Tamil Wisdom, by Edward Jewitt Robinson, 1873[1]

Tirukkural remains one of the most widely translated non-religious works in the world. As of 2014, there were at least 57 versions available in the English language alone. English, thus, continues to remain the language with most number of translations available of the Kural text.

List of translations

Below is a list of English translations of the Tirukkural till date:[2]

S.No.YearTranslator(s)Title of the TranslationPlace of PublicationFormCoverageNotes
11794Nathaniel Edward KindersleySpecimens of Hindoo LiteratureLondon (W. Bulmer and Co.)VerseSelectionsMade the first ever translation of the Kural text into English in a chapter titled 'Extracts from the Teroo-Vaulaver Kuddul, or, The Ocean of Wisdom' in his book Specimens of Hindoo Literature[3]
21812/1819Francis Whyte EllisTirukkuralVerse and ProseSelectionsTranslated 120 couplets in all—69 of them in verse and 51 in prose. Second edition published by University of Madras Press in 1955 as Tirukkural Ellis Commentary
31840William Henry DrewThe Cural of Tiruvalluvar (Kural 1–630)Madurai (American Mission Press)ProsePartialReprints were in 1852, 1962, and 1988 by Kazhagam (Madras) and Asian Educational Services (AES) (New Delhi)
41872Charles E. GoverOdes from the Kural (Folksongs of South India)Madras (Higginbothams)VerseSelectionsReprint by Gian Publications (Delhi) in 1981
51873Edward Jewitt RobinsonTamil WisdomLondon (Paternoster Row)VersePartialRevised edition in 1885 as Tales and Poems of South India; 1st reprint in 1975 by Kazhakam (Madras) and 2nd in 2000 by TNR (Tanjore)
61885John LazarusTirukkural (Kural 631–1330)Madras (Murugesa Mudaliar)ProsePartialReprint in 1988 by AES (New Delhi)
71886George Uglow PopeThe Sacred Kurral of Tiruvalluva NayanarLondon (Henry Frowde)VerseCompleteReprint in 1980 by AES (New Delhi)
81915T. ThirunavukkarasuTirukkural: A Gem for Each DayMadras (SPCK Press)ProseSelectionsTranslated only 366 couplets
91916V. V. S. AiyarThe Kural or The Maxims of TiruvalluvarMadras (Amudha Nilayam Private Ltd.)ProseCompleteReprints in 1925, 1952, 1961, and 1982 by Tirupparaitturai Sri Ramakrishna Tapovanam (Tiruchirapalli)
101919T. P. MeenakshisundaramPublished the 1904 work of K. Vadivelu Chettiar with English renderings.[4] Republished in 1972–1980 in Madurai as Kural in English with Tamil Text and Parimelazhakar Commentary (3 parts). Recent edition published in 2015 in 2 volumes.
111920S. Sabaratna MudaliyarKuralMadras
121926A. MadhavaiyyaKural in EnglishMadrasVerseSelectionsPossibly published earlier in 1923
131931Herbert Arthur PopleyThe Sacred Kural or The Tamil Veda of TiruvalluvarCalcutta (The Heritage of India Series)VerseSelectionsReprint in 1958 by YMCA Publishing House (Calcutta)
141933A. Ranganatha MudaliarTirukkural Mulamum Uraiyum with English TranslationMadras
151935C. RajagopalachariKural, The Great Book of TiruvalluvarMadras (Rochouse and Sons Ltd.)ProseSelectionsTranslated only select couplets from Books I and II. Reprints in 1937, 1965, and 1973
161942M. S. Purnalingam PillaiThe Kural in EnglishTirunelveli (Sri Kanthimathi Vilasam Press)ProseCompleteReprints in 1999 and 2007 by IITS (Chennai)
171946S. M. MichaelThe Sacred Aphorisms of ThiruvalluvarNagercoil (The Grace Hut)VerseCompleteReprint in 1968 by M. S. Raja (Sattur)
181949V. R. Ramachandra DikshitarTirukkuralMadras (The Adayar Library and Research Centre)ProseCompleteReprints in 1994 and 2000
191950M. R. Rajagopala AiyangarTirukkuralKumbakonamProseComplete
201953A. ChakravartiTirukkuralMadras (The Diocesan Press, Vepery)ProseComplete
211954I. D. ThangaswamyTirukkuralMadrasVerseSelections
221962K. M. BalasubramaniamTirukkural of TiruvalluvarMadras (Manali Lakshmana Mudaliar Specific Endowments)VerseComplete
231965T. MuthuswamyTirukkural: The Gospel of MankindMadurai (Vivekananda Press)ProsePartial
241967V. ChinnarajanThe Kural GemsUdumalpetVerseSelections
251968C. R. SoundararajanProseComplete
261968Emmons E. WhiteThe Wisdom of IndiaNew York City (The Pater Pauper)VerseSelectionsAlso published as The Wisdom of the Tamil People in 1976
271968Shuddhananda BharatiTirukkuralMadras (Kazhakam)VerseCompleteAlso published a complete prose version in 1970
281969G. VanmikanathanThe TirukkuralTiruchirapalli (Tirukkural Prachar Sangh)ProseComplete
291969Kasturi SrinivasanTirukkuralBombay (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan)VerseCompleteReprints in 1976 and 1983 by Kasthuri Sreenivasan Trust (Coimbatore)
301969A. Gajapathy NayagarThe Rosary of Gems of TirukkuralMadras
311970Shuddhananda BharatiTirukkuralProseComplete
321971T. N. S. RagavachariTeachings of Tiruvalluvar's KuralMadras (Health, June 1966 to October 1971)ProseCompleteReprinted in 1982
