The Kural
of Tiru Valluvar ranks as
one of the greatest classics,
not merely of
Tamil Literature, but of
World Literature. It is one
of
the oldest of
extant Tamil works and dates
back to the Second Century
B.C. It has
a total of 1330 Verses
spread over 133 Chapters
and three
Parts. It is
an extraordinary compilation of
the highest wisdom brought
down to the
level of the common man
in respect of every facet
of human nature and experience.
The work is as much
a tribute to the perceptions
of the poet as to the
richness of the Tamil language
that has enabled him to
state the most profound of
truths in verses of such
utter simplicity
and brevity.
This presentation
proceeds in two parts. The
first presents the original
text of the
Kural with a word-by-word
meaning and a verse-by-verse
translation. The translations make no
pretense to scholarship, but
proceed from a commonsense understanding
and desire to communicate
the spirit of the work
in simple English to people
around the world, that will
hopefully draw them into
a study of the original, in
order to grasp a beauty
that cannot be captured adequately
by a translation.
The second
is comprised of short articles
that may accumulate in the
future from contributors who would
dwell on different facets
of the work under the
title "What I have seen
in the Kural"