A beautiful pearl of wisdom, ‘Thirukkural’ is a celebrated Tamil masterpiece written by the revered Tamil Philosopher Thiruvalluvar. The magnum opus discusses righteousness, politics, economics, wealth, love, and pleasure.
It captures the knowledge and experience of those who walked the earth ancient years ago in three different sections titled – Aram (Righteousness), Porul (Wealth) and Inbam (Love) through 1330 couplets called ‘Kurals’.
The Kurals talk about God, the importance of rain, the strength of virtues, gratitude, how to shed one’s vices, truth, karma, power, knowledge, wealth, actions, family, domestic life, love and pleasure, and desires. It encompasses almost every topic and provides thought-provoking nudges to align our little grey cells!
Interestingly, the couplets only use seven words to impart their contained wisdom. Stitched together within two lines in a poetic form called ‘Venba Kural’, they form the knowledge pearls.
It is astonishing to imagine how beautifully Valluvar squeezes worldly knowledge within just two lines and seven words! Furthermore, it remains relevant even today, more than two thousand years after its creation. It is a timeless and priceless post-Sangam Tamil literature that professes entirely secular and unbiased ideas.
“The masterpiece of Tamil literature—one of the highest and purest expressions of human thought. That which above all is wonderful in the Kural is a fact that its author addresses himself without regard to castes, peoples or beliefs to the whole community of mankind; the fact that he formulates sovereign morality and absolute reason; that he proclaims in their very essence, in their eternal abstractness, virtue and truth; that he presents, as it were in one group, the highest laws of domestic and social life; that he is equally perfect in thought, in language and in poetry in the austere metaphysical contemplation of the great mysteries of the Divine Nature as in the easy and graceful analysis of the tenderest emotions of the heart.”
Quote from Monsieur Ariel, who introduced the Thirukkural to the French diaspora, in a letter to Burnouf published in the Journal Asiatique (November–December 1848).
I was introduced to Thirukkural by my parents during the eighth grade as they nudged me to explore the Tamil language. Yet, only after the COVID-19 lockdown I fully appreciated its mettle.
“The darkest hour of the night comes just before the dawn.”
A recent Tamil-Hindi bilingual movie, Merry Christmas, opens with these lines. True enough, the lockdown mirrored the darkness for me. Thiruvalluvar’s words of wisdom emanated like the dawn from these Kurals, and that’s when I discovered its true power. It led me to introspect and enhance my horizons, bringing forth new perspectives on life.
On 17th Jan 1935, Tamil scholars unanimously proposed, and subsequently, the Tamil Nadu govt declared Thiruvalluvar Day to commemorate the author who penned this timeless classic. Almost a century later, I eagerly announce my new series titled ‘Reading Thirukkural’ on yet another Thiruvalluvar day today as I explore the words of the great Valluvar.
The series shall focus on the Kurals sequentially, along with translations, popular commentaries and my apprehension of this magnum opus. In addition, I shall also share exciting facts along with some observations as well.
Thirukkural has been part and pride of our Tamil culture since ancient times. We celebrate, bow down to its knowledge, and actively seek inspiration from it. The moment I resolved to unveil my blog, this particular series materialised almost instantly. Now, finally coming to fruition, I am excited to bring forward my perspectives on Thirukkural and explore the text.
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Nice reading Sahana… Keep up the good work
Thank you so much!