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Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma

author, poet, teacher, and performer

  • Books
    • THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
    • The Safety of Edges
    • Give, Eat, and Live: Poems of Avvaiyar
    • Body and Earth
    • A Feast for the Tongue
    • Juan Rulfo’s Pedro Páramo
    • Other Writings
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Kural 140: The Kural on Knowledge and Flowing with Nature

November 8, 2022

A verse on acting in accordance with the world.

140
Those who can’t flow with the world—even if learned
They know nothing

உலகத்தோ டொட்ட ஒழுகல் பலகற்றும்
கல்லார் அறிவிலா தார்

From chapter 14, “The Possession of Conduct.”

Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston

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Kural 999: The Kural on Being Kind and Smiling

November 1, 2022

A verse on the light that a smile brings to the world.

999
For those who cannot smile—even in daylight the great
Wide world is darkness

நகல்வல்லர் அல்லார்க்கு மாயிரு ஞாலம்
பகலும்பாற் பட்டன் றிருள்

From chapter 100, “Having Kindness.”

Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston

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Kural 421: The Kural on the Nature of Knowledge

October 25, 2022

A verse on what knowledge really is.

421
Knowledge—tool that guards against ruin
And fortress that falls to no enemy

அறிவற்றங் காக்குங் கருவி செறுவார்க்கும்
உள்ளழிக்க லாகா அரண்

From chapter 43, “The Possession of Knowledge.”

Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston

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Kural 93: The Kural on Sweet Speech and Good Deeds

October 18, 2022

A verse on the power of speaking kindly and looking gently.

93
Facing gently looking kindly speaking sweetly
With one’s heart—that is right action

முகத்தான் அமர்ந்தினிது நோக்கி அகத்தானாம்
இன்சொ லினதே அறம்

From chapter 10, “Sweet Speech.”

Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston

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The New York Review of Books on The Kural

October 11, 2022

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.

To translate even a single kural couplet, bewitching in its rhythm and packed with meaning, is a formidable task. But we now have Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma’s translation, without doubt the best ever into English. David Shulman, New York Review of Books

You can also read or download a PDF of the review below.

Cosmic Oceans Squeezed into Atoms – David Shulman – NYRBDownload

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Kural 701: Tiruvalluvar on Body Language

October 11, 2022

A verse on seeing and sensing the unsaid.

701
A jewel on the earth of undying seas—he
Who sees and notes the unsaid

கூறாமை நோக்கக் குறிப்பறிவான் எஞ்ஞான்றும்
மாறாநீர் வையக் கணி

From chapter 71, “Reading Faces.”

Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston

More about the book
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Kural 475: The Kural on Humility and Strength

October 4, 2022

A verse on power and limits and the true weight of a feather.

475
Even the axle of a cart of feathers breaks
If heaped with too many

பீலிபெய் சாகாடும் அச்சிறும் அப்பண்டம்
சால மிகுத்துப் பெயின்

From chapter 48, “Knowing Strength.”

Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston

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Kural 92: The Kural on Offering Sweet Words with a Smile

September 28, 2022

A verse on the importance of sweet and compassionate speech.

92
Speaking sweet words with a smile—better
Than giving with joy

அகனமர்ந் தீதலின் நன்றே முகனமர்ந்
தின்சொல னாகப் பெறின்

From chapter 10, “Sweet Speech.”

Translated from the Tamil by Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma
THE KURAL: Tiruvalluvar’s Tirukkural
Beacon Press, Boston

More about the book
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