331975E. V. SinganTirukkuralSingapore (EVS Enterprises)ProseCompleteReprinted in 1982
341978S. N. SriramadesikanTirukkuralMadras (Gangai Puthaka Nilayam)ProseCompleteReprinted in 1991, 1994 and 2006
351979S. MaharajanTiruvalluvarNew Delhi (Sahitya Akademi)VerseSelectionsTranslated select couplets from all the three books of the Kural text. Second edition was published in 1982
361982S. M. DiazTirukkuralCoimbatore (Ramananda Adigalar Foundation)VerseCompleteReprinted in 2000
371987P. S. SundaramTiruvalluvar: The KuralNew Delhi (Penguin Books India Limited)VerseCompleteReprinted in 1989, 1991, 1992 and 2000 by International Tamil Language Foundation (Illinois)
381987T. S. Ramalingam Pillai
391988K. R. Srinivasa IyengarTirukkuralCalcutta (M. P. Birla Foundation)VerseComplete
401991M. Swaminathan
411992Norman CutlerA Gift of Tamil: Translations of Tamil Literature (Edited by Paula Richman)New Delhi (Manohar and American Institute of Indian Studies)
421995T. R. Kallapiran
431995D. V. G. RamarathinamTirukkural(Thiyaga Durgam)ProseComplete
441997G. N. DasReadings from Thirukkural(Abhinav Publication)Verse and ProseSelectTranslated 290 couplets in both verse and prose.
451998J. NarayanasamyTirukkuralCoimbatoreMixedCompleteTranslated more in prose than in verse. Reprinted in 1999
461999K. Kalia PerumalWonders of TirukkuralThanjavur (Jayam Publications)VerseComplete
471999C. B. Acharya
482000Satguru Sivaya Subramuniya Swami (Ed.)TirukkuralNew Delhi (Abhinav Publications)VersePartialTranslated only the first two sections, viz. Virtue and Wealth.
492001C. R. SundarBook Divine TirukkuralChennai (Vignesh Pathippakam)VerseComplete
502003V. PadmanabhanThirukkural with English ExplanationChennai (Manimekalai Prasuram)ProseComplete
512004O. R. KrishnaswamiThe Wisdom of Tirukkural—A Guide to LivingMumbai (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan)ProsePartialTranslated only Books I and II
522005M. D. JayabalanCheyyar (Mavanna Publications)VersePartialTranslated only 321 couplets
532006David Pratap SinghTirukkuralMadurai (Master Pathippakam)VerseComplete396 pages
542006S. RatnakumarTirukkural: A Guide to Effective LivingSingapore (Tamils Representative Council [TRC])ProseComplete
552009V. MuruganThirukkural in EnglishChennai (Arivu Pathippagam)VerseComplete
562009M. RajaramThirukkural: Pearls of InspirationNew Delhi (Rupa Publications)Verse and ProseComplete
572009N. E. RamalingamThirukkural Commentary in Tamil and EnglishChennai (Thiruvalluvar Pathippagam)ProseComplete[5]
582009Damo BullenUnpublished
592011R. ViswanathanThirukkural: Universal Tamil Scripture: Alongwith the Commentary of Parimalazhagar in EnglishMumbai (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan)ProseCompleteISBN 978-81-7276-448-7
602012A. GopalakrishnanTirukkural—Thiruvalluvar KarutthuraiChidambaram (Meiyappan Padhippagam)ProseCompleteAuthored both Tamil commentary and English translation
612013Singaravelu SachithananthamKarya Etika Tamil Berjudul ThirukkuṛaḷMalaysia (Uma Publications)VerseCompleteTrilingual version with Tamil original and Malay and English versions translated by the translator.
622014S. P. GuruparanThirukkural: English TranslationChennai (Mayilavan Padhippagam)VerseComplete
632015Gopalkrishna GandhiTiruvalluvar—The Tirukkural: A New English VersionNew Delhi (Aleph Book Company)VerseComplete
642015R. VenkatachalamThirukkural—Translation—Explanation: A Life Skills Coaching ApproachGurgaon (Partridge Publishing India)VerseCompletePublished in 689 pages, with new interpretations given for about 360 couplets.
652015Jyothirllata GirijaVoice of Valluvar—Thirukkural (The Tamil Veda)Allahabad (Cyberwit.net)Verse and ProseComplete
662018Madurai BabarajThirukkural: VirtueChennai (B. Vasantha)ProsePartialTranslated Book I and Book II
672019R. JayaprakasamThirukkural: Text in English & TamilChennai (Porselvi Pathippagam)ProseComplete[6]
682019Pattu M. BhoopathiThus Blossoms Love: A Transcreation of Kamattupal in Modern VerseChennai (Sandhya Publications)VersePartialTranslated Book III alone in modern verse form[7]
692021Thomas Hitoshi PruiksmaThe Kural: Tiruvalluvar's TirukkuralBoston (Beacon Press)VerseComplete
702021J. S. Anantha KrishnanThiruvalluvar's ThirukkuralKollam (Dream Bookbindery)VerseCompleteYoungest translator to have completed the translation of entire book in under 25 years
712023Meena KandasamyThe Book of DesireNew Delhi (Penguin Random House India)ProsePartialTranslated Book III alone from a feministic view point[8]
722023R. NatarajanThe Kural: English Translation of the Ancient Tamil Text ThirukkuralChennai (Rare Publications)Complete

