Thirukkural

Thirukkural is a Tamil work composed by Thiruvalluvar. Composed between third and first centuries BC.
It consists of 133 chapters each containing 10 verses. Each verse consists of 7 words or word
combinations with 4 words in first line and 3 in the second line. Each verse as written in Tamil is
beautiful in both meaning and sound.
Let us look at the first verse as a sample. The English prose translations are much longer as they have to
convey to the reader the fuller meaning of poetic rendition.
1 (in Tamil)

Verse 1 (Transliteration in English)

Akara Mudhala Ezhuththellaam Aadhi
Pakavan Mudhatre Ulaku

A, as its first of letters, every speech maintains;

The "Primal Deity" is first through all the world's domains
Explanation:
As the letter A is the first of all letters, so the eternal God is first in the world