Kural

The Tirukkural (), or shortly the Kural (), is a classic Tamil language text. It has 1,330 short couplets (two-line poem parts), or kurals, of seven words each.
The text is divided into three books with aphorisms (sayings) on virtue (aram), wealth (porul) and love (inbam). It is thought as one of the greatest works ever written on ethics and morality. It is also known for its all-inclusiveness and secular nature.
History
People say Valluvar (full name Thiruvalluvar) wrote the work. The text has been dated from 300 BCE to the 5th century CE. The usual accounts describe it as the last work of the third Sangam (before 300 CE). Although language-based analysis suggests a later date of 450 to 500 CE and that it was composed after the Sangam period.
The Kural text is among the earliest systems of Indian epistemology (way of thinking of knowledge) and metaphysics (way of thinking of reality and being). The Kural is traditionally praised with epithets such as "the Tamil Veda" and "the Divine Book".
Contents
Written on the ideas of ahimsa (non-violence), it draws attention to non-violence and moral vegetarianism as good things for a person to do. Also, it highlights truthfulness, controlling your emotions and reactions, thankfulness, hospitality, kindness, goodness of one's wife, duty, giving, and so forth, besides covering a wide range of social and political topics such as kings, ministers, taxes, justice, forts, war, greatness of armies and soldier's honor, death sentence for the wicked, agriculture, education, not drinking alcohol and things that make people drunk or high. It also includes chapters on friendship, love, sexual unions, and home life. The text permanently redefined the cultural values of the Tamil land.
Reputation
The Kural has been liked and respected by experts from ethical, social, political, economic, religious, philosophical, and spiritual fields. These include Ilango Adigal, Kambar, Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Schweitzer, Ramalinga Swamigal, V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, Karl Graul, George Uglow Pope, Alexander Piatigorsky, and Yu Hsi. The work remains the most translated, the most referred-to, and the most cited of Tamil literary works.
The text has been translated into at least 40 languages. This made it one of the most translated ancient works. Ever since it came to print for the first time in 1812, the Kural text has never been out of print. Its author is praised for selecting the best virtues found in the known books and showing them in an manner that most people understand. The Tamil people and the government of Tamil Nadu have long revered and celebrated the text.
Citations
References
Classical primary sources
, purrnaannnuurru [Purananuru] (Verse 34), See original text in Tamil Virtual University.
Ilango Adigal, cilpptikaarm [Silappathigaram], See original text in Tamil Virtual University.
Kambar, kmpraamaaynnm [Kambaramayanam], See original text in Tamil Virtual University.
Seethalai Sathanar, mnnimeeklai [Manimekalai], See original text in Tamil Virtual University.
Sekkilar, periy puraannm [Periya Puranam], See original text in Tamil Virtual University.
See original text in Project Madurai.
Modern secondary sources
Books
Journals and magazines
Newspapers
Online
Philosophy
Hindu texts
Secularism
Vegetarianism
Non-fiction books
2nd-century works