Thirukkural 72 in English
Tamil original, transliteration, English translation, meaning, commentary, pronunciation, and chapter context.
Tamil original
அன்பிலார் எல்லாம் தமக்குரியர் அன்புடையார்
என்பும் உரியர் பிறர்க்கு.
Transliteration
Anpilaar Ellaam Thamakkuriyar Anputaiyaar
Enpum Uriyar Pirarkku
Modern English
“People without love see everything as theirs alone.”
Modern Interpretation
People without love see everything as theirs alone. People with love willingly share their time, energy, and resources because they feel connected to others. For example, a neighbour who gives up a free evening to care for an elderly person shows that compassion can be more valuable than money.
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Modern Plain English
People without love see everything as theirs alone.
Poetic Couplet (Bharati)
To selves belong the loveless ones; To oth'rs the loving e'en to bones
G.U. Pope Translation
The loveless to themselves belong alone;The loving men are others' to the very bone
Classical Meaning (Drew & Lazarus)
Those who are destitute of love appropriate all they have to themselves; but those who possess love consider even their bones to belong to others
Tamil commentary
அன்பு இல்லாதவர் எல்லாவற்றாலும் தமக்கே உரிமை உடையவராய் இருப்பர். அன்புள்ளவரோ பொருளால் மட்டும் அன்று; உடம்பாலும் பிறர்க்கு உரியவராய் இருப்பர்
Chapter 8
More from The Possession of Love
அன்புடைமை
What bolt can bar true love in fact The tricking tears reveal the heart
Kural 72To selves belong the loveless ones; To oth'rs the loving e'en to bones
Kural 73Soul is encased in frame of bone To taste the life of love alone
Kural 74Love yields aspiration and thence Friendship springs up in excellence
Kural 75The crowning joy of home life flows From peaceful psychic love always
Kural 76\"Love is virtue's friend\" say know-nots It helps us against evil plots
Kural 77Justice burns the loveless form Like solar blaze the boneless worm
Kural 78Life bereft of love is gloom Can sapless tree in desert bloom?
Kural 79Love is the heart which limbs must move, Or vain the outer parts will prove
Kural 80The seat of life is love alone; Or beings are but skin and bone!