Tirukkural, also known as the Kural, an ancient Indian treatise on the ethics and morality of the commoner, is one of the most widely translated non-religious works in the world. Authored by the ancient Tamil poet-philosopher Thiruvalluvar, the work has been translated into 57 languages, with a total of 350 individual translations, including 143 different renderings in the English language alone.
Beginning of translations
editThe Kural text, considered to have been written in the 1st century BCE,[2] remained unknown to the outside world for close to one and a half millennia. The first translation of the Kural text appeared in Malayalam in 1595 CE under the title Tirukkural Bhasha by an unknown author. It was a prose rendering of the entire Kural, written closely to the spoken Malayalam of that time.[2] However, again, this unpublished manuscript remained obscure until it was first reported by the Annual Report of the Cochin Archeological Department for the year 1933–34.[3] It took another three centuries before the next Malayalam translation was made in 1863 by Perunazhi Krishna Vaidhyan.
The Kural text has enjoyed a universal appeal right from antiquity owing to its secular and non-denominational nature that it suited the sensibilities of all.[4] The universality is such that, despite its having been written in the pre-Christian era, almost every religious group in India and across the world, including Christianity, has claimed the work for itself.[5] Owing to its ethical content, the Kural remained one of the most admired ancient Indian works among the Christian missionaries of the 16th and 17th centuries,[6] who arrived in India during the colonial era and found the Kural text containing many more ideals in addition to those that are similar to their own Christian ideals. This marked the beginning of wider translations of the Kural text.[7]
In 1730, Constantius Joseph Beschi rendered the Kural text into Latin, introducing the work to the Europeans for the first time. However, only the first two books of the Kural text, namely, virtue and wealth, were translated by Beschi, who considered translating the book on love inappropriate for a Christian missionary. Around 1767, an unknown author made the first French translation, which went unnoticed.[7] The Danish Missionary August Friedrich Caemmerer translated it into German in 1803.[6][8] The first available French version, however, was the one made in 1848 by E. S. Ariel. Here again, only parts of the work was translated.[7] In 1856, Karl Graul translated the Kural into German, claiming that the Kural is closer to the Christian preaching and offers a model of Tamil worldview.[6] The German version was published both at London and Leipzig. In 1865, his Latin translation of the Kural text, along with commentaries in Simple Tamil, was posthumously published.[9]
The first English translation ever was attempted by N. E. Kindersley in 1794 when he translated select couplets of the Kural. This was followed by another incomplete attempt by Francis Whyte Ellis in 1812, who translated only 120 couplets—69 in verse and 51 in prose.[10][11][12][13] William Henry Drew translated the first two parts in prose in 1840 and 1852, respectively. Along with Drew's English prose translation, it contained the original Tamil text, the Tamil commentary by Parimelalhagar and Ramanuja Kavirayar's amplification of the commentary. Drew, however, translated only 630 couplets. The remaining portions were translated by John Lazarus, a native missionary, thus providing the first complete English translation. In 1886, George Uglow Pope published the first complete English translation in verse by a single author, which brought the Kural text to a wide audience of the western world.[14]
By the turn of the twenty-first century, the Kural had already been translated to more than 37 world languages,[15] with at least 24 complete translations in English language alone, by both native and non-native scholars. By 2014, the Kural had been translated to more than 42 languages, with 57 versions available in English. Along with the Bible and the Quran, the Kural remains one of the most translated works in the world.[16] In October 2021, the Central Institute of Classical Tamil announced its translating the Kural text into 102 world languages.[17]
Criticisms on translations
editThe couplets of the Kural are inherently complex by virtue of their dense meaning within their terse structure. Thus, no translation can perfectly reflect the true nature of any given couplet of the Kural unless read and understood in its original Tamil form.[18] Added to this inherent difficulty is the attempt by some scholars to either read their own ideas into the Kural couplets or deliberately misinterpret the message to make it conform to their preconceived notions, a problem of Hermeneutics. The Latin translation by Father Beshi, for instance, contains several such mistranslations noticed by modern scholars. According to V. Ramasamy, "Beschi is purposely distorting the message of the original when he renders பிறவாழி as 'the sea of miserable life' and the phrase பிறவிப்பெருங்கடல் as 'sea of this birth' which has been translated by others as 'the sea of many births'. Beschi means thus 'those who swim the vast sea of miseries'. The concept of rebirth or many births for the same soul is contrary to Christian principle and belief".[7] In August 2022, the governor of Tamil Nadu, R. N. Ravi, criticized Anglican Christian missionary G. U. Pope for "translating with the colonial objective to 'trivialise' the spiritual wisdom of India," resulting in a "de-spiritualised version" of the Kural text.[19]
List of translations
editBelow is a list of translations of the Kural:[20][21][22]
S.No. | Language | Translator(s) | Title of the Translation | Place of Publication | Year | Coverage and Form | Notes | Translation for comparison: Kural (verse) 251 (Chapter 26:1) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Arabic | Muhammad Yousuf Kokan | Al-Abiayaatul Muqaddisa (Sacred Verses) | (Hanifa House Printers and Publishers) | 1976–1980 | Complete | Translated from an English translation.[23] | كيف يكون احد رؤوفا ورحيما إن يأكل الحيوانات لا زدياد شحمه ودسمه فى جثـتـه وجسمه |
Basheer Ahmed Jamali | Chennai (Central Institute of Classical Tamil) | 2014 | Complete | [24] | ||||
Amar Hasan | Thirukkural | Beirut, Lebanon (Al Farabi Publications) | 2015 | Complete | [25][26] | |||
Mahmood Fat-hi Sa’d Khalifa | Egypt | |||||||
A. Jahir Hussain | Thirukkural | Chennai (International Institute of Tamil Studies) | 2020 | Complete–Verse | Translated from Tamil original.[27][28][29] | |||
K. M. A. Ahamed Zubair | Al- Abyath Al- Baariza: Thirukkural | London (Shams Publishing Inc.) | 2024 | Complete | ISBN: 978-620-3-91353-8 | |||
2 | Assamese | Malini Goswami | Thirukural | Guwahati (Assam Publication Board) | 2012 | Complete | ||
B. Vijayakumar | Thirukkural in Assamese | Chennai (Central Institute of Classical Tamil) | 2023 | Complete | Released by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2023[22]: 30 | |||
3 | Awadhi | Ram Lakshan Prajapati Pratagarthit | Thirukkural in Awadhi | Chennai (Central Institute of Classical Tamil) | 2023 | Complete | Released by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2023[22]: 35 | |
4 | Badaga | C. P. Krishniah | Thirukkural in Badaga | Chennai (Central Institute of Classical Tamil) | 2022 | Complete | ||
5 | Bengali | Nalini Mohan Sanyal | Thirukkural | Calcutta | 1939 | Prose | ||
