Learning
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kēṭil viḻuccelvaṅ kalvi yoruvaṟku / māṭalla maṟṟai yavai
Education is a person's excellent wealth that cannot be destroyed; all other possessions are not wealth of that enduring kind.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Learning is excellence of wealth that none destroy; / To man nought else affords reality of joy.”
“An imperishable and flawless treasure is learning to a man: other wealth is as nothing before it.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
ஒருவற்குக் கேடு இல் விழுச்செல்வம் கல்வி= ஒருவனுக்கு அழிவில்லாத சீரிய செல்வமாவது கல்வி; மற்றையவை மாடு அல்ல= அஃது ஒழிந்த மணியும் பொன்னும் முதலாயின செல்வம் அல்ல.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
The commentator calls learning uniquely excellent wealth because it cannot be stolen or exhausted by sharing, whereas material possessions are unstable. This comparative praise must not romanticize poverty, deny food, housing, health care, tools, or wages, or equate degrees with worth; material security often makes learning possible.