31. 31. ALIGING THIRUKKURAL VALUES WITH SUSTAIABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGs)

        The Thirukkural, authored by Thiruvalluvar, is a timeless Tamil literary work offering ethical guidance on personal conduct, social harmony, and governance. The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to address global challenges such as poverty, inequality, education, environmental sustainability, and peace. This paper explores the alignment between Thirukkural's core values and the 17 SDGs, illustrating how ancient Tamil wisdom can inform and enrich modern global development agendas. By analyzing relevant couplets (kurals), we demonstrate that sustainable living, social justice, environmental stewardship, and ethical governance were deeply embedded in Thiruvalluvar's vision, making the Thirukkural a powerful, culturally rooted tool for contemporary development efforts.