History of English translations

G. U. Pope, the first complete English translator of the Kural in verse
V. V. S. Aiyar, the first native scholar who made a complete translation of the Kural into English

Following the translation of the Kural text into Latin by Constantius Joseph Beschi in 1730,[9] Nathaniel Edward Kindersley attempted the first ever English translation of the Kural text in 1794, translating select couplets in verse. Francis Whyte Ellis attempted the second English translation, who translated only 120 of the 1330 couplets of the Kural text—69 in verse and 51 in prose.[10][11][12][13] In 1840, William Henry Drew translated the first book of the Tirukkural in prose. In 1852, he partially completed the second book, too, in prose. Along with his own English prose translation, his publication contained the original Tamil text, the Tamil commentary by Parimelazhagar and Ramanuja Kavirayar's amplification of the commentary. He thus covered chapters 1 through 63, translating 630 couplets.[9] John Lazarus, a native missionary, revised Drew's work and completed the remaining portion, beginning from Chapter 64 through Chapter 133. Thus, Drew and Lazarus together made the first complete prose translation of the Tirukkural available in English. Meanwhile, there were two more verse translations made in 1872 and 1873 by Charles E. Gover and Edward Jewitt Robinson, respectively. While Gover translated only select couplets, Robinson translated the first two books of the Kural text. The first complete verse translation in English and the first complete English translation by a single author was achieved in 1886 by George Uglow Pope, whose work brought the Tirukkural to a wider audience of the western world.[14]

The first English translation by a native scholar (i.e., scholar who is a native speaker of Tamil) was made in 1915 by T. Tirunavukkarasu, who translated 366 couplets into English. The first complete English translation by a native scholar was made the following year by V. V. S. Aiyar, who translated the entire work in prose. Aiyar's work is considered by various scholars, including Czech scholar Kamil Zvelebil, to be the most scholarly of all the English translations made until then, including those by native English scholars.[2][15]

At least 24 complete translations were available in the English language by the end of the twentieth century, by both native and non-native scholars.[9] By 2014, there were about 57 versions available in English, of which at least 30 were complete.[16]

Comparison of translations

The following table illustrates two different facets of a subject depicted by two Kural couplets from the same chapter and their different interpretations by various translators.

