Naladiyar

One of the most important pieces of
early Tamil literature, along with its predecessor, the Tirukkural. The Naladiyar
is a collection of four hundred verses
that date from the fifth or sixth century.
Mainly concerned with moral and ethical life, the verses were written by a
group of Jain monks who found shelter
with a pious king in time of famine. In
gratitude each monk wrote one verse.
Despite the Naladiyar’s sectarian origin,
it has become the cultural property of
Tamils from all religious communities;
many of the verses have come into the
language as proverbial sayings.