Ethical Values from Tirukkural: Introduction
INTRODUCTION
The Tirukkural in Tamil means "Holy Kural", is a book for all humanity and for all times. A world that lives by its teachings shall enjoy eternal peace, harmony, health, wealth, power, grace and bliss. It contains treasures that lead to peace and harmony at home as well as the country.
The great sages of the earlier times were very fond of discussing ethical ideals. The concerned persons gathered to apply their concentrated minds on the great question of what ought to be considered as good and right, and what as evil and wrong. The caste system had not then taken root and there was freedom of thought, ideas were readily and easily exchanged, and men were willing to listen patiently to points of view that differed from their own. It was in this flourishing environment that Sage Tiruvalluvar lived. The Tirukkural, or Kural as it is also known, contains some of the greatest truths known to man, written in a style that has rarely been surpassed. Tiruvalluvar, or Valluvar as he was popularly known, was clearly familiar with all the great religions of his time, including the philosophy of the Romans and the Greeks. Valluvar was a philosopher, that is, a man of great wisdom. He gave the world a most wonderful gift in the form of the Tirukkural.
Valluvar took up the first three of the Purusharthas or the fourfold objects of life, namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha (virtue, wealth, love and liberation), as given by the Vedic Rishis. He presented them in the three sections of the Tirukkural, known respectively as Arathuppaal, Porutpaal and Kaamathuppaal. He left out Moksha or liberation, for the simple reason that when the first three are set in order, the final state of God-realisation is attained naturally. He also recognised that Moksha or liberation is the ultimate aim for realisation.
The word ‘Kural’ refers to a short verse of only two lines. Ten such verses make up a single chapter of the book the Tirukkural. There are 133 chapters, with 1330 couplets or two-lined verses that make up the Tirukkural. Each couplet contains a single complete idea. Although poets generally find it rather difficult to write in a couplet form, Tiruvalluvar handles this medium with remarkable skill and ease. He does not waste words. The ideas come to us quietly, in a style that is both graceful and beautiful at the same time. Each of the 133 chapters is headed by one major idea such as ‘Friendship’, ‘Wisdom’, ‘Justice’, and so on. The ten verses under each major idea give the poet opportunity to expand on each idea fully. The work is divided into three sections. The first section, entitled ‘Aram’ (virtue) deals with ingredients of an ideal family life. It also gives guidelines to spiritual aspirants. : ‘Aram’ is the Tamil equivalent of the Sanskrit word ‘Dharma.’The second section, broadly entitled ‘Porul’ (wealth) deals with various matters pertaining to government, like royalty, the parliament, politics and alliance. The third section deals with ‘Kamam’ (love) and is concerned mostly with marriage and love.
The Tirukkural is thus a book of morals or ethics. It ranks high in the literature of Tamil Nadu. Certainly it is one of the most useful treatises on ethics ever written by man. It leads humanity to live, as it ought to live- in moral purity, in spiritual knowledge, and in perfect health, wealth and prosperity. It is a faithful friend to the family man, to the mother, to children, to workers, teachers, politicians, artists, scholars and rulers. At the very outset, Valluvar impresses on our mind the supreme aim of human life. It is the attainment of God. God is the basis of all peace, bliss and knowledge. Likewise, God is the end of all knowledge. The goal of life, which is birth-less-ness and the end of all pain and suffering, can be reached only by those who have surrendered totally at His divine feet.
“Tiruvalluvar was one of the greatest social philosophers of the ancient world. His writings show that he was interested not only in the behaviour and conduct and bearing of a person, but also in the harmonious development of society. His advice is valuable to ascetics as well as to householders. He profusely condemns accumulation of material wealth, but praises it if such wealth is acquired by honest means and used for the common good of society. In the same breath he encourages the growth of intellectual and spiritual development. He wants people to acquire learning and, having learnt, practise it. Yet, spirituality is superior to all else. As early as in the second verse of the Tirukkural, he says:
"Of what avail is learned scholarship,
If the Lord’s divine feet they do not worship?"
The great sage has presented his thoughts in verses of extreme beauty and delicacy. The combination of ideas, language and metre is unique. The verses presented in this article are all translations from the original Tamil. Every translator, without exception, has admitted that it is not possible to capture the elegance of Tiruvalluvar's beautiful style and rhythm in a translation. It can, at best, be a pale reflection of the original work.
His teachings have had a warm place in the hearts of the Tamil people for many generations, and have become part of their culture and life. They might not have always followed the saint, but they have loved, cherished and revered him.There are many translations of the Tirukkural. Maharishi Shuddhananda Bharati’s translation is simple to follow. In his introduction he says: "The Tirukkural is the guiding light to humanity. It leads one to live in moral purity, in eternal wisdom, in spiritual knowledge, and in perfect prosperity, wealth and health. It is a faithful friend to the family man, to the mother, to children, to teachers, artists, scholars, rulers and politicians.”
Valluvar was a philosopher, that is, a man of great wisdom. He gave the world a most wonderful gift in the form of the Tirukkural.The great scholar and statesman, Sri Rajagopalachari said: "Tiruvalluvar was one of those rare and great men whose catholic spirit rose above all kinds of castes and creeds, and whose vision was not clouded by dogma or prejudice of any kind".
Valluvar was a philosopher, that is, a man of great wisdom. He gave the world a most wonderful gift in the form of the Tirukkural.The great scholar and statesman, Sri Rajagopalachari said: "Tiruvalluvar was one of those rare and great men whose catholic spirit rose above all kinds of castes and creeds, and whose vision was not clouded by dogma or prejudice of any kind".
Thirukkural - statistics
Tirukkural is a work of 1330 couplets each of which conforms to the structure of "Kural Venba", a grammatical construction with two lines of four and three words respectively. The work is arranged in 133 Adhikarams, each with 10 couplets. The 133 Adhikarams are divided into three major groups known as "Aram", "Porul" and "Inbam". Aram represents Virtue, Porul defines the principles of Life for common people as well as the State. The last section "Inbam deals with aspects of Love. The overall organization of Tirukkural is as follows, based on seven ideals prescribed for people followed by observations on Love: 40 couplets on God, Rain, Virtue and Ascetics;200 couplets on Domestic Virtue ; 140 couplets on Higher Virtue based on Grace ,and 250 couplets on Royalty ,100 couplets on Ministers of State ,220 couplets on the Essential requirements of Administration , 130 couples on Morality, both positive and negative , and 50 couplets on Human Love and Passion.
Thirukural - Structure
Thirukkural is structured into 133 chapters, each containing 10 couplets, thus a total of 1330 couplets. The 133 chapters are grouped into three sections: · Aram - righteousness (380 verses ,· Porul (700 verses)- wealth and Inbam or Kamam (250 verses) - pleasure. While Aram and Inbam discuss about ethical living in private life, Porul deals with public matters.Thus,
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