Chapters 31 to 38

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translation in English is drawn from translations by more than 25 different authors - mostly published in print, some unpublished and some in press.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…..)

031	Avoiding wrath	Translators	Notes
0301	Curb wrath in places where it matters. In other places, What matters if curbed or uncurbed? *	NV, PS
0302	Even where it cannot hurt others, anger is bad; But where it does, there is nothing worse.	DZ
0303	From anger is born all evil. Forget provocation given by anyone. *	CR
0304	Can there be a greater foe than anger Which kills laughter and joy? *	CR
0305	If you want to guard yourself, guard against anger; If unguarded, anger will kill you. *	DZ
0306	The fire of anger which kills kinsmen Burns the life-saving boat of kith and kin.	NV, JN
0307	He who holds anger worthy will be hurt Like the hands that smash the earth. *	CR, KK
0308	Better curb one's wrath even if tortured Like being forced into blazing fire.	PS, NV
0309	All wishes are realized at once If they keep away wrath from their mind.	NV	Yes
0310	Deem those given to anger dead And those renounced it on par with saints.	NV	Yes

Notes:
309. Compare with 540 and 666 for similar idea. "What is aimed is easy to achieve, if only the mind is set on what is aimed" – NV and "What is sought will be got as desired if only the seeker is determined" - NV
310. A different but equally valid translation is given by SS:
"As men who have died resemble the dead, so men who have renounced anger resemble renunciates" 

032	Not hurting	Translators	Notes
0311	The pure in heart will never hurt others Even for wealth that confers renown. *	PS
0312	The code of the pure in heart Is not to hurt in return any hurt caused in hate. *	PS	Yes
0313	Vengeance even against a wanton insult Brings unbearable woes. *	PS
0314	Punish an evil-doer By shaming him with a good deed.*	PS
0315	What does a man gain from his wisdom If he pines not at others' pain as his own? *	SB
0316	Do not do to others what you know Has hurt yourself.	PS
0317	It is best to refrain from willfully hurting Anyone, anytime, anyway.	PS
0318	Why does one hurt others Knowing what it is to be hurt?	PS	Yes
0319	The pain you inflict on others in the morn, Will come back at you on its own by eve.	NV
0320	Hurt comes to the hurtful; hence it is those Who don't want to be hurt cause no hurt. *	PS

Notes:
312. Compare with 203: "The height of wisdom, it is said, is not to return ill for ill" - PS
314. Compare with 987: "What good is that goodness if it does not return good even to those who cause evil?" * - PS
318. Compare with 99. "How can anyone speak harsh words, having seen what kind words do?" - NV

033	Not killing	Translators	Notes
0321	What is virtue? It is not to kill, For killing causes every ill.	SB
0322	The chief of all codes ever written Is to share your food and protect all life.	NV
0323	The first and foremost good is 'Non killing'. Next to it in rank comes 'Not lying'.	NV
0324	What is the perfect path? It is the path of avoiding killing anything.	NV
0325	Of all who renounce fearing instability, the foremost is he Who avoids killing fearing murder. *	MS
0326	Death that eats up life spares the breath of him Who puts no life to death.	PS, SB
0327	Avoid removing the dear life of another Even when your own life is under threat.	NV
0328	However great its gains, The wise despise the profits of slaughter.	PS
0329	Men who practice slaughter as a profession Are placed amongst men of disgrace. *	DZ
0330	A deprived life of diseased bodies, they say, Comes from depriving the life of another. *	SS, DL

034	Impermanence	Translators	Notes
0331	No baser folly than the infatuation That takes the fleeting for the permanent.	SS, PS
0332	Great wealth, like a crowd at a concert, Gathers and melts.	PS
0333	Perishable is the nature of wealth; if you obtain it, Forthwith do something not perishable.*	SM
0334	A day in reality is nothing but A relentless slicing of a saw through one's life. *	DZ
0335	Better commit some good acts before the tongue Benumbs and deadly hiccup descends. *	KK, SB
0336	The one who existed yesterday is no more today. That is the glory of earthly life.	SM
0337	Men unsure of living the next moment, Make more than a million plans. *	PS
0338	The soul's link to the body Is like the bird that flies away from the nest.	KK, PS	Yes
0339	Death is like sleep, And birth an awakening from it.	DZ
0340	Is there no permanent refuge for the soul, Which takes a temporary shelter in the body?	SM

Notes:
338. Most translators render the word "குடம்பை" as "egg-shell" [PS, JN, SB, VS, DL, KV, SS, SI], while KK and GU take it as "nest". VR discusses the drawback in translating the word as "egg-shell" at length and says this meaning came to be associated with the word only after Parimelazhagar's time [Ramasamy, 2001]. Mamakkudavar and Kalingar, whose commentaries appeared before Parimelazhagar, mention that the meaning of "குடம்பை" is nest. VR adds that no fledging flies when it comes out of the egg-shell and only to an intact nest could be compared to the human body, which remains intact even after the soul has left. Pertinent to bring here a reference to the same from the Semitic world: "Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the snare of the trapper" [Psalm, 124:7].

