Avvaiyar (Sangam poet)

This article is about the Sangam period poet. For other uses, see Avvaiyar (disambiguation).
Statue of Avvaiyar at Marina Beach, Chennai

Avvaiyar (Tamil: ஔவையார்) was a Tamil poet who lived during the Sangam period and is said to have had cordial relations with the Tamil chieftains Vēl Pāri and Athiyamān. She wrote 59 poems in the Puṟanāṉūṟu.[1] A plaque on a statue of the poet in Chennai suggests the first century BCE for her birthdate.[2][3] The name Avvaiyar means a 'respectable good woman', hence a generic title; her personal name is not known.[4]

  1. ^ "News Archives". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013.
  2. ^ Subramanian, V. K. (1996). Sacred Songs of India. Abhinav Publications. p. 105. ISBN 978-81-7017-420-2.
  3. ^ Sah, Purnima (11 September 2019). "Tracing the significance of statues along the Marina stretch". The Times of India. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  4. ^ Mukherjee, Sujit (1999). A dictionary of Indian literature. India: Orient Blackswan. p. 32. ISBN 978-81-250-1453-9.