The Kural

“To translate even a single kural couplet, bewitching in its rhythm and packed with meaning, is a formidable task. But we now have Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma’s translation, without doubt the best ever into English.”
—David Shulman, The New York Review of Books

“An intriguing new translation of this magnum opus.”
—Kajal Magazine

“In the astonishingly fresh and vibrant translations that adorn this book, Tiruvalluvar’s voice can now reach the universal audience that so deeply needs its universal wisdom.”
—Andrew Harvey, from the Foreword

“This translation provides a refreshing remembrance and illustration (without the usual reprimands and dire warnings) of how to be a good steward of the planet and what it means to live a good life—a much-needed map of astonishingly humane guidance and care.”
—Aimee Nezhukumatathil, author of World of Wonders

“[An] exquisite translation … To live as the wise Kuṟaḷ advises us to—in a state of chronic, cultivated empathy and in service of others—is indeed to live right and to live well.”
—Archana Venkatesan, from the Introduction

Thomas Hitoshi Pruiksma is an author, poet, performer, and teacher. His books include The Safety of Edges and Give, Eat, and Live- Poems of Avvaiyar. Pruiksma teaches writing for Cozy Grammar and has received grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, 4Culture, Artist Trust, the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, the US Fulbright Program, the American Literary Translators Association, and Oberlin Shansi.

Andrew Harvey is an internationally acclaimed poet, novelist, translator, mystical scholar, and spiritual teacher.

Archana Venkatesan is professor of religious studies and comparative literature at the University of California.

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