Compassion
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valiyārmuṉ ṟaṉṉai niṉaikka tāṉ ṟaṉṉiṉ / meliyārmēṟ cellu miṭattu
When one goes to oppress someone weaker than oneself, let one remember one's own fear when standing before someone stronger.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“When weaker men you front with threat'ning brow, / Think how you felt in presence of some stronger foe.”
“When thou art tempted to oppress the weak, consider how it would be for thee to tremble before a stronger.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
வலியார் முன் தன்னை நினைக்க= தன்னின் வலியார் தன்னை நலிய வரும்பொழுது, அவர்முன் தான் அஞ்சி நிற்கும் நிலையினை நினைக்க; தான் தன்னின் மெலியார்மேல் செல்லுமிடத்து= அருள் இல்லாதவன் தன்னின் எளியார்மேல் தான் நலியச் செல்லும் பொழுது.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains that, when a person without compassion moves to harm someone less powerful, that person should remember the frightened condition in which they stood when someone stronger came to harm them. The command interrupts oppression through remembered vulnerability; it does not authorize retaliation, public humiliation, or requiring a victim to teach the oppressor empathy.
This verse is in tension
AI draft · pending scholar review