Tirukkural translations

File:Beschi Tamil literature.jpg

File:Tamil Wisdom, by Edward Jewitt Robinson, 1873.jpg, 1873{{cite book |author= Edward Jewitt Robinson |title=Tamil Wisdom; Traditions Concerning Hindu Sages, and Selections from their writings |url=https://archive.org/details/tamilwisdomtradi00robiuoft |year=1873 |publisher= Wesleyan Conference Office | location=London}}]]

The Kural text, considered to have been written in the 1st century BCE,{{cite book

| last = Mukherjee

| first = Sujit

| title = A Dictionary of Indian Literature: One: Beginnings–1850

| publisher = Orient Longman

| volume = 1

| edition = 1

| date = 1999

| location = Hyderabad

| pages = 392–393

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=YCJrUfVtZxoC&q=Bhasha+Tirukkural&pg=PA393

| isbn = 81-250-1453-5

}} 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. However, again, this unpublished manuscript remained obscure until it was first reported by the Annual Report of the Cochin Archeological Department for the year 1933–34.{{cite book

| last = George

| first = K. M.

| title = Tirukkural and Malayalam. In: First All India Tirukkural Seminar Papers (N. Sanjeevi, ed.).

| publisher = University of Madras

| edition = 2nd

| date = 1973

| pages = 44–49

}} 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.{{cite book |author=Mohan Lal |title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Sasay to Zorgot |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KnPoYxrRfc0C&pg=PA4341 |year=1992 |publisher=Sahitya Akademi |isbn=978-81-260-1221-3 }} 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.{{cite book|author=Kamil Zvelebil|title=The smile of Murugan on Tamil literature of South India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VF2VMUoY_okC&pg=PA156|year=1973|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-03591-1|page=156}} 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,{{cite journal

| last = Amaladass

| first = Anand

| title = Values in Leadership in the Tamil Tradition of Tirukkural Vs. Present-day Leadership Theories

| journal = International Management Review

| volume = 3

| issue = 1

| pages = 9–16

| date = 2007

| url = http://scholarspress.us/journals/IMR/pdf/IMR-1-2007/v3n107-art1.pdf

| access-date = 20 November 2016}} 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.{{cite book

| last = Ramasamy

| first = V.

| title = On Translating Tirukkural

| publisher = International Institute of Tamil Studies

| edition = First

| date = 2001

| location = Chennai

| pages = 28–47

}}

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. The Danish Missionary August Friedrich Caemmerer translated it into German in 1803.{{cite book

| last = Ebeling

| first = Sascha

| title = Colonizing the Realm of Words: The Transformation of Tamil Literature in Nineteenth-Century South India

| publisher = SUNY Press

| date = 2010

| location = Albany, New York

| page = 24

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=_O1X_y_X-98C&q=August+Friedrich+Caemmerer&pg=PA24

| isbn = 978-1-4384-3199-4

}} 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. 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. 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.Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, p. 257

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.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.{{cite web|last=Mahadevan|first=Iravatham|author-link=Iravatham Mahadevan|url=http://www.varalaaru.com/Default.asp?articleid=539|work=Varalaaru.com|access-date=25 June 2010|language=ta|title=The Golden coin depicting Thiruvalluvar −2}}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.{{cite book|last=Blackburn|first=Stuart|title=Print, folklore, and nationalism in colonial South India |year=2006|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-81-7824-149-4|pages=92–95|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y-BxrNKdwPMC&q=francis+whyte+ellis&pg=PA92}}{{cite book|last=Zvelebil|first=Kamil|author-link=Kamil Zvelebil|title=Companion studies to the history of Tamil literature|year=1992|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-09365-2|page=3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qAPtq49DZfoC&pg=PA3}} 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.{{cite book | url=http://www.projectmadurai.org/pm_etexts/pdf/pm0153.pdf | title=Thirukkural English Translation and Commentary | publisher=W.H. Allen, & Co | first = GU |last = Pope | year=1886 | page=160}}

By the turn of the twenty-first century, the Kural had already been translated to more than 37 world languages,{{Cite web | url=http://www.oocities.org/nvkashraf/kur-trans/languages.htm | title=Thirukkural translations in different languages of the world}} 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.{{cite web

| url = http://www.oocities.org/nvkashraf/kur-trans/languages.htm

| title = Thirukkural translations in different languages of the world

| access-date = 13 August 2016

}} In October 2021, the Central Institute of Classical Tamil announced its translating the Kural text into 102 world languages.{{cite news | title = 102 மொழிகளில் திருக்குறள்: செம்மொழி நிறுவனம் முயற்சி | newspaper =Dinamalar| location = Chennai | date = 20 October 2021 | url = https://www.dinamalar.com/news/tamil-nadu-news/news/2871182 | access-date = 20 October 2021}}

