Renown
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vacaiyoḻiya vāḻvārē vāḻvār icaiyoḻiya / vāḻvārē vāḻā tavar
Those who live so that reproach is absent are the ones who truly live; those who live so that renown is absent are, in the Kural's severe metaphor, people who do not live.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Who live without reproach, them living men we deem; / Who live without renown, live not, though living men they seem.”
“They alone live who live without blemish: and they alone die who have lived without glory.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
வசை ஒழிய வாழ்வாரே வாழ்வார்= தம்மாட்டு வசை உண்டாகாமல் வாழ்வாரே உயிர் வாழ்வாராவார்; இசை ஒழிய வாழ்வாரே வாழாதவர்= புகழ் உண்டாகாமல் வாழ்வாரே இறந்தவர் ஆவர்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar presents two parallel judgements: people who live without giving rise to reproach are truly alive, while people who live without giving rise to praise are as though dead. The second is moral hyperbole about a life lacking worthy renown, not a biological or clinical statement.