Translations of Tirukkural
Tirukkural, also known as the Kural, an ancient Indian treatise on the ethics and morality of the commoner, is the most widely translated non-religious work in the world. Authored by the ancient Tamil poet-philosopher Thiruvalluvar and dated between the 3rd and the 1st centuries BCE, it is considered the third most translated work in the world, after the Bible and the Quran, with translations made in about 82 world languages and at least 57 versions available in the English language alone.
Beginning of translations
The Kural text has a universal appeal owing to its secular and non-denominational nature that it suits the sensibilities of all. The universality is such that almost every religious group in India and across the world, including Christianity, has claimed the work for itself.[1] Tirukkural remained one of the most admired works among the Christian missionaries owing to its ethical values.[2] When Christian missionaries arrived in India during the British era, they found the Kural text containing many more ideals in addition to the Christian ideals. This marked the beginning of translations of the Kural text.[3]
In 1730, Constantius Joseph Beschi rendered it into Latin, introducing the work to the Europeans for the first time. However, only the first two parts, namely, virtue and wealth, were translated by Beschi, who considered translating the section on love inappropriate for a Christian missionary. Around 1767, an unknown author made the first French translation, which went unnoticed.[3] The Danish Missionary August Friedrich Caemmerer translated it into German in 1800.[2] The first available French version, however, was the one made in 1848 by Monsieur Ariel. Here again, only parts of the work was translated.[3] In 1865, Karl Graul translated the Kural into German, claiming that Kural is closer to the Christian preaching and offers a model of Tamil worldview.[2] The German version was published both at London and Leipzig. Unfortunately, Graul's premature death rendered the work incomplete.[3]
The first English translation was made incompletely by Francis Whyte Ellis, who translated only 120 couplets—69 in verse and 51 in prose.[4][5][6][7] W. H. 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 Parimelazhagar 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. Again like Beschi, Drew did not translate the part on love.[3] In 1886, G. U. Pope published the first complete English translation, which brought the Kural text to the wide audience of the western world.[8]
By the turn of the twenty-first century, the Kural had already been translated to more than 37 world languages,[9] with at least 24 translations in English language alone, by both native and non-native scholars. By 2014, the Kural had been translated to more than 82 languages, with 57 versions available in English. Barring the Bible and the Quran, the Kural is considered the most translated work in the world.[10]
Translations
Below is a list of translations of Tirukkural:[11]
| Language | Translator(s) | Title of the Translation | Place of Publication | Year | Complete/Incomplete Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assamese | Nalini Mohan, Sanyal | Thirukural | Calcutta | 1939 | ||
| Sastri, E. C. | Thirukural | Calcutta | 1974 | |||
| Burmese | Myo Thant, U. | Thirukkural | Rangoon | |||
| Chinese | Chi Eng His | Thirukkural | Hong Kong | 1967 | ||
| Yu Hsi[12] | Thirukkural | 2014 | ||||
| Czech | Zvelebil, Kamil V. | Thirukural (Selections) | Prague | 1952–1954 | ||
| Dutch | Kat, D. | Thirukural (Selections) | Netherlands | 1964 | ||
| Fiji | Berwick, S. L. | Na. Thirukkurala | Fiji | 1964 | ||
| Finnish | Aalto, Pentti | Kural—The Ancient Tamil Classic | Finland | 1972 | ||
| French | Ariel, M. | Kural de Thiruvalluvar (Traduits du Tamoul) | Paris | 1848 | ||
| Barrigue de, Fontaineu, G. | Le Livre de l'amour de Thiruvalluva | Paris | 1889 | |||
