Renown
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vacaiyeṉpa vaiyattārk kellā micaiyeṉṉu / meccam peṟāa viṭiṉ
If people fail to gain the remainder called renown, the Kural says the good will call that itself a reproach belonging to all people of the world.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Fame is virtue's child, they say; if, then, / You childless live, you live the scorn of men.”
“It is a disgrace for all men if they earn not the memory called fame.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
இசை என்னும் எச்சம் பெறா விடின்= புகழ் என்னும் எச்சம் பெறலாயிருக்க அது பெறாது ஒழிவராயின்; வையத்தார்க்கு எல்லாம் வசை என்ப= வையகத்தோர்க்கு எல்லாம் அதுதானே வசை என்று சொல்லுவர் நல்லோர்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar takes எச்சம் as the remainder called praise that can survive a life. If people let the opportunity to gain it pass, the good call that very failure a reproach to everyone in the world; the universal wording is the verse's forceful moral rhetoric.