Kural

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The Kural is one of the most important forms of classical Tamil poetry. It is a very short poetic form, exactly in 2 lines, the first line consisting of 4 words and the second line consisting of 3. It should also conform to the grammar for Venpa. Thirukkural, one of the greatest philosophical works in Tamil language by Thiruvalluvar, is a typical example.

There are 1330 poems in 133 chapters ( each chapter consists of 10 poem). These 133 chapters are under broad classification of 3 parts

1. Arathupal 2. Porutpal 3. Kamathupal

Here is an example:

Pleasure, rhythm, power, surprise

Rhyme's glorious conquistadors

Contemporary Kurals are best exemplified by the poet Damo in his Silver Rose sonnets.

See also: Haiku

[edit] Further reading

• Tiruvaḷḷuvar, & Sundaram, P. S. (1991). The Kural. New York, N.Y.: Penguin Books. ISBN