Thiruvalluvar Statue

Thiruvalluvar Statue
திருவள்ளுவர் சிலை
Thiruvalluvar Statue in Kanyakumari
Map
8°04′40″N 77°33′14″E / 8.0777°N 77.5539°E / 8.0777; 77.5539
LocationKanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India
DesignerV. Ganapati Sthapati
TypeMonument (statue)
MaterialStone and concrete
Height40.6 m (133 ft)
Beginning date7 September 1990
Completion date1999
Opening date1 January 2000
Dedicated toValluvar, author of the Kural text

The Thiruvalluvar Statue, or the Valluvar Statue, is a 41-metre-tall(133 ft) stone sculpture of the Tamil poet and philosopher Valluvar, known as Thiruvalluvar, the author of the Thirukkural, an ancient Tamil work on Dharma and morality. It is located atop a small island near the town of Kanniyakumari on the southernmost point of the Indian peninsula in the state Tamil Nadu, India, where two seas (the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea) and an ocean (the Indian Ocean) meet. The statue was sculpted by Indian sculptor V. Ganapati Sthapati, who also created the Iraivan Temple, and was unveiled on the millennium day of 1 January 2000 by the then Chief Minister M. Kalaignar Karunanidhi. It is currently the 25th tallest statue in India.