The 'Sacred' Kurral - Audio

Tirukkural (holy couplet)written more than 2000 years ago by sage Thiruvalluvar.

This is a metric translation by Rev. G.U.Pope, who says, "In regard to the translation, I may venture to say that it is faithful, and that I have not read into the rendering a single idea or thought which there were not good grounds for supposing that the poet intended to convey. I thought it best to try to give a metrical translation. The Tamil scholar will see that I have tried to reproduce even the rhythm in many cases, but I could not retain the inimitable grace, condensation, and point of the original."

The Kural has influenced several luminaries including Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, and Albert Schweitzer.

The Kural is hailed for its lofty wisdom. It is said that the Kural contains all things and there is nothing that it does not contain.

George Uglow Pope (24 April 1820 – 11 February 1908), or G. U. Pope, was an Anglican Christian missionary and Tamil scholar who spent 40 years in Tamil Nadu and translated many Tamil texts into English. His popular translations included those of the Tirukkural and Thiruvasagam.