There are unauthentic hagiographic and legendary accounts of Valluvar's life, and all major Indian religions, as well as Christian missionaries of the 19th century, have tried to claim him as secretly inspired (crypto-) or originally belonging to their tradition.

[10][11] Valluvar has influenced a wide range of scholars down the ages since his time across the ethical, social, political, economical, religious, philosophical, and spiritual spheres.

According to Zvelebil, Valluvar was "probably a learned Jain with eclectic leanings and intimate acquaintance with the early works of Tamil classical period and some knowledge of the Sanskrit legal and didactic texts (subhashita)".

[24] S. Vaiyapuri Pillai suggested Valluvar derived his name from "Valluvan" (a Paraiyar caste of royal drummers) and theorized that he was "the chief of the proclaiming boys analogous to a trumpet-major of an army".

[29] The poem claims that the couple had seven children, including three sons (Valluvar, Kapilar, and Atikaman) and four sisters (Avvai, Uppai, Uruvai, and Velli).

[35] During his return journey, he sits under a tree whose shadow sits still over Valluvar and does not move the entire day, he kills a demon, performs miracles such as causing floods and making them retreat, he touches a grounded ship which miraculously then floats and sails off, his bride Vasuki cooks sand which comes out as boiled rice, and many more.

[35] Scholars consider these and all associated aspects of these hagiographic stories to be fiction and ahistorical, a feature common to "international and Indian folklore".

Their claim was based on an old Kani tribal leader who told them that Valluvar was a king who ruled the "Valluvanadu" territory in the hilly tracts of the Kanyakumari district.

[61][62] There are exceptions, adds Zvelebil, when Valluvar treats this God with epithets found in the Hindu text Manusmriti (1.6), that is, "the Primeval Lord" and "the King, the Monarch".

[60] Zvelebil states that his proposal is supported by the 13th-century Hindu scholar Parimelalhagar, who wrote a commentary on the Kural text, who admitted that these epithets are "very well applicable" to a Jain Arhat.

[60] Zvelebil theorizes that he was probably "a learned Jain with eclectic leanings", who was well-acquainted with the earlier Tamil literature and also had knowledge of the Sanskrit texts.

[66] While the text extols the virtue of non-violence, it also dedicates many of 700 porul couplets to various aspects of statecraft and warfare in a manner similar to Arthasastra:[67] "An army has a duty to kill in battle, and a king must execute criminals for justice.

[67] According to M. S. Purnalingam Pillai, Valluvar has not condemned Saiva Siddhanta or its principles anywhere in the text, which he says is the crucial test to be applied in determining his religion.

[66][71] According to Norman Cutler, the prodigious 13th-century Tamil scholar Parimelalakar – who wrote the most influential commentary on Tirukkuṟaḷ – interprets the layout and focus on the Valluvar to be synonymous with the Sanskritic concept of Puruṣārtha (the objectives of human life).

[73] In the introductory chapters of the Kural, Valluvar cites Indra, the king of heaven, to exemplify the virtue of conquest over one's senses.

[37] Similarly, J. J. Glazov, a Tamil literature scholar and the translator of the Kural text into the Russian language, sees "Thiruvalluvar as a Hindu by faith", according to a review by Kamil Zvelebil.

[60] Further, in some teachings about politics, economics, and love, Valluvar undoubtedly has translated into Tamil the verses found in Sanskrit texts such as Arthasastra.

[11] According to Norman Cutler, Tirukkuṟaḷ is an aphoristic text and the influential Parimelalakar's commentary interprets it within his own context, grounded in Hindu concepts and theological agenda.

His elegantly written interpretations have made his commentary a Tamil classic and maneuvered Valluvar as consistent within the framework of Parimelalakar's Hinduism.

[81] Despite scholars suggesting that Valluvar is either a Jain or a Hindu, owing to the Kural text's non-denominational nature, almost every religious group in India, including Christianity, has claimed the work and its author as one of their own.

"[83][84] The Dalit activist Iyothee Thass, who converted to Buddhism, claimed that Valluvar was originally called "Tiruvalla Nayanar", and was a Buddhist.

[88][55][89] Pillai declares Pope's claim as "an absurd literary anachronism" and says that the first two books of the Kural, in particular, are "a stumbling block which can browbeat the most sublime ideas of Christian morality.

[90] He observes, "None of the ten epithets by which the Deity is described in the opening chapter of the Kural have the remotest connection with Christ or God, that is to say, as they are designated in the Bible".

Valluvar presents his theory of state using six elements: army (patai), subjects (kuti), treasure (kul), ministers (amaiccu), allies (natpu), and forts (aran).

According to Zvelebil, while the author handles the metre very skillfully, the Tirukkuṟaḷ does not feature "true and great poetry" throughout the work, except, notably, in the third book, which deals with love and pleasure.

This suggests that Valluvar's main aim was not to produce a work of art, but rather an instructive text focused on wisdom, justice, and ethics.

[103] According to Blackburn, it is hard to outdo the "hyperbolic honors" heaped on Valluvar and his work by the early Europeans in colonial India.

The temple shikhara (spire) above the sanctum shows scenes of Hindu life and deities, along with Valluvar reading his couplets to his wife.

[115] On 9 August 2009, a statue was unveiled in Ulsoor, near Bengaluru, also making it the first of its kind in India for a poet of a local language to be installed in its near states other than his own homeland.

Carnatic musicians and composers such as Mayuram Vishwanatha Shastri and M. M. Dandapani Desigar have tuned select couplets in the 19th and 20th centuries.