திருக்குறள் மீள்வாசிப்பு: உலகளாவிய மனித உரிமைகளின் பண்டைய அறவியல் அடித்தளங்கள்

Revisiting the Tirukkural: Ancient Ethical Foundations of Universal Human Rights

Abstract

The Tirukkural, a foundational Tamil ethical text attributed to the sage Thiruvalluvar, offers a sophisticated precursor to modern human rights discourse. While the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was codified in 1948 in response to the atrocities of World War II, the Tirukkural articulated principles of inherent dignity, moral equality, and social justice nearly two millennia earlier.1 This research report provides a comprehensive analysis of the ethical mapping between Thiruvalluvar’s 1,330 couplets and the thirty articles of the UDHR. By examining the tripartite structure of Aram (Virtue), Porul (Wealth), and Inbam (Love), the study identifies how ancient Tamil thought rejected birth-based hierarchies and established the accountability of sovereigns.1 Furthermore, the report explores the linguistic complexities of translating these concepts, noting the challenges posed by Tamil’s agglutinative morphology and the cultural nuances of terms like Aram.6 Integrating contemporary Tamil academic insights with global legal perspectives, the analysis demonstrates that the Tirukkural serves as a universal moral blueprint for human development, anticipating the contemporary need for ecological ethics, gender justice, and economic equity.