Page:Introduction to Tamil Poetry.pdf/6

 $ Kārēri pugum pattinam, the capital city of the Cholas. The hero in the poem describes the seat of the capital of the Cholas and says that even if he were to get that capi- tal city he would not allow himself to be separated from his beloved wife. Nedunalvādai describes the camp life of a king who, amidst his warriors and generals, walks about in the dead of night praising their valiant deeds of the day and encouraging their further efforts for the morrow.

Among the works comprised in Padinenkilkanakku, Thirukkural and Nālaqiyar deserve special mention. These two works have been rendered into English by late Rev. G. U. Pope. There are several other translations of Thirukkural in English. Rey, H. A. Popley has brought out the essence of the teachings of Thiruvalluvar, the author of Thirukkural in a little book. This is a work of great importance as it reflects the thoughts, feelings and aspirations of the Tamil people. This work, though re. ferring to the prevalent thought of other sects living at that time, contains the quintessence of Tamilian thought on conduct in life. Dr. Albert Schweitzer stated that Thirukkural represents a marked degree of progress in the development of Indian or Asiatic thought and that the self- affirmation insisted upon in Thirukkural is contrary to self- negation contemplated in some of the Upanishads. praised Thiruvalluvar for putting ethics of action higher than the ethics of inner perfection. The fact that Thiru- valluvar stressed the importance of being kind to other peo- ple and other creatures of the creation, that Thiruvalļuvar enjoined on us that we should bear in mind how other peo- ple would react to every one of our actions and that we should learn how to live and how to let others live are enough to vouchsafe an honoured place for him among the great sages of the time. He

Náladiyār contains 400 verses in venba metre referring to the general conduct in life for an ascetic and a house- holder. These verses are said to have been composed by