Tirukkural translations into French

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French has 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.

Contents

History of translations

The first translation of the Kural text into French was made by an unknown author, which was titled Kural de Tiruvalluvar and found a place in the Bibliothèque nationale de France of France in 1767. [1] [2] However, it is E. S. Ariel who is generally credited with bringing the Kural text to the French world. Ariel, who considered the Kural as one of the highest and purest expressions of human thought, [3] translated fragments of the first two divisions of the work, viz. aram (virtue) and porul (wealth) in 1848. Since then several translations appeared in French, chief among which are those by Pierre-Eugène Lamairesse (1867), G. Fontaineu de Barrigue (1889), Dumast, Louis Jacolliot, and Alain Daniélou (1942). [2] Gnanou Diagou translated the entire work in 1942, which was first published in Pondicherry. [4] Few other translations were published in the 20th century, including M. Sangeelee (1988) and François Gros (1992). In 2007, Rama Valayden published a translation in Port-Louis, Mauritius. [5]

Translations

TranslationChapitre 26, Abstinence de chair
Kural 254 (Couplet 26:4)Kural 258 (Couplet 26:8)
Gnanou Diagou, 1942Qu’est ce que la miséricorde? C’est ne pas vers tuer. Qu’est ce qui n’est pas miséricorde? C’est tuer. Donc, manger la chair qui provient du meurtre n’est pas vertueux.Les sages qui se sont délivrés de l’Illusion et de l’Ignorance ne mangent pas la viande, d’où s’est échappée la vie d’un être.

See also

Related Research Articles

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The Tirukkuṟaḷ, or shortly theKural, is a classic Tamil language text consisting of 1,330 short couplets, or kurals, of seven words each. The text is divided into three books with aphoristic teachings on virtue (aram), wealth (porul) and love (inbam), respectively. Considered one of the greatest works ever written on ethics and morality, it is widely acknowledged 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.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tirukkural translations into English</span>

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.

<i>Tirukkuṟaḷ</i> translations into Latin

Latin is the first foreign language into which the Tirukkuṟaḷ was translated. There are three known translations of the Kural text available in Latin.

Hindi perhaps has many translations of the Tirukkural. As of 2000, there were at least 19 translations of the Kural text available in Hindi. Many of these translations are in verse form.

Kannada has at least eight translations of the Tirukkural available as of 2014. Both prose and verse translations have been made in Kannada.

As of 2015, there are at least four translations of the Tirukkural available in Russian.

As of 2015, there are at least two translations of the Tirukkural available in the Polish language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tirukkural translations into German</span>

Among the European languages, German has the third highest number of translations of the Tirukkural, after English and French. As of 2015, there were at least eight translations of the Kural text available in German.

As of 2015, the Chinese language had two translations available of the Tirukkural.

Malayalam has seen the most number of Tirukkural translations than that of any other language in India. As of 2007, there are at least 21 translations of the Kural text available in Malayalam. Malayalam also has the distinction of producing the first ever translation of the Kural text among the languages in India and the world at large. The Annual Report of the Cochin Archeological Department for the year 1933–34 reported an unpublished manuscript of a Malayalam translation of the Tirukkural made in 1595.

Telugu is one of the Indian languages that has had the earliest Tirukkural translations in modern times. As of 2000, there were at least 14 translations of the Kural text available in Telugu.

As of 2015, there were at least three Gujarati translations available of the Tirukkural.

As of 2015, there were at least five Sanskrit translations available of the Tirukkural.

As of 2015, Tirukkural has been translated into Punjabi at least twice.

As of 2015, Tirukkural has been translated into Saurashtra only once.

As of 2015, Tirukkural has been translated into Sinhalese at least twice.

As of 2015, Urdu has at least two translations available of the Tirukkural.

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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 himself 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.

References

  1. ↑ Anonymous (2000). திருக்குறள் நூல்கள் (Thirukkural books) (in Tamil). Chennai: International Institute of Tamil Studies. p. 14.
  2. 1 2 Polilan; K. Gunathogai; Lena Kumar; Tagadur Sampath; Mutthamizh; G. Picchai Vallinayagam; D. Anbunidhi; K. V. Neduncheraladhan, eds. (2019). Tiruvalluvar 2050 (in Tamil) (1 ed.). Chennai: Periyar Enthusiasts Group. p. 684.
  3. ↑ Pope, G. U. (1886). The Sacred Kurral of Tiruvalluva Nayanar. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. pp. xxxi.
  4. ↑ Sanjeevi, N. (1973). Bibliography on Tirukkural. In First All India Tirukkural Seminar Papers. Chennai: University of Madras. p. 146.
  5. ↑ Anjali, B. (2 April 2011). "Tirou Koural: Traduit du Tamoul". GeoCities. Retrieved 14 April 2017.

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