Abstaining from Flesh
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aruḷalla tiyāteṉiṟ kollāmai kōṟal / poruḷalla tavvūṉ ṟiṉal
If asked what compassion is: it is non-killing. If asked what is opposed to it: it is killing. Therefore, eating the flesh produced by that killing is not morally right.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“'What's grace, or lack of grace'? 'To kill' is this, that 'not to kill'; / To eat dead flesh can never worthy end fulfil.”
“The killing of animals is veritable hardness of heart: but the eating of their flesh is iniquity indeed.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
அருள் யாது எனின் கொல்லாமை= அருள்யாது எனின், கொல்லாமை; அல்லது (யாதெனின்) கோறல்= அருள் அல்லது யாது எனின் கோறல்; அவ்வூன் தினல் பொருள் அல்லது= ஆகலான், அக்கோறலான் வந்த ஊனைத் தின்கை பாவம்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar reads three linked propositions: compassion is non-killing; the opposite of compassion is killing; therefore eating flesh that came from that killing is not moral substance but wrongdoing. `பொருள் அல்லது` means that the act is not ethically valid or worthy here, not that the flesh is literally unreal. The definition is direct, but applying it must not invite vigilantism, unsafe handling of animals, dietary neglect, or contempt for people with constrained choices.