French has the second maximum number of translations of the
Tirukkural
The ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'' (), or shortly the ''Kural'' (), is a classic Tamil language text on commoner's morality consisting of 1,330 short couplets, or Kural (poetic form), kurals, of seven words each. The text is divided into three books wit ...
among European languages, next only to
English. As of 2015, there were at least 18 translations of the Kural text available in French.
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
The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...
of
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in 1767.
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,
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
Alain Daniélou (; 4 October 1907 – 27 January 1994) was a French historian, Indologist, intellectual, musicologist, translator, writer and Western convert to and expert on the Shaivite branch of Hinduism.
In 1991, he was awarded the Sange ...
(1942).
translated the entire work in 1942, which was first published in
Pondicherry
Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...
.
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
Port Louis (, ; or , ) is the capital and most populous city of Mauritius, mainly located in the Port Louis District, with a small western part in the Black River District. Port Louis is the country's financial and political centre. It is ad ...
,
Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
.
Translations
See also
*
Tirukkural translations
Tirukkural, also known as the Kural, an ancient Indian treatise on the Secular ethics, ethics and morality of the commoner, is one of the List of literary works by number of translations, most widely translated non-religious works in the world. A ...
*
List of Tirukkural translations by language
References
{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2017
French
Translations into French