Not Stealing
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aḷavalla ceytāṅkē vīvar kaḷavalla / maṟṟaiya tēṟṟā tavar
Those who understand nothing beyond theft come to ruin the very moment they form thoughts outside the right measure.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Who have no lore save that which fraudful arts supply, / Acts of unmeasured vice committing straightway die.”
“Behold the man who meditateth on nothing but theft and plunder: he will leave the right path and perish.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
அளவு அல்ல செய்தாங்கே வீவர்= அவ்வளவல்லாத தீய நினைவுகளை நினைத்தபொழுதே கெடுவர்; களவு அல்ல மற்றைய தேற்றாதவர்= களவல்லாத பிறவற்றை அறியாதவர்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
People who know no course except theft form thoughts outside right measure—how to deceive owners, take their property, and enjoy it—and, because such deliberate thought is treated as action in this ascetic context, are ruined at that very moment.