Thirukkural
திருக்குறள்
1,330 couplets on virtue, wealth and love, so compressed that Tamils have argued about them for fifteen centuries.
Thiruvalluvar's 1,330 couplets, each of seven words, arranged in 133 chapters of ten, across three books: Aram (virtue), Porul (wealth, politics, society) and Inbam (love). It is the most translated Tamil text, the one placed under oath in Tamil courts, and the work every Tamil child memorises. It is not a religious scripture in the narrow sense—Valluvar names no deity and no sect—and this is precisely its power: it is ethics for everyone, sharp enough to be quoted at a minister and gentle enough to be whispered to a child. Nearly every Tamil saint in this library quoted it; Bharathiyar called it the greatest book in the world.
அகர முதல எழுத்தெல்லாம் ஆதி
பகவன் முதற்றே உலகு.
bagavan mudhaṟṟē ulagu.
As the letter A is first of all letters, so the primal Lord is first of all the world.
The opening couplet: the whole book begins by pointing beyond itself.
ஐந்தவித்தான் ஆற்றல் அகல்விசும்பு ளார்கோமான்
இந்திரனே சாலுங் கரி.
Indhiranē sālung kari.
Of the power of one who has stilled the five senses, Indra, king of the wide heaven, is himself the witness.
Valluvar on self-mastery: even the gods testify to it.
மனத்துக்கண் மாசிலன் ஆதல் அனைத்தறன்
ஆகுல நீர பிற.
āgula nīra piṟa.
To be free of stain in the mind—that is the whole of virtue. All else is empty show.
Sarada Devi's “the mind is everything,” fifteen centuries earlier.
குழல்இனிது யாழ்இனிது என்பதம் மக்கள்
மழலைச்சொல் கேளா தவர்.
mazhalaichchol kēḷā dhavar.
“The flute is sweet, the lute is sweet,” say those who have not heard their own children's babble.
The chapter on children. Valluvar's ethics include the nursery.
அன்பிற்கும் உண்டோ அடைக்குந்தாழ் ஆர்வலர்
புன்கணீர் பூசல் தரும்.
punkaṇīr pūsal tharum.
Is there a bolt that can lock in love? The small tears of the loving betray it.
The first couplet of the chapter on love. Love, for Valluvar, cannot be hidden.
இனிய உளவாக இன்னாத கூறல்
கனிஇருப்பக் காய்கவர்ந் தற்று.
kani-iruppak kāykavarn thaṟṟu.
To speak harsh words when kind ones are at hand is to pick the unripe fruit while the ripe hangs there.
On speech; Bharathi's “sweetness in speech” comes from here.
ஒறுத்தாரை ஒன்றாக வையாரே வைப்பர்
பொறுத்தாரைப் பொன்போற் பொதிந்து.
poṟuththāraip ponpōṟ podhindhu.
Those who punish are counted as nothing; those who bear patiently are treasured like gold.
The chapter on forbearance. Sarada Devi's “patient like the earth.”
தன்னூன் பெருக்கற்குத் தான்பிறிது ஊனுண்பான்
எங்ஙனம் ஆளும் அருள்.
engṅanam āḷum aruḷ.
How can one who eats the flesh of another to fatten his own flesh possess compassion?
The chapter on abstaining from meat; the argument is from compassion, not ritual.
தன்னைத்தான் காக்கின் சினங்காக்க காவாக்கால்
தன்னையே கொல்லுஞ் சினம்.
thannaiyē kollunj sinam.
If you would guard yourself, guard against anger. Unguarded, anger kills its owner.
The Gita's chain (2.62) in seven words.
இன்னாசெய் தாரை ஒறுத்தல் அவர்நாண
நன்னயஞ் செய்து விடல்.
nannayanj seydhu viḍal.
The way to punish those who harm you is to shame them by doing them good—and then to forget it.
Marcus Aurelius 6.6 and Dhammapada 223 say the same; Valluvar adds “and then forget it.”
நெருநல் உளனொருவன் இன்றில்லை என்னும்
பெருமை உடைத்திவ் வுலகு.
perumai uḍaiththiv vulagu.
“Yesterday he was; today he is not”—such is the greatness of this world.
The chapter on impermanence. The Mahabharata's Yaksha asks the same question.
உறங்குவது போலுஞ் சாக்காடு உறங்கி
விழிப்பது போலும் பிறப்பு.
vizhippadhu pōlum piṟappu.
Death is like sleep; birth is like waking from it.
Seven words on death, without fear.
பற்றுக பற்றற்றான் பற்றினை அப்பற்றைப்
பற்றுக பற்று விடற்கு.
paṟṟuga paṟṟu viḍaṟku.
Hold fast to the hold of the One who holds nothing; hold that hold, in order to let go of holding.
The chapter on renunciation ends with a paradox: attach yourself to the unattached, so as to be free of attachment.
கற்க கசடறக் கற்பவை கற்றபின்
நிற்க அதற்குத் தக.
niṟka adhaṟkuth thaga.
Learn what is worth learning, flawlessly; and having learned, stand by it.
Vivekananda: “not what you read … but what you realise.”
எப்பொருள் யார்யார்வாய்க் கேட்பினும் அப்பொருள்
மெய்ப்பொருள் காண்ப தறிவு.
meypporuḷ kāṇba thaṟivu.
Whatever you hear, from whomever you hear it, wisdom is to see the truth in it.
On doubt: neither credulity nor cynicism, but discernment.
அஞ்சுவது அஞ்சாமை பேதைமை அஞ்சுவது
அஞ்சல் அறிவார் தொழில்.
añjal aṟivār thozhil.
Not to fear what should be feared is folly; to fear what should be feared is the work of the wise.
Valluvar is not Bharathi: some fear, he says, is intelligence. Put the two side by side.
ஆக்கம் அதர்வினாய்ச் செல்லும் அசைவிலா
ஊக்க முடையா னுழை.
ūkka muḍaiyā nuzhai.
Prosperity asks the way and comes to the one whose effort does not waver.
The chapter on perseverance.
உள்ளுவ தெல்லாம் உயர்வுள்ளல் மற்றது
தள்ளினுந் தள்ளாமை நீர்த்து.
thaḷḷinun thaḷḷāmai nīrththu.
Let all your thinking be of rising. Even if it fails, the failure has the nature of the aim.
The Mother's “on the quality of your aim will depend the quality of your life.”
இடுக்கண் வருங்கால் நகுக அதனை
அடுத்தூர்வது அஃதொப்ப தில்.
aḍuththūrvadhu aḥdhoppa dhil.
When trouble comes, laugh. Nothing else so drives it back.
The chapter on not losing heart. Yogananda: “when death comes, laugh at it.”
இன்பம் விழையான் இடும்பை இயல்பென்பான்
துன்பம் உறுதல் இலன்.
thunbam uṟudhal ilan.
One who does not chase pleasure and takes trouble as the nature of things will not be made to suffer.
Stoicism, from the Tamil country.
பிறப்பொக்கும் எல்லா உயிர்க்கும் சிறப்பொவ்வா
செய்தொழில் வேற்றுமை யான்.
seythozhil vēṟṟumai yān.
All living beings are equal in birth; they differ in worth only by what they do.
The verse Bharathi built his politics on.
- Project Madurai — full Tamil text ↗
- G. U. Pope's translation, 1886 (public domain) ↗
- Tamil Virtual Academy ↗
Where the translation is marked “Aumidhra”, the English is our own plain rendering from the original, made with the public-domain translations above as reference. Where a translator is named, the wording is theirs.
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