Chapters 11 to 20

	The Tirukkural: Getting close to the original
	In Spirit, Content and Style
	The 'choicest' of all translations in English

First edition in 2006; revised edition in 2024

This Tirukkural translation in English is drawn from translations by more than 25 different authors - mostly published in print, some unpublished and some in press. Twenty of these were either complete or partial translations and the remaining ten were isolated translations that appeared in articles, monographs and books authored by different scholars on the Tirukkural and Tiruvalluvar. The choicest translation of every couplet that is close to the original - in spirit, content and style - has been chosen for presentation. Preference has been given for brevity, simplicity and clarity. Emphasize was also laid on translations that manage to reflect, as much as possible, every word found in the original.  Sometimes translations of two authors were combined to produce the best reflection of the original. The translator or translators of every couplet have been acknowledged with their initials (eg. PS, SS, SB, VS, RM etc.) in a separate column. The initials have been expanded with the names of these translators at the end of every page, and the full citation of the source has been given at the end of all translations. When no translation was found particularly satisfactory, I chose to render them myself. These have been marked by initial NV. An astrix (*) at the end of a translation indicate that the rendering has been improved upon, either by adding/replacing words or deleting words found to be unnecessary. To know more on the process of this comparison and criteria of selection, click here: ComparingTirukkural translations to unfold the best. 

Division I. Virtue (Continued.....)

011	Realizing gratitude	Translators	Notes
0101	Neither earth nor heaven can truly repay Spontaneous aid.	PS
0102	A timely help, though small, Is of greater value than all the earth.	DZ
0103	The help given without weighing the return, When weighed, outweighs the sea.	SB, NV
0104	To the discerning even millet of aid Is as big as a palm tree. *	PS
0105	Not according to the aid but its receiver Is its recompense determined.	PS	Yes
0106	Forget not the friendship of the pure, Nor forsake friends who supported in trouble. *	VS
0107	The good remember through all seven births The friends who wiped their tears.	PS
0108	To forget a good turn is not good, and good it is To forget at once what isn't good.	PS
0109	Even a deadly hurt is soon effaced, If one recollects a past good turn.	DZ
0110	One may slain every goodness and yet escape, But no escape for one who slain gratitude.	SS	Yes

Notes:
104. Compare with couplets 433 & 1282 for the use of same similes “Millet” and “Palm tree”. “To those ashamed of wrong doings, even millet of fault is as big as a palm-tree” and “Where love is as large as a palm tree, even millet of sulk is misplaced”.
105. Compare with 87. "The gains of hospitality cannot be reckoned. Their worth depends on the guest" - PS
110. Crisp alternate translation, but not close to original: "All other sins may be redeemed, except ingratitude" - PS 

012	Impartiality	Translators	Notes
0111	Justice may be called good only when it acts impartially Regardless of the class of men. *	SS, DL	Yes
0112	The wealth of a just man, without decline, Passes intact to his posterity. *	PS
0113	Though profitable, turn away From unjust gains without delay.	SB
0114	The just and unjust shall be known By what they leave behind.	PS
0115	Adversity and prosperity come and go, But an unbiased heart adorns the noble.	NV
0116	If your thoughts show signs of doing injustice, Know that misfortune awaits you. *	CR
0117	The world will not deem as poverty The low estate of virtuous men who dwell in equity. *	DL
0118	To be unbiased like an unswerving weighing scale Is an ornament for the great. *	PS, SI
0119	Equity is words without bias And it comes from a firm, unbiased mind. *	PS
0120	A merchant's best merchandise Is tending other's goods as his own.	PS

Notes:
111. The three class or divisions of men are said to enemies, strangers and friends. 

