maxims, aphorism, thought provoking and appealing ideals have attained the status of proverbs owing to wide popularity and currency among the people. Though they are not proverbs in the ntrict and technical sense of the term, for all practical purponen they may be considered as proverbs having in view their wide popularity and currency. For instance, the maxims of Avvaiyar, the poetess of Tamil Nadu, who flourished in the 10th century A. D. popular both among the educated and the mannen. Likewise, the appealing and attractive ideas of the Kannadu Poets and scholars have attained the status of proverbs. For instance, the words of Basavanna “Devanobha Numa halavu* (*God is one but names are many°) have become very popular and gained the proverbial status. All such maxims pregnant with profound meaning can be treated as proverbs, in the broad sense of the term. To conclude, there are thousands of proverbs in Tamil and Kannada in, various points of agreement. Some proverbs are identical, many are similar and most are parallel. It is practically certain that a comparative study of Tamil and Kannada proverbiology will strengthen the cultural unity and affinity between the Tamils and the Kannadigas.
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