Dread of Evil Deeds
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tīppāla tāṉpiṟarkaṇ seyyaṟka nōyppāla / taṉṉai aṭal vēṇṭātāṉ
One who does not want suffering-producing wrongs to pursue and afflict oneself should not do evil-class deeds to others.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“What ranks as evil spare to do, if thou would'st shun / Affliction sore through ill to thee by others done.”
“Whoso desireth not to be saddened by ills, let him abstain from doing injury to others.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
நோய்ப்பால தன்னை அடல்வேண்டாதான் = துன்பம் செய்யும் கூற்றவாகிய பாவங்கள் தன்னைப் பின்வந்து வருத்துதலை வேண்டாதவன்; தீப்பால தான் பிறர்கண் செய்யற்க = தீமைக்கூற்றவாகிய வினைகளைத் தான் பிறர்மாட்டுச் செய்யாது ஒழிக.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar says that a person who does not wish sins—classified by the suffering they produce—to follow and afflict oneself should refrain from deeds classified as evil toward others. This is the text's moral warning to a chooser; it does not say that illness, abuse, disaster, or present suffering proves that the sufferer previously harmed someone.