கார்ல் க்ரவுலின் அறியப்படாத திருக்குறள் தமிழ் உரை

Karl Graul’s Unknown Tamil Commentary on Thirukkural

Abstract

When analyzing the history of Tamil literature and publication, the 19th century stands out as a highly significant era. Following the arrival of the printing press, this became a golden age where many Tamil works, previously confined to palm-leaf manuscripts, began to be published. During this period, while local Tamil enthusiasts published numerous works, European Christian missionaries—drawn by the beauty of the Tamil language—also played a major role. Although their primary objective in coming to Tamil Nadu was the propagation of their religion, their passion for Tamil literature led them to introduce these works to the world. In this literary journey, the Thirukkural, the "Universal Veda," held a preeminent position. Throughout the 19th century, new editions, commentaries, and translations of the Thirukkural continued to emerge. Many European missionaries earned distinction by translating the Thirukkural into their mother tongues. Among such scholars, Karl Graul, a German scholar, is an important figure who remains largely unknown to the world of Tamil research. Karl Graul translated and published the Thirukkural in two languages: German and Latin. Prior to Graul's translation, in 1803, August Friedrich Cammerer had translated the Thirukkural into the German "Deutsch" language titled Des Tiruvalluwer Gedichte Und Denkspruche. Thirukkural With German Translation, Leipzig 1803 (Thirukkural Translations in World Languages, p. 76). Following this, Karl Graul translated the Thirukkural from Tamil into Latin. This translation was published posthumously. After Graul’s death in 1864, his student William Germann edited and published the Latin translation manuscript, which included a Tamil commentary, titled: “Kural of Tiruvalluvar: High-Tamil text with Translation into Common Tamil and Latin, Notes and Glossary 1865.” Despite the numerous translations and editions of the Thirukkural that have been released to date, Karl Graul’s Latin translation—which includes a Tamil commentary—remains largely undiscussed. Therefore, the primary objective of this article is to examine Karl Graul’s Latin edition of the Thirukkural and the nature of the Tamil commentary contained within that edition..