YearTranslatorFormChapter 26 (The Renunciation of Flesh-Eating)
Kural 254 (Couplet 26:4) Kural 258 (Couplet 26:8)
Original textVerseஅருளல்லது யாதெனில் கொல்லாமை கோறல்
பொருளல்லது அவ்வூன் தினல்.
செயிரின் தலைப்பிரிந்த காட்சியார் உண்ணார்
உயிரின் தலைப்பிரிந்த ஊன்.
1840–1885William Henry Drew & John LazarusProseIs it asked what is kindness and its opposite? It is the preservation of life, and its destruction (therefore) it is not right to eat that flesh (from which life has been taken away).The wise, who have freed themselves from mental delusion, will not eat the flesh which has been severed from an animal.
1873–1885Edward Jewitt RobinsonVerseIf merciless, it is to kill
To eat what’s slaughter’d must be ill.
Whose minds from fleshly lusts are freed
Refuse on lifeless flesh to feed.
1886George Uglow PopeVerseWhat’s a grace, or lack of grace? ‘To kill’ is this, that ‘not to kill’;
To eat dead flesh can never worthy end fulfil.
Whose souls the vision pure and passionless perceive,
Eat not the bodies men of life bereave.
1916V. V. S. AiyarProseThe killing of animals is veritable hardness of heart; but the eating of their flesh is inequity indeed.Behold the men who have escaped from the bonds of illusion and ignorance: they eat not the flesh from which life hath flown out.
1931H. A. PopleyVerseWhat is kindliness and its opposite? The one is non-killing, the other is killing;
To eat dead flesh is not good.
Not translated
1942M. S. Purnalingam PillaiProseNot to kill is grace. To kill is what is called lack of grace. To eat the meat of the killed animal is unworthy.Those who are free from blame and have the clear vision will not eat the meat of animals which have lost their life or which are slaughtered.
1946S. M. MichaelVerseTo kill not’s Grace, to kill its loss;
To eat lives no good alas!
Seers true, men clean never eat a corse,
No sin they do dread worse.
1949V. R. Ramachandra DikshitarProseWhat is compassion but refraining from killing; what is sin but eating flesh?Men of clear vision abstain from the flesh of a slaughtered animal.
1953A. ChakravartiProseWhat’s grace, or lack of grace? ‘To kill’ is this, that ‘not to kill’; To eat dead flesh can never worthy end fulfil.A person free from the erroneous beliefs and equipped with the right faith will not eat flesh obtained from animal bereft of life.
1962K. M. BalasubramaniamVerseTo kill not aught is grace and killing is the lack of grace.
To eat the flesh of lives thus killed is naught but great disgrace.
The men of pure vision quite free from illusion's dark mesh
Won't eat at all the carcass that is free from life, called flesh.
1968Shuddhananda BharatiVerseIf merciless it is to kill,
To kill and eat is disgraceful.
Whose mind from illusion is freed
Refuse on lifeless flesh to feed.
1969G. VanmikanathanProseIf you ask what charity is and what is not, they are non-killing and killing respectively; eating that (slaughtered) meat is unrighteousness (sin).Men of wisdom freed from the error (of delusion) will not eat flesh carved out of a creature.
1969Kasturi SrinivasanVerseNot to kill is grace; to kill’s otherwise,
But to eat dead flesh is never wise.
The visionaries, who follow a faultless creed
Will not eat bodies, from life freed.
1978S. N. SriramadesikanProseNon-injury is otherwise known as compassion; doing injury is heartlessness. The wise know that it is a sin to eat the flesh of animals.The good ones, free from the three kinds of blemishes (desires) and possessed of unalloyed wisdom will hold dead bodies as corpses and will not eat the flesh.
1979Satguru Sivaya Subramuniya Swami[17]VerseIf you ask, "What is kindness and what is unkindness?"
It is not-killing and killing. Thus, eating flesh is never virtuous.
(a) Perceptive souls who have abandoned passion
Will not feed on flesh abandoned by life.
(b) Insightful souls who have abandoned the passion to hurt others
Will not feed on flesh that life has abandoned.
1988K. R. Srinivasa IyengarVerseGrace says “Life, Life”, cruelty cries, “kill, kill!”
It’s not grace to feed on flesh.
Those with unclouded minds will desist from
Eating killed animal's flesh.
1989P. S. SundaramVerseGrace is not killing, to kill disgrace;
And to eat a thing killed, profitless sin.
The undeluded will not feed on meat
Which is but carrion.
1998J. NarayanasamyProseMercy demands not to kill; butchering is cruel, and eating flesh meat is insensuous.Wisdom free from the painful mind of evil will abstain from feeding on flesh.
2000S. M. DiazVerseTo make others break the law of not killing is inconsistent with compassion;
There is, therefore, no sense in eating the meat obtained by such killing.
Those who have a vision that is not blurred by mental confusion
Will not eat the meat of dead carcasses.
2003V. PadmanabhanProseCompassion warrants that one should not kill anybody and that too killing other creatures for food is more sinful.Persons who are determined not to overlook moral disciplines will not take meat obtained by killing other species.
2009V. MuruganVerseBenevolence is not to kill, and killing is lack of it
And to eat the flesh thus obtained is an act unrighteous.
Men of vision freed of blemishes within
Take not to eating the flesh of a lifeless body.
2009M. RajaramVerseNon-killing is indeed an act of kindness
Killing and eating it is unkindness.
The undeluded wise will ever avoid meat
Which is but the flesh of a lifeless beast.
2009M. RajaramProseNot killing a creature is an act of kindness. Killing and eating its meat is unkindness.Wise men who have clear mind will refrain from eating the flesh of a lifeless animal.
2012A. GopalakrishnanProseWhen questioned about 'Kindness' and 'Non-kindness' the reply will be 'Non-killing' and 'Killing' respectively. One, without killing an animal by himself, eating the flesh of an animal killed by others, is also not meant by kindness.Those, who have spotless and clear knowledge, will not eat the flesh of an animal from which life is taken out.
2014S. P. GuruparanVerse(a) If it is asked what compassion is, it is not killing any living beings;
And what is not compassion is killing and eating the flesh of the living beings!!
(b) Not killing any living being is compassion
And it is a sin to kill and eat the living beings!!
If one is freed from delusion and has the wisdom spotless
He won't eat a body lifeless!!
2015Gopalkrishna GandhiVerseDon't hide behind the butcher's blade saying, 'He kills, I only eat'
You're the one that whets the knife that makes the thing called meat.
If you wish, as you should, that your soul be liberated
Think: this once lived, breathed, moved, till it was beheaded.

