Perhaps the only ancient secular text from India that has been translated into 60 languages the world over...
Thirukural is perhaps the only ancient secular text from India that has beentranslated into 60 languages the world over. Written by Thiruvalluvar, thisTamil book of ethics is remarkable for being shorn of religious ideology, unlikethe Mahabharata or Ramayana.
The aphoristic couplets, known for their brevity, have been compared to atiny mustard seed said to have the knowledge of the seven seas inlaid in it.
Kural’s appeal is universal. It dwells upon three major aspects of life:virtue, wealth and love. The 1,330 couplets fall under 133 chapters, eachcomprising 10 verses on themes such as hospitality, friendship and folly.
Sample these: "The learned will not acknowledge/An ignoramus’ occasionalknowledge"; "Duty is not reward/Does the world recompense the rain-cloud?"
The Kural belongs to that tradition in India which opposed the brahmanicideology; it disregards the caste system and stresses the duty of man towardsmaterial life, the home and family.
Thiruvalluvar warns against the pursuit of other-worldly spirituality. Inthis, the bard is said to have been influenced by the Buddhist-Jaina worldviews.Some 200 years ago, Constantius Beschi, a Jesuit missionary who lived in TamilNadu for 42 years, translated the first two parts into Latin.