The Nālaṭiyār is a Tamil poetic work of didactic nature belonging to the Eighteen Lesser Texts anthology of Tamil literature. This belongs to the post Sangam period corresponding to between 100 and 500 CE. Nālaṭiyār contains 400 poems, each containing four lines. Every poem deals with morals and ethics, extolling righteous behaviour.
Etymology
The term Naladiyar is derived from the Tamil terms Naalu, a colloquial form of Naangu meaning “four”, adi meaning metrical feet or poetic metre, and aar referring to a honorific suffix. Thus Naladiyar refers to the work that contains four-lined verse. The work is also termed Naaladi Naanooru, meaning "four hundred quatrains," since it has 400 verses in total.
Didactic nature
Nālaṭiyār was composed by Jain monks. It is divided into three sections, the first section focusing on the importance of virtuous life, second section on the governance and management of wealth, and the third smaller section on the pleasures. Nālaṭiyār is unique in the employment of similes, which help to teach the moral codes using simple examples from daily life. For example, one of the poems states that just like a calf placed in front of a vast herd of cows seeks out its mother unerringly and attaches itself, the deeds of the pasthome in on the doer and exact their price unfailingly.
Commentaries and translations
Naladiyar remains the highly praised ancient didactic text in Tamil next only to the Tirukkural. Several commentaries have appeared on the text, which includes three ancient commentaries. The three ancient commentaries were those by Padumanar, Dharumar, and an anonymous poet. The Nalidiyar was translated into English by G. U. Pope and F. J. Leeper.
Reception
The Naladiyar is next only to the Tirukkural in fame among the Tamil literary works. Along with the Tirukkural, it is one of the first books published in Tamil, when it came to print from palm leaf manuscriptsfor the first time in 1812. There is an old Tamil proverb praising the Nālaṭiyār that says "Nālaṭiyār and the Tirukkural are very good in expressing human thoughts just as the twigs of the banyan and the neem trees are good in maintaining the teeth."
