Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Weaver's Wisdom - The Tirukkural in English



MyHinduPage.org Review. The Tirukkural is a classic Tamil scripture reflective of Hindu culture. While the author Tiruvalluvar, said to have written this book some two thousand years ago never mentioned God by any sectarian Hindu names, he refers to God in Universal terms. This book has some of the best and most concise translations of the kurals (couplets) of wisdom with no commentary. The original Tamil of the verse is also provided. However this book does not provide translation of the entire Tirukkural. Of the 1330 verses in the Thirukkural, this book has 1080 verses. The remaining 250 verses that deal with romance is not included.

Review by jinwen on Amazon.com
"A smiling face is no sure sign of friendship. Friendship is found deep within a smiling heart" Kural 786

"Love, modesty, propriety, a kindly eye and truthfulness--these are the five pillars on which perfect goodness rests." Kural 983

"Eyes that remain unmoved by pity might as well be unmovable trees stumps bound in earth." Kural 576

This book is a wonderful addition to any spiritual library and is a great tool for mediation. On the cover of my book, is a sticker saying, "India's Fortune Cookies for the Soul" and rightly so. You apply apply most, if not all, of the 1080 Kurals (verses) from the first 2 chapters of the Tirukural to your daily life. There are Kurals from all sorts of subjects, and there are 10 Kurals per subject. Also, for each subject, there is a Kural illustrated on the left, with the Kural written in Tamil. Lastly, there is a glossary and index in the back to help you find and understand the Kurals.

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