Dread of Evil Deeds
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tīyavai tīya payattalāl tīyavai / tīyiṉum añcap paṭum
Because evil deeds produce painful consequences, evil deeds are to be feared even more than fire.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Since evils new from evils ever grow, / Evil than fire works out more dreaded woe.”
“Evil bringeth forth evil: evil therefore shall be feared even more than fire.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
தீயவை தீய பயத்தலால் = தனக்கு இன்பம் பயத்தலைக் கருதிச் செய்யும் தீவினைகள் பின் அஃது ஒழித்துத் துன்பமே பயத்தலான்; தீயவை தீயினும் அஞ்சப் படும் = அத்தன்மையாகிய தீவினைகள் ஒருவனால் தீயினும் அஞ்சப்படும்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar says that evil deeds may be chosen for the pleasure they seem to offer, but after that pleasure passes they yield suffering; for this reason, such deeds are feared even more than fire. This is the text's moral-causal claim about the doer's action, not a rule that every person's suffering proves earlier wrongdoing.