~ ThirukuraL ~

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Avoidance of Base Company

Verse 451
Men of greatness dread base company,
But the low-minded consider them kinsmen.

Verse 452
As water changes according to the soil through which it flows,
So does a man assimilate the character of his associates.

Verse 453
By knowing his thoughts, a man's mind is discovered.
By knowing his associates, his character is revealed.

Verse 454
Wisdom, appearing to originate in a man's mind,
Has its source in his companions.

Verse 455
Purity of mind and purity of conduct - these two
Depend upon the purity of a man's companions.

Verse 456
Good progeny comes to a pure-minded men.
Their pure companions keep pure deeds away.

Verse 457
Wealth will be given to good-minded men,
And all glory granted by good company.

Verse 458
Even perfect men, possessing the mind's full goodness,
Are fortified by good fellowship.

Verse 459
Goodness of mind leads to bliss in the next world,
And even this is secured by the company of good men.

Verse 460
There exists no greater aid than good fellowship,
And no greater affliction than evil fraternity.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Deliberation Before Action

Verse 461
Before undertaking a project, ponder what will be gained,
Lost and ultimately achieved.

Verse 462
There is nothing too difficult for a man who, before he acts,
Deliberates with chosen friends and reflects privately.

Verse 463
The wise never undertake an enterprise
Which rashly risks existing capitol to reach for potential profits.

Verse 464
Those who dread derision and disgrace
Will not commence a task that is unclear.

Verse 465
To strike out without a well-pondered plan
Is one way to cultivate an enemies' strength.

Verse 466
To do that which ought not to be done will bring ruin,
And not to do that which ought to be done will also bring ruin.

Verse 467
Embark upon an action after careful thought. It is folly to say,
"Let us begin the task now and think about it later."

Verse 468
Unless painstakingly performed, a task will not succeed
Even if men in multitudes support it.

Verse 469
Even in the performance of good deeds a man may error,
If he does not consider the recipient's unique nature.

Verse 470
Having reflected, let a man's actions lie above blame.
The world will never approve of acts which lie beneath him.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Understanding Strength

Verse 471
The prudent act after weighing the strength a deed demands,
One's own strength and the strengths of allies and opposition.

Verse 472
Nothing is impossible for those who perceive the nature and the means
Of their task and proceed with determination.

Verse 473
Ignorant of their strengths, many plunge zealously
Into projects, only to miscarry midway.

Verse 474
How swiftly men perish who praise themselves, unappraised of
Their real measure and unable to live peacefully with others.

Verse 475
Load too many of them and even peacock feathers
Would break the cart's axle.

Verse 476
He who has climbed out to the tip of a tree branch
And attempts to climb further will forfeit his life.

Verse 477
Know the measure of your capacity to give, then give accordingly -
Such clarity is the way wealth is preserved.

Verse 478
A small income is no cause for failure,
Provided expenditures do not exceed it.

Verse 479
The wealth of a man who lives unaware of his own measure,
Appears to exist, then disappears without a trace.

Verse 480
Unless weighed with prudence, a philanthropist's wealth
Will promptly perish, measure by measure.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Understanding Timeliness

Verse 481
A crow can overcome a powerful owl in the daytime.
A king desiring to defeat his enemy must pick the proper time.

Verse 482
A man may firmly bind himself to prosperity
By the cord called timely action.

Verse 483
Is there any task too difficult for the man who acts
At the right time and employs the proper means?

Verse 484
One may aim to acquire the whole world and succeed,
If actions are aimed at the right time and place.

Verse 485
Those who aim to own the world
Must wait, unruffled, for the fitting hour.

Verse 486
The patient restraint of the powerful man is like the drawing back
Of the fighting ram before it smites the stunning blow.

Verse 487
When angered, men of understanding never show it outwardly then and
There. Holding it inside, they watch for an opportune moment.

Verse 488
Bow humbly when greeting an enemy.
His own head will bow humiliated when in time he greets defeat.