035	Renunciation	Translators	Notes
0341	'Whatever thing of whatever kind' a man relinquishes, Suffering 'there from, there from' he has none.	GV, MS
0342	Renounce early if you seek joy; For many are the delights in store after renouncing.	PS, VS
0343	To be controlled are the senses five And to be given up at once are all cravings.	NV
0344	Nature of penance is giving up everything. Else, it is a return to snares once given up.	NV
0345	When the body itself is a burden on the way to liberation, Why carry other attachments? *	PS
0346	His is the world beyond heaven Who is free of the delusion of "I" and "Mine".	PS
0347	Sorrows will never give up its hold on those Who never give up their hold of desire. *	DL
0348	Those who give up all are saved. The rest are caught in the snare of delusion. *	PS
0349	Detachment alone severs rebirth. All else will be found transient.	NV, MS
0350	Cling to the one who clings to nothing; And so clinging, cease to cling.	PS

350. Moreover, “To one who does not cling realizing what to cling, clinging ills will not cling. * - PS - Kural 359  

036	Truth realization	Translators	Notes
0351	The misery of birth arises out of the delusion Which takes the unreal for the Real. *	PS
0352	Darkness disappears and bliss descends Upon men of clear vision and free of delusion. *	SM
0353	To those enlightened souls freed of doubt, More than earth is heaven near.	NV, SB
0354	Where a sense of the Real is lacking, The other five senses are useless.	PS
0355	Wisdom is to ascertain the reality In whatever way things are presented.	KK	Yes
0356	Those who have learnt to see the reality here Will have learnt not to come back here.	PS
0357	Reality once searched and seized, No need to think of rebirth.	PS
0358	Wisdom lies in realizing that unique Reality To remove the folly of rebirth.	KV, PS
0359	To one who does not cling, realizing what to cling, Clinging ills will not cling. *	PS	Yes
0360	Lust, wrath and delusion: Where these three are unknown, Sorrows shall not be. *	PS

Notes:
355. Alternate translations, but not close to original: 'The mark of wisdom is to see the reality behind each appearance' - PS. Compare with 423. "The mark of wisdom is to discern the truth from whatever source it is heard" - NV
359. i.e. those who cling [to God] but does not cling [to the world]. Compare with 350 for similar word play. “Cling to the one who clings to nothing; and so clinging, cease to cling” - PS

037	Eradicating desire	Translators	Notes
0361	Desire, they say, is the seed of ceaseless birth For all things living at all times.	PS
0362	Must you desire, desire freedom from birth. That comes only by desiring desirelessness.	SS
0363	No greater fortune here than not to yearn,  And none to excel it hereafter too!	PS
0364	Purity is freedom from yearning And that comes of seeking Truth. *	PS
0365	Those are free who are free of yearning. Others, of all else free, remain un-free. *	PS
0366	If you love virtue, flee from desire; For desire is a great betrayer.	VS, PS
0367	When all deeds of desire are uprooted, Liberation comes as and when desired.	NV
0368	Where there is no desire, there is no sorrow. Where there is, it comes over and above.	NV
0369	When the misery of miseries called desire ends, The result is never-ending joy.	NV
0370	The state of eternal bliss will result When desire that is insatiable is conquered.	KV

038	Fate	Translators	Notes
0371	The gains of labour, and loss due to languor, Are both outcomes of fate.	NV, KV
0372	Adverse fate befools, and when time serves A harmless fate expands knowledge. *	PS, SS
0373	A man may have studied many subtle works, But what survives is his innate wisdom.	PS
0374	The world ordains two different ways: Acquiring wealth is one, attaining wisdom another. *	SS
0375	In business dealings, fate can turn All good things bad and even bad good.	NV
0376	What is not naturally ours cannot be got, Nor what is natural, ejected. *	PS	Yes
0377	Except as disposed by the Disposer, Even millions amassed may not be enjoyed. *	PS	Yes
0378	That the destitute have not renounced Is because fate has not relieved them of their share. *	PS, NV
0379	Why do those who take good luck in their stride, Struggle when encountered with bad?	PS, NV
0380	What is there mightier than fate? For it overtakes us In spite of our plans to overcome it. *	SS, NV

Notes:
376. Compare with 609 under Avoiding Sloth. "Inherent flaws that are natural can be overcome by getting rid of indolence" – NV
377. The word "வகுத்தான்" [Disposer] here is invariably taken to mean God. Most translators have obviously followed Parimelalagar's interpretation of the word "வகுத்தான்" as "தெய்வம்".  Chakravarti [1953] translates the word as "destiny". Relevant here is the translation of a similar passage from Naladiyar – a Jaina classic beyond doubt. "Though fortune forsake him and fate frown on him......" Translator S. Anavaratavinayakam Pillai here has chosen to render the word "தெய்வம்" as "fate". 
378. Valluvar says in couplet 1050: “The poverty stricken has a chance to renounce, lest he hang around for salt and gruel”. * (KK). Here in couplet 378 he cites fate as the reason why the destitute have not renounced in spite of their poverty.
380. The same Valluvar says under “Manliness” in couplet 620: “Those who never get tired of striving undauntedly shall leave even Fate behind”. (SB, PS)

References:

Chakravarti, A. 1953. Tirukkural. Deccan Press, Vepery, Madras. Pp 1-22 

Ramasamy, V. 2001. On Translating Tirukkural. International Institute of Tamil Studies. Chennai. Pp 139-140

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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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