c. 1st-5th century
Tiruvalluvar
Tamil poet credited with the Tirukkural, 1,330 two-line couplets on virtue, wealth and love. It is the most widely read work of Tamil ethics and has been called the Tamil Veda.
Every line we carry
Each one links to its source, what it means, and the shirt in any of our looks.
- Learn it thoroughly. Then stand by what you learned.
Valluvar asks for learning without gaps, and then for a life that matches it. Knowledge you do not act on is only decoration. Study properly, then let it change how you stand.
Tirukkural 391 (கல்வி), our translation from the Greek
- The sand well gives as deep as you dig. So does the mind.
A well dug in sand yields water in proportion to the digging, and understanding flows in proportion to learning. There is no shortcut to depth. Keep digging.
Tirukkural 396 (கல்வி), our translation from the Greek
- Whoever says it, wisdom is seeing what is true in it.
Whatever you hear and whoever says it, wisdom means looking for the truth inside the words. Do not accept an idea because of its source, and do not reject it for that reason either. Weigh the thing itself.
Tirukkural 423 (அறிவு உடைமை), our translation from the Greek
- Harsh words when kind ones exist: picking green fruit when ripe hangs there.
Choosing a harsh word when a kind one would do is like reaching past ripe fruit to pick a sour, unripe one. It is not even good for you. The sweet option is usually right there; take it.
Tirukkural 100 (இனியவை கூறல்), our translation from the Greek
- Whatever else you fail to guard, guard your tongue.
Valluvar ranks the tongue above every other thing a person must control. Those who let it run end up in grief over what they said. You can survive many lapses; careless words cost the most.
Tirukkural 127 (அடக்கம் உடைமை), our translation from the Greek
- A burn from fire heals. A burn from the tongue does not.
A wound made by fire heals on the inside, Valluvar says, but the scar left by words does not. People forgive many things and remember a cutting sentence for years. Speak as if every word leaves a mark, because it does.
Tirukkural 129 (அடக்கம் உடைமை), our translation from the Greek
- Punish those who hurt you: shame them with kindness.
The answer Valluvar gives to people who wrong you is to do them good and let them feel ashamed. It ends the cycle rather than feeding it. Kindness here is not weakness; it is the harder and stronger move.
Tirukkural 314 (இன்னா செய்யாமை), our translation from the Greek
- Bear those who mock you, as the earth bears those who dig it.
The ground holds up the very people who dig into it. Valluvar says the highest virtue is to bear insult the same way. Let the scorn pass through you without throwing you off.
Tirukkural 151 (பொறை உடைமை), our translation from the Greek
- Revenge pleases for a day. Patience is praised until the world ends.
Hitting back gives one day of satisfaction; bearing it with patience earns lasting honor. The trade is lopsided. When you feel the urge to retaliate, remember how short the payoff is.
Tirukkural 156 (பொறை உடைமை), our translation from the Greek
- Guard against anger. Left unguarded, it kills its owner.
If you want to protect yourself, Valluvar says, protect yourself from your own anger. Unchecked, it destroys the person who holds it. Anger aims outward and lands at home.
Tirukkural 305 (வெகுளாமை), our translation from the Greek
- The lotus rises with the water. You rise with your will.
A lotus grows a stem exactly as long as the water is deep, so its flower always reaches the surface. A person's height in life matches the height of their resolve. Raise the water and you raise the flower.
Tirukkural 595 (ஊக்கம் உடைமை), our translation from the Greek
- Let every thought aim high, even if you fall short.
Valluvar tells us to think only of rising. Even if the aim is missed, aiming high keeps its worth. Set the target for the person you want to become, not the one you are.
Tirukkural 596 (ஊக்கம் உடைமை), our translation from the Greek
- Don't lose heart because it's hard. Effort makes greatness.
Do not give up just because something looks difficult. Valluvar says effort is what produces greatness. Hard is not the same as impossible; it is just where the work starts.
Tirukkural 611 (ஆள்வினை உடைமை), our translation from the Greek
- Even when fate refuses, effort pays wages for the sweat.
Sometimes heaven does not grant the result. Even then, Valluvar says, effort pays you for the labor of your body. You may not get the prize, but you always get stronger.
Tirukkural 619 (ஆள்வினை உடைமை), our translation from the Greek
- Those who strive without stopping see the back of fate.
People who keep working without flagging will see fate itself turn and leave. Persistence outlasts bad luck. Keep going long enough and the obstacle walks away first.
Tirukkural 620 (ஆள்வினை உடைமை), our translation from the Greek
- When trouble comes, laugh.
Valluvar's advice when disaster arrives is to smile at it. Nothing beats laughter for riding over trouble. It does not make the problem smaller, but it keeps the problem from making you smaller.
Tirukkural 621 (இடுக்கண் அழியாமை), our translation from the Greek
- What they planned, they get, if the planners hold firm.
