# CXIII: The Glorification of Love explained — The Kural

> Chapter companion for The Kural by Thiruvalluvar.

## What happens

This chapter celebrates the intensity and devotion of love, using poetic metaphors to describe the inseparable bond between lovers. The lover compares their union to honey and milk, and the beloved's presence to life itself, while absence is like death. The beloved describes how her lover dwells constantly in her eyes and heart, and she takes extreme care not to lose sight of him, even as others misunderstand his devotion.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Marriage

The chapter glorifies the intense, soul-deep love between the lover and beloved, portraying it as an inseparable union akin to the bond between body and soul.

## Character check-ins

### Bouderie

The lover who expresses profound devotion and longing for the beloved.

### Pallor

The beloved who describes the lover's constant presence in her eyes and heart.

## Key lines

> Even as honey and milk mingled together is the dew on the lips of this fair one with the subdued speech.

The sweetness of her lips is like honey and milk blended together.

_The lover uses a simile to describe the beloved's sweetness._

> How great is the love between the body and the soul? Even so great is my love for this artless one.

My love for this innocent one is as profound as the love between the body and the soul.

_The lover compares his love to the fundamental bond of body and soul._

> It is as life when she is near: but it is as very death when she leaveth my side.

Her presence gives me life, and her absence is like death.

_The lover expresses the extreme emotional dependence on the beloved._

> My beloved dwelleth ever within my eyes: so I do not paint them even lest I lose sight of him even for an instant.

Because my beloved lives in my eyes, I do not apply collyrium, fearing I might lose sight of him for a moment.

_The beloved takes extreme care to keep her lover always in view._

> He dwelleth lovingly within my bosom and is never away from thence: and yet the village folk declare that he hath abandoned me, and call him cruel.

Though he is always in my heart, the villagers falsely say he has left me and call him cruel.

_The beloved laments the misunderstanding of others about her lover's constant presence._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_kural_se/chapters/cxiii-the-glorification-of-love
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_kural_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_kural_se/chapters