E. C. Sastri | Thirukkural | Calcutta | 1974 | Prose | ||||
N. Ramanuja Das Khardah | Thirukkural | 1993 | Prose | |||||
S. Krishnamoorthy | Tirukkural (Ancient Tamil Poetry) | Calcutta (Sahityika) | 2001 | Complete—Verse | Reprinted in 2014 by Sahitya Akademi; 148 pages. ISBN 978-81-260-4719-2[30] | |||
6 | Bhojpuri | Harish Chandra Mishra | Thirukkural in Bhojpuri | Chennai (Central Institute of Classical Tamil) | 2023 | Complete | ISBN: 978-81-260-4719-2; Released by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2023[22]: 38 | |
7 | Bodo | Rupali Swarglary | Tirukkural | Chennai (Central Institute of Classical Tamil)[24]: 37–38 | 2023 | Complete | ||
8 | Burmese | U. Myo Thant | Thirukkural (Nitimala of Tamil men: The Bible of Syracuse) | Rangoon (Kanbe Nattukottai Chettiyar Education Trust)[24] | 1964 | Complete—Prose | 193 pages | |
Parimala Devi Thinagara Suwami | Thirukkural Burmese Translation | Chennai (Central Institute of Classical Tamil)[24]: 39–40 | 2023 | Complete | 430 pages; ISBN: 978-81-19249-27-5 | |||
9 | Chinese | Ch'eng Xi | Gula Zhenyan (古臘箴言) | Hong Kong (Hong Kong University Press: Xianggang Daxue Chubanshe) | 1967 | 166 pages | 如何真正实践慈悲谁吃动物肉养肥自己的血肉? | |
Yu Hsi | Thirukkural | Taipei, Taiwan (Poem Culture Corp.) | 2010 | Complete | ISBN: 978-986-8677-5-0; 267 pages; Book released by former President of India, A. P. J. Abdul Kalam[31] Reprinted in India in 2014 by the Department of Tamil Development and Culture | 以他者的脂肪養胖自己的人, 怎可能是善良的呢? | ||
10 | Creole | Rama Valayden | Port Louis, Mauritius (Calson Printing Ltd) | 2007 | Translated only Books I and II; ISBN 978-99903-66-21-1 | |||
K. Karupudayyan and Ramen | 2018 | Partial | Translated only Book III[24]: 42–43 | Not translated | ||||
Uma Allaghery | Thirukkural (Kreol [Morisien] Translation) | Chennai (Central Institute of Classical Tamil)[24]: 42–43 | 2023 | Complete | ||||
11 | Czech | Kamil V. Zvelebil | Thirukural (Selections) | Prague | 1952–1954 | Selections | Translated select couplets that appeared in Novy Orient, a Czech journal, during 1952–54.[32] | |
12 | Danish | Marianne Steen Isak | Thirukural | (Tamil Danish Socio-Literary Federation) | 2021 | Complete | ||
Anjalay Ratnam Keertana, Amirthalingam, Roshana-Jasmin Simon, and Sumeka Srikaran |
Tirukkural (Danish) | Chennai (Central Institute of Classical Tamil)[24]: 45–46 | 2023 | Complete | ISBN: 978-93-81744-71-0 | |||
13 | Dutch | D. Kat | Thirukural (Selections) | Netherlands | 1964 | Selections | ||
14 | English | Nathaniel Edward Kindersley | Specimens of Hindoo Literature | London (W. Bulmer and Co.) | 1794 | Selections—Verse | Made the first ever translation of the Kural text into English in a chapter titled 'Extracts from the Teroo-Vaulaver Kuddul, or, The Ocean of Wisdom' in his book Specimens of Hindoo Literature[33] | Not translated. |
Francis Whyte Ellis | Thirukural on Virtue (in verse) with Commentary | Madras | 1812 (reprint 1955) | Selections—Mixed | Incomplete translation—only 120 couplets translated, 69 in verse and 51 in prose | Not translated | ||
William Henry Drew | The Cural of Thiruvalluvar with Commentary of Parimelazhakar | Madurai (American Mission Press) | 1840 | Partial—Prose | Translated only the first 630 couplets | How can he be possessed of kindness, who, to increase his own flesh, eats the flesh of other (creatures)? | ||
Charles E. Gover | Odes from the Kural (Folksongs of South India) | Madras (Higginbothams) | 1872 | Selections–Verse | Reprinted in 1981 by Gian Publications, Delhi | |||
Edward Jewitt Robinson | Tamil Wisdom | London (Paternoster Row) | 1873 | Partial—Verse | Translated only Books I and II (1080 couplets) | What graciousness by those is shown Who feed with others' flesh their own? | ||
William Henry Drew, and John Lazarus | Thirukural (in verses) | Madras | 1885 | Partial—Prose | Lazarus revised Drew's work and translated the remaining portion (couplets 631 to 1330) in prose as done by Drew, thus making the incomplete work of Drew a complete one. | How can he be possessed of kindness, who, to increase his own flesh, eats the flesh of other (creatures)? | ||
George Uglow Pope | A Collection of the English Translation of Thirukural | Madras | 1886 | Complete—Verse | First complete translation in English by a single author | How can the wont of 'kindly grace' to him be known, Who other creatures' flesh consumes to feed his own? | ||
T. Thirunavukarasu | Kural—A Selection of 366 Verses (A Gem for Each Day) | Madras (SPCK Press) | 1915 | Selections—Prose | ||||
V. V. S. Aiyar | Kural: Maxims of Thiruvalluvar | Madras (Amudha Nilayam)[34] | 1916 | Complete–Prose | How can he feel pity, who eateth other flesh to fatten his own? | |||
T. P. Meenakshisundaram | 1919 | Published the 1904 work of K. Vadivelu Chettiar with English renderings.[35] Republished in 1972–1980 in Madurai as Kural in English with Tamil Text and Parimelazhakar Commentary (3 parts). Recent edition published in 2015 in 2 volumes. | ||||||
S. Sabaratna Mudaliyar | Kural | Madras | 1920 | |||||
G. Vanmikanathan | The Tirukkural: A unique guide to moral, material and spiritual prosperity | Madras (Rathina Nayakkar & Sons) Tiruchirappalli (The Tirukural Prachar Sangh) |
1924 | Complete— | ||||
A. Madhaviah | Kural in English with Commentary in Tamil | Madras (Panchamirtham Press) | 1925 | Selections—Verse | ||||
T. V. Parameswaran Aiyar | 108 Gems from the Sacred Kural | Kottayam (Jagadamba Vidhya Vihar) | 1928 | Selections | ||||
Unknown | Jeevakarunya Thirukkural Selections | Karaikkudi (Kumaran Co. Publishers) | 1928 | Selections | ||||
S. Somasundara Bharathiyar | Tiruvalluvar: English translation in Tamil lectures | Madurai (Madurai Tamil Sangam) | 1929 | Published again in 1966 by Navalar Somasundara Bharatiyar Trust, Chennai | ||||
H. A. Popley | The Sacred Kural (Selections in verses) | Calcutta (The Heritage of India Press) | 1931 | Selections—Verse | Another edition published by YMCA Publishing House | How can kindliness rule that man, Who eateth other flesh to increase his own? | ||
A. Ranganatha Muthaliar | Thirukural Moolamum Uraiyum with English Translation | Madras (Suvarna Vilas) | 1933 | 365 pages | ||||
C. Rajagopalachari | Kural, the Great Book of Thiruvalluvar | Madras | 1935 | Partial—Prose | Selections of 355 couplets; second edition published in 1965 by Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan | |||
M. S. Purnalingam Pillai | The Kural in English | Tirunelveli (Sri Kanthimathi Vilasam Press) | 1942 | Complete–Prose | How can a man grace who eats the meat of other animal to fatten himself? | |||
S. M. Michael | The Sacred Aphorisms of Thiruvalluvar (in verse) | Nagarcoil | 1946 | Complete—Verse | Who eats flesh other his own to expand, How can he grace command? | |||
V. R. Ramachandra Dikshitar | Thirukural in English with Roman Translation | Madras | 1949 | Complete—Prose | He who fattens on the flesh of animals, can he ever understand the rule of love? | |||
M. R. Rajagopala Aiyangar | Tirukkural | Kumbakonam (S. Viswanathan and Co.) | 1950 | Complete–Prose | ||||
P. Raja | Thirukural (in verses) | Kumbakonam | 1950 | —Verse | ||||
A. Chakravarti | Thirukural in English with Commentary | Madras (Diocesan Press, Vepery) | 1953 | Complete—Prose | 648 pages | How can a person cultivate the habit of universal benevolence if he for the purpose of fattening his own flesh (body) eats flesh of other animals? | ||
