02.06.2026

 02.06.2026

#Condemnation for Vaiko and Vairamuthu for Insulting the Governor; Condemnation for Vaiko, Leader of MDMK, and Poet Vairamuthu, for Disrespecting the Governor Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party, State President #NainarNagenthiran Statement ---------- It is highly condemnable that the Honorable Governor, along with the State Minister and MDMK leader Vaiko, as well as poet Vairamuthu and some other party leaders, have expressed their views using derogatory words regarding the saffron attire of Thiruvalluvar. The current image of Thiruvalluvar wearing white attire, which is being celebrated by the Tamil Nadu government today, is the painting of Thiruvalluvar drawn by artist K.R. Venu Gopal Sharma during the Congress regime in 1964. To know that Thiruvalluvar was indeed like this, one should personally visit and see his idol in the Thiruvalluvar Temple located in Mylapore, which was established in the early period, that is, in the 18th and 19th centuries. The imaginative depiction of Valluvar by Venu Gopal Sharma, recognized by the Tamil Nadu government, was first unveiled on March 23, 1964, in the Madras State Legislative Assembly by the then President of India, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. Even though it was drawn based on the assumption of artist Mr. Venu Gopal Sharma, it is well known to everyone that he drew the picture of Thiruvalluvar taking as the basis the depictions of Thiruvalluvar with vibhuti and rudraksha garland from places like Dharmapura, Chettinad, and some other locations belonging to the 18th and 19th centuries. When Sharma drew this picture, it was created during the tenure of Mr. Bhaktavatsalam, who was then the Education Minister and later the Chief Minister; at that time, DMK was the opposition party. Mr. Bhaktavatsalam, Mr. Anna, Mr. Navalar Nedunchezhiyan, and Mr. Kalaignar Karunanidhi all viewed and approved this painting by Venu Gopal Sharma. Later, when DMK came to power in 1967, this picture was declared the official government image and placed in schools, colleges, and government offices. In particular, in the special volume released on the birth anniversary of the 25th Guru Mahaan Sannidhanam of Dharmapura Adheenam, Mr. Subramania Desikar, and Swami Gnanananda Paramachari, it was verified by scholar Thandapani Desikar in the Tamil Vikruti year when Dharmapura Adheenam published the Thirukkural in three volumes in the 1950s. In that book, Thiruvalluvar is depicted seated with a stripe of sacred ash and wearing a rudraksha garland. For nearly a century, such images have been released in this manner. Saiva scholars refer to Thiruvalluvar as Thiruvalluvar Nayanar and Theivappulavar. Thiruvalluvar lived at least 2500 years ago. During that era, Hindu Sanathana Dharma was flourishing. Keeping that in mind, in the invocation to God section of his Thirukkural, Thiruvalluvar has praised and sung the glory of the Supreme Being, Adhiparavan. Even though Adi Shankaracharya formalized Hinduism about 1993 years ago, the Sanathana way of life was already in practice before that. Afterward, Hinduism also encompassed those life principles. Similarly, Islam emerged about 1416 years ago, and Christianity about 2000 years ago. Thiruvalluvar was born in the Tamil month of Vaikasi under the Anusham star, which is why his birth anniversary, Vaikasi Anusham, is celebrated grandly across the nation as Thiruvalluvar Day. Thiruvalluvar has mentioned in his couplets deities associated with Hinduism such as Thiruvikraman, Vishnu, Lakshmi, Brahma, Yama, Indra, and Adhiparavan. Furthermore, in his couplets, he has emphasized the life ethics of Sanathana Dharma, such as aram (virtue), porul (wealth), inbam (pleasure), and moksha (liberation), as well as austerity. In many couplets, Thiruvalluvar has recorded his beliefs in Hinduism and Sanathana. What does it matter what attire Thiruvalluvar wore? He was a Hindu! Let followers of other religions add their own colors according to their beliefs. The Saiva Adheenams of Tamil Nadu, such as Kundrakudi, Thiruvavaduthurai, Dharmapura, Madurai, and Perur, continue to wear saffron attire to this day.1/2