Tiruvalluvar Rock Memorial

[Venkatraman Iyer]

     Esteemed Indology listers,

     When you visit India next time, please pay a visit to
     her southern tip, Kanyakumari. A huge memorial
     dedicated to the poet Tiruvalluvar standing 133 feet tall,
     and weighing 7000 tons of solid granite has been opened on
     Jan. 1, 2000. Considered to be the world's largest
     granite sculpture carved in the round, the 133 feet
     signify the number of chapters in the short text
     that Valluvar wrote. The pustakam in Valluvar's hand
     is 15 feet,his beard is 7 feet, the face about 15 feet.
     The statue was designed by Vai. Ganapathi Sthapathi
     who has many monuments in the Pallava-Chola style.
     For a look at Tiruvalluvar memorial, go to
     http://www.thedmk.org/thirukural/133.htm

     Secular in concepts, Tirukkural is full of compassion
     and love for humankind. It is unlike any other ancient
     literary product of India, emphasizing equality of all.


    "The maxims of Valluvar has touched my soul"
                         - Mahatma Gandhi

    "With sure strokes, the Kural draws the idea
     of simple ethical humanity. There hardly exists
     in literature of the world, a collection of
     maxims in which we find so much wisdom"
                         - Albert Schweitzer

    "Kural has entered into the very soul of a
     whole people. It proclaims in sweetest mystic
     couplets virtue, truth, wealth and joy"
                         - G. U. Pope
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