I. D. Thangaswami | Thirukural: Virtue and Wealth (Selections in Verse) | Madras (K. Venkatesan, The Progressive Printers) | 1954 | Selections—Verse | Translated only 366 verses from Books I and II. | |||
Issac T. Thangaiya | Thirukkural in English with Parimelazhakar Commentary | Madras | 1955 | |||||
K. M. Balasubramaniam | Thirukural of Thiruvalluvar | Madras (Manali Lakshmana Mudaliar's Specific Endowments) | 1962 | Complete—Verse | Reprinted in 2012 by Palaniappa Brothers, Chennai and Shivalayam, Chennai | How can the one who eats a flesh to have his own flesh swell Possess a melting heart in which compassion could e'er dwell? | ||
T. Muthuswamy | Thirukkural, the Gospel of Mankind | Madurai (Vivekananda Press) | 1965 | Partial—Prose | ||||
V. Chinnarajan | The Kural Gems | Udumalpet (Gopalaratna Gupta) | 1967 | Selections–Verse | ||||
C. R. Soundararajan | 1968 | Complete–Prose | ||||||
Emmons E. White | The Wisdom of India | New York City (The Peter Pauper Press) | 1968 | Selections–Verse | Published as The Wisdom of the Tamil People in 1976 | |||
Yogi Suddanantha Bharathi | Thirukural with English Couplets | Madras (SISSWP Society) | 1968 | Complete—Verse | What graciousness can one command Who feeds his flesh by flesh gourmand? | |||
G. Vanmikanathan | The Thirukural—A Unique Guide to Moral, Material and Spiritual Prosperity | Trichy | 1969 | Complete—Prose | How will he exercise charity, who eats the flesh of another (creature) to fatten his own flesh? | |||
Kasturi Srinivasan | Thirukural: An Ancient Tamil Classic (in couplets) | Bombay (Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan) | 1969 | Complete—Verse | To feed his flesh, who flesh consumes What kindly grace, such man presumes? | |||
A. Gajapathy Nayagar | The Rosary of Gems of Thirukkural | Madras (The Tamilar Peravai) | 1969 | Selections | ||||
Yogi Suddanantha Bharathi | Thirukural Couplets with Clear Prose Rendering | Madras | 1970 | Complete—Prose | ||||
T. N. S. Ragavachari | Teachings of Tiruvalluvar's Kural | Madras (Health, June 1966 – October 1971) | 1971 | Complete–Prose | Reprinted in 1982 | |||
S. R. V. Vasu | Voice of Valluvar: A Modern Commentary of the Kural | Madras (Thayakam) | 1972 | Selection | Selection of about 200 couplets; 90 pages | |||
E. V. Singan | Tirukkural: The Sayings of Tiruvalluvar | Singapore (EVS Enterprises) | 1975 | Complete–Prose | Reprinted in 1982 | |||
S. N. Sriramadesikan | Tirukkural in Sanskrit, with Tamil and English Translations | Madras (Gangai Puthaka Nilayam)(Lalitha Publications) | 1978 | Complete–Prose | Reprinted in 1991, 1994, and 2006 | How can a person be held to be compassionate when he slays animals and eat their flesh, for fattening his own body? | ||
S. Maharajan | Tiruvalluvar | New Delhi (Sahitya Akademi) | 1979 | Verse—Selections | Translated select couplets from all the three books of the Kural text. Second edition was published in 1982. | How can he be possessed of grace, who, to swell his own flesh, eats the flesh of others! | ||
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniya Swami | Thirukural/Weavers Wisdom | New Delhi (Abhinav Publications)/(Himalayan Academy Publications) | 1979 | Partial—Verse | Translated only Books I and II; published again in 2000 | How can he practice true compassion Who eats the flesh of an animal to fatten his own flesh? | ||
K. C. Kamaliah | Sacred Kural: The Kindly Light | Trinelvely (South India Saiva Siddhanta Works Publishing Society) | 1981 | |||||
S. M. Diaz | Aphorisms of Valluvar: Commentary and Comparative Study | Madras: International Society for the Investigation of Ancient Civilizations | 1982 | Complete—Verse | It is inconsistent with the way of living compassion, To fatten oneself on the flesh of a fellow-creature. | |||
S. Jagathratchagan | Thirukkural: English Rendering | Madras (Apollo Publications) | 1985 | Complete | 291 pages | |||
K. Chokkalingam | Thirukkural: Aratthuppaal | Jaffna (Sri Subramaniya Puthaka Salai) | 1985 | Partial | Translated only Book I | |||
C. Rajasingham | Thirukkural: The Daylight of the Psych | Madras (International Institute of Tamil Studies) | 1987 | Partial | Translated the first 9 chapters | |||
P. S. Sundaram | Tiruvalluvar: The Kural | New Delhi (Penguin Books India Limited) | 1987 | Complete–Verse | Reprinted in 1989, 1991, 1992, and 2000 by International Tamil Language Foundation, Illinois | How can he be kindly Who fattens himself on others' fat? | ||
T. S. Ramalingam Pillai | Thirukkural with English Translation | Trinelvely (Saiva Siddhanta Works Publishing) | 1987 | |||||
K. N. Subramanyan | Tiruvalluvar and His Tirukkural | (Bharatya Gnanpith) | 1987 | Selections | ||||
K. R. Srinivasa Iyengar | Tirukkural: Light of the Righteous Life | Calcutta (M. P. Birla Foundation) | 1988 | Complete–Verse | ||||
M. Thiraviyam | Tirukkural | Madras (Asian Educational Services) | 1988 | Selections | Published again in 1992 as 108 Tirukkural Couplets in English by Vanathi Padippakam, Madras | |||
K. Chellappan | Kural—Portraits: Dr. Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi's Kuralovium, a Translation from Tamil by K. Chellappan | Annamalai Nagar: Annamalai University | 1989 | |||||
Chidambaran Ilankumaranar | Thirukkural English Translation | Madurai | 1990 | |||||
A. Pandurangan | Tirukkural—Arattuppal | Thiruvannamalai (Tilakavathi Publications) | 1990 | |||||
M. Swaminathan | Tirukkural—English Translation | Mayiladuthurai (Ganapathi Printers) | 1991 | |||||
Norman Cutler | A Gift of Tamil: Translations of Tamil Literature | New Delhi (Manohar and American Institute of Indian Studies) | 1992 | Selections | Edited by Paula Richman | |||
T. R. Kallapiran | Thirukkural (Words of Eternal Wisdom) | Madras (Baba Pathippagam, Tondiarpet) | 1995 | Complete | 266+40 pages | |||
D. V. G. Ramarathinam | Tirukkural: English Translations | (Thiyaga Durgam) | 1995 | Complete–Prose | ||||
G. J. B. Christopher | A Metrical Translation of Tirukkural (Part One: Righteousness) | Tiruchirappalli (Primerose Home) | 1997 | Partial | Translated only Book I; 80 pages | |||
Swamiji Iraianban | Ambrosia of Thirukkural | New Delhi (Abhinav Publications) | 1997 | Complete–Prose | A man cannot feel pity in his heart for others, when they eat other creatures' flesh in order to make their own bodies fat. | |||
G. N. Das | Readings from Thirukkural | New Delhi (Abhinav Publications) | 1997 | Select–Verse | Whoever eats other animal's flesh To fatten himself on it How can any hope to find in him, Merciful quality, however slight? | |||
J. Narayanasamy | Tirukkural | Coimbatore (Gemini Art Printers) | 1998 | Complete–Mixed | More in prose than in verse. Reprinted in 1999. | Hardly any mercy is left in the minds of those who build their bodies with the flesh of other beings. | ||
K. Kaliaperumal | Wonders of Tirukkural | Thanjavur (Jayam Publications) | 1999 | Complete–Verse | 364 pages | |||
C. R. Acharya | Maxims of Truth (Commentary on Thirukkural) | Madras (Super Power Press) | 1999 | 964 pages | ||||
K. C. Agamudai Nambi | Thirukkural | Madurai (Author) | 1999 | 352 pages | ||||
C. R. Sundar | Book Divine Tirukkural | Chennai (Vignesh Pathippakam) | 2001 | Complete–Verse | ||||
Subramanian, V. K. | Pearls of Wisdom: Tirukkural (Tamil: Tirukkural Cintanai Muttukkal) | Chennai (M.T.S. Academy India) | 2001 | 82 p. | ||||
Kandiah, A., Jayadevan, V. and Buckingham, L. A. | Gleanings from Tirukkural for a Multicultural Society | Strathfield South, New South Wales, Australia (Natanalaya Publication) | 2002 | Selections | 47 pages. Bilingual edition; ISBN: 0975065335 | |||