013	Possession of self control	Translators	Notes
0121	Self-control takes one to the gods; Want of it will push one into utter darkness.	CR
0122	Guard self-control as a treasure; There is nothing more precious in life.	PS
0123	Those who follow the wise path of self-restraint Are conferred with virtuous fame.	NV
0124	More imposing than a mountain Is the stature of the steadfast and self-controlled. *	SS, PS
0125	Humility is good for all But is an added richness to the rich.	PS
0126	Like a tortoise, withdraw your five senses in one birth, To protect you in the next seven.	NV
0127	Guard your tongue if nothing else; For words unguarded cause distress.	PS
0128	A bitter word, even if said once, Can undo all the good intended.	NV
0129	The wound caused by fire will heal within, But not the scar left by the tongue.	PS
0130	Virtue waits for a timely entry on the path of one Who curbs wrath and learns self restraint.	NV

014	Possession of decorum	Translators	Notes
0131	Discipline is more precious than life itself, For it is discipline that confers eminence. *	CR, GV
0132	Strive and preserve good conduct; By any reckoning, you will find it your sole companion. *	JN
0133	Propriety of conduct is great birth, And impropriety will sink into a mean birth. *	DL
0134	Scriptures forgot can be recapitulated; Bad conduct debases a Brahmin and his birth. *	PS, JN
0135	Just as jealousy can’t lead to prosperity, So also impropriety to greatness. *	KV
0136	The strong-willed do not shrink from right conduct; They know its breach will spell ruin. *	DZ
0137	Right conduct exalts one, while a bad name Exposes one to undeserved disgrace.	PS
0138	Good conduct sows good, And from bad springs eternal trouble.	PS
0139	Men of good conduct cannot speak ill Even by a slip of tongue.	PS, JN
0140	Those are fools, however learned, Who have not learnt to walk with the world.	PS	Yes

Notes:

140. Compare with 426. "It is a part of wisdom to conform to the ways of the world" - VS

015	Not coveting another's Wife	Translators	Notes
141	Those who realize the benefit of virtue Don't commit the folly of desiring another's wife.	JN, NV
0142	No sinner so foolish as he who lurks At the door of another's wife.	PS
0143	No different from the dead are those Who wickedly desire the wife of a friend.	SS
0144	What does greatness avail if one without even least guilt Goes into another's home? *	DL, PS
0145	Erring with another's wife may seem easy, But disgrace will be irredeemable for all time.*	CR
0146	The adulterer has no respite from these four: Hatred, sin, fear and disgrace. *	VS
0147	He is a virtuous householder Who does not covet another's wife. *	PS
0148	The manliness that scorns adultery Is both virtue and propriety for the great. *	PS
0149	Who deserves all the good in this world? He who clasps not the arms of another's wife! *	VS, SB
0150	You may trespass the bounds of other virtues, But not the bounds of another's wife.	NV

016	Forbearance	Translators	Notes
0151	To bear insults is best, like the earth Which bears and maintains its diggers.	PS
0152	Forgive transgressions always, Better still forget them.	PS
0153	The want of wants is to be inhospitable, The might of might to suffer fools.	PS
0154	If you desire that greatness should never leave, Foster the conduct of forbearance.	DL, SS
0155	Avengers are despised as worthless, Forbearers are prized as gold.	PS, GU
0156	Retaliation gives but a day's joy; Forbearance brings glory for all time.	CR
0157	Though unjustly afflicted by others, pity them And refrain from unrighteous response. *	SS
0158	Let a man conquer by his forbearance Those who wrong him with arrogance. *	SS	Yes
0159	More pure than ascetics are they Who bear the insult of transgressors. *	SB
0160	Fasting and penance of the great Come next only to bearing insults of others.	PS, NV

Notes:
158: Alternate translation but not close to original: "Conquer with forbearance the excess of insolence" - PS

017	Not envying	Translators	Notes
0161	Deem virtuous that heart of men Who by nature are not jealous. *	SB
0162	No blessing is so great as a nature That is free from all envy.	VS
0163	One who eyes the growth of others with envy Forfeits the wealth of virtue.	JN
0164	Those who know the woes of evil deeds, Dare not do wrong out of envy. *	JN
0165	The envious need no other foes; Their envy is more than enough. *	PS
0166	A man who envies charitable deeds Will see his folk perish - naked and starving. *	PS
0167	The goddess of fortune departs the envious, Introducing him to her elder sister. *	DL	Notes
0168	That sin called envy slays fortune And leads one to the swirl pool of evil. *	GU, JN
0169	The prosperity of the envious And the poverty of the righteous will be pondered. *	DL
0170	None has gained through envy, Nor have the un-envious ever lost. *	PS

Notes:
167. The elder sister is the goddess of misfortune. KV's translation is crisp though not literal. "Fortune disapproves the envious and will leave giving way to misfortune" 

