Tirukkural - 'ON VIRTUE' - In Praise Of God - Kural - 9

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1. Kholil poriyil kunamilavae, enkunattaan
   Taalai vanankaat talai.

'The head that does not bow before the Lord of eight attributes, in prayer, is like a body with all its senses defunct.

The head that does not bow to the Lord of eight (or infinite) attributes is compared to the eye that does not see, the tongue that is mute, etc. Parimelalagar refers to the senses without their 'ideals', which sounds sublime but does not take us anywhere. But Manakudavar is more pertinent here, when he compares the head that does not bow before the Lord, to 'the dolls with lifeless organs'. The Pazhaya Urai and Parithi also follow the same line.

Another point of interpretation in this Kural is the description of God as 'Enkunattaan' the 'eight-traited Lord'. Silappadikaaram refers to God as 'Enkunnan' (10,188). These eight qualities according to the Saivite Philosophy are (1) Self-dependence, (2) Immaculate body, (3) Natural Understanding, (4) Omniscience, (5) Infinite Detachment, (6) Infinite Mercy, (7) Omnipotence and (8) Limitless Bliss. Again it is a moot point of interpretation whether the Lord is really described by the poet here, as 'Enkunattaan' to mean 'Ettukunattaan', or Ennarkariya Kunattaan' to mean 'the Lord of countless attributes'.

In the Gita (10,40) Lord Krishna says 'there is no end to My divine attributes'. The latter is akin to the view held by Christian Philosophers. Spinoza also referred to God as 'Consisting of infinite and eternal attributes'.

The Jains believe that the soul that overcomes the eightfold karmas, attains the eightfold qualities:

(1) Infinite knowledge (2) Infinite vision (3) Infinite energy, (4) Infinite joy (5) Indescribability (6) Without a beginning (7) Agelessness and (8) Deathlessness.

This is also one of the Kurals cited by some to prove Valluvar's Jain origin. But in the face of the above discussions we can only say that he was well versed in Jain philosophy.