E. S. Ariel | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Nationality | French |
| Occupation | Indologist |
| Known for | Second translator of Tirukkural into French |
Notable work | Tirukkural (1848) |
E. S. Ariel, also referred to as Monsieur Ariel (French for "Mr. Ariel") by his contemporaries, was a 19th-century French translator known for his French translation of the ancient Indian philosophical text of the Tirukkural. He translated select couplets of the Tirukkural into French in 1848 and published it in Paris under the title Kural de Thiruvalluvar (Traduits du Tamoul). [1] Although the first French translation of the Kural text was made by an unknown author in 1767, which Ariel had mentioned in his work, it was Ariel's translation that brought the ancient work to the French world. [2] [3]
In a letter to Burnouf published in the Journal Asiatique (November–December 1848), Ariel called the Kural text,
the masterpiece of Tamil literature—one of the highest and purest expressions of human thought. That which above all is wonderful in the Kural is a fact that its author addresses himself without regard to castes, peoples or beliefs to the whole community of mankind; the fact that he formulates sovereign morality and absolute reason; that he proclaims in their very essence, in their eternal abstractness, virtue and truth; that he presents, as it were in one group, the highest laws of domestic and social life; that he is equally perfect in thought, in language and in poetry in the austere metaphysial contemplation of the great mysteries of the Divine Nature as in the easy and graceful analysis of the tenderest emotions of the heart. [2] [4]
He also famously said of the Tirukkural thus: "Ce livre sans nom, par un auteur sans nom" ("The book without a name by an author without a name.") [4]
The Tirukkural, or shortly theKural, is a classic Tamil language text consisting of 1,330 short couplets of seven words each, or kurals. The text is divided into three books with aphoristic teachings on virtue, wealth and love, respectively. Considered one of the greatest works on ethics and morality, it is known for its universality and secular nature. Its authorship is traditionally attributed to Valluvar, also known in full as Thiruvalluvar. The text has been dated variously from 300 BCE to 5th century CE. The traditional accounts describe it as the last work of the third Sangam, but linguistic analysis suggests a later date of 450 to 500 CE and that it was composed after the Sangam period.
The Tirukkural, shortly known as the Kural, is a classic Tamil sangam treatise on the art of living. Consisting of 133 chapters with 1330 couplets or kurals, it deals with the everyday virtues of an individual. Authored by Valluvar between the third and first centuries BCE, it is considered one of the greatest works ever written on ethics and morality and is praised for its universality and non-denominational nature.
Tirukkural, also known as the Kural, an ancient Indian treatise on the ethics and morality of the commoner, is one of the most widely translated non-religious works in the world. Authored by the ancient Tamil poet-philosopher Thiruvalluvar, it has been translated into at least 42 world languages, with about 57 different renderings in the English language alone.
William Henry Drew was a 19th-century Christian missionary to India who rendered the Tirukkural into English. However, he translated only the first 630 couplets of the Tirukkural.
John Lazarus (1845–1925) was a Christian missionary to India who rendered the Tirukkural into English. He revised the work of his predecessor William Henry Drew, who had already translated the first 63 chapters of the Tirukkural, and translated the remaining portion of the Kural text.
Tirukkural remains one of the most widely translated non-religious works in the world. As of 2014, there were at least 57 versions available in the English language alone. English, thus, continues to remain the language with most number of translations available of the Kural text.
K. M. Balasubramaniam was a Tamil writer and supporter of the Dravidian Movement, and a translator of the Tirukkural into English. He came to be known as Thiruvachakamani for his translation of Manikkavacakar’s Thiruvasagam into English before translating the Kural text.
French holds the credit of having the second maximum number of translations of the Tirukkural among European languages, next only to English. As of 2015, there were at least 18 translations of the Kural text available in French.
Herbert Arthur Popley was a Christian missionary of London Mission, Erode, known for his literary work as a translator of the Tirukkural and his skill in rendering Tamil Christian music in the Carnatic style. He was secretary of the All-India Y.M.C.A. At the time of his death, he was president of the local Y.M.C.A. and a director of the Coonoor Co-operative Urban Bank Ltd. He died in Coonoor on 9 May 1960 at the age of 81.
Charles Edward Gover (1835–1872) was a British folklorist in Madras, India. He was one of the earliest translators of the Tirukkural into English.
S. M. Michael was one of the early 20th-century translators of the Tirukkural into English.
A. Chakravarti, who served the Indian Educational Service (IES), was a professor of philosophy at the Presidency College in Chennai, India. He is known for translating the Tirukkural into English.
G. Vanmikanathan, better known as G. V. Pillai, was a Tamil scholar, author, founder and organiser of the 'Tirukkural Prachar Sangh'. He is known for translating the Tirukkural into English.
P. S. Sundaram (1910–1998), born Pazmarneri Subrahmanya Sundaram, was an Indian professor of English, best known for translating the Tirukkural and various Tamil classics into English. He had degrees in English from the University of Madras and the Oxford University. He served as professor of English for about 40 years in different parts of North India.
Tiruvalluva Maalai, literally 'Garland of Valluvar', is an anthology of ancient Tamil paeans containing fifty-five verses each written by different poets praising the ancient work of the Kural and its author Valluvar. With the poets' time spanning across centuries starting from around 1st century CE, the collection is believed to have reached its present form by 11th century CE. With the historical details of the ancient philosopher and his work remaining obscure, much of the legend on the Kural and Valluvar as they are known today are chiefly from this work. The collection also reveals the name of the author of the Kural text as 'Valluvar' for the first time, as Valluvar himself composed the Kural text centuries earlier without indicating his name anywhere in his work. Reminiscing this, E. S. Ariel, a French scholar of the 19th century, famously said of the Tirukkural thus: Ce livre sans nom, par un autre sans nom.
Tirukkural, or the Kural, an ancient Indian treatise on common moralities, has been given by various names ever since its writing between the first century BCE and the 5th century CE. Originally referred to as Muppāl, perhaps as presented by its author Valluvar at the ruler's court, the work remains unique among ancient works in that it was not given any title by its author himself. All the names that the work is referred by today are given by later days' scholars over the millennia. The work is known by an estimated 44 names excluding variants, although some scholars list even more. E. S. Ariel, a French scholar of the 19th century who translated the work into French, famously said of the Kural thus: Ce livre sans nom, par un autre sans nom.
P. C. Kokila is an Indian professor of Hindi, who is best known for translating the Tirukkural into Gujarati.
S. Srinivasan is an Indian civil engineer, who is best known for translating the Tirukkural into Kannada.
Tarlochan Singh Bedi is an academician better known for translating the Kural into Punjabi.
The Book of Inbam, in full Iṉbattuppāl, or in a more sanskritized term Kāmattuppāl, also known as the Book of Love, the Third Book or Book Three in translated versions, is the third of the three books or parts of the Kural literature, authored by the ancient Indian philosopher Valluvar. Written in High Tamil distich form, it has 25 chapters each containing 10 kurals or couplets, making a total of 250 couplets all dealing with human love. The term inbam or kamam, which means 'pleasure', correlates with the third of the four ancient Indian values of dharma, artha, kama and moksha. However, unlike Kamasutra, which deals with different methods of lovemaking, the Book of Inbam expounds the virtues and emotions involved in conjugal love between a man and a woman, or virtues of an individual within the walls of intimacy, keeping aṟam or dharma as the base.
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