The Kural of Tiruvalluvar

by P.S. Sundaram

Tiruvalluvar probably lived and wrote between the second century BC and the eighth century AD though his dates have not been conclusively established. The work by which he is known, the Kural, comprises, 1,330 couplets and is divided into three sections--Virtue, Wealth and Love--and is based on the first three of the four supreme aims prescribed by Hindu tradition: dharma (virtue), artha (wealth), kama (love) and moksha (salvation). Taken together the three books of the Kural inform, criticize and teach the reader, in brilliantly styled and pithy verse, about life, love and the ways of the world.

About the Author:

P.S. SUNDARAM tooks degrees in English from the universities of Madras and Oxford. He was a professor of English for nearly forty years. He has written a biography of the noted writer R.K. Narayan and has also translated the celebrated Tamil poet Subramania Bharati into English. He lives in Chennai.