Kural

For other uses, see Kural (disambiguation).

Tirukkuṟaḷ
A typical published original Tamil version of the work
AuthorValluvar
Original titleதிருக்குறள்
Working titleKural
TranslatorSee list of translations
LanguageOld Tamil
SeriesEighteen Lesser Texts
Subject
  • Ethics and cosmic order
  • society
  • politics
  • economics and statecraft
  • love and pleasure[1][2]
GenrePoetry
Set inProbably Post-Sangam era (c. 500 CE or earlier)
Publication date
1812 (first known printed edition, older palm-leaf manuscripts exist)[3]
Publication placeIndia
Published in English
1794
Original text
திருக்குறள் at Tamil Wikisource
TranslationTirukkuṟaḷ at Wikisource
This article contains Tamil script. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks or boxes, misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Tamil script.
Topics in Sangam literature
Sangam literature
Agattiyam Tolkāppiyam
Eighteen Greater Texts
Eight Anthologies
Aiṅkurunūṟu Akanāṉūṟu
Puṟanāṉūṟu Kalittokai
Kuṟuntokai Natṟiṇai
Paripāṭal Patiṟṟuppattu
Ten Idylls
Tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai Kuṟiñcippāṭṭu
Malaipaṭukaṭām Maturaikkāñci
Mullaippāṭṭu Neṭunalvāṭai
Paṭṭiṉappālai Perumpāṇāṟṟuppaṭai
Poruṇarāṟṟuppaṭai Ciṟupāṇāṟṟuppaṭai
Related topics
Sangam Sangam landscape
Tamil history from Sangam literature Ancient Tamil music
Eighteen Lesser Texts
Nālaṭiyār Nāṉmaṇikkaṭikai
Iṉṉā Nāṟpatu Iṉiyavai Nāṟpatu
Kār Nāṟpatu Kaḷavaḻi Nāṟpatu
Aintiṇai Aimpatu Tiṉaimoḻi Aimpatu
Aintinai Eḻupatu Tiṇaimālai Nūṟṟaimpatu
Tirukkuṟaḷ Tirikaṭukam
Ācārakkōvai Paḻamoḻi Nāṉūṟu
Ciṟupañcamūlam Mutumoḻikkānci
Elāti Kainnilai
Bhakti Literature
Naalayira Divya Prabandham Ramavataram
Tevaram Tirumuṟai
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Tamil Wikisource has original text related to this article:

The Tirukkuṟaḷ (Tamil: திருக்குறள், lit. 'sacred verses'), or shortly the Kural (Tamil: குறள்), is a classic Tamil language text consisting of 1,330 short couplets, or kurals, of seven words each.[4] The text is divided into three books with aphoristic teachings on virtue (aram), wealth (porul) and love (inbam), respectively.[1][5][6] It is widely acknowledged for its universality and secular nature.[7][8] Its authorship is traditionally attributed to Valluvar, also known in full as Thiruvalluvar. The text has been dated variously from 300 BCE to 5th century CE. The traditional accounts describe it as the last work of the third Sangam, but linguistic analysis suggests a later date of 450 to 500 CE and that it was composed after the Sangam period.[9]

The Kural text is among the earliest systems of Indian epistemology and metaphysics. The work is traditionally praised with epithets and alternative titles, including "the Tamil Veda" and "the Divine Book."[10][11] Written on the ideas of ahimsa,[12][13][14][15][16] it emphasizes non-violence and moral vegetarianism as virtues for an individual.[17][18][19][20][21][a] In addition, it highlights virtues such as truthfulness, self-restraint, gratitude, hospitality, kindness, goodness of spouse, duty, giving, and so forth,[22] besides covering a wide range of social and political topics such as king, ministers, taxes, justice, forts, war, greatness of army and soldier's honor, death sentence for the wicked, agriculture, education, and abstinence from alcohol and intoxicants.[23][24][25] It also includes chapters on friendship, love, sexual unions, and domestic life.[22][26] The text effectively denounced previously held misbeliefs that were common during the Sangam era and permanently redefined the cultural values of the Tamil land.[27]

The Kural has influenced scholars and leaders across the ethical, social, political, economic, religious, philosophical, and spiritual spheres over its history.[28] These include Ilango Adigal, Kambar, Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Schweitzer, Ramalinga Swamigal, V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, Karl Graul, George Uglow Pope, Alexander Piatigorsky, and Yu Hsi. The work remains the most translated, the most cited, and the most citable of Tamil literary works.[29] The text has been translated into at least 57 Indian and non-Indian languages, making it one of the most translated ancient works. Ever since it came to print for the first time in 1812, the Kural text has never been out of print.[30] The Kural is considered a masterpiece and one of the most important texts of the Tamil literature.[31] Its author is venerated for his selection of virtues found in the known literature and presenting them in a manner that is considered common and acceptable to all.[32] The Tamil people and the government of Tamil Nadu have long celebrated and upheld the text with reverence.[19]

  1. ^ a b Sundaram 1990, pp. 7–16.
  2. ^ Zvelebil 1973, pp. 156–168.
  3. ^ Kovaimani and Nagarajan, 2013, p. 115.
  4. ^ Pillai, 1994.
  5. ^ Blackburn 2000, pp. 449–482.
  6. ^ Zvelebil 1973, pp. 157–158.
  7. ^ Lal 1992, pp. 4333–4334, 4341.
  8. ^ Holmström, Krishnaswamy, and Srilata, 2009, p. 5.
  9. ^ Zvelebil 1975, p. 124.
  10. ^ Zvelebil 1973, p. 156.
  11. ^ Cutler, 1992.
  12. ^ Chakravarthy Nainar, 1953.
  13. ^ Krishna, 2017.
  14. ^ Thani Nayagam, 1971, p. 252.
  15. ^ Sanjeevi, 2006, p. 84.
  16. ^ Krishnamoorthy, 2004, pp. 206–208.
  17. ^ Dharani 2018, p. 101.
  18. ^ Das 1997, pp. 11–12.
  19. ^ a b Zvelebil 1973, pp. 156–171.
  20. ^ Sundaram 1990, p. 13.
  21. ^ Manavalan, 2009, pp. 127–129.
  22. ^ a b Zvelebil 1973, pp. 160–163.
  23. ^ Hikosaka & Samuel 1990, p. 200.
  24. ^ Ananthanathan, 1994, pp. 151–154.
  25. ^ Kaushik Roy 2012, pp. 151–154.
  26. ^ Lal 1992, pp. 4333–4334.
  27. ^ Thamizhannal, 2004, p. 146.
  28. ^ Sundaramurthi, 2000, p. 624.
  29. ^ Maharajan, 2017, p. 19.
  30. ^ Kovaimani and Nagarajan, 2013, p. 29.
  31. ^ Manavalan, 2009, p. 24.
  32. ^ Chellammal, 2015, p. 119.