Comparison with European literature

In his introduction to the English translation, G. U. Pope compared the Kural to the works of Propertius and Martial and to the Latin elagiac verse. In his commentary, he quoted analogous passages from various authors such as Horace, Aeschylus, Dante Alighieri, William Shakespeare, Robert Browning, William Wordsworth, and Catullus.[18]:9 He added that what Archbishop Trench said of Saint Augustin is equally true of Valluvar:

He abounds in short and memorable, and if I might so call them, epigrammatic sayings, concentrating with a forceful brevity, the whole truth, which he desires to impart, into some single phrase, forging it into a polished shaft at once pointed to pierce, and barbed that it shall not lightly drop from the mind and memory.[18]

Pope went on to composing a poem on the universality of Valluvar, hailing him as the "Bard of Universal Man".[18]:10

Criticisms on translations

The couplets of the Kural are inherently complex by virtue of their dense meaning within their terse structure. Thus, no translation can perfectly reflect the true nature of any given couplet of the Kural unless read and understood in its original Tamil form.[19] Added to this inherent difficulty is the attempt by some scholars to either read their own ideas into the Kural couplets or deliberately misinterpret the message to make it conform to their preconceived notions. The translations by the Christian missionaries are often criticized for misinterpreting the text in order to conform it to Christian principles and beliefs. In August 2022, the governor of Tamil Nadu, R. N. Ravi, criticized G. U. Pope for "translating with the colonial objective to 'trivialise' the spiritual wisdom of India," resulting in a "de-spiritualised version" of the Kural text.[20] According to V. Ramasamy, even the very first Latin translation of the text by Beschi is distorted. He writes, "Beschi is purposely distorting the message of the original when he renders பிறவாழி as 'the sea of miserable life' and the phrase பிறவிப்பெருங்கடல் as 'sea of this birth' which has been translated by others as 'the sea of many births'. Beschi means thus 'those who swim the vast sea of miseries'. The concept of rebirth or many births for the same soul is contrary to Christian principle and belief".[9]

Scholars also criticize Pope for over-emphasising certain texts from ancient Tamil literature while downplaying, or even dismissing, others, both ancient and more recent.[21] In his book Breaking India, Rajiv Malhotra writes of Pope's attempts to undermine Tamil spirituality. He writes of Pope's claims that all Tamil works are of Christian origin, and that Tamil culture has nothing to do with Indian culture, thereby forging a Dravidian identity that previously never existed.[22]:68

Less-known translations

The Kural has also been translated numerous times without getting published or reaching the masses. Sri Aurobindo, for instance, has translated fifteen couplets of the Kural, including all the ten couplets from the opening chapter (in a different order from the original) and five from the second chapter, in 1919 as part of his translations of various other ancient works.[23]

See also

References

  1. Edward Jewitt Robinson (1873). Tamil Wisdom; Traditions Concerning Hindu Sages, and Selections from their writings. London: Wesleyan Conference Office.
  2. 1 2 Manavalan, A. A. (2010). A Compendium of Tirukkural Translations in English. Vol. 4 vols. Chennai: Central Institute of Classical Tamil. ISBN 978-81-908000-2-0.
  3. Kindersley, N. E. (1794). "Specimens Of Hindu Literature". Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  4. Kolappan, B. (18 October 2015). "From merchant to Tirukkural scholar". The Hindu. Chennai: Kasturi & Sons. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
  5. N. E. Ramalingam (2009). Thirukkural Commentary in Tamil and English. Chennai: Thiruvalluvar Pathippagam.
