The Study of Stolen Love

The Study of Stolen Love, with Nakkirar’s commentary, is the earliest Tamil prose work still in existence, and its influence remains clear and strong today. The work consists of three strands: A series of ancient Tamil sutras, Nakkirar’s explication of those sutras, and the elegantly beautiful ancient court poems he has chosen to illustrate his points. In so doing he lays out the prescribed conventions that govern the composition and appreciation of akam, or “interior” poems-often called ‘love’ poems-and their literary contexts, as well as the critical apparatus that has structured commentaries by classical Tamil scholars down through the centuries, including the current era. This translation was done collaboratively by David C. Buck and the late K. Paramasivam, and originally published in 1997. The revised edition revisits notes from the first edition, and includes a new Introduction that brings the work up to date and places the Tamil original more firmly in its historical context.