Kural: Difference between revisions

The '''''Tirukkuṟaḷ''''' ({{lang-ta|திருக்குறள்|lit=sacred verses}}), or shortly '''the''' '''''Kural''''' ({{lang-ta|குறள்}}), is a classic Tamil language text consisting of 1,330 short couplets, or [[Kural (poetic form)|kural]]s, of seven words each.{{sfn|Pillai, 1994}} The text is divided into three books with aphoristic teachings on virtue ([[Aram (Kural book)|''aram'']]), wealth ([[Porul (Kural book)|''porul'']]) and love ([[Inbam (Kural book)|''inbam'']]), respectively.{{sfn|Sundaram|1990|pp=7–16}}{{sfn|Blackburn|2000|pp=449–482}}{{sfn|Zvelebil|1973|pp=157–158}} It is widely acknowledged for its universality and [[secularity|secular]] nature.{{sfn|Lal|1992|pp=4333–4334, 4341}}{{sfn|Holmström, Krishnaswamy, and Srilata, 2009|p=5}} Its authorship is traditionally attributed to [[Thiruvalluvar|Valluvar]], also known in full as Thiruvalluvar. The text has been dated variously from 300 BCE to 5th century CE. The traditional accounts describe it as the last work of the third [[Sangam literature|Sangam]], but linguistic analysis suggests a later date of 450 to 500  CE and that it was composed after the Sangam period.{{sfn|Zvelebil|1975|p=124}}

The Kural has influenced scholars and leaders across the ethical, social, political, economic, religious, philosophical, and spiritual spheres over its history.{{sfn|Sundaramurthi, 2000|p=624}} These include [[Ilango Adigal]], [[Kambar (poet)|Kambar]], [[Leo Tolstoy]], [[Mahatma Gandhi]], [[Albert Schweitzer]], [[Ramalinga Swamigal]], [[V. O. Chidambaram Pillai]], [[Karl Graul]], [[George Uglow Pope]], [[Alexander Piatigorsky]], and [[Yu Hsi]]. The work remains the most translated, the most cited, and the most citable of Tamil literary works.{{sfn|Maharajan, 2017|p=19}} The text has been translated into at least 4057 Indian and non-Indian languages, making it one of the [[List of literary works by number of translations|most translated ancient works]]. Ever since it came to print for the first time in 1812, the Kural text has never been out of print.{{sfn|Kovaimani and Nagarajan, 2013|p=29}} The Kural is considered a masterpiece and one of the most important texts of the [[Tamil literature]].{{sfn|Manavalan, 2009|p=24}} Its author is venerated for his selection of virtues found in the known literature and presenting them in a manner that is common and acceptable to all.{{sfn|Chellammal, 2015|p=119}} The Tamil people and the government of [[Tamil Nadu]] have long celebrated and upheld the text with reverence.{{sfn|Zvelebil|1973|pp=156–171}}

In his treatise of Tamil literary history published in 1974, Zvelebil states that the Kural text does not belong to the [[Sangam literature|Sangam]] period and dates it to somewhere between 450 and 500  CE.{{sfn|Zvelebil|1975|p=124}} His estimate is based on the language of the text, its allusions to the earlier works, and its borrowing from some Sanskrit treatises.{{sfn|Zvelebil|1973|p=156}} Zvelebil notes that the text features several grammatical innovations that are absent in the older Sangam literature. The text also features a higher number of [[Sanskrit]] [[loan word]]s compared with these older texts.{{sfn|Zvelebil|1973|p=169}} According to Zvelebil, besides being part of the ancient Tamil literary tradition, the author was also a part of the "one great Indian ethical, didactic tradition" as a few of the verses in the Kural text are "undoubtedly" translations of the verses of earlier Indian texts.{{sfn|Zvelebil|1973|p=171}}

In the 19th century and the early 20th century, European writers and missionaries variously dated the text and its author to between 400 and 1000  CE.{{sfn|Blackburn|2000|p=454 with footnote 7}} According to Blackburn, the "current scholarly consensus" dates the text and the author to approximately 500  CE.{{sfn|Blackburn|2000|p=454 with footnote 7}}

