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{{Short description|Tamil Poet}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{about|the 12th-century poet||Avvaiyar (disambiguation)}}
'''Avvaiyar''' ([[Tamil language|Tamil]]: ஔவையார்) was a [[Tamil literature|Tamil poet]] who lived during the period of [[Kambar (poet)|Kambar]] and [[Ottakoothar]] during the reign of the [[Chola dynasty]] in the twelfth century.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dalal |first1=Roshen |title=Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide |date=18 April 2014 |publisher=Penguin UK |isbn=978-81-8475-277-9 |page=242 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zrk0AwAAQBAJ&pg=PT242 |language=en}}</ref> She is often imagined as an old and intelligent lady by [[Tamil people]]. Many poems and the Avvai Kural, comprising 310 kurals in 31 chapters, belong to this period. She is most widely known for her '[[Aathichoodi]]', '[[Kondrai Vendhan]]', '[[Nalvazhi]]' and '[[Moodhurai]]'.<ref>[B. Ramadevi]</ref><ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/history-and-culture/the-saint-of-the-masses/article5746486.ece |title = The saint of the masses|newspaper = The Hindu|date = 3 March 2014|last1 = Ramadevi|first1 = B.}}</ref> The name Avvaiyar means a 'respectable good woman', hence a generic title; her personal name is not known.<ref>{{Cite book
| last = Mukherjee
| first = Sujit
| title = A dictionary of Indian literature
| publisher = Orient Blackswan
| year = 1999
| location = India
| page = 32
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=YCJrUfVtZxoC
| isbn = 978-81-250-1453-9}}</ref>

==Biography==
Avvaiyar was the court poet of the [[Chola dynasty|Chola monarch]] and was a contemporary of [[Kambar (poet)|Kambar]] and [[Ottakkuttar]].<ref name=name>{{Cite book
| author = Amaresh
| title = The Encyclopaedia of Hindu literature
| publisher = Sahitya Akademi
| year = 2006
| page = 295
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ObFCT5_taSgC
| isbn = 978-81-260-1803-1}}</ref> She found great happiness in the life of small children. Her works, [[Ātticcūṭi]] and [[Konraiventhan]], written for young children, are even now generally read and enjoyed by them.

Her two other works, [[Mooturai]] and [[Nalvali]] were written for older children. All the four works are [[didactic]] in character—they explain the basic wisdom that should govern mundane life.

===Quotes===

The following quotes from [[Aathichoodi]] illustrate the simplicity of her style and profoundness of the messages:

{| border="1"
|-
!Uyir Ezhuthu !! ஆத்திசூடி !! English translation
|-
|| அ|| அறம் செய விரும்பு || Intend to do right things
|-
|| ஆ||ஆறுவது சினம் || Anger is momentary; do not take decisions during times of anger (in haste)
|-
||இ||இயல்வது கரவேல் || Help others based on your capacity
|-
||ஈ||ஈவது விலக்கேல் || Never stop aiding
|-
||உ||உடையது விளம்பேல் || Never boast possessions (wealth, skills, or knowledge)
|-
||ஊ||ஊக்கமது கைவிடேல் || Never lose hope or motivation
|-
||எ
||எண் எழுத்து இகழேல் || Never degrade learning
|-
||ஏ||ஏற்பது இகழ்ச்சி ||Begging is shameful
|-
||ஐ||ஐயமிட்டு உண் ||Share what you eat
|-
||ஒ||ஒப்புர வொழுகு || Be virtuous
|-
||ஓ||ஓதுவது ஒழியேல் || Never stop learning or reading
|-
||ஒள||ஒளவியம் பேசேல் || Never gossip
|-
||ஃ||அஃகஞ் சுருக்கேல்|| Never compromise in food grains
|-
|| ||'anuvai thulaithezh kadalai pugatti Kuruga tharitha kural'||Thirukkural is as powerful as the energy of the seven large oceans compressed into a divided atom.
|}

''"Thol Ulagil Nallaar Oruvar Ularael Avar Poruttu Ellarkum Peiyum Mazhai"'' – The rain falls on behalf of the virtuous, benefitting everyone in the world.

''"Nandri Oruvarukku Seithakkal An Nandri Endru tharum kol ena vaenda nindru Thalara valar thengu Thaanunda Neerai Thalaiyaalae Thaan Tharuthalal"'' -Don't wait for a return benefit as to when a good deed done will pay back, but be just like that tall and erect coconut tree that drank water from its feet gives the benefit of giving that sweet water by its head."

==Translation into English==
In 2009, [[Red Hen Press]] published a selection of Avvaiyar's poetry from the twelfth century, entitled ''Give, Eat, and Live: Poems by Avviyar''. The poems were selected and translated into English by Thomas Pruiksma,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thepoetsmagic.com/?page_id=66|title=Biography « The Poet's Magic}}</ref> a poet and translator who discovered Avviyar's work while on a [[Fulbright scholarship]] at [[The American College in Madurai]], Tamil Nadu, India.

==Further reading==
* Pruiksma, T. H. (2009). ''[http://muse.jhu.edu/book/17973 Give, eat, and live: Poems of Avvaiyar]''. Los Angeles, CA: [[Red Hen Press]].

==See also==
{{portal|Poetry}}
* [[Aathichoodi]]
* [[Abithana Chintamani]]
* [[Thiruvalluvar]]
* [[Thirukural]]

==Notes==
<references />
<references group="https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/512" />

==References==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |author=Edward Jewitt Robinson |title=Tamil Wisdom: Traditions Concerning Hindu Sages and Selections from Their Writings |url=https://archive.org/details/tamilwisdomtradi0000robi|year=2001 |publisher=Asian Educational Services |location = New Delhi|isbn=9788120615878 |ref={{sfnRef|Robinson, 2001}}}}
* Krishnamurti, Dr. C.R. (Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C. Canada) Thamizh Literature Through the Ages [http://tamilnation.org/literature/krishnamurti/07grammar.htm]
* Project Madurai – Purananuru eText – http://tamilnation.org/literature/ettuthokai/pm0057.pdf
* Project madurai – Avvaiyar works in PDF – http://tamilnation.org/literature/auvaiyar/pm002.pdf
* http://www.aathithamizharperavai.com/home.html
* https://web.archive.org/web/20110308182216/http://www.tn.gov.in/policynotes/archives/policy2004_05/hrce2004-05-3.htm
{{Refend}}

== External links ==
* [http://projectmadurai.org Project Madurai Homepage]
* [http://www.alchemywebsite.com/vinayaga.html Article in English about Vinayagar Agaval]
* [http://tamilnation.org/literature/auvaiyar/index.htm Avvaiyar & her Writings]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150608003648/http://vidyuthpublications.com/book/2/Auvaiyaars-Aathisoodi-Translated-into-English.html Aathisoodi Meaning in English] - Translated into English

{{Tamil language}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Hindu poets]]
[[Category:Tamil poets]]
[[Category:Indian women poets]]
[[Category:Hindu female religious leaders]]
[[Category:Tamil epic poets]]
[[Category:Tamil Hindu saints]]
[[Category:12th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:12th-century women writers]]

Avvaiyar (12th-century poet) - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article