Inspirational Quotations

Inspirational Quotes from the Thirukkural (Indian Tamil Literary Classic)

Tirukkuṟaḷ, or simply Kuṟaḷ, (Tamiḻ: “Sacred Couplets”) is a classic Indian literary work in the Tamiḻ language. It is one of the two oldest works in Tamiḻ literature extant in their entirety, the other being the Tolkāppiyam, whose authorship is attributed to Tolkāppiyar.

Generally credited to the fabled 5th century CE poet Tiruvalluvar, the Kuṟaḷ has had an immeasurable influence on Tamiḻ culture and life. Not much, including his religious affiliation, is known about Tiruvalluvar, except for scant and ambiguous details that can be deduced from the text itself.

The Kuṟaḷ is primarily a book of popular wisdom and ethics. In its practical concerns, aphoristic insights into daily life, and universal and timeless approach, the Tirukkuṟaḷ has been compared to the great books of the world’s major religions.

Divided into 133 sections of 10 couplets each, the work reviews three of the four ends of human life (puruṣhartha): aram (dharma, or virtue,) porul (artha, or government and society,) and inpam (kāma, or love,) but not the end of mokṣa (mukti, or enlightenment or liberation.)

The Kuṟaḷ is one of the most widely translated works in the world. Well-known translations include the Anglican Christian missionary and Tamiḻ scholar George Uglow Pope’s Thirukkural: English Translation and Commentary (1886) and The Tirukkural by Gopalkrishna Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi.

More: Wikipedia READ: Works by The Thirukkural

Excessive anger is a great harm, but greater still is the unmindfulness born of excessive pleasure. Just as perpetual poverty slowly slays one’s knowledge, so does frequent forgetfulness destroy one’s prestige.
The Thirukkural

Purity of mind and purity of conduct—these two depend upon the purity of a man’s companions.
The Thirukkural
Topics: Mind

Like a tortoise withdrawing five limbs into its shell, those who restrain the five senses in one life will find safe shelter for seven.
The Thirukkural

Nothing is impossible for those who act after wise counsel and careful thought.
The Thirukkural
Topics: Thought, Act, Wise

It is the principle of the pure in heart never to injure others, even when they themselves have been hatefully injured. Hating others, even enemies who harmed you unprovoked, assures incessant sorrow.
The Thirukkural

There is no baser folly than the infatuation that looks upon the transient as if it were everlasting.
The Thirukkural

How can one, who eats the flesh of others to swell his flesh, show compassion?
The Thirukkural
Topics: Vegetarianism

Before advancing against men weaker than yourself, Ponder when you stood before those more powerful.
The Thirukkural

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