Vannakkan Saathanar

Vannakkan Sāthanār (Tamil: வண்ணக்கஞ் சாத்தனார்) was a poet of the Sangam period to whom verse 43 of the Tiruvalluva Maalai.

Biography

Vannakkan Saathanar was a poet from the late Sangam period that corresponds between 1st century BCE and 2nd century CE. He was known for his erudition in Sanskrit. He also did a comparative study on Tamil and Sanskrit.^[1]

View on Valluvar and the Kural

Vannakkan Saathanar has authored verse 43 of the Tiruvalluva Maalai.^[1] He opines about Valluvar and the Kural text thus:^[2]

It is difficult to say whether the Sanskrit or the Tamil is the best: they are perhaps on a par, since the Sanskrit possesses the Vēda, and the Tamil the Cural, composed by the divine Valluvar. [Emphasis in original]

See also

• Sangam literature
• List of Sangam poets
• Tiruvalluva Maalai