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Section 1 · அறத்துப்பால் (Virtue) · Chapter 23 / 133

Giving

ஈகை
Kural 229

Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.

irattali ṉiṉṉātu maṉṟa nirappiya / tāmē tamiya ruṇal

Modern readingAI draft

Hoarding food to fill one's store and then eating alone is surely more painful than having to ask another for food.

▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
G.U. Pope1886

“They keep their garners full, for self alone the board they spread;- / 'Tis greater pain, be sure, than begging daily bread!”

V.V.S. Aiyar1916

“Bitterer verily than the beggar’s bread is the hoarded meal of the miser eating alone.”

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Parimelazhagar’s commentary

13th century · public domain

Parimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.

நிரப்பிய தாமே தமியர் உணல்= பொருட்குறை நிரப்பவேண்டி வறியார்க்கு ஈயாது தாமே தனித்து உண்டல்; இரத்தலின் இன்னாது மன்ற= ஒருவர்க்குப் பிறர்பால் சென்று இரத்தலினும் இன்னாது ஒருதலையாக.

Source: Tamil Wikisource

In plain EnglishAI draft · pending review

Parimelazhagar condemns withholding from poor people merely to increase one's reserve and then eating alone. The target is refusal amid known need, not solitude or receiving aid.