A verse on acting in accordance with the world.
From chapter 14, “The Possession of Conduct.”
Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston
Kural 999: The Kural on Being Kind and Smiling
A verse on the light that a smile brings to the world.
From chapter 100, “Having Kindness.”
Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston
Kural 421: The Kural on the Nature of Knowledge
A verse on what knowledge really is.
From chapter 43, “The Possession of Knowledge.”
Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston
Kural 93: The Kural on Sweet Speech and Good Deeds
A verse on the power of speaking kindly and looking gently.
From chapter 10, “Sweet Speech.”
Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston
The New York Review of Books on The Kural
I’m humbled and delighted and honored by David Shulman’s recent review of THE KURAL in the New York Review of Books, “Cosmic Oceans Squeezed into Atoms.”
Along with Archana Venkatesan’s wonderful introduction, Shulman’s essay does a beautiful job of introducing the Kural to an English-speaking audience and of showing what makes it the extraordinary work that it is.
As Shulman writes, “The idiosyncratic wisdom of the Tirukkural’s poetry is about aliveness, perhaps the most elusive of human goals.”
You can read the entire review on the New York Review of Books website by creating a free account.
You can also read or download a PDF of the review below.
Kural 701: Tiruvalluvar on Body Language
A verse on seeing and sensing the unsaid.
From chapter 71, “Reading Faces.”
Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston
Kural 475: The Kural on Humility and Strength
A verse on power and limits and the true weight of a feather.
From chapter 48, “Knowing Strength.”
Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston
Kural 92: The Kural on Offering Sweet Words with a Smile
A verse on the importance of sweet and compassionate speech.
From chapter 10, “Sweet Speech.”
Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston