~ ThirukuraL ~

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Avoidance of Anger

Verse 301
It is restraint that restrains anger when it can injure.
If it cannot harm, what does restraint really matter?

Verse 302
Anger is wrong even when it cannot cause injury,
But when it can, there is nothing more iniquitous.

Verse 303
Forget anger toward all who have offended you,
For from anger springs a multitude of wrongs.

Verse 304
The face's smile and the heart's joy are slain by anger.
Does there exist a greater enemy than one's own anger?

Verse 305
If a man would be his own guard, let him guard against anger.
Left unguarded, his own wrath will slay him.

Verse 306
Drawing near it, men are engulfed in fury's' fire,
Which burns even rescuing friends and family.

Verse 307
As a man trying to touch the ground with his hand cannot fail,
So one who treasures his temper will doubtlessly be destroyed.

Verse 308
Even when others inflict wrongs as painful as the touch of blazing
Torches, it is good if a man can refrain from anger.

Verse 309
If angry thoughts never invoke his mind,
A man's other thoughts may instantly manifest.

Verse 310
As men who have died resemble the dead,
So men who have renounced anger resemble renunciates.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Avoidance of Injuring Others

Verse 311
If hurting others would bring princely riches,
The pure in heart would still refuse.

Verse 312
It is the principle of the pure in heart never to injure others,
Even when they themselves have been hatefully injured.

Verse 313
Hating others, even enemies who harmed you unprovoked,
Assures incessant sorrow.

Verse 314
If you return kindness for injuries received and forget both,
Those who harmed you will be punished by their own shame.

Verse 315
What good is a man's knowledge unless it prompts him to
Prevent the pain of others as if it were his own pain?

Verse 316
Any actions which a man knows would harm himself
He should not inflict on others.

Verse 317
The supreme principle is this: Never knowingly
Harm anyone at any time in any way

Verse 318
Why does he who knows what injury to his own life is like
Inflict injury on other living human beings?

Verse 319
If a man inflicts sorrow on another in the morning,
Sorrow will come to him unbidden in the afternoon.

Verse 320
All suffering recoils on the wrongdoer himself. Therefore, those who
Desire not to suffer refrain from causing others pain.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Avoidance of Killing

Verse 321
What is virtuous conduct? It is never destroying life,
For killing leads to every other sin.

Verse 322
Of all the virtues summed by ancient sages the foremost are these:
To partake of food one has shared and to protect all living creatures.

Verse 323
Not killing is the first and foremost good.
The virtue of not lying comes next.

Verse 324
What is the good way? It is the path that reflects on
How it may avoid killing any living creature.

Verse 325
Among all who disown the world out of dismay, the foremost are
They who, dismayed with death-dealing, embrace non-killing.

Verse 326
Life-devouring death will not assail the living days
Of one whose code of conduct is to never kill.

Verse 327
Refrain from taking precious life from any living being,
Even to save your own life.

Verse 328
By sacrifice of life some gain great wealth and good,
But sagacious men scorn such gains.

Verse 329
Those whose trade is killing creatures are deemed defiled
By men who know the defiling nature of being mean.

Verse 330
They say the beggar who suffers a sore ridden body and deprived life
Once deprived another's body of life

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Impermanence of All Things

Verse 331
There is no baser folly than the infatuation
That looks upon the transient as if it were everlasting.

Verse 332
Amassing great wealth is gradual, like the gathering of a theater
Crowd. Its dispersal is sudden, like that same crowd departing.

Verse 333
Wealth's nature is to be unenduring.
Upon acquiring it, do that which is enduring right away.

Verse 334
Though it seems a harmless gauge of time, a day,
To those who fathom its form, is a saw steadily cutting the tree of life.

Verse 335
Do good deeds with urgency,
Before death's approaching rattle strangles the tongue.

Verse 336
What wondrous greatness this world possesses -
That yesterday a man was, and today he is not.

Verse 337
Man does not know if he will live another moment,
Yet his thoughts are ten million and more.

