Compassion
Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
poruḷaṟṟār pūpparorukā laruḷaṟṟā / raṟṟārmaṟ ṟāta laritu
Those who lack material wealth may flourish at another time; those without compassion are ruined, and becoming otherwise is difficult.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Who lose the flower of wealth, when seasons change, again may bloom; / Who lose 'benevolence', lose all; nothing can change their doom.”
“The poor in substance may one day thrive and prosper: but they that lack pity are poor indeed and their day cometh never.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
பொருள் அற்றார் ஒருகால் பூப்பர்= ஊழான் வறியராயினார் அது நீங்கிப் பின் ஒருகாலத்துச் செல்வத்தால் பொலிவர்; அருள் அற்றார் அற்றார் மற்று ஆதல் அரிது= அவ்வாறு அன்றி அருள் இலாதார் பாவம் அறாமையின் அழிந்தாரே, பின் ஒருகாலத்தும் ஆதல் இல்லை.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar says people made poor by circumstance may leave that condition and later shine through wealth. Those without compassion, however, remain ruined because their wrongdoing does not cease, so attaining a different state is exceedingly difficult. The severity concerns continued compassionless conduct; ‘difficult’ must not be rewritten as permanent impossibility or used to deny repentance, repair, or change.