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.{{cite book

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=VF2VMUoY_okC&pg=PA156

| title = The Smile of Murugan of Tamil Literature of South India

| last = Zvelebil

| first = Kamil

| date = 1973

| publisher = P. 169

| isbn = 90-04-03591-5

| access-date = 11 December 2010

| quote = "... It is almost impossible to truly appreciate the maxims of the Kural through a translation. Tirukkural must be read and re-read in Tamil."}} 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". 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.{{cite news | last = | first = | title = Thirukkural's first English translation was a 'de-spiritualised': TN Guv | location = Chennai | publisher = Deccan Herald | date = 25 August 2022 | url = https://www.deccanherald.com/india/thirukkural-s-first-english-translation-was-a-de-spiritualised-tn-guv-1139335.html | access-date = 28 November 2023 | ref={{sfnRef|Deccan Herald, 25 August 2022}} |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209155440/https://www.deccanherald.com/india/thirukkural-s-first-english-translation-was-a-de-spiritualised-tn-guv-1139335.html |archive-date= Dec 9, 2023 }}

Below is a list of translations of the Kural:{{cite book

| title = The Encyclopaedia of Tamil Literature

| publisher = Institute of Asian Studies

| volume = 1

| location = Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai

}}{{cite book

| last = Zvelebil

| first = K. V.

| title = Tamil Literature

| publisher = E. J. Brill

| date = 1975

| location = Leiden/Cologne

| isbn = 90-04-04190-7

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Kx4uqyts2t4C&q=%22M.+G.+Venkatakrishnan%22&pg=PA127

}}

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{{Portal|India|Literature|Poetry}}

• Tirukkural translations into English
• List of translators

{{reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book | last = Sanjeevi | first = N | title = Marathi Translation of Tirukkural. In: First All India Tirukkural Seminar Papers | publisher = University of Madras | edition = 2nd | date = 1973 | location = Chennai | pages = 50–55 |ref={{sfnRef|Sanjeevi, 1973}} }}
• {{cite book |author= M. G. Kovaimani and P. V. Nagarajan |title= திருக்குறள் ஆய்வுமாலை [Tirukkural Research Papers] |year= 2013 |edition= 1|publisher=Tamil University | location= Tanjavur |language=ta|isbn = 978-81-7090-435-9 |ref={{sfnRef|Kovaimani and Nagarajan, 2013}}}}
• {{cite news | title = Thirukkural now in Arabic | newspaper =The Hindu| location = Chennai | date = 25 March 2013 | url = http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/thirukkural-now-in-arabic/article4545807.ece | access-date = 18 November 2017|ref={{sfnRef|The Hindu, 25 March 2013}}}}
• {{cite book |author=Pattu M. Bhoopathi |title=Thus Blossoms Love: A transcreation of Kamattupal in modern verse |url= |year=2019 |publisher=Sandhya Publications |location=Chennai|isbn=978-93-87499-85-0 |ref={{sfnRef|Bhoopathi, 2019}} }}
• {{cite book | last1 = Tamilselvan | first1 = R. | last2 = Manimala | first2 = J. | last3 = Murali | first3 = M. | last4 = Mathan | first4 = V. P. S. | last5 = Amirtharaj | first5 = T. Vijay | title = உலக மொழிகளில் திருக்குறள் மொழிபெயர்ப்புகள் [Tirukkural translations in world languages] | publisher = Kaavya | edition = 1st | date = 2017 | location = Chennai | pages = |isbn=978-93-86576-35-4 |ref={{sfnRef|Tamilselvan et al., 2017}} }}

{{refend}}

• {{cite news | last = Srikkanth | first = D. | title = Translations to bring Tirukkural closer to foreign readers | newspaper = The Times of India | location = Chennai | date = 5 August 2021 | url = https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/translations-to-bring-tirukkural-closer-to-foreign-readers/articleshow/85065649.cms | access-date = 21 November 2021}}
• {{cite book | last1 = Parthasarathy | first1 = Sa. | last2 = Ashraf | first2 = N. V. K.| last3 = Rajendiran | first3 = C. | last4 = Thangavelu | first4 = Elangovan | last5 = Duraisamy | first5 = Senthilselvan | last6 = Selvan | first6 = Ajey Kumar | author-link = | title = Thirukkural Translations in World Languages | publisher = ValaiTamil Publication | series = | volume = | edition = 1 | date = 2024 | location = Chennai | pages = | language = | url = https://www.eStore.ValaiTamil.com | doi = | isbn = 978-81-975093-4-6}}

• [http://www.valaitamil.com/thirukkural.php Tirukkural in Tamil and English—Valaitamil.com]
• [http://www.projectmadurai.org/pm_etexts/pdf/pm0153.pdf G. U. Pope's English Translation of the Tirukkural]
• https://www.facebook.com/Tirukkural.in.6.languages/

{{Tirukkural}}

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