Verse 338
The soul's attachment to the body resembles a fledgling
Which forsakes its empty shell and flies away.

Verse 339
Death is like falling asleep,
And birth is like waking from that sleep.

Verse 340
Not yet having a permanent home,
The soul takes temporary shelter in the body.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Renunciation

Verse 341
Whatsoever a man has renounced,
From the sorrow born of that he has freed himself.

Verse 342
After a man has renounced, he enjoys the many true things in this
World. Let men desiring that renounce in time.

Verse 343
The five senses must be subdued
And every desire simultaneously surrendered.

Verse 344
The mendicant's poverty permits not a single possession,
For possessions draws him back into delusion.

Verse 345
What are life's petty attachments to the man who seeks severance
From future births, when even his body is a burden?

Verse 346
He who slays the conceit which clamors "I" and "mine"
Will enter a realm above the celestials' world.

Verse 347
If one clings to his attachments, refusing to let go,
Sorrows will not let go their grip on him.

Verse 348
Those who renounce totally reach the highest peak;
The rest remain ensnared in delusions net.

Verse 349
Birth ceases when all attachments are severed;
Otherwise, one beholds unceasingly the transitoriness of life.

Verse 350
Attach yourself to Him who is free from all attachments.
Bind yourself to that bond in order that all other bonds may be broken.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Knowledge of Truth

Verse 351
The delusion which mistakes the unreal for the Real
Is the genesis of woeful births.

Verse 352
For those of undimmed perception, free from delusion,
Darkness departs and rapture rushes in.

Verse 353
To those who have dispelled all doubt and perceive Truth,
Heaven is nearer than earth.

Verse 354
All knowledge acquired through the five senses is worthless
To those without knowledge of truth.

Verse 355
In everything of every kind whatsoever,
Wisdom perceives Truth in that thing.

Verse 356
Those who find Divine Truth in this world
Follow a path which never comes back to this world.

Verse 357
Those who think with certitude and ponder well that which is,
Need never think of being born again.

Verse 358
Banishing the folly of rebirth and thus beholding
Perfections True Being - that is wisdom.

Verse 359
The ruinous griefs that he is yet to suffer will not cleave to him who,
Renouncing other supports, realizes life's true Support.

Verse 360
Desire, detesting and delusion - the annihilation of these three names
Is the annihilation of suffering endured.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Eradication of Desire

Verse 361
At all times and to all creatures
The seed of ceaseless births is desire.

Verse 362
If you must desire, desire freedom from birth.
That will only come by desiring desirelessness.

Verse 363
Here no fortune is as dear as desirelessness;
And even there nothing like it can be found.

Verse 364
Purity is but freedom from desire,
And that is achieved by desiring to know Truth.

Verse 365
They say only those who have renounced desire are renunciates.
Others do not share the same attainment

Verse 366
As it is desire, above all else, which deceives a man,
Ascetics dread it judiciously.

Verse 367
When a renunciate ceases the deeds of desire,
Deliverance from life and death will come when he desires.

Verse 368
He who has no desires has no sorrow, but where there is desire
There will be ever-increasing sorrows.

Verse 369
When desire, sorrow's sorrow, dies away,
Undying bliss prevails even here on earth.

Verse 370
It is the nature of desire never to be fulfilled, but he who utterly
Gives it up realizes eternal fulfillment at that very moment.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Destiny

Verse 371
Industriousness comes to men whom Fortune favors,
But laziness approaches those whom Misfortune has chosen.

Verse 372
That destiny which decreases prosperity, increases ignorance.
That destiny which diminishes loss, expands knowledge.

Verse 373
However subtle the texts studied,
The native knowing destined one prevails.

Verse 374
Two natural ways are ordained in this world.
Acquiring wealth is one. Attaining wisdom is quite another.

Verse 375
When fate is against a man, his assured success in gathering wealth will
Fail; and when fate is with him, even certain failure will succeed.

Verse 376
Though you guard it well, what destiny does not decree disappears.
Though you cast it aside, what fate calls yours will not depart.

Verse 377
A man may amass millions, but its enjoyment,
Will never exceed the allotment allotted by him.

Verse 378
The destitute are almost ascetics and would renounce if only
Approaching fate, carrying experiences yet to be, would pass them by.

Verse 379
Why should those who rejoice when Destiny brings good
Moan when that same Destiny decrees misfortune?

Verse 380
What is there that is mightier than Destiny?
For it is there ahead of us even in the plans we devise to overcome it.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



The Merits of the King

Verse 381
He is lion among kings who is well-endowed with these six possessions:
Army, citizens, wealth, ministers, allies and fortresses.

Verse 382
Four are the characteristics which a king cannot lack:
Fearlessness, generosity, wisdom and industriousness.

Verse 383
In those who rule the land these three must never lapse:
Vigilance, valiance and virtuous learning.

Verse 384
He is a true king who, unswerving in virtue,
Restrains wrongdoing, and, steadfast in courage, maintains his honor.

Verse 385
A king is he who can amass a treasury of wealth,
Store it, guard it and expend it wisely.

Verse 386
All peoples praise that nation whose sovereign
Is always accessible and never speaks severely.

Verse 387
Behold the King who speaks sweetly, gives generously and
Protects powerfully - the world, esteems his word its command.

Verse 388
Ruling righteously himself and safeguarding subjects from others,
A monarch may be deemed divine by his people.

Verse 389
The world abides protected beneath the umbrella
Of a virtuous king who can abide words bitter to the ear.

Verse 390
He is a light ruler who is endowed with the four merits
Of generosity, graciousness, justice and care for the people.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Learning

Verse 391
Learn perfectly all that you learn, and
Thereafter keep your conduct worthy of that learning.

Verse 392
Two are the eyes of those who truly liveOne is called numbers and the other letters.

Verse 393
The learned have eyes that see, they say.
The unlearned have but two sores on their face.

Verse 394
It is the learned mans prowess that meetings
Bring delight and departures leave pleasant thoughts.

Verse 395
Amidst the learned be humble, as those possessing nothing are before
The prosperous. Those who fail thus to learn are the lowest of men.

Verse 396
The deeper a sand-well is dug the freer is its flow of water.
Even so, the deeper a man's learning the greater is his wisdom.

Verse 397
When every country our village could be his own,
How can a man dwell unlearned to his death?

Verse 398
Learning a man secures in one birth
Will secure his well-being in seven.

Verse 399
When the learned see that the learning that delights them
Delights the world as well, they love learning even more.

Verse 400
A man's learning is an imperishable and precious wealth.
All other possessions are less golden.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



The Neglect of Learning

Verse 401
Speaking to a learned gathering without full knowledge,
Is like playing a dice game without the board.

Verse 402
An unlearned man desiring to be eloquent,
Is like a breastless women longing to be feminine.

Verse 403
Even the ignorant will be deemed wise
If they refrain from speaking in the presence of the learned.

Verse 404
However excellent an unlearned man's knowledge may be,
Knowledgeable men will never take it.

Verse 405
An unlearned man's self-conceit will shrivel
The moment he speaks to an assembly.

Verse 406
Like unproductive barren land is the man who has neglected learning.
All that can be said about him is that he exists.

Verse 407
The goodness and beauty of him whose knowledge
Is neither subtle nor penetrating are like that of a painted clay doll.

Verse 408
Even more wretched than a learned man's poverty
Is the unlearned man's wealth.

Verse 409
Though humbly born, a learned man's nobility
Transcends that of the unlearned noble man.

Verse 410
As men are to feral beasts, so are the luminaries
Of knowledge compared to unlearned men.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Listening to the Learned

Verse 411
The most precious wealth is the wealth acquired by the ear
Indeed, of all wealth that wealth is the crown.

