Tirukkural translations into German
Among the European languages, German has the maximum number of translations of the Tirukkural, next only to English and French. As of 2015, there are at least eight translations of the Kural text available in German.
History
The first translations of the Kural text into German were made by A. F. Cammera in 1803 and by Rueckert Friederich in 1847. However, these remained incomplete. The first well-known complete German translation was made by Karl Graul in 1854. Graul’s translation is considered a scholarly one by various scholars including Kamil Zvelevil, who in 1962 praised the translation thus: "As far as I know, the two best translations of Tirukkural had been till this day, Graul’s old German version ……… and V.V.S. Iyer’s (translation in English)."[1] According to Graul in his introduction, "No translation can convey any idea of its charming effect. It is truly an apple of gold in a network of silver."[2] Nineteenth century witnessed two more translations—one by William and Norgate in 1856 (titled Der Kural des Thiruvalluvar) and the other one by Albrecht and Lalithambal in 1877 (titled Thirukural von Thiruvalluvar aus dem Tamil).[3]
See also
Notes
- ^ Zvelevil, K. (1962). Forward. Tirukkural by Tiruvalluvar. Translated by K. M. Balasubramaniam. Madras: Manali Lakshmana Mudaliar Specific Endowments. pp. pp. 327.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - ^ Thirunavukkarasu, K. D. (1973). Tributes to Tirukkural. A compilation. First All India Tirukkural Seminar Papers. University of Madras. pp. Pp. 124.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - ^ Ashraf, N. V. K. "Tirukkural". GeoCities. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