V. Padmanabhan | Thirukkural with English Explanation | Chennai (Manimekalai Prasuram) | 2003 | Complete–Prose | 268 pages | How can you consider the person eating the flesh of other creatures to strengthen his own, as merciful? | ||
Kannan, K. | Thirukkural Expressed in English | Madurai (Papa Publications) | 2003 | Complete–Prose | ||||
Manickavasagam, S. | Thirukkural: Tamil text, its paraphrase, Roman rendering and English translation | New Delhi (Richa Prakashan) | 2003 | Prose | ||||
Perampalam, V. | The Sacred Kural of Thiruvalluvar; A path to purposeful living | Chennai | 2003 | 288 pages | ||||
O. R. Krishnaswami | The Wisdom of Tirukkural—A Guide to Living | Mumbai (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan) | 2004 | Partial–Prose | Translated Books I and II only; 489 pages | |||
Anantham Krishnamurthy and R. Shahjahan | Thirukkural (Original text, Romanization with English and French translations) | New Delhi (Richa Prakashan) | 2004 | 676 pages; ISBN: 8187062738 | ||||
Varadarajan, P. | Thirukkural: The Voice From Within | New Delhi (National Council of Educational Research and Training) | 2004 | Complete | 136 pages | |||
M. D. Jayabalan | Cheyyar (Mavanna Publications) | 2005 | Partial–Verse | Translated only 321 couplets | ||||
Govindarajulu, G. | Quintessence of Thirukkural | Chennai (ANK Prints) | 2005 | |||||
Krishnaswamy, K. and Vijaya Ramkumar | Unpublished online translation | Online | 2005 | Complete | Previously available at acharya.iitm.ac.in | |||
Morgan Yegambaram | Thirukkural for Children | Durban, South Africa | 2005 | |||||
Ponnaiah, S. M. | A Tapestry of Tamil Poetry | Kuala Lampur (University of Malaya Press) | 2005 | Selections | Translated 133 couplets only | |||
Deivanayaki Thirumalai | Book of Virtue in Rhythmic Verses | Chennai (Perfect Xerox) | 2005 | Partial | Translated only Book I; translated 100 more couplets in 2014 | |||
David Pratap Singh | Tirukkural | Madurai (Master Pathippakam) | 2006 | Complete–Verse | 396 pages | |||
S. Ratnakumar | Tirukkural: A Guide to Effective Living | Singapore (Tamils Representative Council) | 2006 | Complete–Prose | 267 pages | |||
Ashraf, N. V. K. | Tirukkural: Getting Close to the Original | Online | 2006 | Selections–Prose | English translations of various authors; translated about 200 couplets | |||
Annamalai, M. | Thirukkural: Tamil–English | Chennai (Santha Publications) | 2006 | 76 pages | ||||
Kalladan | Tirukkural Readings and Reflections | Chennai (Manivasagam Publications) | 2007 | 273 pages | ||||
Srinivasan, V. | Thirukkural | (Sri Vijeyam Publishers) | 2007 | |||||
Jayabalan, M. D. | Thirukkural in English | Cheyyar | 2008 | Selections | Translated a selections of 317 couplets from all the three books | |||
Soundarrajan, C. R. | Thirukkural Uraikkalanjiam | (Thiruvarasu Puthaka Nilayam) | 2008 | 960 pages | ||||
Chellaiah Yogarathinam | Tirukkural in English | Chennai (Manimekalai Prasuram) | 2008 | |||||
Ira. Ilangkannanaar | Bilingual Tirukkural | (KPK Memorial Political Souvenir) | 2008 | Partial | Translated only 1049 couplets | |||
V. Murugan | Thirukkural in English | Chennai (Arivu Pathippagam) | 2009 | Complete–Verse | How will compassion hold him under its reign Who feeds on others' flesh to fatten his own? | |||
Moorthy Rajaram | Thirukkural: Pearls of Inspiration | New Delhi (Rupa Publication) | 2009 | Complete—Verse | 272 pages; ISBN_HB: 9788129114587 | How could one ever be compassionate If one fattens on animal meat? | ||
Moorthy Rajaram | Thirukkural: Pearls of Inspiration | New Delhi (Rupa Publication) | 2009 | Complete—Prose | One who fattens himself feeding on the animal flesh can never be kind to others. | |||
N. E. Ramalingam | Thirukkural Commentary in Tamil and English | Chennai (Thiruvalluvar Pathippagam) | 2009 | Complete—Prose | [36] | How can one be kind hearted when he eats the flesh of other beings to increase his own flesh? | ||
Damo Bullen | Unpublished | N/A | 2009 | |||||
Pasupathy Dhanaraj | Tirukkural: Tenets for Right Living | Chennai (Mathushree Imprints) | 2009 | 284 pages | ||||
Ramiah, B. | Tirukkural: English Explanation | Pudukkottai (Pudukkottai Thirukkural Kazhagam) | 2009 | Selections | Translated only 330 couplets | |||
Subramani, B. R. M. | Thirukkural: Righteousness: Morals and Virtues | (Dravidian University) | 2010 | Partial | Translated only Books I and II; published in two volumes | |||
R. Viswanathan | Thirukkural: Universal Tamil Scripture: Alongwith [sic] the Commentary of Parimalazhagar in English | Mumbai (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan) | 2011 | Complete—Prose | ISBN 978-81-7276-448-7 | |||
A. Gopalakrishnan | Tirukkural—Thiruvalluvar Karutthurai | Chidambaram (Meiyappan Padhippagam) | 2012 | Complete—Prose | Authored both Tamil commentary and English translation | How can one possess kindness towards the living beings; when he himself eats the flesh of other living beings to increase his own flesh? | ||
Singaravelu Sachithanantham | Karya Etika Tamil Berjudul Thirukkuṛaḷ | Malaysia (Uma Publications) | 2013 | Complete—Verse | Trilingual version with Tamil original and Malay and English versions translated by the translator. | How would one, who kills the body of another being, and eats the meat of that being to enlarge one's own body, become one, who nurtures Arul ('compassion')? | ||
S. P. Guruparan | Thirukkural: English Translation | Chennai (Mayilavan Padhippagam) | 2014 | Complete—Verse | (a) If one eats the flesh of another (creature) to fatten his body How can he be a charitable person? (b) To strengthen his body if another body is eaten by one How can he be a compassionate one?!! | |||
Gopalkrishna Gandhi | Tiruvalluvar—The Tirukkural: A New English Version | New Delhi (Aleph Classics) | 2015 | Complete—Verse | How can one not see the ugliness of eating meat? How can one made of flesh another's flesh eat? | |||
R. Venkatachalam | Thirukkural—Translation—Explanation: A Life Skills Coaching Approach | Gurgaon (Partridge Publishing India) | 2015 | Complete—Verse | ||||
V. K. Parameswaran Pillai | Kural | Madras | ||||||
Madurai Babaraj | Thirukkural—Virtue | Chennai (B. Vasantha) | 2018 | Partial—Prose | How can one be merciful if one eats flesh of animals to develop his corporeal frame? | |||
R. Jayaprakasam | Thirukkural: Text in English & Tamil | Chennai (Porselvi Pathippagam) | 2019 | Complete—Prose | [37] | How could he who eat the flesh for proliferation of his own flesh and body be enough compassionate? | ||
Pattu M. Bhoopathi | Thus Blossoms Love: A Transcreation of Kamattupal in Modern Verse | Chennai (Sandhya Publications) | 2019 | Partial—Verse | Translated Book III alone in modern verse form[38] | Not translated | ||
Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma | The Kural: Tiruvalluvar's Tirukkural | Boston (Beacon Press) | 2021 | |||||
J. S. Anantha Krishnan | Thiruvalluvar's Thirukkural | Kollam (Dream Bookbindery) | 2021 | Complete—Verse | ||||
Meena Kandasamy | The Book of Desire | New Delhi (Penguin Random House India) | 2023 | Partial—Prose | Translated Book III alone in feministic viewpoint[39] | Not translated | ||
R. Natarajan | The Kural: English Translation of the Ancient Tamil Text Thirukkural | Chennai (Rare Publications) | 2023 | Complete | ||||
15 | Fijian | Samuel L. Berwick | Na Tirukurala | Nadi, Fiji (Sri Ramakrishna Mission) | 1964 | Complete | [40][41] | Loloma cava me tu tale vua, Ke lewe ni manumanu e sa sagaa Ena nona kocova wale ga Me vakamatea me uro vua. |
