Thirukkural talks about birth and death, comparing them to sleep and waking. Death is akin to sleep, while waking up is like birth, according to Thiruvalluvar. There are many similarities between death and sleep, said Malayaman in a discourse. When we are in deep sleep, we do not see what is going on around us. And often we do not even hear the noises around us, and continue to sleep undisturbed by them. When we die, all our sense organs stop functioning. Death may come to an old man or to a young woman, or a child. There is no telling when and whom it will take away. Likewise, sleep too is common to all. We can never anticipate when we are going to die. Nor can we predict when we will fall asleep. On some days, we may toss and turn in our beds and be unable to sleep. On other days, we may go to sleep the minute we lie down. When we sleep, we forget our worries, only to start worrying again when we wake up. While sleep gives us temporary relief from anxieties, death relieves us of worries permanently.
The comparison of sleep to death and birth to waking is seen in other Tamil works too. Tamil poet Seethalai Chathanar, author of Manimekalai, said that the death of those who are born in this world, and the birth of those who have departed from this world, is like sleep and waking. He repeats the idea in another verse, where he says that those born in this world die and those who are dead take birth again in this world. Kovil Nanmani malai says that death and birth can happen in just a second. Kamban says that the rising of the Sun in the East and its setting in the West are like the birth and death of man. Given the uncertainty of life, and the impermanence of life, it is best to seek liberation from births and deaths.
