Nacchar (), also known as Nakkar, was a
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nati ...
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wr ...
, scholar, and commentator known for his
commentary
Commentary or commentaries may refer to:
Publications
* ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee
* Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...
on the ''
Thirukkural
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 ...
''.
He was among the canon of
ten medieval commentators
The Ten Medieval Commentators (Tamil: உரையாசிரியர்கள் பதின்மர்) were a canonical group of Tamil scholars whose commentaries on the ancient Indian didactic work of the Kural are esteemed by later schol ...
of the Kural text most highly esteemed by modern scholars. However, his work has been lost along with other four ancient commentators, namely,
Dhamatthar,
Dharumar,
Thirumalaiyar, and
Mallar.
Biography
Nacchar is often incorrectly believed by some as
Nachinarkiniyar __NOTOC__
Nacciṇārkkiṇiyar, also spelled Naccinarkkiniyar or Nachinarkiniyar, was a 14th-century Tamil and Sanskrit scholar famous for his commentaries on Sangam literature and post-Sangam medieval Tamil literature. His commentary on some of th ...
, another medieval Tamil poet. However, several scholars deny this, citing that an ancient verse praising the poet Nachinarkiniyar does not mention that he has written commentary on the Tirukkural. Moreover, Nachinarkiniyar lived in the 14th century, about three centuries later than Nacchar. Scholars also opine that the similarity between the two names lead to this incorrect conclusion by some.
See also
*
Ten Medieval Commentators
The Ten Medieval Commentators (Tamil: உரையாசிரியர்கள் பதின்மர்) were a canonical group of Tamil scholars whose commentaries on the ancient Indian didactic work of the Kural are esteemed by later schol ...
*
Commentaries in Tamil literary tradition
Commentaries to literary works remain one of the most important and telling aspects of the Tamil literary tradition. Commentaries to ancient Tamil works have been written since the medieval period and continue to be written in the modern era. Many ...
References
Further reading
* M. Arunachalam (2005). Tamil Ilakkiya Varalaru, Padhinaindhaam Nootraandu
istory of Tamil Literature, 15th century
*
* D. M. Vellaivaaranam (1983). Tirukkural Uraikotthu. Thiruppananthal Shri Kasimadam Publications.
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Tirukkural
Tamil poets
Tirukkural commentators
Ten medieval commentators
Medieval Tamil poets
Tamil-language writers
Tamil scholars
Scholars from Tamil Nadu
11th-century Indian scholars