  6. R. Jayaprakasam (2019). Thirukkural: Text in English & Tamil. Chennai: Porselvi Pathippagam. ISBN 978-81-926917-5-6.
  7. Pattu M. Bhoopathi (2019). Thus Blossoms Love: A transcreation of Kamattupal in modern verse. Chennai: Sandhya Publications. ISBN 978-93-87499-85-0.
  8. Narang, Gaurvi (15 February 2023). "'Only thing you read to your lover in bed'—Meena Kandasamy's modern book on ancient Tamil text". The Print. New Delhi. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Ramasamy, V. (2001). On Translating Tirukkural (First ed.). Chennai: International Institute of Tamil Studies.
  10. A stone inscription found on the walls of a well at the Periya palayathamman temple at Royapettai indicates Ellis' regard for Thiruvalluvar. It is one of the 27 wells dug on the orders of Ellis in 1818, when Madras suffered a severe drinking water shortage. In the long inscription Ellis praises Thiruvalluvar and uses a couplet from Thirukkural to explain his actions during the drought. When he was in charge of the Madras treasury and mint, he also issued a gold coin bearing Thiruvalluvar's image. The Tamil inscription on his grave makes note of his commentary of Thirukkural.Mahadevan, Iravatham. "The Golden coin depicting Thiruvalluvar −2". Varalaaru.com (in Tamil). Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  11. The original inscription in Tamil written in the Asiriyapa meter and first person perspective: (The Kural he quotes is in Italics)
    சயங்கொண்ட தொண்டிய சாணுறு நாடெனும் | ஆழியில் இழைத்த வழகுறு மாமணி | குணகடன் முதலாக குட கடலளவு | நெடுநிலம் தாழ நிமிர்ந்திடு சென்னப் | பட்டணத்து எல்லீசன் என்பவன் யானே | பண்டாரகாரிய பாரம் சுமக்கையில் | புலவர்கள் பெருமான் மயிலையம் பதியான் | தெய்வப் புலமைத் திருவள்ளுவனார் | திருக்குறள் தன்னில் திருவுளம் பற்றிய் | இருபுனலும் வாய்த்த மலையும் வருபுனலும் | வல்லரணும் நாட்டிற் குறுப்பு | என்பதின் பொருளை என்னுள் ஆய்ந்து | ஸ்வஸ்திஸ்ரீ சாலிவாகன சகாப்த வரு | ..றாச் செல்லா நின்ற | இங்கிலிசு வரு 1818ம் ஆண்டில் | பிரபவாதி வருக்கு மேற் செல்லா நின்ற | பஹுதான்ய வரு த்தில் வார திதி | நக்ஷத்திர யோக கரணம் பார்த்து | சுப திநத்தி லிதனோ டிருபத்தேழு | துரவு கண்டு புண்ணியாஹவாசநம் | பண்ணுவித்தேன்.
  12. Blackburn, Stuart (2006). Print, folklore, and nationalism in colonial South India. Orient Blackswan. pp. 92–95. ISBN 978-81-7824-149-4.
  13. Zvelebil, Kamil (1992). Companion studies to the history of Tamil literature. Brill. p. 3. ISBN 978-90-04-09365-2.
  14. Pope, GU (1886). Thirukkural English Translation and Commentary (PDF). W.H. Allen, & Co. p. 160.
  15. Zvelevil, K. (1962). Forward. Tirukkural by Tiruvalluvar. Translated by K. M. Balasubramaniam. Madras: Manali Lakshmana Mudaliar Specific Endowments. p. 327.
  16. Thirukural Tamil–English (in Tamil and English) (3 ed.). Chennai: New Century Book House. 2014. pp. xvi, 292. ISBN 978-81-2340-949-8.
  17. Subramuniyaswami, Sivaya (1979). "Thirukural" (PDF). Retrieved 14 April 2017.
  18. 1 2 3 S. Maharajan (2017). Tiruvalluvar. Makers of Indian Literature (2nd ed.). New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 978-8126053216.
  19. Zvelebil, Kamil (1973). The Smile of Murugan of Tamil Literature of South India. P. 169. ISBN 90-04-03591-5. Retrieved 11 December 2010. ... It is almost impossible to truly appreciate the maxims of the Kural through a translation. Tirukkural must be read and re-read in Tamil.
  20. "Thirukkural's first English translation was a 'de-spiritualised': TN Guv". Deccan Herald. Chennai. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
  21. Trautmann, T. R. (2006). Languages and nations: the Dravidian proof in colonial Madras. Yoda Press.
  22. Malhotra, Rajiv; Nilakantan, Aravintan (2011). Breaking India. Princeton, NJ: Amaryllis. ISBN 9788191067378.
  23. Sri Aurobindo (1999). "Volume 5: The Complete Works of Sri Aurobindo". Sri Aurobindo Ashram Trust. Retrieved 12 January 2018.

