Valluvar Kottam in chennai is a monument built to pay homage to the great Tamil Poet and Saint Thiruvalluvar.Valluvar Kottam, located at the intersection of the Kodambakkam High road and the Village road, is one of the modern landmarks of Chennai, India.

The Valluvar Kottam memorial to the poet-saint Thiruvalluvar is shaped like a temple chariot and is, in fact, the replica of the temple chariot in Thiruvarur. A life-size statue of the saint has been installed in the chariot which is 33m. tall.Thiruvalluvar’s significant contribution to Tamil literature is in the form of Thirukkural. As a tribute, 133 verses from the same literary work have been inscribed at the base of the chariot. In order to achieve this task, 3000 blocks of stones were required at time of the construction.

Valluvar Kottam

The auditorium in Valluvar Kottam is huge and can accommodate about 4000 people. It stands as a modern memorial to the great poet who represents the glorious culture of the Tamils. Thirukkural, the verses of Poet Thiruvalluvar, are inscribed on the granite pillars that surround the auditorium and amazingly, it has got no pillars for support.

The monument was constructed in 1976 in memory of Thiruvalluvar, the classical Tamil poet and saint who wrote his famous Thirukkurals about 2,000 years before.The architect of the memorial is South Indian traditional architect Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati.

It is important to note that Valluvar Kottam now stands at a point which was the deepest point of a lake located in the area. All the roads around the area are associated with a tank referred to as the Mylapore Long tank.The area where the Valluvar Kottam now stands was actually an irrigation lake that was used to water the fertile fields beyond its ‘bund’ in what is now T.Nagar. Now you know why the area behind it is still referred to as ‘lake area’!.Kodambakkam High Road runs atop the Southern part of the bund, while what is now Valluvar Kottam High Road leading to Village Road runs atop the Eastern part of the bund. In fact Valluvar Kottam High Road used to be called ‘Lake Bund Road’ in those days.

Enjoy a visit to Valluvar Kottam (Thiruvalluvar Monument) in a city trip to Chennai, India.