| Danielou, Alain | Thiruvallouvar Kural | Pondicherry | 1942 | |||
| Jacolliot, Louis | Kural de Thiruvalluvar, Selections | Paris | 1767 | |||
| Lamairesse, M. | Thirukural in French | Pondicherry | 1867 | |||
| German | Albrecht, Fenz and Lalithambal, K. | Thirukural von Thiruvalluvar aus dem Tamil | Madurai | 1977 | ||
| Cammera, A. F. | Thirukural waith German Translation | Leipzig | 1803 | |||
| Graul, Karl | Der Kural des Thiruvalluvar | London | 1854 | |||
| Graul, Karl | Der Tamu Lische Gnomes Dichtar Thiruvalluvar | Leipzig | 1865 | |||
| Rickert, Friederich | Thirukural, Selections | Berlin | 1847 | |||
| William and Norgate | Der Kural des Thiruvalluvar | London | 1866 (2nd ed.) | |||
| Gujarati | Kalani, Kandilal, L. | Thirukural in Gujarathi | Bombay | 1971 | ||
| Kokila, P. C.[13] | Thirukkural in Gujarathi | Chennai | 2015 | |||
| Hindi | Sankar Raju Naidu, S. | Thirukural in Hindi | Madras | 1958 | ||
| Seshadri, K. | Thirukural in Hindi | Lucknow | 1982 | |||
| Govindaraj Jain | Kural in Verse, First two parts | New Delhi | 1942 | |||
| Jain, B. D. | Thirukural | Thirupananthal | 1961 | |||
| Khenand Rakar | Thirukural, Parts 1 and 2 | Ajmer | 1924 | |||
| Rajan Pillai | Thirukural | Lucknow | 1976 | |||
| Venkatakrishnan, M. G. | Thirukural | Trichy | 1964 | |||
| Kannada | Gundappa, L. | Thirukural (3 parts) | Madras | 1960 | ||
| Gundappa, L. | Thirukural Dharma Bhaga | Bangalore | 1955 | |||
| Srinivas, P. S. | Thirukural with Original Couplets and Translations in Kannada | Madurai | 1982 | |||
| Srikanthaiah, B. M. | Kural (Selections in verses) | Bangalore | 1940 | |||
| Latin | Graul, Charles | Kural of Thiruvalluvar | Tranquebar | 1866 | ||
| Veeramamunivar | Thirukural (Books I and II) | London | 1930 | |||
| Malay | Ismail, Hussein | Thirukural Sastera Kalasik Tamil Yang | Kuala Lumpur | 1967 | ||
| Ramily Bin Thakir | Thirukural (in verses) | Kuala Lumpur | 1964 | |||
| Malayalam | Azhakathu Kurup | Thirukural in Verses | Trivandrum | 1875 | ||
| Balakrishna Nair, G. | Kural with Commentary, Part I | Trivandrum | 1963 | |||
| Chellan Nadar, K. | Thirukural Tharmanaskantam | Parassala | 1962 | |||
| Damodaran Pillai, P. | Thirukural Manikal | Trivandrum | 1951 | |||
| Gopala Kurup, Vennikkulam | Thirukural (First 2 parts in verse) | Kottayam | 1960 | |||
| Govinda Pillai, A. | Thirukural | Trivandrum | ||||
| Oriya | Kishrod, Dash Ch | Thirukuralu—In Oriya Language | Sambalpur | 1985 | ||
| Punjabi | Ram Murti Sharma | Thirukural Dhamma Granth of the Tamils | Chandigarh | 1983 | ||
| Polish | Umadevi, Wandy Dynowskiev | Thiruvalluvar Kural | Madras | 1958 | ||
| Rajasthani | Kamala Gurg | Thirukural Needhi Sastra | Jaipur | 1982 | ||
| Russian | Glazov, J. J. and Krishnamurthi, A. | Thirukural, a Book on Virtue, Politics and Love | Moscow | 1963 | ||
| Glazov, J. J. | Thirukural in Couplets with Illustrations | Moscow | 1974 | |||
| Sanskrit | Srirama Desikan, S. N. | Thirukural in Sanskrit Slokas | Madras | 1961, 1968 | ||
| Saurastra | Ram, S. S. | Saurastra Thirukural Payiram—Pitika Pragaranam | Madurai | 1980 | ||
| Sinhalese | De Silva, Charles | Sirigiya (Thirukural in Sinhalese) | Colombo | 1964 | ||
| Sissigamy Govokgada, M. | Thirukural | Colombo | 1961 | |||
| Swedish | Frykholm Ingya | Thirukural | Uddevalla | 1971 | ||
| Telugu | Jagannatha Sastri, Mudiganthi | Thiruvalluva Sookthalu | West Godavari | 1952 | ||
| Lakshminarayana Sastri | Kural | Chittoor | 1906 | |||
| Urdu | Kohan, Muhamad Yusuf | Kural in Urdu and Arabic | Madras | 1976 | ||
| Surawathi Hasarat | Kural in Urdu | New Delhi | 1966 |
Below is the list of English translations available on Tirukkural:
| Translator | Title of the Translation | Place of Publication | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aiyar, V. V. S. | Kural: Maxims of Thiruvalluvar | Madras | 1961 (4th ed.) | |
