WikiPortallus: Tirukkural

Thirukkural (Tamil: திருக்குறள் also known as the Kural) is a classic of couplets or Kurals (1330 rhyming Tamil couplets) or aphorisms ¹ celebrated by Tamils.² It was authored by Thiruvalluvar and is considered by Chellapan K to be the first work to focus on ethics, other than the Buddhist - Jain literature of India ³ Thirukkural expounds various aspects of life and is one of the most important works in Tamil. This is reflected in some of the other names by which the text is known: tamilmarai (Tamil Veda); poyyamozhi (speech that does not lie); and teyva nul or dheiva nool (divine text). ⁴ It is dated anywhere from the second century BC to the eighth century AD. ⁵ The book is considered to be a posterior to Arthashastra by some historians and to precede Manimekalai and Silapathikaram since both the latter acknowledge the Kural text. ⁶ The popularity of the Thirukkural is limited to Tamil Nadu and parts of the subcontinent. The most likely reason for the limitation is that it was written in Tamil⁷ .

Thirukkural (or the Kural) is a collection of 1330 Tamil couplets organised into 133 chapters. Each chapter has a specific subject ranging from "ploughing a piece of land" to "ruling a country". According to the LIFCO Tamil-Tamil-English dictionary, the Tamil word Kural means Venpa verse with two lines. Thirukkural comes under one of the four categories of Venpas (Tamil verses) called Kural Venpa. The 1330 couplets are divided into 3 sections and 133 chapters. Each chapter contains 10 couplets. A couplet consists of seven cirs, with four cirs on the first line and three on the second. A cir is a single or a combination of more than one Tamil word. For example, Thirukkural is a cir formed by combining the two words Thiru and Kural, i.e. Thiru + Kural = Thirukkural.It is has been translated to many languages next only to Bible, Quran and possibly the Gita.^{citation needed}

There are claims and counter claims as to the authorship of the book and to the exact number of couplets written by Thiruvalluvar. The first instance of the author's name mentioned as Thiruvalluvar is found to be several centuries later in a song of praise called Garland in Thiruvannamalai. ⁸

Sections

Thirukkural is organised into three sections aram (virtue), porul (realities of life) and inbam (pleasures experienced by a man and a woman in the course of their relationship).

Chapters 1 to 38 deal with aram and are classified as Arathuppaal. Chapters 39 to 108 address Porul. Chapters 109 to 133(Inbathuppal) deal with inbam.

It is claimed that Thirukkural is based on the canonical dharma, artha and kama trivarga articulated in the Sanskritic classical texts.⁹ It is, also, presumed that if one leads life according to ethical principles set out in the text, the fourth Purushartha - moksha or veedu(in Tamil) or salvation will be automatically achieved.¹⁰

Thirukkural and religion

Parimelazhagar, a 13th century commentator in his celebrated commentary interprets the word Aadipagavan in the first kural as Aadi Bhagavan meaning God (another possibility being Aadi=Mother and Bhagavan=Father meaning parents). The first verse states "The letter A (அ in Tamil) is the beginning of the alphabet (syllables?) just as from God (or parents as per the alternative derivation) begins the world". The word Aadibaghavan in Jain theology is used to refer to Rishabhadeva, the first Tirthankara. Some kurals also echo the principles of the middle way of Buddhism¹¹ An important point to be noted in this juncture is the attribute of god mentioned in the ninth kural of the first adhikaram (Kadavul vaazhthu). It mentions "... engunathaan thaalai vanangaath thalai"¹². Here he mentions that God has eight qualities. According to shaivism, god has eight specific characteristics or qualities (8 guñas)¹³.

They are described as Ananta jnāna, Ananta darshana, Ananta labdhi, Ananta sukha, Akshaya sthiti, Being vitāraga, Being arupa and Aguruladhutaa. For people who know Tamil language, they are: அனந்த ஞானம், அனந்த வீரியம், கோத்திரமின்மை, அனந்த தரிசனம், அனந்த குணம், அழியா இயல்பு, நாமமின்மை, அவாவின்மை. For English viewers, the eight characteristics may be translated as having infinite knowledge, infinite power, infinite vision, infinite discipline, without any change (permanence), impartial and having no name or form. There are many vaishnava elements too found in the kural. Therefore it is difficult to conclude which religion the author belonged to but easy to conclude that he was secular in his world renouned work.