Published translations

  • Pope, G. U. (1886). The Sacred Kurral of Tiruvalluva Nayanar (with Latin Translation By Fr. Beschi) (Original in Tamil with English and Latin Translations). New Delhi: Asian Educational Services, pp. i–xxviii, 408
  • Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami. (1979). Tirukkural: The American English and Modern Tamil Translations of an Ethical Masterpiece. ISBN 978-8-1701-7390-8. Available from http://www.redlotusworld.org/resources/Tirukkural.pdf
  • Padmanabhan, V. (2003). Thirukkural with English Explanation. Chennai: Manimekalai Prasuram, 280 pp.
  • Murugan, V. (2009). Thirukkural in English. Chennai: Arivu Pathippagam, xiv + 272 pp.
  • Guruparan, S. P. (2014). Thirukkural: English Translation. Chennai: Mayilavan Padhippagam, 416 pp.
  • Venkatachalam, R. (2015). Thirukkural—Translation—Explanation: A Life Skills Coaching Approach. Gurgaon, India: Partridge Publishing India, 689 pp. ISBN 978-1-4828-4290-6.

Further reading

  • Srirama Desikan, S. N. (1961). Tiruvalluvar's Tirukkural in Sanskrit slokas. Prabha Press. 77 pp.
  • Manavalan, A. A. (2010). A Compendium of Tirukkural Translations in English (4 vols.). Chennai: Central Institute of Classical Tamil, ISBN 978-81-908000-2-0.
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