Paul Geraghty | Tirukurali Na sere tabu | Suva, Fiji (Reddy Group of Companies)[40] | 2008 | Complete | E rawa vakacava ni yalololoma e dua ni dau kania na lewenimanumanu me ikuri ni lewe ni yogona. | |||
16 | Finnish | Pentti Aalto | Kural—The Ancient Tamil Classic | Helsinki (Societas Orientalis Fennica) | 1972 | [32] | ||
17 | French | Anonymous | Kural de Thiruvalluvar, Selections | Paris | 1767 | Selections | ||
E. S. Ariel | Kural de Thiruvalluvar (Traduits du Tamoul) | Paris | 1848 | Selections | ||||
P. G. de Dumast | 1854 | |||||||
Pierre-Eugène Lamairesse | Thirukural in French | Pondicherry | 1867 | |||||
Louis Jacolliot | Paris (A Lacroix) | 1876 | ||||||
G. Barrigue de Fontainieu | Le Livre de l'amour de Thiruvalluva | Paris (Lemerre) | 1889 | |||||
Julien Vinson | Pondicherry | 1893 | ||||||
Alain Daniélou | Thiruvallouvar Kural | Pondicherry | 1942 | |||||
Gnanou Diagou | Tirou Vallouvar Koural (Thirukural in French) | Pondicherry (Sandhanam)[42] New Delhi (Asian Educational Services) |
1942 | Complete—Prose | Comment celui qui mange la chair d'un autre être animé, pour engraisser la sienne, peut-il se laisser gagner par la miséricorde. | |||
Antonio Sorrentino | (Francois Gros. Greenhouse 2) | 1986 | ||||||
Mootoocoomaren Sangeelee | Tirouk Koural[42] | (Editions de L'Ocean Indien) | 1988 | |||||
François Gros | Le Livre de l'Amour | Paris (Gallimard, Collection UNESCO) | 1992 | |||||
S. Singh | New Delhi (Richa Prakashan) | 2003 | ||||||
Rama Valayden | Port Louis, Mauritius | 2007 | ||||||
T. Janakiraman Kalladan | Kalladan, T. Janakiraman | 2016 | ||||||
18 | Garo | A. Antoni Selvadoss | Rongtalgipa Poido | Meghalaya | 2000 | Complete—Verse | ||
19 | German | August Friedrich Caemmerer | Thirukural waith German Translation | Leipzig | 1803 | Wie kann er zutreffendes Mitleid üben, das das Fleisch eines Tieres ißt, um sein eigenes Fleisch zu mästen? | ||
Friedrich Rückert | Thirukural, Selections | Berlin | 1847 | Selections | ||||
Karl Graul | Der Kural des Tiruvalluver. Ein gnomisches Gedicht über die drei Strebeziele des Menschen. | London (William & Norgate) and Leipzig (F. A. Brockhaus)[42] | 1856 | Complete | Published as the third volume (220 pages) of the four-volume work Bibliotheca Tamulica sive Opera Praecipia Tamuliensium | Wer, das eigne Fleisch zu mehren, fremdes Fleisch geniesst, — wie wird Der der Huld pflegen? | ||
Fenz Albrecht and K. Lalithambal | Thirukural von Thiruvalluvar aus dem Tamil | Madurai | 1877 | Ißt jemand Fleisch von anderen Kreaturen, um sein eigenes Fleisch zu vermehren – wie kann er Gnade erlangen? | ||||
Albert Schweitzer | ||||||||
Uwe Beissert | Basel (Project Ohms [AUM]) | 1990 | ||||||
20 | Greek | Πώς μπορεί κάποιος, που τρώει τη σάρκα άλλων για να φουσκώσει τη δική του σάρκα, να δείξει συμπόνοια; | ||||||
21 | Gujarati | Najuklal Choksi | Thirukural | Ahmedabad(Sastu Sahitya) | 1931 | |||
Kantilal L. Kalani | Thirukural in Gujarati | Bombay (University Book Board of Gujarat State) | 1971 | Select | Translated only 852 couplets (from all chapters). Republished in 1985 by Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidhya Nagar. | |||
P. C. Kokila | Thirukkural in Gujarathi | Chennai (Central Institute of Classical Tamil) | 2015 | Complete | [43] | સ્વમાંસ પોષણ હેતુ જે અન્ય (પ્રાણી)ના માંસનું કરે ભક્ષણ દયાભાવ કેમ કરી હોય તેના (મન) માં? | ||
22 | Hindi | Khenand Rakar | Thirukural, Parts 1 and 2 | Ajmer | 1924 | Republished in 1969.[44] | ||
Khan Chand Rahit | 1926 | |||||||
Govindaraj Shastri Jain | Kural in Verse, First two parts | New Delhi | 1942 | |||||
B. D. Jain | Thirukural | Thirupananthal | 1952 | Republished in 1961. | ||||
S. Sankar Raju Naidu | Tamil Ved | Madras (University of Madras Press) | 1958 | |||||
M. G. Venkatakrishnan | Thirukural | Trichy | 1964 | Complete | Revised and enlarged edition published November 1998 by Sakthi Finance Ltd., Madras | माँस-वृद्धि अपनी समझ, जो खाता पर माँस। कैसे दयार्द्रता-सुगुण, रहता उसके पास॥ | ||
Uttar Ved | 1967 | |||||||
Rajan Pillai | Thirukural | Lucknow | 1976 | |||||
K. Seshadri | Thirukural in Hindi | Lucknow | 1982 | |||||
Satsai | 1982 | Selections | Translated 700 couplets | |||||
1989 | ||||||||
T. E. S. Raghavan | Thirukkural | 1990 | Complete—Verse | Rendered a poetic rendition in 'Venba' metre as in the source[45] | ||||
Ananda Sandhidut | Kural Kavitā Valī | 2000 | ||||||
23 | Indonesian | A. S. Kobalen | Tuntunan Bijak: Dari Masa ke Masa [Tirukural by Tiruwalluar] | Complete—Prose | Bagaimana seseorang mungkin memiliki sifat iba, yang memiliki maksud menambah daging jasadnya sendiri, akan memakan daging hewan lain. | |||
M. Pazhanichamy | Medan, Indonesia | |||||||
24 | Irish | Gabriel Rosenstock | An Thirukkural as Gaeilge (ISBN 978-1782013136) | 2023 | Complete | [46]: 40 | ||
25 | Italian | Antonio Sorrentino | Tirukkural. Le massime di Tiruvalluvar | Napoli (Ist Universitario Orientale Studi asiatici. Serie tre (Dept. of Asiatic Studies)) | 1986 | Complete | 226 pages | Come può esercitarsi nella pietà allineare che mangia la carne di un animale per ingrassare la sua propria carne? |
26 | Japanese | Shuzo Matsunaga | Thirukkural | Osaka | 1981 (August) | [47] | 彼はいかに彼自身の肉を太らせるために動物の肉を食べる本当の同情を練習してもいいか。 | |
Takanobu Takahashi | Thirukkural: Sacred Verses of Ancient Tamil | Tokyo (Heibonsha) | 1999 | |||||
27 | Kannada | B. M. Srikanthaiah | Kural (Selections in verses) | Bangalore | 1940 | Selections—Verse | ||
L. Gundappa | Thirukural Dharma Bhaga (Chapter on Virtue) | Bangalore | 1955 | Partial | Published a complete translation in 1960 under the title Thirukural (3 parts). | |||
L. Gundappa | Thirukural (3 parts) | Madras | 1960 | Complete | ||||
P. S. Srinivas | Thirukural with Original Couplets and Translations in Kannada | Madurai | 1982 | Complete—Prose | ತನ್ನ ಮೈ ಮಾಂಸವನ್ನು ಬೆಳಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ಇತರ ಪ್ರಾಣಿಗಳ ಮೈಮಾಂಸವನ್ನು ತಿನ್ನುವವನು ಹೇಗೆ ತಾನೆ ಕರುಣೆಯಿಂದ ಬಾಳಬಲ್ಲನು? | |||
N. Munusamy | Thirukural in Kannada | 1985 | [44] | |||||
K. Jayaraman | Thirukural with Original Couplets and Translations in Kannada | Mysore | 2001 | |||||
S. Srinivasan | Tirukkural in Kannada | Chennai | 2014 | Complete—Verse | [48] | ತನ್ನೊಡಲ ಬೆಳೆಸಲು ಉಣಲು ಬೇರೆ ಬಾಡನು ತನ್ನೊಳು ಕರುಣೆ ಬರುವದೆಂತು? | ||
28 | Konkani | Narayana Purushothama Mallaya | Thirukkural in Konkani | Kochi (Konkani Bhasha Prachar Sabha) | 2002 | Complete—Verse | Began translating in 1987. Translation released on 23 June 2002.[49][50] | अन्नदान करचाक तागेले मांस, कोण माम्स भक्षण कर्ता,। कसले करुणायुक्त औदार्य, तसले मनुष्य अनुमान कर्ता?॥ |
Suresh Gundu Amonkar | [51][52] | |||||||
Gowri R. Mallya | Mangaluru | 2023 | [53] | |||||
29 | Korean | 그는 어떻게 그 자신의 살을 살찌기 위하여 동물의 살을 먹는 진실한 연민을 실행해서 좋은가? | ||||||
Sri Saravana Enterprises | Thirukkural | Chennai (International Institute of Tamil Studies) | 2017 | Complete—Prose | 동물의 고기를 먹어 스스로 살찌우는 사람은 타인에게 결코 친절할 수 없다. | |||
30 | Latin | Constanzo Beschi | Thirukural (Books I and II) | London | 1730 | Partial—Prose | Qui ut sua caro pinguoscat, alienas carnes comedit quinam eum viveutibus lenitatem et clementiam exercere dicetur? | |
Karl Graul | Kural of Tiruvalluver. High-Tamil Text with Translation into Common Tamil and Latin, Notes and Glossary | Tranquebar | 1865 | Published as the fourth volume (348 pages) of the four-volume work Bibliotheca Tamulica sive Opera Praecipia Tamuliensium | Qui ut suam earnem augeat, alienas carnes comedit, quomodo is benevolentia utetur? | |||
31 | Malay | Ramily Bin Haji Thakir | Thirukural (in verses) | Kuala Lumpur (Kural Ilakkam) | 1964 | |||
