Non-Injuring
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aṟiviṉāṉākuva tuṇṭō piṟitiṉōy / tananōypōṟ pōṟṟāk kaṭai
What use is knowledge if it does not lead one to guard another being's pain as carefully as one's own?
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“From wisdom's vaunted lore what doth the learner gain, / If as his own he guard not others' souls from pain?”
“Of what avail is intelligence to a man if he doth not look on others’ pain as his own and abstain from injuring any?”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
அறிவினான் ஆகுவது உண்டோ= துறந்தார்க்கு உயிர் முதலியவற்றை உள்ளவாறு அறிந்த அறிவினான் ஆவதொரு பயனுண்டோ? பிறிதின் நோய் தந்நோய் போல் போற்றாக் கடை= பிறிதோர் உயிருக்கு வரும் இன்னாதவற்றைத் தம்முயிர்க்கு வந்தன போலக் குறிக்கொண்டு காவாவிடத்து.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar asks what benefit deep knowledge gives a renunciant who does not recognise and guard another living being's suffering as attentively as personal suffering. The comparison demands moral seriousness, not the assumption that everyone experiences pain identically.