river basins of Penna River and Ponnaiyar River. During the reign of Rajaraja I, this region was called as ''Jayankonda Cholamandalam''. Geography The region includes the Nellore, Chittoor, North and South Arcot and Chingleput districts of the Andhra and Madras states. Chennai was part of the region. It covers the present day areas of Nellore, Chittoor, Tirupati, Annamayya, Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur, Tiruvanamalai, Villupuram, Kallakuruchi, Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu, Cuddalore and Chennai districts of modern-day Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. History Neolithic burial urn, cairn circles and jars with burials dating to the very dawn of the common era ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hindu Literature
Hindu texts are manuscripts and voluminous historical literature which are related to any of the diverse traditions within Hinduism. A few of these texts are shared across these traditions and they are broadly considered Hindu scriptures. These include the Puranas, Itihasa and Vedas. Scholars hesitate in defining the term "Hindu scriptures" given the diverse nature of Hinduism,Dominic Goodall (1996), Hindu Scriptures, University of California Press, , page ix-xliii but many list the Bhagavad Gita and the Agamas as Hindu scriptures,Klaus Klostermaier (2007), A Survey of Hinduism: Third Edition, State University of New York Press, , pages 46–52, 76–77 and Dominic Goodall includes Bhagavata Purana and Yajnavalkya Smriti in the list of Hindu scriptures as well. History There are two historic classifications of Hindu texts: ''Śruti'' – that which is heard, and ''Smriti'' – that which is remembered. The ''Shruti'' refers to the body of most authoritative, ancient religious tex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Uglow Pope
George Uglow Pope (24 April 1820 – 11 February 1908), or G. U. Pope, was an Anglican Christian missionary and Tamil scholar who spent 40 years in Tamil Nadu and translated many Tamil texts into English. His popular translations included those of the Tirukkural and Thiruvasagam. He later took to teaching, running his own school in Ootacamund for while and then moving to head the Bishop Cotton Boys' School in Bangalore and after returning to England worked as a Lecturer at Balliol College, Oxford. A statue on the Chennai beach recognizes him for his contribution to the understanding and promotion of the Tamil language. Biography George Uglow Pope was born on 24 April 1820 in Bedeque, Prince Edward Island in Canada. His father was John Pope (1791–1863), of Padstow, Cornwall, a merchant who became a missionary, who emigrated to Prince Edward Island in 1818, and Catherine Uglow (1797–1867), of Stratton, north Cornwall. The family moved to Nova Scotia, St. Vincent's befo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vallalar
Thiruvarutprakasa Vallalār Chidambaram Ramalingam (5 October 1823 – 30 January 1874), commonly known in India and across the world as Vallalār, Ramalinga Swamigal and Ramalinga Adigal, was one of the most famous Tamil Saints and also one of the greatest Tamil poets of the 19th century and belongs to a line of Tamil saints known as " gnana siddhars" (gnana means higher wisdom). The ''Samarasa Suddha Sanmarga Sathiya Sangam'' was spread and passed on by him not only in theory but mainly in practice by his own way of living which by itself is an inspiration for his followers. Through the notion of ''Suddha Sanmarga Sangam'', the saint endeavored to eliminate the caste system. According to Suddha Sanmarga, the prime aspects of human life should be love connected with charity and divine practice leading to achievement of pure knowledge. Ramalinga advocated the concept of worshipping the flame of a lighted lamp as a symbol of the eternal power. Early life Rāmalingam's parents wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karl Graul
Karl Graul (6 February 1814 – 10 November 1864) was a leader of Leipzig Lutheran mission and a Tamil scholar. He was born in a poor weaver family in Germany. He moved to India as the director of the Lutheran Leipzig Mission in 1849 and there he mastered Tamil. Graul was one of the foremost figures in missiology. His approach towards caste system was considered to be too lenient by his critics since he considered that caste system would fade on its own accord and Christian organizations need not interfere with local traditions. He also advocated the supremacy of Lutheranism over other Christian denominations and found it hard to cooperate with Anglicans in India. Early life Karl Graul was born in Wörlitz, Duchy of Anhalt, into a poor weaver's family. In spite of his poor background he received good education in classical and modern languages as well as in theology. However, as for as mission and missiology is concerned he was entirely self-taught.Biographical Dictionary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constantius Joseph Beschi
Constantine Joseph Beschi (8 November 1680 – 4 February 1747), also known under his Tamil name of ''Vīramāmunivar'', was an Italian Jesuit priest, missionary in South India, and Tamil language littérateur. Early years Born in Castiglione delle Stiviere, in the district of Mantua, in Italy, on 8 November 1680, Beschi got his secondary education in the Jesuits' High School at Mantua, which taught rhetoric, humanities and grammar. After becoming a Jesuit in 1698, he was trained in Ravenna and Bologna, studying philosophy for three years from 1701–1703 in Bologna, and theology for four years from 1706–1710. His studies also included Latin, French, Portuguese, Greek, and Hebrew. He was ordained as a priest in 1709. On hearing about the work done in India by the Jesuits returning to Italy from India, Beschi was eager to come to India. He requested and obtained permission from Superior General Michelangelo Tamburini to be sent to the Jesuit mission at Madurai in South India ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albert Schweitzer
Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian-German/French polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran minister, Schweitzer challenged both the secular view of Jesus as depicted by the historical-critical method current at this time, as well as the traditional Christian view. His contributions to the interpretation of Pauline Christianity concern the role of Paul's mysticism of "being in Christ" as primary and the doctrine of justification by faith as secondary. He received the 1952 Nobel Peace Prize for his philosophy of "Reverence for Life", becoming the eighth Frenchman to be awarded that prize. His philosophy was expressed in many ways, but most famously in founding and sustaining the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Lambaréné, French Equatorial Africa (now Gabon). As a music scholar and organist, he studied the music of German composer Johann Sebasti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mahatma Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti-colonial nationalist politics in the twentieth-century in ways that neither indigenous nor westernized Indian nationalists could." and political ethicist Quote: "Gandhi staked his reputation as an original political thinker on this specific issue. Hitherto, violence had been used in the name of political rights, such as in street riots, regicide, or armed revolutions. Gandhi believes there is a better way of securing political rights, that of nonviolence, and that this new way marks an advance in political ethics." who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule, and to later inspire movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. The honorific ''Mahātmā'' (Sanskrit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-reformed Russian. ; ), usually referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy, was a Russian writer who is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time. He received nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature every year from 1902 to 1906 and for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, 1902, and 1909; the fact that he never won is a major controversy. Born to an aristocratic Russian family in 1828, Tolstoy's notable works include the novels ''War and Peace'' (1869) and ''Anna Karenina'' (1878), often cited as pinnacles of realist fiction. He first achieved literary acclaim in his twenties with his semi-autobiographical trilogy, ''Childhood'', '' Boyhood'', and ''Youth'' (1852–1856), and '' Sevastopol Sketches'' (1855), based upon his experiences in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kambar (poet)
Kambar or Kavichakravarthy Kamban (1180 CE–1250 CE) was an Indian Tamils, Tamil poet and the author of the Ramavataram, popularly known as ''Kambaramayanam'', the Tamil version of the epic Ramayana.The Cyclopaedia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia By Edward Balfour Kambar also authored other literary works in Tamil language, Tamil, such as Thirukkai Vazhakkam, ''Erezhupathu'', Silaiyezhupathu, ''Kangai Puranam'', ''Sadagopar Anthathi'' and ''Saraswati Anthathi''. Life Kambar was born in Therazhundur, Thanjavur district, Therazhundur. His father was a wealthy farmer named Sadaiyepa Vallal. He grew up the Chola dynasty, Chola Empire under the reign of Kulothunga Chola III, Kulothunga III. Having heard of this talented bard, Kulothunga summoned him to his court and honoured him with the title ''Kavi Chakravarty'' (''The Emperor of Poets''). Kambar flourished in Therazhundur, a village in the culturally rich Nagapattinam District in the modern state of Tamil Nadu in Sou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sekkilar
Sēkkilān Mādēvadigal Rāmadēva (12th century CE), known popularly by his family name as Sekkizhar, was a saint and a contemporary of Kulottunga Chola II. He compiled and wrote the ''Periya Puranam'' (Great Story or Narrative) in 4253 verses, recounting the life stories of the sixty-three Shaiva Nayanars, the devotees of Shiva. Sekkizhar himself was later canonised and his work, the Periyapuranam became the twelfth and final book of the sacred Saiva canon. Life Sekkizhar was born as Arulmozhithevan, meaning ''the one of the divine language''. He was a native of Kundrathur village (a suburb of the present-day Chennai), a sub-division of Puliyur-kottam in Thondaimandalam. Sekkizhar was a child of precious genius and having noticed this, king Anapaya, that is Kulothunga Chola II appointed him as his Prime Minister on account of his talents. His life is celebrated by Umapati Sivacharya in his fourteenth century work (1313 CE) called Sekkizhar Nayanar Puranam. Sekkizhar had the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ilango Adigal
Ilango Adigal ()() was a Jainism, Jain monk and a poet, sometimes identified as a Chera dynasty, Chera prince. He is traditionally credited as the author of ''Cilappatikaram'', one of the Five Great Epics of Ancient Tamil literature. He is one of the greatest poets from Chera dynasty, Cheranadu (now Kerala). In a ''patikam'' (prologue) to the epic poem, he identifies himself as the brother of a famous Chera dynasty, Chera king Ceṅkuṭṭuvan (Senguttuvan). This Chera king, as stated by Elizabeth Rosen, ruled over his kingdom in late 2nd or early 3rd century CE. However, this is doubtful because a Sangam poem in ''Patiṟṟuppattu'' – the fifth ten – provides a biography of Ceṅkuṭṭuvan, his family and rule, but never mentions that he had a brother who became an ascetic or wrote one of the most cherished epics. This has led scholars to conclude that the legendary author Ilango Adikal myth was likely inserted later into the epic. In a 1968 note, Kamil Zvelebil suggeste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