Verse 489
When a rare opportunity comes, do not hesitate,
But swiftly accomplish tasks that are otherwise impossible.

Verse 490
There are times to stay still as a stalking heron.
There are times to move swiftly as a heron's strike.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Understanding the Right Place

Verse 491
Neither deride the opposition nor initiate a campaign
Until you possess the strategic place from which to strike.

Verse 492
In battle a fortified place yields numerous advantages,
Even to those possessing power and prowess.

Verse 493
Even the weak may powerfully prevail if they choose the right
Field of action, establish good defenses and then fight well.

Verse 494
When an attacker attacks from a strategic location
His enemies' thoughts of conquest become unthinkable.

Verse 495
In the river's depths the crocodile is unconquerable,
But others may defeat it if it departs those waters.

Verse 496
The massive chariot with mighty wheels cannot sail the sea,
Nor can the ocean-going ship travel the land.

Verse 497
Fearlessness is the only friend one needs,
If ceaselessly he ponders from which place to pounce.

Verse 498
If a large army assails a well-entrenched small army,
Its power will be repelled and it will retreat.

Verse 499
Even if they have neither potent resources nor strong fortresses,
It is difficult to conquer a people on their own soil.

Verse 500
The fearless elephant may slaughter a multitude of warriors
Yet be slain by a single jackal if his legs sink in muddy marsh.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Testing and Trusting Men

Verse 501
A man should be chosen after passing the four-fold test
Of virtue, wealth, pleasure and fear of death.

Verse 502
Place trust in a man of good family, free from faults
Of a modest nature that dreads reproach.

Verse 503
Even faultless and deeply learned men, when closely examined,
Are rarely found to be entirely free from ignorance.

Verse 504
Weigh a man's merits and weigh his faults
Then judge him according to the greater.

Verse 505
The touchstone which discloses a man's greatness
Or smallness is simply this - his deeds.

Verse 506
Beware of trusting men who have no kin,
Being attached to people, they are unashamed of peccancy.

Verse 507
When one employs a know-nothing out of affection,
He engages all kinds of foolishness.

Verse 508
To trust a stranger without investigation
Invite troubles so endless even descendants must endure.

Verse 509
Lacking investigation, lend your trust to no one. Having investigated
Entrust a man with matters for which he has proven trustworthy.

Verse 510
To trust a man who has not been tested and to suspect a man
Who has proven trustworthy lead to endless ills.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Testing and Employing Men

Verse 511
Employ those men who discern the good and the bad effects
In every undertaking and choose the good.

Verse 512
Let him do the work who can supplement revenues,
Spread prosperity and search out problems.

Verse 513
Let him alone be trusted who fully possesses these four:
Kindness, intelligence, assurance and freedom from greed.

Verse 514
Though tested fully under simulated conditions,
Many men function differently under working conditions.

Verse 515
Work should be entrusted to men on the basis of their knowledge
And diligence and not merely on the bonds of affection.

Verse 516
Consider the work, choose the workman,
Conceive the timing with care, then commence.

Verse 517
Having decided, "This man is qualified to do this work in this way,"
Entrust him to his task.

Verse 518
After ascertaining what work befits a man,
Assign him to a fitting task.

Verse 519
Wealth withdraws from the man who won't understand
The natural friendliness his workers wish to share with him.

Verse 520
Let the king scrutinize his staff's conduct daily.
If they do not go astray, the world will not go astray.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Fellowship of Kindred

Verse 521
When a man's wealth has disappeared, his kinsmen alone
Will maintain their customary kindness.

Verse 522
If a man's kindred cleave to him with unfailing love,
His fortunes will never fail to flourish.

Verse 523
Pursuing a happy life without mixing with kinsmen
Is like pouring water into a barrel which has no staves.

Verse 524
The real profit gained by giving riches
Is as one may then live surrounded by kindred.

Verse 525
Multitudes of kinsmen will gather around the man
Who gives generously and speaks sweetly.

Verse 526
In this wide world none enjoys a more faithful family
Than he who hands out large gifts and holds back anger.

