A great thinker and philosopher, Tiruvalluvar’s concept of God is not related to any religious conviction or creed. In fact, a search for the meaning of God in the Tirukkural is likely to lead each eager reader to draw his own conclusion from whatever has been said on this issue by the poet, pointed out Sri Nallur Sa Saravanan in a discourse.
The first set of ten verses are dedicated to God, herein His incomparable and infinite nature are aptly indicated in the term ‘en gunathan.’ Many explain ‘en guna’ as the eight basic gunas or attributes of God spoken of in the agama sastra. Or it is explained on the basis of the broad classification of human nature into the three categories, satva, rajas and tamas. But, considering the antiquity of the text, the ideal approach should factor the social and linguistic context of the author’s time and era. Since this text lays emphasis on virtuous and righteous living, the author discusses ‘gunam,' virtue, panbu,' values, 'anbu,' love, 'ozhukkam,' righteousness, and such allied topics in depth.
In these instances, the term 'en' is used to convey the sense of simplicity, modesty, humility, and so on. On this basis, ‘gunam’ can be understood as that which is manifest as action guided by one’s inherent knowledge of right and wrong. We know from experience that wrong behaviour and mistakes will only bring sorrow in one’s life. Traditional values such as respect to elders, strong family ties, regard for fellow human beings, etc, are found in various sections of the text. Whatever may be one’s state in life, his vocation, his family background, his scholarship, and so on, it is modesty and simplicity that add excellence to a human being. The poet shows that the nature or dharma of the Supreme God is His infinite noble values, especially simplicity, a virtue that becomes evident as His accessibility and compassion.
