நாலடியார்
Nālaṭiyār — The Four-Line Anthology
Post-Sangam · c. 300–500 CE · Compiled by Jain Scholar-Poets
Four hundred ethical wisdom quatrains — each exactly four lines — organized into forty chapters and four books. The great Tamil anthology of practical wisdom: on impermanence, on learning and friendship, on right livelihood, on renunciation.
Four pillars of the ethical life
On the impermanence of wealth, youth, and the body; the affirmation of virtue; purity and renunciation; learning, wisdom, noble birth, and the qualities of the truly great.
On sweet speech, gratitude, and reading the right moment; cherishing kin; the nature and testing of true friendship; folly, ignorance, enmity, and vanity.
On false friendship and baseness; the householder's duties; keeping good company; right livelihood; freedom from envy; doing no harm; knowing one's duty; and the dignity of agriculture.
On avoiding bad company; truth and integrity; austerity; banishing sorrow; restraint of anger; responding to wrong with good; noble character; and the glory of those who have renounced the world.