Valluvar is thought to have belonged to either [[Jainism]] or [[Hinduism]].{{sfn|Zvelebil|1973|pp=156–171}}{{sfn|Lal|1992|pp=4333–4334}}{{sfn|Kaushik Roy|2012|pp=152–154, context: 144–154 (Chapter: Hinduism and the Ethics of Warfare in South Asia)}}{{sfn|Swamiji Iraianban|1997|p=13}}{{sfn|Sundaram|1990|pp=xiii–xvii, Appendix note on verse 1103}}{{sfn|Johnson, 2009}} This can be observed in his treatment of the concept of [[ahimsa]] or [[non-violence]], which is the principal concept of both the religions.{{Ref label|A|a|none}} In the 1819 translation, [[Francis Whyte Ellis]] mentions that the Tamil community debates whether Valluvar was a Jain or Hindu.{{sfn|Blackburn|2000|pp=463–464}} According to Zvelebil, Valluvar's treatment of the chapters on [[moral vegetarianism]] and [[non-killing]] reflects the Jain precepts.{{sfn|Zvelebil|1973|pp=156–171}}{{Ref label|A|a|none}} Certain epithets for God and ascetic values found in the text are found in Jainism, states Zvelebil. He theorizes that Valluvar was probably "a learned Jain with eclectic leanings", who was well acquainted with the earlier Tamil literature and also had knowledge of the Sanskrit texts.{{sfn|Zvelebil|1973|p=155}} According to A. Chakravarthy Nainar, the Jaina tradition associates the work with [[Kundakunda|Kunda Kunda Acharya]], also known as Elachariyar in the Tamil region, the chief of the Southern Pataliputra Dravidian Sanghaat, who lived around the latter half of the first century BCE and the former half of the first century CE.{{sfn|Chakravarthy, 1953}} Nevertheless, early [[Digambara]] or [[SvetambaraŚvetāmbara]] Jaina texts do not mention Valluvar or the Kural text. The first claim of Valluvar as an authority appears in a 16th-century Jain text.{{sfn|Zvelebil|1974|p=119 with footnote 10}}

Valluvar's writings, according to scholars, also suggest that he might have belonged to [[Hinduism]]. Hindu teachers have mapped his teachings in the Kural literature to the teachings found in Hindu texts.{{sfn|Swamiji Iraianban|1997|p=13}}{{sfn|Sundaram|1990|pp=xiii–xvii, Appendix note on verse 1103}} The three parts that the Kural is divided into, namely, ''aṟam'' (virtue), ''poruḷ'' (wealth) and ''inbam'' (love), aiming at attaining ''veedu'' (ultimate salvation), follow, respectively, the four foundations of Hinduism, namely, [[dharma]], [[artha]], [[kama]] and [[moksha]].{{sfn|Sundaram|1990|pp=7–16}}{{sfn|Johnson, 2009}} While the text extols the virtue of non-violence, it also dedicates many of 700 ''poruḷ'' couplets to various aspects of statecraft and warfare in a manner similar to the Hindu text ''Arthasastra''.{{sfn|Kaushik Roy|2012|pp=152–154, context: 144–154 (Chapter: Hinduism and the Ethics of Warfare in South Asia)}} For example, according to the text, an army has a duty to kill in battle, and a king must execute criminals for justice.{{sfn|Ananthanathan, 1994|p=325}}{{Ref label|E|e|none}} Valluvar's mentioning of God [[Vishnu]] in couplets 610 and 1103 and [[Goddess Lakshmi]] in couplets 167, 408, 519, 565, 568, 616, and 617 suggests the [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnavite]] beliefs of the author.{{sfn|Kovaimani and Nagarajan, 2013|pp=145–148}}{{sfn|Natarajan, 2008|pp=4–5}} P. R. Natarajan lists at least 24 different usage of Hindu origin in 29 different couplets across the Kural text.{{sfn|Natarajan, 2008|pp=4–5}} According to Purnalingam Pillai, who is known for his critique of [[Brahminism]], a rational analysis of the Kural text suggests that Valluvar was a Hindu, and not a Jain.{{sfn|Blackburn|2000|pp=464–465}} [[Matthieu Ricard]] believes Valluvar belonged to the Shaivite tradition of South India.{{sfn|Ricard, 2016|p=27}} According to Thomas Manninezhath – a theology scholar who grew up in South India, the ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'' is believed by the natives to reflect [[Advaita Vedanta]] philosophy and teaches an "Advaitic way of life".{{sfn|Manninezhath, 1993|pp=78–79}}

{{main|Translations of Tirukkural|List of Tirukkural translations by language|Tirukkural translations into English}}

The best known and influential historic commentary on the Kural text is the ''Parimelalhakiyar virutti''. It was written by [[Parimelalhagar]] – a [[Vaishnavism|Vaishnava]] Brahmin, likely based in [[Kanchipuram]], who lived about or before 1272  CE.{{sfn|Zvelebil|1975|p=126 with footnotes}} Along with the Kural text, this commentary has been widely published and is in itself a Tamil classic.{{sfn|Cutler, 1992|pp=558–561, 563}} Parimelalhagar's commentary has survived over the centuries in many folk and scholarly versions. A more scholarly version of this commentary was published by Krisnamachariyar in 1965.{{sfn|Zvelebil|1975|p=126 with footnotes}} According to Norman Cutler, Parimelalhagar's commentary interprets and maneuvers the Kural text within his own context, grounded in the concepts and theological premises of Hinduism. His commentary closely follows the Kural's teachings, while reflecting both the cultural values and textual values of the 13th- and 14th-century Tamil Nadu. Valluvar's text can be interpreted and maneuvered in other ways, states Cutler.{{sfn|Cutler, 1992|pp=558–561, 563}}