People achieve what they set out to achieve, exactly as they planned it, provided they stay firm. The plan is the easy part; firmness is the rare part. Decide, then do not let go.
Tirukkural 666 (வினைத் திட்பம்), our translation from the Greek
- Don't scorn anyone for their size. The linchpin holds the great chariot.
Do not judge people by how they look. A huge chariot depends on a small pin through its axle. The person you overlook may be holding the whole thing together.
Tirukkural 667 (வினைத் திட்பம்), our translation from the Greek
- Think, then act. 'We'll think after' is a disgrace.
Consider carefully and then commit. Valluvar says starting first and planning to think later is a fault. Do the thinking up front so the doing can be clean.
Tirukkural 467 (தெரிந்து செயல் வகை), our translation from the Greek
- Wait like the heron. Strike like the heron.
A heron stands still in the shallows, patient and folded, until the fish comes close, then stabs fast. Valluvar uses it for timing in conflict. Be quiet when it is time to wait and quick when the moment arrives.
Tirukkural 490 (காலம் அறிதல்), our translation from the Greek
- Saying it is easy for anyone. Doing what you said is hard.
Anyone can describe a plan; very few carry it out as described. Valluvar puts the whole difficulty in the second half. Judge yourself by the doing.
Tirukkural 664 (வினைத் திட்பம்), our translation from the Greek
- Friendship is the hand that catches the slipping cloth.
When a man's garment slips, his hand moves to catch it before he even thinks. Real friendship acts the same way in another's trouble. Be the friend who moves before being asked.
Tirukkural 788 (நட்பு), our translation from the Greek
- Even ruin has a use: it is the measuring rod for friends.
Valluvar finds a benefit in misfortune: it shows you who your friends are. Bad times stretch out a ruler against everyone around you. Take note of the measurements.
Tirukkural 796 (நட்பு ஆராய்தல்), our translation from the Greek
- The loveless keep everything for themselves. The loving give even their bones.
People without love hold on to everything as their own. Those with love belong to others down to their bones. Love is measured by how much of yourself you are willing to hand over.
Tirukkural 72 (அன்பு உடைமை), our translation from the Greek
- Every sin has a way out. Ingratitude has none.
Valluvar says there is escape for those who destroy every other good, but none for those who kill gratitude. Forgetting the help you received is the one fault he will not excuse. Remember who carried you.
Tirukkural 110 (செய்ந்நன்றி அறிதல்), our translation from the Greek
- Help given in time, however small, is larger than the world.
A small kindness at the right moment outweighs the whole earth. Timing turns a little help into a great one. Notice when someone needs you now, not later.
Tirukkural 102 (செய்ந்நன்றி அறிதல்), our translation from the Greek
- Feed the hungry poor. That is where to store your wealth.
Relieving the hunger of people who have nothing is the safest place to keep what you have. Wealth given this way does not rot or get stolen. Generosity is a kind of savings account.
Tirukkural 226 (ஈகை), our translation from the Greek
- Keep the mind spotless. That is all of virtue; the rest is noise.
Valluvar says all of virtue comes down to a clean mind. Everything else, the show and ceremony, is just noise. Start with what is going on inside.
Tirukkural 34 (அறன் வலியுறுத்தல்), our translation from the Greek
- Hold on to the one who holds nothing, so you can let go.
Valluvar plays on the word for clinging: cling to the One who clings to nothing, so that you can let go of clinging. Attachment is loosened not by force but by a better attachment. Grab the thing that frees your hands.
Tirukkural 350 (துறவு), our translation from the Greek
- Gold shines brighter the more it burns. So does one who endures.
Gold in the fire gets brighter as it is heated. Valluvar says the person who bears hardship shines the same way, the more it burns. The fire you are in may be refining you.
Tirukkural 267 (தவம்), our translation from the Greek
- He was here yesterday and is gone today. Such is the world's greatness.
Valluvar notes with dry irony that the great marvel of this world is that someone alive yesterday is gone today. Impermanence is the one sure thing. Live today like you understand that.
Tirukkural 336 (நிலையாமை), our translation from the Greek
- High without nobility is not high. Low without meanness is not low.
Status and character do not line up. Those at the top without nobility are not truly high, and those at the bottom without meanness are not truly low. Rank people by how they act, not where they sit.
Tirukkural 973 (பெருமை), our translation from the Greek
- All are equal at birth. Deeds make the difference.
Every living being is born the same way, Valluvar says; distinction comes from the work people do. Birth gives you a start, not a rank. Earn your place by your actions.
Tirukkural 972 (பெருமை), our translation from the Greek
- Who doesn't guard before trouble comes burns like straw before a fire.
A life that takes no care before disaster arrives is like a heap of straw piled in front of a fire. Prevention is cheaper than rescue. Fix the roof while the sun shines.
Tirukkural 435 (குற்றம் கடிதல்), our translation from the Greek