Truthfulness
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Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
poyyāmai yaṉṉa pukaḻillai yeyyāmai / yellā vaṟamun tarum.
There is no renown like freedom from falsehood; without bodily mortification, it brings the fruit of every virtue, says the verse.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“No praise like that of words from falsehood free; / This every virtue yields spontaneously.”
“There is no greater renown for a man than the renown that he is a stranger unto falsehood: such a man obtaineth every blessing without mortifying the body.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
பொய்யாமை அன்ன புகழ் இல்லை= ஒருவனுக்கு இம்மைக்குப் பொய்யாமை ஒத்த புகழ்க்காரணமில்லை; எய்யாமை எல்லா அறமும் தரும்= மறுமைக்கு மெய்வருந்தாமல் அவனுக்கு எல்லா அறங்களையும் தானே கொடுக்கும்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar describes truthfulness as the finest cause of honour in this life and, without bodily austerity, as yielding the benefit of all virtues in the next. These are ethical and religious superlatives, not guaranteed fame or a dismissal of other duties.