Tirukkuṟaḷ
The classical Tamil work of 1,330 couplets, one of world literature's densest quotation sources.
The Tirukkuṟaḷ, attributed to Valluvar and usually dated between the third and fifth centuries AD, consists of 1,330 kural — couplets of exactly seven metrical feet — arranged in 133 chapters of ten under three sections: virtue, wealth, and love.
Its form makes it inherently quotable. Each couplet is a complete thought in the smallest metrical unit Tamil poetics allows, which is why individual kural function in Tamil public life much as proverbs do, cited in speeches, judgments, and schoolbooks.
The text is notable for addressing ethics without naming a sect, which has allowed Jain, Hindu, Buddhist, and secular readers to claim it. It has been translated into English many times since Beschi's partial Latin version and G. U. Pope's 1886 verse translation.
Common mistake: quoting an English rendering as though the wording were fixed. Give the kural number, which is stable across all editions, and name the translator.
“Kural 391: Learn perfectly all that you learn, and thereafter keep your conduct worthy of that learning.”
Keep reading the glossary
Verse composed largely of aphoristic sayings, usually didactic in intent.
A first-century BCE line collection that is the ancestor of the modern quote book.
A traditional saying that expresses a generally accepted truth — almost always anonymous.
A short rule for conduct, usually stated as a general principle.