Verse 527
The crow does not conceal its food but calls its kind to share it;
Prosperity will abide with men of such a nature.

Verse 528
The multitudes thrive when they perceive their monarch
Perceiving each one's merits, not seeing mere sameness in all.

Verse 529
Close kinsmen who have become estranged
Will come back when the cause of disagreement goes away.

Verse 530
When one who left him returns with good reason,
The king may, after careful reflection, receive him back.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Avoidance of Unmindfulness

Verse 531
Excessive anger is a great harm, but greater still is
The unmindfulness born of excessive pleasure.

Verse 532
Just as perpetual poverty slowly slays one's knowledge,
So does frequent forgetfulness destroy one's prestige.

Verse 533
Unmindful men will never know renown.
This is the verdict of every virtuous text in the world.

Verse 534
There is nothing that will provide defense for the cowardly,
And there is nothing that will produce good for the incautious.

Verse 535
The unmindful man who fails to guard beforehand
Against impending threats will afterwards regret his negligence.

Verse 536
Nothing can compare to unforgetfulness.
Extended unfailingly to all people at all times.

Verse 537
There is nothing too difficult for the man who
Consciously conceives and carefully executes his work.

Verse 538
One should do that which men extol as praiseworthy. Forgetting
This and failing to perform brings deprivation lasting seven births.

Verse 539
Whenever the mind is engrossed in pleasant infatuations,
One may remember men ruined by forgetfulness.

Verse 540
It is easy to get what you think of,
If you can get yourself to think of it.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Just Reign

Verse 541
Investigate well, show favor to none, maintain impartiality,
Consult the law, then give judgment - that is the way of justice.

Verse 542
All the world looks to the rain cloud for sustenance.
All the people look to the king's scepter for protection.

Verse 543
Even the priest's scriptures and all virtues therein
Rely on the king's scepter for sustenance.

Verse 544
The world will enduringly embrace the feet of a great kingdom's monarch
Who lovingly embraces subjects under his justice-wielding scepter.

Verse 545
Rain and rich harvests arise together.
In a country whose sovereign swing his scepter lawfully.

Verse 546
Victory is not won by the lance,
But by the king's scepter, provided it is not unjust.

Verse 547
A potentate protests all earthly realms.
Will undoubtedly fall from power and perish.

Verse 548
A ruler who remains inaccessible, neither listening nor judging
Attentively will undoubtedly fall from power and perish.

Verse 549
No fault befalls the king, who, in guarding and caring for his
Subjects, punishes wrongdoers - for that is his duty.

Verse 550
A king punishing cruel criminals by execution
Is like a farmer removing weeds from cultivated fields.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Unjust Reign

Verse 551
More malicious than a professional murderer is the king
Who rules his people with injustice and oppressiveness.

Verse 552
The scepter-wielding king who requests a gift is like
The lance-bearing robber who demands, "Give me all you have."

Verse 553
Unless the king day-to-day seeks out and punishes unlawful acts,
His country will day-by-day fall to ruin.

Verse 554
The unthinking king who rules crookedly
Forfeits both his subjects' fealty and his own fortune.

Verse 555
Are not the tears of a people who cannot endure an oppressive reign
The instrument that wears away their king's prosperity?

Verse 556
Ruling rightly, a monarch may long endure.
Without that, his majesty is rightly unenduring.

Verse 557
As the earth fares under a rainless sky,
So do a people languish under an unkind king.

Verse 558
Possessions are less pleasant than poverty
To the oppressed living under an unjust king.

Verse 559
If the king acts contrary to justice, contrary seasons will befall
And rain-laden will not come forth.

Verse 560
If the people's protector fails to protect,
Priests will forget the Vedas and cows' milk will dry up.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Avoidance of Tyranny

Verse 561
He is a true king who impartially investigates
And then duly punishes so that the offense will not reoccur.

Verse 562
He who wishes his prosperity to long remain
Will raise the rod severely, but let it fall softly.

