# Part III—Love explained — The Kural

> Chapter companion for The Kural by Thiruvalluvar.

## What happens

The poet turns to the third objective of life, Love, presenting a romance of a single couple from first meeting to reunion after separation. The narrative includes accidental meeting in a grove, secret marriage, the 'riding of the palmyra stalk' to win parental consent, happy married life, husband's departure for war, wife's pangs of separation, and eventual reunion with bouderie. The chapter also defends Thiruvalluvar's originality against claims of Christian influence, asserting his universal wisdom and independence from any single religious tradition.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Marriage

Central theme of Part III, tracing a couple's romance from first meeting through secret marriage, separation, and reunion.

### The Vanity of Worldly Life

Implied in the contrast between the wife's pangs of separation and the husband's pursuit of glory and wealth in war.

### Virtue and Righteousness

The chapter emphasizes that virtue and honour triumph over vice, with a distinction between private morality and state necessity.

## Character check-ins

### Thiruvalluvar

Author of the Kural, depicted as a universal sage whose work spans moral duties, state policy, and love, free from sectarian constraints.

### the Kural

The text being discussed, praised for its deep analysis of love and its universal moral thread.

### Dr. Pope

Christian writer who claimed Christian influences on the Kural, criticized for religious chauvinism.

### Kauṭilya

Mentioned as a parallel in statecraft, though Thiruvalluvar's counsel is deemed equally subtle.

### Bouderie

Personified as an incident of married life, described in the final chapters as the salt of love.

### Fortune

Referenced indirectly in the context of the husband's promise to return laden with glory and wealth.

## Key lines

> If there is anything about not parting, speak it to me: but if it is only thy speedy return, tell it to those who will survive till then.

The wife cannot bear the thought of separation; she would rather hear of never parting than of a promised return that might not come in time.

_Illustrates the depth of the wife's love and fear of loss during the husband's departure for war._

> bouderie is the salt of love.

Temporary quarrels and sulking between lovers enhance the sweetness of reconciliation.

_Summarizes the three concluding chapters on bouderie as a natural and enriching part of married life._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_kural_se/chapters/part-iii-love
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_kural_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_kural_se/chapters