Hussein Ismail | Thirukural Sastera Kalasik Tamil Yang | Kuala Lumpur (Jabatan Pengajian India) | 1967 | |||||
G. Soosai | Thirukkural dalam bahasa Melayu (Thirukkural Kitab Murni Tamil Nadu) | Kuala Lumpur | 1978 | Reprinted in 1991 | Insan maging menikmati kekejaman Tanpa belasan mengemukakan badan. | |||
NA | (Persatuan Hindu Universiti, Malaysia) | 1997 | ||||||
M. Rajentheran/Kumaran | Malaysia (Uma Publications) | 2003 | ||||||
Singaravelu Sachithanantham | Tirukkural translations into English (Thirukkural Tribahasa) | Malaysia (Uma Publications) | 2013 | Complete—Verse | Trilingual version with Tamil original and Malay and English versions translated by the translator. | Bagaimanakah orang, yang membunuh tubuh makhluk lain, dan makan daging makhluk itu untuk membesarkan badannya sendiri, akan menjadi orang, yang memelihara arul (belas kasihan)? | ||
32 | Malayalam | I. V. Ramaswamy Iyer | Malayalathil Kural | Trivandrum | 1595 | First ever translation of the Kural text in any language. | ||
Perunazhi Krishna Vaidhyan | Kural | Trivandrum | 1863 | Partly translated. Republished in 1894.[44] | ||||
Azhakathu Kurup | Thirukural in Verses | Trivandrum | 1875 | Verse | ||||
A. Govinda Pillai | Thirukural | Trivandrum | 1899 | Translation currently unavailable | ||||
P. Damodaran Pillai | Thirukural Manikal | Trivandrum | 1951 | |||||
Sasthamangalam Ramakrishna Pillai | Ramakrishna Tirukkural | Trivandrum | 1957 | Translation completed 1933 with comprehensive commentary and notes, but published September 1957 with abridged commentary | ||||
Parmeshram | Partial | Translated only Books I and II | ||||||
Vennikkulam Gopala Kurup | Thirukural | Kottayam (Writers Co-operative Society) | 1957 | Partial—Verse | Reprinted in 1960 with translations for Books I and II in verse | |||
K. Chellan Nadar | Thirukural Tharmanaskantam | Parassala | 1962 | |||||
Tiruvallam G. Bhaskaran Nair | Bhasha Tirukkural (Dharmakandam) | Trivandrum (Arul Nilayam) | 1962 | Partial—Prose | Translated only Book I. Published with the original Tamil verse transliterated in Malayalam and a Malayalam commentary in prose. | |||
G. Balakrishnan Nair | Kural with Commentary, Part I | Trivandrum | 1963 | Partial | ||||
S. Ramesan Nair | Thirukkural Malayalam Vivarthanam | Trivandrum (Trust Publications) | 1998 | Translated into old Malayalam | ||||
V. V. Abdulla Sahib | Thirukkural | Erode (Gupta Press) | 2002 | തൻ ദേഹം നിലനിർത്താനായ് മറുദേഹം ഭുജിപ്പവൻ ജീവകാരുണ്യമുള്ളോനെന്നുരചെയ്യുവതെങ്ങനെ? | ||||
K. G. Chandrasekaran Nair | Thirukkural (Sampoornabhashyam) | Thiruvananthapuram (All Kerala Tamizh Federation) | 2002 | Prose | Published by D. C. Books, Kottayam in 2003 | |||
M. R. R. Variar | Thirukkural | 2003 | ||||||
Shailaja Ravindran | Thirukkural | Kottayam (D. C. Books) | 2007 | |||||
33 | Manipuri | Soibam Rebika Devi | Tirukkural in Manipuri | Chennai (Central Institute of Classical Tamil) | 2014 | Complete—Prose | [54] | মশাবূ থাক্ননবা অতোপ্ত্রা জীবগী শদোঙ চাবা মীওই অদুগী মথম্মোইদা করন্না মীনুংশি ফাওগদৌরিবানা? |
34 | Marathi | Sane Guruji | Kavi Tiruvalluvar Kural (Kural: Theen Purushartha) | Pune (Continental Publishers) | 1930 | Complete–Prose | Translated in 1930, but officially published 1948. Second edition in 1960 and reprints in 1975 and 1987.[55][56][57] | स्वतःची चरबी वाढावी म्हणून दुसन्या प्राण्यांचे जो मांस खातो; त्याला दया कशी बरे कधी वाटेल? |
Narayana Govindarao Peshwe and Ganpath Govindarao Peshwe | (Thirukkural) | Belgaum (Dhananjay Press) | 1930 | Partial–Prose | Translated only the first 89 chapters. First appeared in Lokamitra journal.[58] | |||
Purushottam Dinkar Joshi | Thiruvalluvar Virchit Tirukkural | Mumbai (Maharashtra State Literature and Cultural Board) | 1977 | Complete–Prose | Direct translation from the Tamil original.[59] | |||
35 | Norwegian | Kevin Raja Kowsihaa Gowsegan Gowrithasan Krogh | Thiruvalluvar sin Thirukkural på Norsk | Oslo | 2017 | Complete—Verse | ||
36 | Odia | Chittaranjan Das | Kural (Oriya) | Bhubaneswar (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan) | 1978 | |||
Kishrod Dash Ch | Thirukuralu—In Oriya Language | Sambalpur | 1985 | Verse | ||||
Nityanada Acharya | Tirukkural: Book of Sacred Couplets | Balangir (Agragami Karyalaya) | 1992 | Partial | Books I and II only | |||
G. N. Das | Vidyapuri | Cuttack (Bidyapuri) | 1994 | Complete—Verse | ||||
Biswanath Misra | Tirukkural | Bhubaneswar | 1996 | |||||
Balaram Rout | Thirukkural | Delhi (Sahitya Akademi) | 2017 | Complete | ||||
37 | Punjabi | Ram Murti Sharma | Thirukural Dhamma Granth of the Tamils | Chandigarh | 1983 | |||
Tarlochan Singh Bedi | Tirukkural in Punjabi | Chennai (Central Institute of Classical Tamil) | 2012 | Complete—Verse | ਆਪਣਾ ਮਾਸ ਵਧਾਉਣ ਲਈ ਦੂਸਰੇ ਜੀਵਾਂ ਦਾ ਮਾਸ ਖਾਣ ਵਾਲੇ ਵਿੱਚ ਦਇਆ ਭਾਵਨਾ ਕਿਵੇਂ ਹੋ ਸਕਦੀ ਹੈ | |||
38 | Polish | Umadevi, Wandy Dynowskiej | Tiruwalluwar: Tiru-Kural | Madras (Biblioteka Polsko-Indyjska) | 1958 | Partial | 141 pages | |
Bohdan Gębarski | Tiruwalluwar "Tirukkural" ("Kural"). Święta księga południowych Indii | Wrocław, Poland (Ossolineum)(Europa Publisher) | 1977 | Complete—Verse | 152 pages; published again in 1998. | Pożeraczem żywego nie może być człowiek, Co wyznaje zasady pokoju. | ||
39 | Rajasthani | Kamala Gurg | Thirukural Needhi Sastra | Jaipur | 1982 | |||
40 | Russian | J. J. Glazov and A. Krishnamurthi | Thirukural, a Book on Virtue, Politics and Love | Moscow (Yodatel'stvovostvo Enog Literatury) | 1963 | Complete—Prose | [60] | Как может испытывать сострадание пожирающий плоть других живых созданий ради наращивания своей собственной? |
D. V. Burba | 1964 | Select–Prose | Translated the English translation of select couplets by C. Rajagopalachari, which contained 555 couplets from Book I and Book II. | Not translated | ||||
Alif Ibragimov (Ibrahimov) | Thirukural in Couplets with Illustrations | Moscow | 1974 | |||||
Vithali Furniki | Thirukkural | Moscow (Library of Popular Literature) | 1990 | Complete—Prose | Разве может испытывать чувства сострадания человек, который поедает плоть других живых существ для увеличения своей плоти? | |||
41 | Sanskrit | Thyagasamudram Shri Chakrapani Iyer | 18th century | Verse | ||||
Appa Vajapeyin | Suniti Kusuma Mala | Kumbakonam (Gururajachariar) | 1922 | Verse | ||||
Sankara Subramanya Sastri | Sugati Ratnaakaraa | 1937–1940 | Verse | Published as "Sugati Ratnaakaraa" in the journal Sahridaya | ||||
Anonymous (perhaps Vidya Bhushanam Pandit Shri Govindaraya Shastri) | Delhi | 1940 | Verse | Contains prose explanation in Hindi | ||||
Kaliyan Ramanuja Jeer | Nanguneri | 1956 | Verse | |||||
S. N. Sriramadesikan | Thirukural in Sanskrit Slokas | Madras | 1961 | Complete—Verse | Revised edition published in 1968. | पोषणार्थे स्वदेहस्य कृत्वा य: प्राणिहिंसनम्। तन्मांसभक्षणपर: स दयावान् कथं भवेत्॥ | ||
H. A. Chakrapani Iyer | Tiruvalluvar in Sanskrit | 1983 | Verse | |||||
V. Indrajithu | Thirukural Sanskrit Translation | Mangudi (Athirai Publication) | 2021 | Complete—Verse | स्वमांसवर्धनार्थं यो मांसं खादति प्राणिनः। स कथं करुणाशीलो भविष्यति महीतले॥ | |||
42 | Santali | Ref. Fr. Richard V. Joe | Torjakmayic Thirukkural—Nerunji Ilakkiya Iyakkam | Partial (Book I) | ||||
43 | Saurashtra | S. Sankhu Ram | Saurastra Thirukural Payiram—Pitika Pragaranam | Madurai (Siddhasramam) | 1980 | Complete—Verse | Published posthumously. Republished in 1993. | அபுல்தனு ஹொட்3வன்அப்லான் ஆஸிது3ஸ்தன் கா2த்தெனு கோனக ஸவ்கன் த3யொ? |
44 | Sinhalese | Govokgada M. Misihamy | Thiruvalluvar's Kural | Colombo (Anula Publishers) | 1961 | Complete | තම සිරුර වඩනුව – අන්සතූ සිරුරු කන්නා කරුණාව සිත තූළ – ඇති කරන්නේ කවර අයුරුද? | |
