TIRUKKUṞAḶ AS THE BOOK OF THE WORLD P. Marudanayagam

The eleven essays comprising this anthology are no mere assemblage of academic writing on Tirukkuṟaḷ. Contrarily, their making, selection and ordering seem to have been dictated by a particular object and ideal. In the larger scheme of things, they follow the comparatist methodology, within which they (i) study the relationship between Tirukkuṟaḷ and other works of literature, (ii) look at the reputation, penetration, influence and fame of Tirukkuṟaḷ, (iii) study the humanistic manifestations as they are treated in the Tamil classic and another literature, (iv) study the translational endeavours mainly insofar as these endeavours are interpretive models, accretions or deconstructions – the processes of growth and enlargement of meaning, and (v) examine Tirukkuṟaḷ as universal literature worthy of being pursued across five continents.