NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday presented Russian President Vladimir Putin a Russian translation of the Thirukkural, the celebrated Tamil classic embodying the timeless wisdom of poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar. The gift was given during their bilateral meeting, held a day before the BRICS 2026 Summit.
The Russian edition contains all 1,330 couplets of the ancient work, which offers insights into virtue, wealth, good governance, ethics and love. The Thirukkural is regarded as one of the most influential works of Tamil literature. The Russian edition has been published by the Central Institute of Classical Tamil and translated by Naira Mkrtcheyan.
Modi has previously presented Putin gifts representing India’s cultural heritage. In 2025, he gifted him a Russian translation of the Bhagavad Gita, Assam tea and a silver horse. At the 2024 BRICS Summit in Kazan, he presented Putin a Sohrai painting from Jharkhand.
At the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 2025, India gifted a hand-etched silver lion on Fuchsite stone and other metalwork, while a Madhubani painting depicting the Sun from Bihar’s Mithilanchal region was gifted. Modi presented Saryu River water to the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago.
At the 2023 BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, Modi presented a pair of Surahis to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, a Nagaland shawl to First Lady Tshepo Motsepe, and a Gond painting from Madhya Pradesh to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In 2024, he gifted a Mother of Pearl seashell vase from coastal Maharashtra to Iran’s President.