Renown
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pukaḻpaṭa vāḻātār tannōvār tammai / yikaḻvārai nōva tevaṉ
Those who do not live in a way that earns worthy praise do not examine themselves; why, then, do they resent the people who scorn them?
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“If you your days will spend devoid of goodly fame, / When men despise, why blame them? You've yourself to blame.”
“Those that are not free from blemish chafe not at themselves: why then are they wroth against their calumniators?”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
புகழ்பட வாழாதார்= தமக்குப் புகழுண்டாக வாழ மாட்டாதார்; தம் நோவார்= அதுபற்றிப்பிறர் இகழ்ந்தவழி இவ்விகழ்ச்சி நம்மாட்டாமையான் வந்தது என்று தம்மை நோவாதே; தம்மை இகழ்வாரை நோவது எவன்= தம்மை இகழ்வாரை நோவது என்கருதி.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar says that when people who have not lived so as to earn praise are scorned, they fail to recognise that the scorn arose from their own inability. The verse asks why they instead resent those who scorn them.