The text was likely translated into Indian languages by Indian scholars over the centuries, but the palm leaf manuscripts of such translations have been rare. For example, S. R. Ranganathan,  a librarian of [[University of Madras]] during the [[British Raj|British rule]], discovered a Malayalam translation copied in year 777 of the Malayalam calendar, a manuscript that Zvelebil dates to late 16th century.{{sfn|Zvelebil|1975|p=127 with footnote 99}}

By the end of the 20th century, there were about 24 translations of the Kural in English alone, by both native and non-native scholars, including those by [[V. V. S. Aiyar]], [[K. M. Balasubramaniam]], [[Shuddhananda Bharati]], [[A. Chakravarti]], [[M. S. Purnalingam Pillai]], [[C. Rajagopalachari]], [[P. S. Sundaram]], [[V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar]], [[G. Vanmikanathan]], [[Kasturi Srinivasan]], [[S. N. Sriramadesikan]], and [[K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar]].{{sfn|Ramasamy|2001|p=36}} The work has also been translated into [[Vaagri Booli language|Vaagri Booli]], the language of the [[Narikurava]]s, a tribal community in Tamil Nadu, by Kittu Sironmani.{{sfn|''The Hindu'', 25 March 2013}} As of {{year}}, the Kural text had been translated into at least 42 languages, with some 100 different translations in English alone. In October 2021, the [[Central Institute of Classical Tamil]] announced its translating the Kural text into 102 world languages.{{sfn|''Dinamalar'', 20 October 2021}}

According to Norman Cutler, both in the past and in the contemporary era, the Kural has been reinterpreted and fit to reflect the textual values in the text as well as the cultural values of the author(s).{{sfn|Cutler, 1992|pp=549–554}} About 1300  CE, the Tamil scholar Parimelalhagar interpreted the text in [[Brahmanical]] premises and terms.{{sfn|Cutler, 1992|pp=549–554}} Just like Christian missionaries during the colonial era cast the work in their own Christian premises, phrases and concepts, some [[Dravidian parties|Dravidianists]] of the contemporary era reinterpret and cast the work to further their own goals and socio-political values. This has produced highly divergent interpretations of the original.{{sfn|Cutler, 1992|pp=549–554}}{{sfn|Blackburn|2000|pp=449–457}}

The ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'' remained the chief administrative text of the [[Kongu Nadu]] region of the medieval Tamil land.{{sfn|Polilan et al., 2019|p=779}} Kural inscriptions and other historical records are found across Tamil Nadu. The 15th-century Jain inscriptions in the [[Ponsorimalai]] near [[Mallur, Salem|Mallur]] in [[Salem district]] bear couplet 251 from the "Shunning meat" chapter of the Kural text, indicating that the people of the Kongu Nadu region practiced ahimsa and non-killing as chief virtues.{{sfn|Polilan et al., 2019|pp=774–779, 783}} Other inscriptions include the 1617  CE Poondurai Nattar scroll in Kongu Nadu, the 1798  CE [[Palladam]] Angala Parameshwari Kodai copper inscriptions in [[Naranapuram]] in Kongu Nadu, the 18th-century copper inscriptions found in [[Kapilamalai]] near Kapilakkuricchi town in [[Namakkal district]], Veeramudiyalar mutt copper inscriptions in [[Palani]], Karaiyur copper inscription in Kongu Nadu, Palaiyakottai records, and the 1818 Periya Palayathamman temple inscriptions by [[Francis Whyte Ellis|Francis Ellis]] at [[Royapettah]] in [[Chennai]].{{sfn|Polilan et al., 2019|pp=774–784}}

===PopularIn popular culture===

[[File:ValluvarShrineAtMylaporeTemple.jpg|210px|thumb|left|Shrine of Valluvar at a temple in [[Mylapore]].]]

Additional Valluvar shrines in South India are found at [[Tiruchuli]],{{sfn|Kannan, ''The New Indian Express'', 11 March 2013}}{{sfn|''The Times of India'', 9 November 2019}} [[Periya Kalayamputhur (Dindigul district)|Periya Kalayamputhur]], [[Thondi]], [[Kanjoor|Kanjoor Thattanpady]], [[Senapathy village (Idukki district)|Senapathy]], and [[Vilvarani (Tiruvannamalai district)|Vilvarani]].{{sfn|Vedanayagam, 2017|p=113}} Many of these communities, including those in [[Thiruvalluvar Temple, Mylapore|Mylapore]] and [[Thiruvalluvar Temple, Tiruchuli|Tiruchuli]], consider Valluvar as the [[Nayanars|64th Nayanmar]] of the [[Saivite]] tradition and worship him as god and saint.{{sfn|Kannan, ''The New Indian Express'', 11 March 2013}}{{sfn|Bhatt, 2020}}

[[File:Thiruvalluvar Statue Kanyakumari.jpg|thumb|left|Statue of Valluvar, along with the Vivekananda memorial, off the coast of Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu.]]

[[File:KuralDiscourse.jpg|thumb|right|A Kural discourse in Chennai in January 2019.]]

* [httphttps://www.projectmadurai.org/pm_etexts/pdf/pm0153.pdf G. U. Pope's English Translation of the Tirukkural]