Thirukkural
Ancient Tamil verses
Thirukkural is a classical Tamil text of 1,330 couplets covering virtue, wealth, and love, composed around the third century BCE to fifth century CE.
Attributed to the poet-philosopher Thiruvalluvar, it offers ethical guidance applicable across religions and has been translated into dozens of languages.
Tamils regard it as a masterwork of moral literature: She quoted the Thirukkural on the importance of hospitality.
Two successive verse lines
- verseMetered poetic passage
- aphorismTerse general truth
- maximBrief moral principle
- proverbTraditional saying expressing truth
stanza · poetry · brevity · meter · classical text · epigrammatic · concise · gnome
Moral goodness or merit
- dharmaCosmic moral order
- righteousnessMoral correctness or virtue
- moralityRight and wrong principles
- ethicsStudy of right conduct
duty · conduct · justice · honesty · compassion · self-discipline · truthfulness · non-violence
South Indian state
- Indian philosophySubcontinent's spiritual-intellectual heritage
- cultural treasureValued work of shared significance
- ancient wisdomLong-held profound understanding
- manuscriptOriginal text before publication
palm leaf · UNESCO · world literature · translation · multilingual
Good judgment from experience
- universal truthFact holding everywhere, always
- human natureInborn behavioral tendencies shared universally
- self-knowledgeUnderstanding of oneself
- wealthAbundance of valuable resources
love · statecraft · governance · friendship · fate · karma · detachment · renunciation
couplet
Two successive verse lines
proverb · stanza · poetry · brevity · meter · classical text · epigrammatic · concise · gnome · succinct
virtue
Moral goodness or merit
- dharmaCosmic moral order
- righteousnessMoral correctness or virtue
- moralityRight and wrong principles
ethics · duty · conduct · justice · honesty · compassion · self-discipline · truthfulness · non-violence · charity
Tamil Nadu
South Indian state
- Indian philosophySubcontinent's spiritual-intellectual heritage
- cultural treasureValued work of shared significance
- ancient wisdomLong-held profound understanding
manuscript · palm leaf · UNESCO · world literature · translation · multilingual
wisdom
Good judgment from experience
- universal truthFact holding everywhere, always
- human natureInborn behavioral tendencies shared universally
- self-knowledgeUnderstanding of oneself
wealth · love · statecraft · governance · friendship · fate · karma · detachment · renunciation · asceticism
ThirukkuralMahabharata
Sanskrit war epic
Ramayana · Iliad · Odyssey · Beowulf · epic poetry