Abstaining from Flesh
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uṇṇāmai vēṇṭum pulāal piṟitoṉṟaṉ / puṇṇa tuṇarvārp peṟiṉ
One should abstain from flesh if one comes to understand that flesh is the wound of another living being.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“With other beings' ulcerous wounds their hunger they appease; / If this they felt, desire to eat must surely cease.”
“If a man can only realise to himself the agony and pain suffered by other living beings, he would not desire to eat flesh-meat.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
புலாஅல் பிறிது ஒன்றன் புண்= புலாலாவது, பிறிதோர் உடம்பின் புண்; அது உணர்வார்ப்பெறின்= அது தூய்து அன்மை அறிவாரைப் பெறின்; உண்ணாமை வேண்டும்= அதனை உண்ணாது ஒழியல் வேண்டும்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar says flesh is the wound of another body. If a person comes to understand that it is not pure, detached food but the injured body of another life, abstention is required. `புண்` is the verse's deliberate moral reclassification, not a technical claim that every prepared product is an open medical wound. Its force can be taught truthfully without graphic imagery, contamination fear, disgust toward people, or neglect of safe nutrition.