018	Not coveting	Translators	Notes
0171	Unjust desire to covet others’ honest wealth At once ruins home and begets evil. *	GU, SB
0172	Those who deem injustice a shame, Refrain from covetousness that brings blame.	SS, NV
0173	They will not sin for fleeting pleasures Who seek eternal joy.	PS
0174	Their senses conquered, The clear-eyed cite not their poverty to covet. *	PS	Yes
0175	Of what avail is a keen and sharp intellect, If greed seizes one to covet? *	DZ
0176	Even he whom grace beckons, if beckoned by greed, Will perish beckoned with evil. *	PS
0177	Avoid wealth though greed. Out of it comes no good.	PS
0178	Do not covet another's wealth If you would keep your own un-shrunk.	PS
0179	Fortune finds the worth and draws near to those Who know the worth of non-coveting. *	SS
0180	Mindless coveting brings ruin. The pride of freedom from desire yields success.	JN

Notes:
174. Compare with 205: "Plead not poverty for doing ill, whereby you will become poorer still" - PS

019	Avoiding slander	Translators	Notes
0181	One may not preach or practice virtue, But not being called a slanderer is pleasing. *	KK, MS	Notes
0182	Viler than violating virtue for committing vile, Is to smile before and vilify behind.	SS, VS
0183	Better die in virtue than live a life of slanderer Under false pretences.	DZ
0184	Better heartless words to man's face Than thoughtless ones at his back.	PS	Notes
0185	The meanness in the heart of one posing virtuous, Shall be known by his slanderous tongue.	NV
0186	His failings will be found and shown, If one makes another's failings known.	SB
0187	Those who cannot laugh and make friends Can only slander and make foes.	PS
0188	What won't they do to strangers Who broadcast their friends' faults?	PS
0189	The earth bears the weights of scandalmongers Only for the sake of duty.	PS, SS
0190	Will any evil befall mankind if we can see, Like others' faults, ours as well?	NV

Notes: 

181. It is Valluvar's style to emphasize on a particular quality by exalting it over other virtues. In 297 he says: "If one speaks the truth and only truth, he need not seek other virtues" [DZ]. In 150 he says: "You may trespass the bounds of other virtues, but not the bounds of another's wife" [NV]
184. An equally valid, but different translation is given by VS:
"Slander not a man behind his back even if he has insulted thee in thy very face"

020	Avoiding vain speech	Translators	Notes
0191	To disgust people with empty words  Is to be despised by all.	PS
0192	Vain speech in public is worse Than a wrong done to a friend.	PS
0193	He that multiplies empty words Declares loud his want of worth.	VS
0194	Vain words of inconsequence in an assembly Rob one of any gain or goodness.	JN
0195	Men of worth, speaking nonsense, Will lose greatness and esteem.	PS
0196	Call him not a man who loves idle words. Call him rather chaff among men.	VS
0197	Even unpleasant words may be spoken, But the wise should avoid idle speech. *	PS
0198	The wise who weigh their worth Refrain from words that have no grain of worth. *	SB
0199	The clear-eyed and spotless never even forgetfully Say things that are meaningless. *	PS
0200	Should you speak, speak useful words. Never indulge in vain speech.	NV

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Key to the initials of different translators:

CR - C. Rajagopalachari	KS - Kasthuri Sreenivasan	SI - K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar
DL -W.H. Drew and  J. Lazarus	KV - K. Krishnaswamy & Vijaya Ramkumar	SM -S. Maharajan
DZ - S.M. Diaz	MS - M.S. Poornalingam Pillai	SS - Satguru  Subramuniyaswami
EL - F.W. Ellis	NC - Norman Cutler	TD - S. Thandapani Desikar
GU - G.U. Pope	NV - N.V.K. Ashraf	TK - T.K. Chidambaranatha Mudaliar
GV - G. Vanmikanathan	PS - P.S. Sundaram	VC - V.C. Kulandai Swamy
JN - J. Narayanaswamy	SB - Shuddhananda Bharatiar	VR  - V. Ramasamy
KK - K. Kannan	SD - S.D. Rajendran	VS - V.V.S. Aiyar
KN - K.N. Subramanyam	SG - G. Siromoney, S. Govindaraju & M. Chandrasekaran,

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