Description

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The Tirukkuṟaḷ, or shortly the Kuṟaḷ, is a classic Tamil language text consisting of 1,330 short couplets of seven words each, or Kuṟaḷs. The text is divided into three books, each with aphoristic teachings on virtue (aṟam, dharma), wealth (poruḷ, artha) and love (iṉpam, kama). Considered one of the greatest works on ethics and morality, it is known for its universality and secular nature. Its authorship is traditionally attributed to Vaḷḷuvar, also known in full as Tiruvaḷḷuvar. The text has been dated variously from 300 BCE to 5th century CE.The Kuṟaḷ is traditionally praised with epithets and alternate titles such as "the Tamil Veda" and "the divine book." It emphasizes non-violence and moral vegetarianism as virtues for an individual. In addition, it highlights truthfulness, self-restraint, gratitude, hospitality, kindness, goodness of wife, duty, giving, and so forth, besides covering a wide range of social and political topics such as king, ministers, taxes, justice, forts, war, greatness of army and soldier's honor, death sentence for the wicked, agriculture, education, abstinence from alcohol and intoxicants. It also includes chapters on friendship, love, sexual union, and domestic life.The Kuṟaḷ has been widely admired by scholars and influential leaders across the ethical, social, political, economic, religious, philosophical, and spiritual spheres over its history. These include Iḷaṅkō Aṭikaḷ, Kambar, Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Schweitzer, Contanzo Joseph Beschi, Karl Graul, George Uglow Pope, Alexander Piatigorsky, and Yu Hsi. The Tirukkuṟaḷ is believed to be the most translated of all literary works in the world, barring religious works like the Bible and the Koran (Diaz 41). There are about 130 translations of the Kuṟaḷ in the languages of the world and in English alone (until March 2006) about 50 translations have appeared. The translation service to the Kuṟaḷ in English was started in AD 1794 by N. H. Kindersley and now the history is more than 200 years old.The Kuṟaḷ is considered a masterpiece and one of the most important texts of the Tamil Literature. The Tamil people and the government of Tamil Nadu have long celebrated and upheld the text with reverence.