Thirukkural 80 in English
Tamil original, transliteration, English translation, meaning, commentary, pronunciation, and chapter context.
Tamil original
அன்பின் வழியது உயிர்நிலை அஃதிலார்க்கு
என்புதோல் போர்த்த உடம்பு.
Transliteration
Anpin Vazhiyadhu Uyirnilai Aqdhilaarkku
Enpudhol Porththa Utampu
Modern English
“Love is what makes a life feel truly alive and connected.”
Modern Interpretation
Love is what makes a life feel truly alive and connected. Without it, a person may continue working and moving through the world but remain emotionally empty. For example, a volunteer who gives time to help isolated people may feel more alive than someone who has comfort but no concern for anyone else.
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Tamil pronunciation
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Modern Plain English
Love is what makes a life feel truly alive and connected.
Poetic Couplet (Bharati)
The seat of life is love alone; Or beings are but skin and bone!
G.U. Pope Translation
Bodies of loveless men are bony framework clad with skin;Then is the body seat of life, when love resides within
Classical Meaning (Drew & Lazarus)
That body alone which is inspired with love contains a living soul: if void of it, (the body) is bone overlaid with skin
Tamil commentary
அன்பை அடிப்படையாகக் கொண்டதே உயிர் நிறைந்த இந்த உடம்பு, அன்பு மட்டும் இல்லை என்றால் இந்த உடம்பு வெறும் எலும்பின்மேல் தோலைப் போர்த்தியது போன்றது ஆகும்
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!