Compassion
Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
aruḷillārk kavvulaka millai poruḷillārk / kivvulaka millāki yāṅku
Those without compassion have no share in that other world, just as those without material means lack this world's enjoyments.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“As to impoverished men this present world is not; / The 'graceless' in you world have neither part nor lot.”
“The other world is not for those that have not mercy, even as this world is not for them that are without riches.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
அருள் இல்லார்க்கு அவ்வுலகம் இல்லை= உயிர்கள் மேல் அருள் இல்லாதார்க்கு வீட்டுலகத்து இன்பம் இல்லை; பொருள் இல்லார்க்கு இவ்வுலகம் இல்லாகியாங்கு= பொருள் இல்லாதார்க்கு இவ்வுலகத்து இன்பம் இல்லையாயினாற் போல.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar says that people without compassion toward living beings do not possess the joy of the world of release, just as people without material means lack access to this world's enjoyments. The comparison distinguishes spiritual and material domains; it does not treat poverty as vice, personal failure, or evidence of deficient compassion.