Charles De Silva | Sirigiya (Thirukural in Sinhalese) | Colombo (Sri Lanka Sahitya Mandalaya) | 1964 | |||||
45 | Spanish | G. Arul | 1968 | [24] | ||||
Sakthi Kumar/Kannan Kumar | Kindle Edition | [24] | ||||||
John Buckthese Chinnappan | Las Perlas Antiguas Tirukural en Español | Atlantic City, NJ | 2024 | ¿Cómo puede alguien poseer bondad, si uno come carne de otro cuerpo para hacer crecer el propio cuerpo? | ||||
46 | Swedish | Yngve Frykholm | Tirukkural sydindisk levnadsvisdom, statskunskap och kärlekskonst sammanfattad i 1330 epigram av tamilskalden Tiruvalluvar | Uddevalla | 1971 | Complete—Prose | Hur skall den kunna behärskas av godhet som äter andra varelsers kött för att hans eget kött må stärkas? | |
47 | Telugu | Venkatrama Srividyanandaswami | Trivarga Dipika | Nellore | 1877 | |||
Sakkam Narasimhalu Naidu | Trivargamu | 1892 | Partial | |||||
Venkatram | Nīti Mañcari | |||||||
Lakshminarayana Sastri | Kural | Chittoor | 1906 | |||||
P. Sriramulu Reddi | Trivargamu | Putthalapatti | 1948 | |||||
Jagannatha Sastri, Mudiganthi | Thiruvalluva Sookthalu | West Godavari | 1952 | |||||
Challa Radhakrishna Sarma | Tamila Vedhamu | Madras | 1954 | |||||
Jalayya | Nitisudha | 1955 | ||||||
Sonti Sripati Sastry | Sri Padula | 1966 | ||||||
Gurucharan Dutaluri Jagannadham | Tirukkural of Tiruvalluvar in Telugu | Kuppam (Dravidian University) | 1986 | Verse | బలియ గోరి తాను బలిజేయు జీవుల నట్టి కెట్టు లమరు తరుణ | |||
Jayaprakash | Tirukkural in Telugu | Chennai (Central Institute of Classical Tamil) | 2014 | Complete–Prose | తన శరీరంలోని కండలు పెంచుకోవడం కోసం వేరొక ప్రాణి శరీరాన్ని ఆహారంగా స్వీకరించేవారు ఏ విధంగా దయా స్వభావులవుతారు? | |||
48 | Thai | 2019 | Complete | Released in Bangkok by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 2 November 2019. Translated from the English version by M. Rajaram (2009). | ||||
49 | Tok Pisin | Subha Sasindran and Sasindran Muthuvel | 2023 | Complete | Released in Papua New Guinea by Narendra Modi on 21 May 2023.[61][62] | |||
50 | Urdu | Hasarat Surawathi | Kural in Urdu | New Delhi (Sahitya Akademi) | 1966 | Prose | Translated from an English translation. | |
Muhamad Yusuf Kohan | Kural in Urdu and Arabic | Madras | 1976 | |||||
Mukhtar Badri | Lafz lafz gohar | Chennai (Nazir Book Depot) | 2001 | Verse | Translated from the Tamil original. | |||
51 | Vaagri Booli | Kittu Sironmani | [63] |
Table of available translations
editS. No. | Language | Year of first translation |
No. of translations available (as of 2024)[22]: 19–20 |
No. of complete translations available (as of 2021) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Arabic | 1976 | 6 | 5 |
2. | Armenian | 1978 | 1 | 1 |
3. | Assamese | 2012 | 2 | 2 |
4. | Awadhi | 2023 | 1 | 1 |
5. | Badaga | 2022 | 1 | 1 |
6. | Bengali | 1939 | 5 | 4 |
7. | Bhojpuri | 2023 | 1 | 1 |
8. | Bodo | 2023 | 1 | 1 |
9. | Burmese | 1964 | 2 | 2 |
10. | Chinese | 1967 | 3 | 2 |
11. | Creole | 2007 | 3 | 1 |
12. | Czech | 1952 | 1 | 0 |
13. | Danish | 2021 | 2 | 2 |
14. | Dogri | 1 | ||
15. | Dutch | 1964 | 1 | 0 |
16. | English | 1794 | 143 | 32 |
17. | Fijian | 1964 | 2 | |
18. | Finnish | 1972 | 2 | 0 |
19. | French | 1767 | 19 | |
20. | Garo | 2000 | 1 | |
21. | German | 1803 | 8 | |
22. | Gujarati | 1931 | 3 | 1 |
23. | Hindi | 1924 | 21 | |
24. | Indonesian | 3 | 1 | |
25. | Irish | 1 | ||
26. | Italian | 1985 | 1 | 1 |
27. | Japanese | 1981 | 2 | |
28. | Kannada | 1940 | 9 | |
29. | Kashmiri | 1 | ||
30. | Khmer | 1 | ||
31. | Kodava | 1 | ||
32. | Konkani | 2002 | 3 | 1 |
33. | Korean | 1981 | 2 | 1 |
34. | Koraga | 1 | ||
35. | Latin | 1730 | 5 | 1 |
36. | Malay | 1964 | 6 | |
37. | Malayalam | 1595 | 24 | |
38. | Marathi | 1930 | 3 | 2 |
39. | Maithili | 2017 | 1 | 1 |
40. | Meitei | 2012 | 1 | 1 |
41. | Nepali | 1 | ||
42. | Norwegian | 2017 | 1 | 1 |
43. | Odia | 1978 | 7 | 5 |
44. | Polish | 1958 | 2 | |
45. | Punjabi | 1983 | 2 | |
46. | Persian | 1 | ||
47. | Rajasthani | 1982 | 1 | |
48. | Russian | 1963 | 5 | 2 |
49. | Sanskrit | 1922 | 10 | |
50. | Santali | 1 | 0 | |
51. | Saurashtra | 1980 | 2 | 1 |
52. | Sinhalese | 1961 | 2 | |
53. | Spanish | 1 | ||
54. | Swedish | 1971 | 1 | |
55. | Telugu | 1877 | 19 | |
56. | Thai | 2019 | 1 | 1 |
57. | Tok Pisin | 2023 | 1 | |
58. | Tulu | 1 | ||
59. | Urdu | 1965 | 4 | |
60. | Vaagri Booli | 2 |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Edward Jewitt Robinson (1873). Tamil Wisdom; Traditions Concerning Hindu Sages, and Selections from their writings. London: Wesleyan Conference Office.
- ^ a b Mukherjee, Sujit (1999). A Dictionary of Indian Literature: One: Beginnings–1850. Vol. 1 (1 ed.). Hyderabad: Orient Longman. pp. 392–393. ISBN 81-250-1453-5.
- ^ George, K. M. (1973). Tirukkural and Malayalam. In: First All India Tirukkural Seminar Papers (N. Sanjeevi, ed.) (2nd ed.). University of Madras. pp. 44–49.
- ^ Mohan Lal (1992). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Sasay to Zorgot. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 978-81-260-1221-3.
- ^ Kamil Zvelebil (1973). The smile of Murugan on Tamil literature of South India. BRILL. p. 156. ISBN 978-90-04-03591-1.
- ^ a b c Amaladass, Anand (2007). "Values in Leadership in the Tamil Tradition of Tirukkural Vs. Present-day Leadership Theories" (PDF). International Management Review. 3 (1): 9–16. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
- ^ a b c d Ramasamy, V. (2001). On Translating Tirukkural (First ed.). Chennai: International Institute of Tamil Studies. pp. 28–47.
- ^ Ebeling, Sascha (2010). Colonizing the Realm of Words: The Transformation of Tamil Literature in Nineteenth-Century South India. Albany, New York: SUNY Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-4384-3199-4.
- ^ Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, p. 257
- ^ A stone inscription found on the walls of a well at the Periya palayathamman temple at Royapettai indicates Ellis' regard for Thiruvalluvar. It is one of the 27 wells dug on the orders of Ellis in 1818, when Madras suffered a severe drinking water shortage. In the long inscription Ellis praises Thiruvalluvar and uses a couplet from Thirukkural to explain his actions during the drought. When he was in charge of the Madras treasury and mint, he also issued a gold coin bearing Thiruvalluvar's image. The Tamil inscription on his grave makes note of his commentary of Thirukkural.Mahadevan, Iravatham. "The Golden coin depicting Thiruvalluvar −2". Varalaaru.com (in Tamil). Retrieved 25 June 2010.
- ^ The original inscription in Tamil written in the Asiriyapa meter and first person perspective: (The Kural he quotes is in Italics)
சயங்கொண்ட தொண்டிய சாணுறு நாடெனும் | ஆழியில் இழைத்த வழகுறு மாமணி | குணகடன் முதலாக குட கடலளவு | நெடுநிலம் தாழ நிமிர்ந்திடு சென்னப் | பட்டணத்து எல்லீசன் என்பவன் யானே | பண்டாரகாரிய பாரம் சுமக்கையில் | புலவர்கள் பெருமான் மயிலையம் பதியான் | தெய்வப் புலமைத் திருவள்ளுவனார் | திருக்குறள் தன்னில் திருவுளம் பற்றிய் | இருபுனலும் வாய்த்த மலையும் வருபுனலும் | வல்லரணும் நாட்டிற் குறுப்பு | என்பதின் பொருளை என்னுள் ஆய்ந்து | ஸ்வஸ்திஸ்ரீ சாலிவாகன சகாப்த வரு | ..றாச் செல்லா நின்ற | இங்கிலிசு வரு 1818ம் ஆண்டில் | பிரபவாதி வருக்கு மேற் செல்லா நின்ற | பஹுதான்ய வரு த்தில் வார திதி | நக்ஷத்திர யோக கரணம் பார்த்து | சுப திநத்தி லிதனோ டிருபத்தேழு | துரவு கண்டு புண்ணியாஹவாசநம் | பண்ணுவித்தேன். - ^ Blackburn, Stuart (2006). Print, folklore, and nationalism in colonial South India. Orient Blackswan. pp. 92–95. ISBN 978-81-7824-149-4.
