# Love explained — The Kural

> Chapter companion for The Kural by Thiruvalluvar.

## What happens

This chapter extols the supreme power and necessity of love, describing it as the essence of life and the soul's ornament, without which a person is merely a hollow shell. Love is portrayed as universal, transcending righteousness and even benefiting the evil-minded, and its absence leads to spiritual barrenness.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Marriage

The chapter exclusively focuses on love as the central force of life, describing it as the soul's ornament and the source of all blessings.

### Social Harmony and Ethics

Love is presented as the basis for friendship and righteousness, even extending to the evil-minded, emphasizing its role in social cohesion.

## Character check-ins

### the Kural

The chapter is a direct excerpt from the Kural, presenting its teachings on love.

## Key lines

> Where is the bar that can close in the gates of love? The gentle teardrops of lovers’ eyes are sure to proclaim its presence.

Love cannot be confined or hidden; the tears of lovers reveal its existence unmistakably.

_Opening couplet asserting love's irrepressible nature._

> Those that love not live only for themselves: as to those that love, their very bones are for others’ occasions.

Those without love are selfish, while those who love are selfless, even offering their very essence for others.

_Contrast between selfishness and selfless love._

> They say it is to taste again of love that the soul hath consented once more to be encased in bone.

The soul chooses to be reborn in a body solely to experience love once again.

_Philosophical view on reincarnation motivated by love._

> Behold how the sun burneth the boneless worm: even so doth Righteousness burn the man that doth not love.

Just as the sun scorches a defenseless worm, righteousness punishes the loveless person.

_Metaphor for the inevitable consequence of lacking love._

> The seat of life is in Love: who hath it not is only a mass of skin-encased bone.

Love is the essence of life; without it, a person is merely a lifeless shell of skin and bone.

_Final couplet declaring love as the core of existence._

## Links

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