| Balasubramanian, K. M. | Thirukural of Thiruvalluvar | Madras | 1962 | |
| Yogi Suddanantha Bharathi | Thirukural with English Couplets | Madras | 1968 | |
| Yogi Suddanantha Bharathi | Thirukural Couplets with Clear Prose Rendering | Madras | 1970 | |
| Chakravarthi, A. | Thirukural in English with Commentary | Madras | 1953 | |
| Karunanidhi, M./Chellappan, K. | Kural—Portraits: Dr. Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi’s Kuralovium, a Translation from Tamil by K. Chellappan | Annamalai Nagar: Annamalai University | 1989 | |
| Drew, H. W. | The Kural of Thiruvalluvar with Commentary of Parimelazhakar | Madras | 1840 | |
| Drew, H. W., and Lazarus, J. | Thirukural (in verses) | Madras | 1956 (reprint) | |
| Diaz, S. M. | Aphorisms of Valluvar: Commentary and Comparative Study | Madras: International Society for the Investigation of Ancient Civilizations | 1982 | |
| Ellis, F. W. | Thirukural on Virtue (in verse) with Commentary | Madras | 1812 (reprint 1955) | |
| Gajapathy Nayagar, A. | The Rosary of Gems of Thirukkural | Madras | 1969 | |
| Kasturi Srinivasan | Thirukural: An Ancient Tamil Classic (in couplets) | Bombay | 1969 | |
| Kamaliah, K. C. | Preface in the Kural: A Comparative Study of the First Forty Couplets of the Kural; with English renderings of G. U. Pope ...[et al.] and Their Commentaries and Also the Commentaries of M. Seshachalam | Madras | 1973 | |
| Mathavaiyah, A. | Kural in English with Commentary in Tamil | Madras | 1925 | |
| Michael, S. M. | The Sacred Aphorisms of Thiruvalluvar (in verse) | Nagarcoil | 1928 | |
| Muthuswamy, P. | Thirukural in English | Madurai | 1965 | |
| Parameswaran Aiyar, T. V. | 108 Gems from the Sacred Kural | Kottayam | 1928 | |
| Parameswaran Pillai, V. K. | Kural | Madras | ||
| Pope, G. U. | A Collection of the English Translation of Thirukural | Madras | 1959 | |
| Popely, H. A. | The Sacred Kural (Selections in verses) | Calcutta | 1951 | |
| Raja, P. | Thirukural (in verses) | Kumbakonam | 1950 | |
| Rajagopalachari, C. | Kural, the Great Book of Thiruvalluvar | Madras | 1937 (3rd ed., 1973) | |
| Rajaram, M. | Thirukkural: Pearls of Inspiration | New Delhi | 2009 | |
| Ramachandra Dikshithar, V. R. | Thirukural in English with Roman Translation | Madras | 1949 | |
| Ranganatha Muthaliar, A. | Thirukural Moolamum Uraiyum with English Translation | Madras | 1933 | |
| Thangaswami, T. D. | Thirukural (Selections in Verse) | Madras | 1954 | |
| Thirunavukarasu, T. | Kural—A Selection of 366 Verses (A Gem for Each Day) | Poona | 1916 | |
| Vadivel Chettiar, K. | Kural in English with Tamil Text and Parimelazhakar Commentary (3 parts) | Madurai | 1972-1980 | |
| Vanmikinathan, G. | The Thirukural—A Unique Guide to Moral, Material and Spiritual Prosperity | Trichy | 1969 |
Notes
- ↑ Kamil Zvelebil (1973). The smile of Murugan on Tamil literature of South India. BRILL. pp. 156–. ISBN 978-90-04-03591-1. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
- 1 2 3 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-Nov-2016. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - 1 2 3 4 5 Ramasamy, V. (2001). On Translating Tirukkural (First ed.). Chennai: International Institute of Tamil Studies.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ http://www.oocities.org/nvkashraf/kur-trans/languages.htm
- ↑ "Thirukkural translations in different languages of the world". Retrieved 13 August 2016.
- ↑ The Encyclopaedia of Tamil Literature. 1. Thiruvanmiyur, Chennai: Institute of Asian Studies.
- ↑ Rajaram, R. (19 June 2014). "Chinese translation of Tirukkural, Bharathi's poems ready". The Hindu. Chennai: The Hindu. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
- ↑ Press Information Bureau (16-Jan-2015). "PM releases Gujarati translation of Thirukkural, on 'Thiruvalluvar Day'". New Delhi: Government of India, Prime Minister's Office. Retrieved 22-Nov-2016. Check date values in:
|access-date=, |date=(help)