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Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented Russian President Vladimir Putin a Russian translation of the Thirukkural during their bilateral meeting in New Delhi, ahead of the 18th BRICS Summit.
The Thirukkural is a classical Tamil work attributed to the poet-philosopher Thiruvalluvar, made up of 1,330 couplets (kurals) arranged in 133 chapters of ten couplets each.
Its 133 chapters fall into three sections - Aram (virtue), Porul (worldly affairs, the largest section) and Inbam (love).
Tamil was the first language to be given Classical Language status by the Government of India, in 2004; India now recognises 11 classical languages.
The gift was framed as cultural diplomacy, putting a classical Indian text before a Russian-reading audience.
| Section | Meaning | What it deals with |
|---|---|---|
| Aram | Virtue | Ethics, righteous conduct, domestic and ascetic virtue |
| Porul | Worldly affairs | Governance, rulers and ministers, justice, army, wealth, agriculture, friendship - the largest of the three |
| Inbam | Love | Love and human relationships |
Apex institute for research, translation and promotion of classical Tamil; it holds that the Thirukkural was composed over 2,000 years ago and remains relevant
GS Paper I > Indian Culture - literature; GS Paper II > India and its neighbourhood / bilateral relations
General Awareness > Art and Culture, Books and Authors
Consider the following languages: 1. Gujarati 2. Kannada 3. Telugu Which of the above has/have been declared as 'Classical Language/Languages' by the Government?
Answer: 2 and 3 only
A two-line Tamil couplet in the venba metre; the Thirukkural has 1,330 of them
The second and largest section of the Thirukkural, on polity, wealth and society
A Government of India category requiring high antiquity of early texts, a valuable body of ancient literature, and an original literary tradition