Verse 563
The tyrant who causes terror to his people
Will perish quickly and certainly.

Verse 564
"The king is cruel." Should these bitter words be spoken,
The monarch's life is shortened and he soon dies.

Verse 565
If his countenance is harsh and access to him is hard,
A man's wealth, however vast, might as well belong to a demon.

Verse 566
If he is unkind and speaks cruelly,
A man's lofty wealth cannot last long - it ends right there.

Verse 567
Virulent language and overly severe punishment,
Like a keen file, grind down a king's conquering powers.

Verse 568
The king's wealth will waste away if, without thoughtful involvement, he lets
Ministers work, then works himself into anger, raging at their performance.

Verse 569
The sovereign who does not secure defenses will be seized by fear
When war time comes and promptly perish.

Verse 570
The earth bears no greater burden than the unlearned counselors
Whom the cruel-sceptered king binds to himself.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



The Kindly Look

Verse 571
The world thrives when that great beauty
Called the kindly look flourishes.

Verse 572
The world's existence is sustained by kindliness.
The very existence of those bereft of it burdens the earth.

Verse 573
What use is a melody in an unmusical song?
What use are eyes which express no kindness?

Verse 574
Other than a facial appearance, what do eyes
With no quality of kindness really do?

Verse 575
A kindly look is the ornament of the eyes.
Without kindness the eyes are two unsightly sores.

Verse 576
Eyes may be fixed in their face, but those without
A kindly look might as well be tree stumps fixed in dirt.

Verse 577
Those who lack a kindly look are indeed without eyes,
And those who truly have eyes never lack a gracious look.

Verse 578
The world belongs to men who can behold others benevolently,
Without being distracted from their duty.

Verse 579
To grant forbearing kindness even to those
Who grieve us is the foremost of virtues.

Verse 580
Those desiring gracious goodness above all else could accept with
Friendliness poison they watched their host prepare and serve.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Espionage

Verse 581
Competent spies and the esteemed codes of law -
Consider these two as the eyes of a king.

Verse 582
It is the duty of the monarch to acquire at once
Knowledge of all that happens each day among all men.

Verse 583
Without assessing the intelligence reports of spies
A king cannot enjoy conquests.

Verse 584
The working staff, close kindred and known enemies -
All such men are the investigation of spies.

Verse 585
An able spy is he who can assume an unsuspicious disguise,
Is fearless when caught and never betrays his secrets.

Verse 586
Disguised as a monk or a mendicant, the worthy spy moves about
Investigating all, never growing careless, whatever may be done.

Verse 587
A spy must ferret out hidden facts,
Assuring himself that knowledge found is beyond doubt.

Verse 588
Before believing a spy's espionage,
Have another spy espy the information.

Verse 589
See that spies do not know each other, and accept their findings
Only when three reports agree.

Verse 590
One must not openly honor spies.
To do so is to divulge one's own secrets.

[MysteRy]

ThirukuraL



Possession of Industriousness

Verse 591
Possessing belongs only to the industrious. Do those
Who lack such energy really possess their possessions?

Verse 592
Those who own an inner ardor possess a thing of worth.
Material Wealth is an unenduring possession that takes leave and departs.

Verse 593
Those who possess persevering industry
Will never say in despair, "We have lost our wealth."

Verse 594
Good Fortune of its own accord ferrets out and
Finds the man of unfailing industry.

Verse 595
The length of the lotus stalk depends on the water's depth.
Even so, a man's greatness is proportionate to his mind's energy.

Verse 596
Let all thoughts be thoughts of noble progress,
For then even failing cannot be called a failure.

Verse 597
The elephant stands firm even when wounded by a barrage of arrows.
The strong-willed are not discouraged when they encounter disaster.

Verse 598
Without a zealous spirit, one will never enjoy
The proud exhilaration of earthly generosity.

Verse 599
The enormous elephant with his tapered tusks
Still shrinks in fear when the tiger attacks.

Verse 600
A strong-willed mind is a mans true estate.
Those who lack it are mere vegetables in the form of men.