The Eight-Fold mystery of Valluva’s faith

Thirukkural with the Times explores real-world lessons from the classic Tamil text ‘Thirukkural’. Written by Tamil poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar, the Kural consists of 1,330 short couplets of seven words each. This text is divided into three books with teachings on virtue, wealth, and love and is considered one of the great works ever on ethics and morality. The Kural has influenced scholars and leaders across social, political, and philosophical spheres.Motivational speaker, author and diversity champion Bharathi Bhaskar explores the masterpiece.In the opening chapter of the introductory section of the Thirukkural, Valluvar performs a rare literary feat—dedicating ten couplets solely to exalting the Divine, never revealing—even faintly—his own religious affiliation.The God he praises is cloaked in universality. His words, though deeply reverent, are so free of sectarian markers that the divine he invokes could be an embodiment of virtues. Over the centuries, commentators have drawn from the wells of Saiva Siddhantha, Vaishnavism, Jainism, Buddhism, the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible, and even Zoroastrianism to interpret these verses.Yet, the ambiguity has ignited a literary debate among Tamil scholars: Who was Valluvar? What was his faith?Thiru V Kalyanasundaranar and Vayapuri Pillai, both erudite scholars, suggest that the spiritual overtones of the first chapter hint at Jain influences. On the other hand, Thiru Vajravel Mudhaliyar sees the soul of Kural steeped in Saiva Siddhanta. Christian missionary-scholar G U Pope declared that the Kural echoed the Sermon on the Mount. Opinions differ, but there is near-universal agreement on one point: Valluvar wrote for the universal human—unbound by religious identity, yet deeply spiritual.The most debated verse in this opening chapter is the ninth couplet, where God is described as ‘the One who possesses the Eight-Fold Excellence’.Curiously, Valluvar does not elaborate on what these eight attributes are. Perhaps, in his time, they needed no clarification. Or he left it open, inviting seekers to look within and interpret for themselves.Saiva Siddhanta describes the eight traits as supreme grace, omnipotence, incomparability, pure intelligence, omniscience, detachment, infinite bliss, and absolute purity.Jainism, meanwhile, speaks of the eight divine signs that adorn a Tirthankara, the enlightened guide—divine seat, halo, celestial fan, triple umbrella, Ashoka tree, floral rain, heavenly music, and divine proclamation. Jain philosophy also speaks of eight karmic bonds from which the soul must liberate itself—karmas that obscure knowledge, perception, obstruct effort, create delusion, determine body, status, emotion, and lifespan.Some scholars who consider Valluvar as a Siddhar, attribute the couplet to the eight supernatural faculties associated with enlightenment.Amidst this swirl of interpretations, a quiet yet profound insight was once offered by a teacher of mine. She asked: Why did Valluvar place this couplet ninth in the sequence?I had no answer.She smiled and said, “Look at the first eight couplets. Each one praises the Divine with a unique attribute. The ninth simply gathers them all—referring to God as the One who embodies these eight virtues already described.”A moment of revelation. Simple, yet powerful.Indeed, the preceding eight couplets refer to God in eight exalted ways:Then comes the ninth, the verse that sparked centuries of debate:"Kolil pori-yir gunam ilave enn gunaththaanThaalai vanangaa thalai."Palsied and pointless is the headThat bows not to the One of Eight-Fold Grace.What a line—soft in its cadence, sharp in its implication.In leaving the Divine unnamed and unclaimed, Valluvar did more than avoid controversy. He handed us a mirror polished with humility and universality. Name and form of the God matters, he seems to say, but the virtues we see in the Divine—and seek in ourselves, matter even more.