Lack of Learning
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araṅkiṉṟi vaṭṭāṭi yaṟṟē nirampiya / nūliṉṟik kōṭṭi koḷal
Entering a learned assembly without the study that makes one adequately prepared is like trying to play a board game without its board.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Like those at draughts would play without the chequered square, / Men void of ample lore would counsels of the learned share.”
“Ascending the rostrum without abundant knowledge is like the playing of dice without the chequered board.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
அரங்கு இன்றி வட்டு ஆடியற்றே- அரங்கினையிழையாது வட்டாடினாற்போலும்; நிரம்பிய நூலின்றிக் கோட்டி கொளல்= தான் நிரம்புதற்கு ஏதுவாகிய நூல்களைக் கல்லாது ஒருவன் அவையின்கண் ஒன்றினைச் சொல்லுதல்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar reads the comparison precisely: playing the counters without first laying out their board resembles speaking in an assembly without studying the works that would furnish one's understanding. The target is unprepared public assertion, not a person's dignity or educational access.