Idaikaadar (Tamil: இடைக்காடர்) was a Tamil siddhar of the Sangam period. He authored verse 54 of the Tiruvalluva Maalai.[1]
Unlike Idaikaadanar of the Sangam period, who was a poet by profession, Idaikaadar was a siddhar.[2] Idaikaadar hailed from Idaikattur near Madurai.[1] He belongs to the Idaikkali country.[3] He is known for composing poems with excellent exemplifications. He has written in praise of the Chola King Kulamuttratthu Thunjiya Killi Valavan (Purananuru verse 42).[3] He has also authored the grammar text "Oosimuri".[3]
He is believed to have attained jeeva samadhi at Thiruvannamalai.[1] He hosted navagrahas during a famine. A small navagraha temple remains at the site today at Idaikattur.[citation needed]
Verse 54 of the Tiruvalluva Maalai, an encomium written on Valluvar and the Kural literature, is attributed to Idaikaadar. The verse suggests, "Valluvar pierced a mustard and injected seven seas into it and compressed it into what we have today as Kural."[4] It can be noted that Avvaiyar fortified the meaning of this verse by replacing the first word "mustard" with the word "atom."[5] He is one of the two contributors of the Tiruvalluva Maalai who have penned the verse in the Kural venba metre, the other one being Avvaiyar.[1]
Idaikkadar opines about Valluvar and the Kural text thus:[6]
The Cural contains much in a little compass. Such is the ingenuity of its author, that he has compressed within its narrow limits all the branches of knowledge, as if he had hollowed a mustard seed, and enclosed all the waters of the seven seas in it. [Emphasis in original]
