Dread of Evil Deeds
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Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
aruṅkēṭaṉ eṉpatu aṟika maruṅkōṭit / tīviṉai seyyāṉ eṉiṉ
Know that a person is hard to bring to ruin if that person does not turn aside into a crooked course and do evil toward others.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“The man, to devious way of sin that never turned aside, / From ruin rests secure, whatever ills betide.”
“Know that man to be secure from ills who leaveth not the straight path in order to commit wrong.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
மருங்கு ஓடித் தீவினை செய்யான் எனின் = ஒருவன் செந்நெறிக்கண் செல்லாது, கொடுநெறிக்கண் சென்று பிறர்மாட்டுத் தீவினைகளைச் செய்யானாயின்; அருங்கேடன் என்பது அறிக = அவன் அரிதாகிய கேட்டையுடையன் என்பது அறிக.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar says: if a person does not leave the straight path, go by a crooked path, and commit evil deeds toward others, know that the person's ruin is rare. The negative `செய்யான்` governs the harmful turning described before it. `அருங்கேடன்` expresses moral resilience in the verse; it is not a guarantee of immunity from illness, injustice, accident, financial loss, or other ordinary harms.