Ethics (business ethics) from theThirukkural and its relevance for contemporary business leadership in the Indian context

This paper explores the dimension of business ethics from ancient Indian times and its contemporary relevance for business leadership. In the Indian context, during the past one decade we have witnessed an increase in number of literatures on applying ancient wisdoms especially from the Bhagavad-Gita (Mahabharata), Valmiki Ramayana and the Arthashastra in the business leadership context. However, very few works are found on business ethics from the Thirukkural and its relevance for contemporary business leadership. The Thirukkural
is a well-known treatise on ethics which was authored by Thiruvallavar in the second century BC. It is considered to be the first work which covers ethics in Indian (Tamil) literature.