Abstaining from Anger
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ciṉattaip poruḷeṉṟu koṇṭavaṉ kēṭu / nilattaṟaintāṉ kaipiḻaiyā taṟṟu
Whoever prizes anger as proof of strength inevitably loses that strength, as surely as a hand striking the ground meets the force of its own blow.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“The hand that smites the earth unfailing feels the sting; / So perish they who nurse their wrath as noble thing.”
“He who nurseth his rage as if it were a precious thing is like unto the man who dasheth his hand against the ground: the hand of this man escapeth not from injury, and the destruction of the first is as certain.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
சினத்தைப் பொருள் என்று கொண்டவன் கேடு= சினத்தைத் தன் ஆற்றல் உணர்த்துவதோர் குணம் என்று தன்கட் கொண்டவன் அவ்வாற்றல் இழத்தல்; நிலத்து அறைந்தான் கை பிழையாது அற்று= நிலத்தின்கண் அறைந்தவன் கை அந்நிலத்தை உறுதல் தப்பாதவாறு போலத் தப்பாது.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar reads the verse as a warning to the person who treats anger as a valued quality that displays power: such a person loses that very power. The ground-striking hand is an image of inevitable rebound, not a call to literal violence.