Vannakkan Saathanar

Vannakkan Sāthanār (Tamil: வண்ணக்கஞ் சாத்தனார்) was a poet of the Sangam period to whom verse 43 of the Tiruvalluva Maalai.

Biography

Vannakkan Saathanar was a poet from the late Sangam period that corresponds between 1st century BCE and 2nd century CE. He was known for his erudition in Sanskrit. He also did a comparative study on Tamil and Sanskrit.

View on Valluvar and the Kural

Vannakkan Saathanar has authored verse 43 of the Tiruvalluva Maalai. He opines about Valluvar and the Kural text thus:

It is difficult to say whether the Sanskrit or the Tamil is the best: they are perhaps on a par, since the Sanskrit possesses the Vēda, and the Tamil the Cural, composed by the divine Valluvar. [Emphasis in original]

See also

• Sangam literature
• List of Sangam poets
• Tiruvalluva Maalai

References

• Edward Jewitt Robinson (2001). Tamil Wisdom: Traditions Concerning Hindu Sages and Selections from Their Writings. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services.
• Vedanayagam, Rama (2017). திருவள்ளுவ மாலை மூலமும் எளிய உரை விளக்கமும் [Tiruvalluva Maalai: Moolamum Eliya Urai Vilakkamum] (in Tamil) (1 ed.). Chennai: Manimekalai Prasuram.