Not Stealing
Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
uḷḷattā luḷḷalun tītē piṟaṉporuḷaik / kaḷḷattāṟ kaḷvē meṉal
Even inwardly forming the plan is wrong: do not decide, ‘By deceit I will steal another person's property.’
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“'Tis sin if in the mind man but thought conceive; / 'By fraud I will my neighbour of his wealth bereave.'”
“It is a sin even to say in one’s heart, I shall cheat my neighbour of his substance.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
உள்ளத்தால் உள்ளலும் தீதே= குற்றங்களைத் தந் நெஞ்சாற் கருதுதலும் துறந்தார்க்குப் பாவம்; பிறன் பொருளைக் கள்ளத்தால் கள்வேம் எனல்= ஆதலால், பிறனொருவன் பொருளை அவன் அறியாவகையால் வஞ்சித்துக் கொள்வேம் என்று கருதற்க.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
For an ascetic, deliberately entertaining wrongdoing in the mind is itself sinful; therefore one must not form the intention to take another person's property without their knowledge by deception.