Auvaiyar was a saint of Tamil Nadu (ca 200 BCE), a contemporary of Saint Tiruvalluvar, devotee of Lord Ganesha and Karttikeya and one of the greatest literary figures in ancient India. As a young girl, she prayed to have her beauty removed so she would not be forced into marriage and could devote her full life to God. She was a great bhakta who wrote exquisite ethical works, some in aphoristic style and some in four-line verse. Among the most famous are Atti Chudi, Konrai Ventan, Ulaka Niti, Muturai, and Nalvali.

Atti Chudi is comprises 109 short verses that teach basic good character traits. The first letters of each verse follow the Tamil alphabet starting with the vowel and then going through each of the basic consonants and the vowel form for each one. Atti Chudi is studied by Tamil children to this day. Another Saint Auvaiyar may have lived in the ninth century.