Latin translation

The Latin translation of Thirukkural made by Constanzo Beschi in 1730 did much to make known to European intellectuals the richness and beauty of Oriental Tamil literature.

References

Notes

^ Blackburn, Cutler (2000). "Corruption and Redemption: The Legend of Valluvar and Tamil Literary History". Modern Asian Studies 34: 449–482, http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FASS%2FASS34_02%2FS0026749X0000363Xa.pdf&code=3271a95da1f62e5a9a01ec5fab104dcd. Retrieved on 20 August 2007.
^ Pillai, MS. Tamil literature. Asian Education Service. ISBN ISBN 8120609557.
^ Chellapan K - ETHICS OF LOVE AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE AFFIRMATION IN THRIUVALLUVAR AND SHAKESPEARE on www.thirukural2005.org
^ Cutler, Norman (1992). "Interpreting Tirukkural: the role of commentary in the creation of a text". The Journal of the American Oriental Society 122, http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=GLvhZT9rv6h6WZXdrVkPGRdXRhfw2Q7BZrnpRXhbddz8YKCfPtZG!644681601?docId=5000163847. Retrieved on 20 August 2007.
^ Nagarajan, KV (2005). "Thiruvalluvar's vission: Polity and Economy in Thirukural". History of Political Economy 37 (1): 123–132, http://hope.dukejournals.org/cgi/reprint/37/1/123. Retrieved on 20 August 2007.
^ Aiyangar However Thirukkural cannot be compared with Arthashastra as it not only deals with Kingship or Statesmanship as in Arthasashtra but also deals with various other aspects of life., SK (1995). Some Contributions of South India to Indian Culture. Asian Educational Services, 125. ISBN ISBN 8120609999.
^ Nagarajan, KV (2005). "Thiruvalluvar's vission: Polity and Economy in Thirukural". History of Political Economy 37 (1): 130, http://hope.dukejournals.org/cgi/reprint/37/1/123. Retrieved on 20 August 2007.
^ Blackburn, Cutler (2000). "Corruption and Redemption: The Legend of Valluvar and Tamil Literary History". Modern Asian Studies 34: 449–482, http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FASS%2FASS34_02%2FS0026749X0000363Xa.pdf&code=3271a95da1f62e5a9a01ec5fab104dcd. Retrieved on 20 August 2007.
^ Wright, Denis (1996). "Some reflections on Tiruvalluvar's Kural". South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 19 (1): 161–167. doi:10.1080/00856409608723278, http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a778264704~db=all. Retrieved on 20 August 2007.
^ Nagarajan, KV (2005). "Thiruvalluvar's vission: Polity and Economy in Thirukural". History of Political Economy 37 (1): 123–132. doi:10.1215/00182702-37-1-123, http://hope.dukejournals.org/cgi/reprint/37/1/123. Retrieved on 20 August 2007.
^ Nagarajan, KV (2005). "Thiruvalluvar's vission: Polity and Economy in Thirukkural". History of Political Economy 37 (1): 123–132. doi:10.1215/00182702-37-1-123, http://hope.dukejournals.org/cgi/reprint/37/1/123. Retrieved on 20 August 2007.
^ Ashraf, N.V.K. Tirukkural: Getting close to the original - In Spirit, Content and Style, http://www.geocities.com/nvashraf/kur-eng/close01.htm, accessed on 22 March 2008
^ Malaiya, Y.K. 1998. Kural: The Tamil Classic and Jainism. A discussion on soc.culture.tamil. In chronological order from Mar 16 1995 to Feb 3 1998.

Tirukkural

Contents

Sections

Thirukkural and religion

Latin translation

References

Notes

External links