Shame and Self-Respect
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nāṇā luyirait tuṟappa ruyirpporuṭṭā / ṉāṇṭuṟavār nāṇāḷ pavar.
Those who live by the shame that holds a person back from a base act will give up life rather than let that shame be broken — and will never give up that shame in order to keep their life.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“The men of modest soul for shame would life an offering make, / But ne'er abandon virtuous shame for life's dear sake.”
“Behold the men that have a delicate sense of shame: they will renounce their lives to save themselves from a disgrace, but will not swallow their shame even in order to save their lives.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
நாண் ஆள்பவர்= நாணினது சிறப்பறிந்து அதனை விடாது ஒழுகுவார்; நாணால் உயிரைத் துறப்பர்= அந்நாணும் உயிரும் தம்முள் மாறாயவழி, நாண் சிதையாமற்பொருட்டு உயிரை நீப்பர்; உயிர்ப்பொருட்டு நாண் துறவார்= உயிர் சிதையாமற் பொருட்டு நாணினை நீக்கார்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Those who know the excellence of shame and conduct themselves without ever letting it go will, where shame and life stand against each other, give up life so that shame is not broken; they will not give up shame so that life is not broken. (Parimelazhagar limits this to that one case where the two conflict.)
This verse is in tension
AI draft · pending scholar review