Abstaining from Anger
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iṟantā riṟantā raṉaiyar ciṉattait / tuṟantār tuṟantār tuṇai
In the verse's moral-spiritual comparison, those dominated by excessive anger are ‘like the dead,’ while those who renounce anger stand beside true renunciants.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Men of surpassing wrath are like the men who've passed away; / Who wrath renounce, equals of all-renouncing sages they.”
“Whoso is overwhelmed with anger is like one dead: but whoso hath forsworn wrathfulness is like unto the saints.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
இறந்தார் இறந்தார் அனையர்= சினத்தின்கண்ணே மிக்கார், உயிருடையர் ஆயினும், செத்தாரோடு ஒப்பர்; சினத்தைத் துறந்தார் துறந்தார் துணை= சினத்தைத் துறந்தார் சாதல்தன்மையர் ஆயினும், அதனை ஒழிந்தார் அளவினர்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains the couplet as moral-spiritual rhetoric. People submerged in excessive anger are compared with the dead despite being alive; people who have relinquished anger are placed on the level of renunciants despite being mortal. Neither phrase is literal death, diagnosis, or dehumanization.