- ^ Zvelebil, Kamil (1992). Companion studies to the history of Tamil literature. Brill. p. 3. ISBN 978-90-04-09365-2.
- ^ Pope, GU (1886). Thirukkural English Translation and Commentary (PDF). W.H. Allen, & Co. p. 160.
- ^ "Thirukkural translations in different languages of the world".
- ^ "Thirukkural translations in different languages of the world". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
- ^ "102 மொழிகளில் திருக்குறள்: செம்மொழி நிறுவனம் முயற்சி". Dinamalar. Chennai. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
- ^ Zvelebil, Kamil (1973). The Smile of Murugan of Tamil Literature of South India. P. 169. ISBN 90-04-03591-5. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
... It is almost impossible to truly appreciate the maxims of the Kural through a translation. Tirukkural must be read and re-read in Tamil.
- ^ "Thirukkural's first English translation was a 'de-spiritualised': TN Guv". Chennai: Deccan Herald. 25 August 2022. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ The Encyclopaedia of Tamil Literature. Vol. 1. Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai: Institute of Asian Studies.
- ^ Zvelebil, K. V. (1975). Tamil Literature. Leiden/Cologne: E. J. Brill. ISBN 90-04-04190-7.
- ^ a b c d e Sa. Parthasarathy, N. V. Ashraf Kunhunu, C. Rajendiran, Elangovan Thangavelu, Senthilselvan Duraisamy, & Ajey Kumar Selvan (2023). Thirukkural Translations in World Languages. Chennai: ValaiTamil Publications.
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- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Thirukkural Translations in World Languages". ValaiTamil.com. n.d. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
- ^ "تروكرل المثنوي المقدس". الفارابي. دار الفارابي. 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
- ^ "Thirukkural now in Arabic". The Hindu. Chennai. 25 March 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ "Thirukkural Now in Arabic". The New Indian Express. Chennai: Express Publications. 15 June 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
- ^ Kolappan, B. (17 June 2015). "Saudis celebrate wisdom of Tirukkural". The Hindu. Chennai: Kasturi & Sons. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
- ^ "First Ever Thirukkural Book Translated from Tamil to Arabic". Unique World Records. Unique World Records Ltd. 2023. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ "E-Newsletter (November–December 2014)" (PDF). sahitya-akademi.gov.in. Sahitya Akademi. 2014. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- ^ Rajaram, R. (19 June 2014). "Chinese translation of Tirukkural, Bharathi's poems ready". The Hindu. Chennai.
- ^ a b Sanjeevi, N. (1973). Bibliography on Tirukkural. In First All India Tirukkural Seminar Papers. University of Madras. p. 145.
- ^ Kindersley, N. E. (1794). "Specimens Of Hindu Literature". Retrieved 11 June 2017.
- ^ Kovaimani and Nagarajan, 2013, p. 518.
- ^ Kolappan, B. (18 October 2015). "From merchant to Tirukkural scholar". The Hindu. Chennai: Kasturi & Sons. Retrieved 9 July 2017.
- ^ N. E. Ramalingam (2009). Thirukkural Commentary in Tamil and English. Chennai: Thiruvalluvar Pathippagam.
- ^ R. Jayaprakasam (2019). Thirukkural: Text in English & Tamil. Chennai: Porselvi Pathippagam. ISBN 978-81-926917-5-6.
- ^ Bhoopathi, 2019.
- ^ Narang, Gaurvi (15 February 2023). "'Only thing you read to your lover in bed'—Meena Kandasamy's modern book on ancient Tamil text". The Print. New Delhi. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- ^ a b Dev Nadkarni and Padmini Gaunder (10 July 2009). "And Now, Thirukkural in Fijian". The Indian Weekender. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
- ^ S. L. Berwick (1964). Na Tirukurala. Nadi: Sri Ramakrishna Mission.
- ^ a b c Editions of "Tirukkuṟaḷ". BnF Data. n.d. – via data.bnf.fr.
- ^ Press Information Bureau (16 January 2015). "PM releases Gujarati translation of Thirukkural, on 'Thiruvalluvar Day'". New Delhi: Government of India, Prime Minister's Office. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
- ^ a b c Polhilan et al. (Ed.) (2019). Tiruvalluvar 2050 (in Tamil) (1 ed.). Chennai: Periyariya Unarvalargal Koottamaippu. p. 680.
- ^ "Translator wants Tirukkural couplets to be displayed in planes, trains". The Hindu. Chennai: Kasturi & Sons. 23 September 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
- ^ "Irish moliyil Tirukkural" [Tirukkural in Irish]. குறள் வழி. November 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023 – via Issuu.[clarification needed]
- ^ Kannadasan, Akila (24 June 2012). "Friendship that has withstood time". The Hindu. Coimbatore: Kasturi & Sons. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
- ^ Srinivasan, S. (2014). Tirukkural in Kannada (in Tamil and Kannada). Vol. 1 (1 ed.). Chennai: Central Institute of Classical Tamil. pp. i–xxiv, 410 pages. ISBN 978-93-81744-05-5.
- ^ "'Thirukkural' in Konkani". The Hindu. 24 June 2002. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ "Thirukkural translated into Konkani". timesofindia.indiatimes.com. The Times of India. 15 June 2002. Archived from the original on 26 December 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
- ^ "Amonkar on Goa University Library". Goa University Library. 2016. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- ^ "Goa's Padmashree Dr. Suresh Gundu Amonkar on Dr. Jose Pereira and Hinduism". Gmane. 8 August 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- ^ "Thirukkural translated to Konkani". The Times of India. Mangaluru: The Times Group. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ "திருக்குறளை மணிப்பூர் மொழியில் மொழி பெயர்த்து வெளியிட்ட மணிப்பூர் மங்கை ரேபிகா தேவி". Valai Tamil.com (in Tamil). ValaiTamil.com. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
- ^ Kovaimani and Nagarajan, 2013, pp. 518–520.
- ^ Sanjeevi, 1973, pp. 50–55.
- ^ Tamilselvan et al., 2017, pp. 228–229.
- ^ Kovaimani and Nagarajan, 2013, p. 520.
- ^ Tamilselvan et al., 2017, pp. 228–234.
- ^ "Translations" (PDF). Russian State University for the Humanities. n.d. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
- ^ Akhilesh Sharma, Samiran Mishra (21 May 2023). ""You Are Causing Me A Real Problem...": Biden To PM On Upcoming US Trip". New Delhi: NDTV. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
- ^ Press Trust of India (22 May 2023). "PM Modi releases Tamil classic 'Thirukkural' in Papua New Guinea language". Business Standard. Port Moresby. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ The Hindu, 25 March 2013.
References
edit- Sanjeevi, N (1973). Marathi Translation of Tirukkural. In: First All India Tirukkural Seminar Papers (2nd ed.). Chennai: University of Madras. pp. 50–55.
- M. G. Kovaimani and P. V. Nagarajan (2013). திருக்குறள் ஆய்வுமாலை [Tirukkural Research Papers] (in Tamil) (1 ed.). Tanjavur: Tamil University. ISBN 978-81-7090-435-9.
- "Thirukkural now in Arabic". The Hindu. Chennai. 25 March 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- Pattu M. Bhoopathi (2019). Thus Blossoms Love: A transcreation of Kamattupal in modern verse. Chennai: Sandhya Publications. ISBN 978-93-87499-85-0.
- Tamilselvan, R.; Manimala, J.; Murali, M.; Mathan, V. P. S.; Amirtharaj, T. Vijay (2017). உலக மொழிகளில் திருக்குறள் மொழிபெயர்ப்புகள் [Tirukkural translations in world languages] (1st ed.). Chennai: Kaavya. ISBN 978-93-86576-35-4.
Further reading
edit- Srikkanth, D. (5 August 2021). "Translations to bring Tirukkural closer to foreign readers". The Times of India. Chennai. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
- Parthasarathy, Sa.; Ashraf, N. V. K.; Rajendiran, C.; Thangavelu, Elangovan; Duraisamy, Senthilselvan; Selvan, Ajey Kumar (2024). Thirukkural Translations in World Languages (1 ed.). Chennai: ValaiTamil Publication. ISBN 978-81-975093-4-6.