Tamil Nadu Timeline

LiteratureBritish Crown rule

G. U. Pope publishes his English Tirukkural

· Chennai

G. U. Pope publishes his English Tirukkural
Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Missionary scholar G. U. Pope published 'The Sacred Kurral', an English translation of the Tirukkural with grammar, notes and lexicon.

George Uglow Pope was an Anglican missionary who spent about 40 years in South India and became a Tamil scholar. He completed his translation of the Tirukkural on 1 September 1886, and it was published in London that year as 'The Sacred Kurral of Tiruvalluva-Nayanar'. The work included an introduction, grammar, notes, a lexicon and a concordance. Pope also translated the Naladiyar in 1893 and the Tiruvasagam in 1900. His translations helped introduce classical Tamil literature to English readers.

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