ஆத்திசூடி

Aathichudi

By Avvaiyar · The Grandmother Poet

The Aathichudi — literally "she who wears aathi flowers" (an epithet of the goddess) — is a primer of moral instruction composed by Avvaiyar, the beloved poet revered as Tamil's grandmother of wisdom.

Each of the 109 short verses begins with a successive letter of the Tamil alphabet, starting with அறம் செய விரும்பு ("Desire to do righteousness") and proceeding through the vowels and consonants. For generations of Tamil children, these were the first ethical lessons committed to memory.

Each verse is presented here in five layers: the original Tamil, a romanized transliteration, an English meaning, a Tamil prose commentary (உரை), and an alternative English rendering.