Avvaiyar (12th-century poet)

This article is about the 12th-century poet. For other uses, see Avvaiyar (disambiguation).

Avvaiyar (Tamil: ஔவையார்) was a Tamil poet who lived during the period of Kambar and Ottakoothar during the reign of the Chola dynasty in the twelfth century.[1] She is often imagined as an old and intelligent lady by Tamil people. Many poems and the Avvai Kural, comprising 310 kurals in 31 chapters, belong to this period. She is most widely known for her 'Aathichoodi', 'Kondrai Vendhan', 'Nalvazhi' and 'Moodhurai'.[2][3] The name Avvaiyar means a 'respectable good woman', hence a generic title; her personal name is not known.[4]

  1. ^ Dalal, Roshen (18 April 2014). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin UK. p. 242. ISBN 978-81-8475-277-9.
  2. ^ [B. Ramadevi]
  3. ^ Ramadevi, B. (3 March 2014). "The saint of the masses". The Hindu.
  4. ^ Mukherjee, Sujit (1999). A dictionary of Indian literature. India: Orient Blackswan. p. 32. ISBN 978-81-250-1453-9.