Manakkudavar

Manakkudavar (c. 10th century CE) was a Tamil scholar and commentator known for his commentary on the Tirukkural. His is the earliest of the available commentaries on the Kural text, and hence considered to bear closest semblance with the original work by Valluvar. He was among the canon of Ten Medieval Commentators of the Kural text most highly esteemed by scholars. He was also among the five ancient commentators whose commentaries had been preserved and made available to the Modern era, the others being Pari Perumal, Kaalingar, Paridhi, and Parimelalhagar. The commentary of Manakkudavar remains the second most popular commentary on the Kural text, next only to that of Parimelalhagar. Little is known about Manakkudavar in comparison with other medieval commentators. This is partly due to lack of any introductory texts in his commentary. There is no information about his parents either. Manakkudavar is believed to have been born in Manakkudi, from which he came to be referred to as "Manakkudiyaar", and later as "Manakkudavar". Since there are several towns in Tamil Nadu bearing the name "Manakkudi", it is difficult to pinpoint which of these towns was his home town. It is also said that "Manakkudi" is also the name of his clan. He lived around the 10th century CE. He was the oldest of the ten medieval commentators. Manakkudavar's mentioning about several earlier interpretations in various places in his commentary, including his explications to couplets 17 and 389, reveals that there were several earlier commentaries on the Kural literature before his time, which are now completely lost. In spite of his erudition, Mannakkudavar sounds very humble throughout the writing of his commentary to the Kural literature. Manakkudavar belonged to the Jain community. This is revealed in various places in his commentary, such as his explanations given to couplets 1, 3, 268, 352, 377, 398, 429, 622, 627, and 1103. Manakkudavar's commentary features a simple and lucid flow of language.