The Kural is a classic Tamil work of poetry by Thiruvalluvar, composed as short couplets. It gathers ethical teachings on virtue, right living, statecraft, and love. It is worth hearing for its clear, universal reflections on how to live well.
Very few in the world outside of the Tamil country have heard the name of the poet whose work is presented here in a new English garb. And yet he is one of those seers whose message is intended not merely for their own age or country but for all time and for all mankind. Born in the lowest of castes and bred up to the profession of weaving, which was his only means of livelihood till the day came for him to renounce all worldly ties, Thiruvalluvar has given to the world a work to which, in perfection of form, profundity of thought, nobleness of sentiment, and earnestness of moral purpose, very few books outside the grand scriptures of humanity can at all be compared. Indeed his work is eulogised by the Tamil people as the Tamil Veda, the universal Veda, the later Veda, the Divine book etc., etc. It is a great pity that such a treasure should have been confined for so many ages only to one single people even in Hindustan.
The translation that I offer here is not the first translation of this chef d’oeuvre in a European language. More than a century and a half ago the famous Jesuit missionary, Constantius Beschi, who lived in the Tamil country for 42 years, translated the first two parts of the book into Latin. This translation was available only in manuscript until the Rev. G. U. Pope printed it in the notes to his edition.
It is this manuscript that Dr. Graul is said to have used for his translations of the Kural into German as well as Latin. F. W. Ellis, W. H.
Drew, E. J. Robinson, J. Lazarus and the late Rev. G. U. Pope have made translations into English of the whole or portions of the book at various dates between 1820 and 1886. M. Ariel and M. de Dumast have translated some stray portions into French. M. Ariel refers to a translation of the book into French by some author about
1767 which is to be found in the Bibliothèque Nationale of Paris, while he himself has published a French translation of Part III. M.
Lamairesse has more recently published a complete translation in the same language, which, however, is little better than a bad para-
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