Chennai, April 16 Tamil Nadu Minister for Tamil Development, Information and Publicity, M.P. Saminathan, has announced that a statue of the revered Tamil poet, philosopher, and saint Thiruvalluvar will be installed at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi at an estimated cost of Rs 50 lakh.
According to the minister, the statue will be erected near the International Auditorium on the JNU campus. The initiative aims to promote the timeless values of Thiruvalluvar’s literary masterpiece, the Thirukkural, among students and scholars across the country.
The announcement follows an earlier commitment made by JNU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit during a function commemorating Tamil poet Subramania Bharathi, where she stated that a statue of Thiruvalluvar would be established on campus.
Thiruvalluvar is the author of the Thirukkural, an ancient Tamil text consisting of 1,330 couplets that cover the moral, economic, and emotional dimensions of life, grouped under three main sections: Aram (Virtue), Porul (Wealth), and Inbam (Love).
It may be noted that a 41-metre-tall (135 ft) stone statue of Thiruvalluvar already stands on a small island off the coast of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu. Sculpted by renowned architect V. Ganapati Sthapati, who also designed the Iraivan Temple in Hawaii, the statue was inaugurated on January 1, 2000, by then Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi to mark the new millennium. On January 1, 2025, during its silver jubilee celebrations, the Tamil Nadu government officially designated the monument as the ‘Statue of Wisdom’.
The statue’s combined height, including its 38-foot (12-metre) pedestal, is 133 feet, symbolising the 133 chapters of the Thirukkural. The pedestal represents the 38 chapters of Virtue, while the statue itself embodies the themes of Wealth and Love. Thiruvalluvar’s right hand, with three fingers pointing skyward, signifies the unity of the three sections of the Kural.
Positioned at 61 metres (200 feet) above sea level, the monument also features a graceful bend at the waist, reminiscent of the cosmic dance poses of Hindu deities like Nataraja. The entire structure weighs approximately 7,000 tonnes.
The proposed statue at JNU is expected to serve as a cultural bridge and an enduring symbol of Tamil heritage in the national capital.
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