Truthfulness
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yāmeyyāk kaṇṭavaṟṟu ḷillai yeṉaittoṉṟum / vāymaiyi ṉalla piṟa
Among all the works we have examined as true, says the poet, we have found nothing of any kind better than truthfulness.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Of all good things we've scanned with studious care, / There's nought that can with truthfulness compare.”
“Many things have I seen in this world: but of all the things that I have seen, there is nothing that is higher than truth.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
யாம் மெய்யாக் கண்டவற்றுள்= யாம் மெய்ந்நூல்களாகக் கண்டநூல்களுள்; எனைத்தொன்றும் வாய்மையின் நல்ல பிற இல்லை= யாதொரு தன்மையானும் வாய்மையின் மிக்கனவாகச் சொல்லப்பட்ட பிற அறங்கள் இல்லை.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar reads the closing verse as the poet's judgment across authoritative ethical texts: no other virtue has been described as surpassing truthfulness. It is a culminating literary ranking, not empirical proof that truth alone replaces consent, compassion, competence, or justice.
This verse is in tension
AI draft · pending scholar review