Tirukkural translations

What links here Related changes Page information Get shortened URL
Created by DigitalKush
Last edited February 1, 2026


Part of a series on
Translation
Types
Theory
Technologies
Localization
Institutional
Related topics

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 64 languages, with a total more than 350 individual translations, including 143 different renderings in the English language alone.

Beginning of translations[edit | edit source]

Beschi, the earliest known translator of the Kural text
Tamil Wisdom, by Edward Jewitt Robinson, 1873[1]

The 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a prose rendering of the entire Kural, written closely to the spoken Malayalam of that time.[2] However, again, this unpublished manuscript remained obscure until it was first reported by the Annual Report of the Cochin Archeological Department for the year 1933–34.[3] It took another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[edit | edit source]

The 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[edit | edit source]

Below is a list of translations of the Kural:[20][21][22]

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Template:Row numbers

Table of available translations[edit | edit source]

S. No. Language Year of first
translation		 No. of translations
available
(as of 2024)[22]:		 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[edit | edit source]

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Edward Jewitt Robinson (1873). Tamil Wisdom; Traditions Concerning Hindu Sages, and Selections from their writings. London: Wesleyan Conference Office.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 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.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ Mohan Lal (1992). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Sasay to Zorgot. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 978-81-260-1221-3.
  5. ↑ Kamil Zvelebil (1973). The smile of Murugan on Tamil literature of South India. BRILL. p. 156. ISBN 978-90-04-03591-1.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 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.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Ramasamy, V. (2001). On Translating Tirukkural (First ed.). Chennai: International Institute of Tamil Studies. pp. 28–47.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, p. 257
  10. ↑ 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 தமிழ்). Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  11. ↑ 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.
  12. ↑ Blackburn, Stuart (2006). Print, folklore, and nationalism in colonial South India. Orient Blackswan. pp. 92–95. ISBN 978-81-7824-149-4.
  13. ↑ Zvelebil, Kamil (1992). Companion studies to the history of Tamil literature. Brill. p. 3. ISBN 978-90-04-09365-2.
  14. ↑ Pope, GU (1886). Thirukkural English Translation and Commentary (PDF). W.H. Allen, & Co. p. 160.
  15. ↑ "Thirukkural translations in different languages of the world".
  16. ↑ "Thirukkural translations in different languages of the world". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  17. ↑ "102 மொழிகளில் திருக்குறள்: செம்மொழி நிறுவனம் முயற்சி". Dinamalar. Chennai. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  18. ↑ 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.
  19. ↑ "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.
  20. ↑ The Encyclopaedia of Tamil Literature. Vol. 1. Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai: Institute of Asian Studies.
  21. ↑ Zvelebil, K. V. (1975). Tamil Literature. Leiden/Cologne: E. J. Brill. ISBN 90-04-04190-7.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Sa. Parthasarathy, N. V. Ashraf Kunhunu, C. Rajendiran, Elangovan Thangavelu, Senthilselvan Duraisamy, & Ajey Kumar Selvan (2023). Thirukkural Translations in World Languages. Chennai: ValaiTamil Publications.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

References[edit | edit source]

  • 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 தமிழ்) (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 | edit source]

External links[edit | edit source]

Retrieved from "https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tirukkural_translations&oldid=541457"
Discover more