Verse 412
Only when no nourishment exists for the ear
Is it time to offer the stomach a morsel.

Verse 413
There are men who find listening a feast for there ears.
On earth they resemble deities who feast from sacrificial fires.

Verse 414
Even though he has no learning, if a man but listens to the learned
That will be his staff of strength in adversity.

Verse 415
Words from the lips of upright men
Are like a steadying staff in a slippery place.

Verse 416
However little, let a man do good things
Even that little will enhance his greatness.

Verse 417
Those who have studied deeply and listened diligently will never speak
Foolish words, even when they have wrongly understood a matter.

Verse 418
Ears may hear and yet remain deaf
If not pierced by sharp listening.

Verse 419
For a man to speak with humility is indeed rare,
Unless he has listened to learning's subtlety.

Verse 420
There are men whose tongues can taste but whose ears never savor.
What does it matter that they live or die.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Possession of Wisdom

Verse 421
Wisdom is a weapon with which a man may ward off destruction;
It is an inner fortress which no enemy can assail.

Verse 422
Wisdom will harness the mind, diverting it
From wrong and directing it toward right.

Verse 423
In whatever matter and from whomever heard,
Wisdom will witness its true meaning.

Verse 424
Wisdom speaks well, conveying each meaning clearly,
And listens for the subtlest sense in others' speech.

Verse 425
Men of wisdom befriend the wise and keep that friendship constant,
Not opening and closing like the petaled lotus.

Verse 426
It is wisdom to live in the world
As the world lives.

Verse 427
Those who know, know what it is to be.
The unknowing know this not.

Verse 428
It is folly not to fear what ought to be feared.
Therefore, the wise dread what ought to be dreaded.

Verse 429
Fearsome sufferings shall never happen
To the wise who guard against future happenings.

Verse 430
Those who possess wisdom possess everything.
Whatever others possess, without wisdom they have nothing.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Guarding Against Faults

Verse 431
Those who are free from arrogance, anger, and lust
Will prosper in great dignity.

Verse 432
Avarice, arrogance and crude amusements are flaws
In the characters of an unfit king.

Verse 433
Though their fault is as small as a millet seed,
To those who dread disgrace it will appear as large as a palm tree.

Verse 434
His own faults are a man's mortal enemies.
Therefore, to guard against them is life's gravest concern.

Verse 435
The fortune of a man who does not guard against failings before they
Manifest will perish like a stack of straw before a flaming fire.

Verse 436
What fault exists in a king who eradicates his own faults
Before examining the faults in others?

Verse 437
The wealth of one who, out of avarice, fails to do what should be done
Will vanish without the slightest vestige.

Verse 438
When faults are reckoned, one remains apart -
The greedy grasping known as avariciousness.

Verse 439
Never indulge in admiring yourself.
Never desire deeds that do not benefit others.

Verse 440
Delighting in life's pleasures privately
Nullifies the conspiring schemes of foes.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Gaining Support from the Great

Verse 441
Those who ponder the value of friends whose wisdom and goodness
Are mature, will plan the means, then acquire such friendships.

Verse 442
There are men who allay today's trials and avert tomorrow's troubles.
Befriend and look after them.

Verse 443
To cherish and befriend men of greatness
Is the rarest of all rare things.

Verse 444
To live among advising friends who are greater than himself
Is foremost among a man's strength.

Verse 445
Knowing that ministers function as a monarch's eyes,
A king looks at ministers meticulously before engaging them.

Verse 446
A man's foes are rendered ineffective
If he can live in fellowship among the worthy.

Verse 447
Who can destroy the man who has the friendship
Of helpful advisors who will not hesitate to admonish him?

Verse 448
With no one to reprove and thus protect him,
A king will be destroyed, though no one seeks his destruction.

Verse 449
Profit is not for those who have no capital, nor is stability
For those who lack the support of faithful friends.

Verse 450
It is harmful to make a multitude of foes, but it is ten times worse
To give up the friendship of the worthy.