The decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi presenting a Russian translation of the 'Thirukkural' to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi has turned the spotlight on one of the famous Tamil literature's most celebrated works. The book has been translated into Russian by Naira Mkrtchyan.

"Presented President Putin with a Russian translation of the Thirukkural, which carries the eternal wisdom of the great Thiruvalluvar across languages and borders," PM Modi posted on X.

What is Thirukkural?

Written in classical Tamil and traditionally attributed to poet-philosopher Thiruvalluvar, the Thirukkural is a collection of 1,330 couplets, or Kurals, offering observations on ethics, human behaviour, governance, wealth, relationships and love. According to IANS, each of the Kurals is made up of seven words.

Three parts of Thirukkural

There a total of 133 chapters divided into three broad sections.

1. Aram (Virtue): The starting 38 chapters focus on ethical conduct, personal morality, family life and virtues such as compassion, gratitude, honesty and self-control.

2. Porul (Wealth/Worldly Affairs): This comprises of 70 chapters, deals with public life, leadership, governance, justice, economics, agriculture, friendship and social conduct.

Inbam (Love): The last 25 chapters focuses on love, emotions and relationships.

The three sections cover what the text presents as different dimensions of human life — how an individual should live, how society should function and how people experience love and relationships.

How old is Thirukkural?

The Thirukkural is widely described as being more than 2,000 years old, with some traditional accounts placing it around 2,500 years ago. However, there is no unanimous scholarly agreement on its exact date of composition.