Kulapathi Nāyanār (Tamil: குலபதி நயனார்), also known as Kulapathiyār, was a poet of the Sangam period to whom verse 48 of the Tiruvalluva Maalai is attributed.

Kulapathi Nāyanār was a poet belonging to the late Sangam period that corresponds between 1st century BCE and 2nd century CE. He is believed to be the head of his clan.^[1]

Kulapathi Nāyanār has authored verse 48 of the Tiruvalluva Maalai.^[1] He opines about Valluvar and the Kural text thus:^[2]

As the Cural of Valluvar causes the lotus-flower of the heart to expand, and dispels from it the darkness which cannot otherwise be dispelled, it may well be compared to the hot-rayed sun, which causes the lotus-flower of the tank to expand, and dispels the darkness from the face of the earth. [Emphasis in original]

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Tiruvalluva Maalai

• Sangam literature
• List of Sangam poets
• Tiruvalluva Maalai