Thiruvalluvar Statue
Encyclopedia
The Thiruvalluvar Statue is a 133 feet (40.5 m) tall stone sculpture of the Tamil
poet and saint Tiruvalluvar
, author of the Thirukkural. It was opened on January 1, 2000 (Millennium) and is located atop a small island near the town of Kanyakumari, where two seas and an ocean meet; the Bay of Bengal
, the Arabian Sea
, and the Indian Ocean
.
The statue has a height of 95 feet (29 m) and stands upon a 38 foot (11.5 m) pedestal that represents the 38 chapters of "virtue" in the Thirukkural. The statue standing on the pedestal represents "wealth" and "pleasure", signifying that wealth and love be earned and enjoyed on the foundation of solid virtue.
The combined height of the statue and pedestal is 133 feet (40.5 m), denoting the 133 chapters in the Thirukkural. It has a total weight of 7000 tons.
The statue, with its slight bend around the waist is reminiscent of a dancing pose of the ancient Indian deities like Nataraja
. It was sculpted by the Indian sculptor Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati, who also created the Iraivan Temple
.
This monument was hit by the Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 26, 2004.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvyPv3einJM&feature=related
In 1979, the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai
laid the foundation stone for the statue. However, the installation and the sculpting work began on September 6, 1990, on the tiny island adjacent to Vivekananda Rock Memorial
when funds were allocated in the 1990-91 budget. Initially, the project stalled but then recommenced in 1997 and was completed on January 1, 2000. At the cost of more than US$1 million (INR 61.4 million), it employed about 150 workers, sculptors, assistants and supervisors. The slight bend around the waist made the design challenging. Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati solved the problem by creating a full-length wooden prototype
before construction. Study of this prototype led to the identification of an energy line (known in Vastu science as kayamadhyasutra), currently an empty cavity in the center of the statue from top to bottom. Sthapati designed the statue to survive earthquakes of unexpected magnitude.
The stone work was divided amongst three workshops, in Kanyakumari, Ambasamudram
and Shankarapuram. Ambasamudram contributed 5,000 tons of stones, while Shankarapuram was quarried for 2,000 tons of high quality granite
stones for the outer portion of the statue. While the largest of the 3,681 stones weighed over 15 tons, the majority weighed three to eight tons. An interesting detail is the 19-foot-high face, with the ears, nose, eyes, mouth, forehead all made of individual stones carved by hand. Stumps of palmyra
tree and poles of casuarina
(ironwood
) were used for scaffolding
. It took 18,000 casuarina poles tied together with two truckloads of ropes to reach the top of the statue.
Tamil people
Tamil people , also called Tamils or Tamilians, are an ethnic group native to Tamil Nadu, India and the north-eastern region of Sri Lanka. Historic and post 15th century emigrant communities are also found across the world, notably Malaysia, Singapore, Mauritius, South Africa, Australia, Canada,...
poet and saint Tiruvalluvar
Tiruvalluvar
Thiruvalluvar , or Tiruvalluvar, was a celebrated Tamil poet whose contribution to Tamil literature is the Thirukkural, a work on ethics. Thiruvalluvar is thought to have lived sometime between the 2nd century BC and the 8th century AD. This estimate is based on linguistic analysis of his writings,...
, author of the Thirukkural. It was opened on January 1, 2000 (Millennium) and is located atop a small island near the town of Kanyakumari, where two seas and an ocean meet; the Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
, the Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...
, and the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
.
The statue has a height of 95 feet (29 m) and stands upon a 38 foot (11.5 m) pedestal that represents the 38 chapters of "virtue" in the Thirukkural. The statue standing on the pedestal represents "wealth" and "pleasure", signifying that wealth and love be earned and enjoyed on the foundation of solid virtue.
The combined height of the statue and pedestal is 133 feet (40.5 m), denoting the 133 chapters in the Thirukkural. It has a total weight of 7000 tons.
The statue, with its slight bend around the waist is reminiscent of a dancing pose of the ancient Indian deities like Nataraja
Nataraja
Nataraja or Nataraj , The Lord of Dance; Tamil: கூத்தன் ;Telugu:నటరాజ is a depiction of the Hindu god Shiva as the cosmic dancer Koothan who performs his divine dance to destroy a weary universe and make preparations for god Brahma to start the process of creation...
. It was sculpted by the Indian sculptor Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati, who also created the Iraivan Temple
Iraivan temple
The San Marga Iraivan Temple is a white granite stone Hindu temple sculpted in India and currently under construction on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The temple is dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva. "Iraivan" means "He who is worshipped," and is one of the oldest words for God in the Tamil...
.
This monument was hit by the Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 26, 2004.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvyPv3einJM&feature=related
Construction
Morarji Desai
Morarji Ranchhodji Desai was an Indian independence activist and the fourth Prime Minister of India from 1977–79. He was the first Indian Prime Minister who did not belong to the Indian National Congress...
laid the foundation stone for the statue. However, the installation and the sculpting work began on September 6, 1990, on the tiny island adjacent to Vivekananda Rock Memorial
Vivekananda Rock Memorial
Vivekananda Rock Memorial is a sacred monument and popular tourist attraction in Vavathurai, Kanyakumari, India. The memorial stands on one of two rocks located about 500 meters off mainland of Vavathurai, India's southernmost tip...
when funds were allocated in the 1990-91 budget. Initially, the project stalled but then recommenced in 1997 and was completed on January 1, 2000. At the cost of more than US$1 million (INR 61.4 million), it employed about 150 workers, sculptors, assistants and supervisors. The slight bend around the waist made the design challenging. Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati solved the problem by creating a full-length wooden prototype
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...
before construction. Study of this prototype led to the identification of an energy line (known in Vastu science as kayamadhyasutra), currently an empty cavity in the center of the statue from top to bottom. Sthapati designed the statue to survive earthquakes of unexpected magnitude.
The stone work was divided amongst three workshops, in Kanyakumari, Ambasamudram
Ambasamudram
Ambasamudram is a taluk in Tirunelveli district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. The entire taluk had a population of 392,226 as of 2001, with 42.5% classified as rural. The taluk is named for the principal town with the same name...
and Shankarapuram. Ambasamudram contributed 5,000 tons of stones, while Shankarapuram was quarried for 2,000 tons of high quality granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
stones for the outer portion of the statue. While the largest of the 3,681 stones weighed over 15 tons, the majority weighed three to eight tons. An interesting detail is the 19-foot-high face, with the ears, nose, eyes, mouth, forehead all made of individual stones carved by hand. Stumps of palmyra
Palmyra
Palmyra was an ancient city in Syria. In the age of antiquity, it was an important city of central Syria, located in an oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus and 180 km southwest of the Euphrates at Deir ez-Zor. It had long been a vital caravan city for travellers crossing the Syrian desert...
tree and poles of casuarina
Casuarina
Casuarina is a genus of 17 species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australasia, southeast Asia, and islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It was once treated as the sole genus in the family, but has been split into three genera .They are evergreen shrubs and trees growing to 35 m tall...
(ironwood
Ironwood
Ironwood is a common name for a large number of woods that have a reputation for hardness. Usage of the name may include the tree that yields this wood...
) were used for scaffolding
Scaffolding
Scaffolding is a temporary structure used to support people and material in the construction or repair of buildings and other large structures. It is usually a modular system of metal pipes or tubes, although it can be from other materials...
. It took 18,000 casuarina poles tied together with two truckloads of ropes to reach the top of the statue.