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Section 1 · அறத்துப்பால் (Virtue) · Chapter 38 / 133

Destiny

ஊழ்
Kural 378

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tuṟappārmaṟ ṟuppura villā ruṟaṟpāla / vūṭṭā kaḻiyu meṉiṉ

Modern readingAI draft

Those without means for enjoyment would indeed renounce, if destinies passed without inflicting the sufferings allotted to them.

▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
G.U. Pope1886

“The destitute with ascetics merit share, / If fate to visit with predestined ills would spare.”

V.V.S. Aiyar1916

“Verily the destitute poor would turn their hearts towards renunciation but that Destiny reserveth them for the miseries that are their portion.”

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Parimelazhagar’s commentary

13th century · public domain

Parimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.

துப்புரவு இல்லார் துறப்பார்= வறுமையான் நுகர்ச்சி இல்லாதார் துறக்கும் கருத்துடையர் ஆவர்; உறற்பால ஊட்டா கழியும் எனின்= ஊழ்கள் உறுதற்பாலவாய துன்பங்களை உறுவியாது ஒழியுமாயின்.

Source: Tamil Wikisource

In plain EnglishAI draft · pending review

The commentary says poor people might become renunciants if destined sufferings did not continue to afflict them. Its irony must not romanticize poverty: involuntary deprivation is not chosen renunciation, and material aid, rights, treatment, and justice remain necessary.

This verse is in tension

Contested against Kural 1050
Fate keeps the destitute from renouncing — and not renouncing is their one fault
துறக்கவிடாமல் ஊழ் தடுக்கிறது; துறக்காமல் இருப்பதே அவர்தம் குற்றம்

For those who have nothing to consume, not renouncing utterly is death to other people's salt and sour rice-water.

AI draft · pending scholar review