Learning by Listening
Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
ceviyuṇaviṟ kēḷvi yuṭaiyāraviyuṇavi / ṉāṉṟārō ṭoppar nilattu
People who possess learning as food for the ear, though on earth, are like the gods who receive sacrificial offerings.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Who feed their ear with learned teachings rare, / Are like the happy gods oblations rich who share.”
“Behold the men who have listened to much instruction: they are very Gods on earth.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
செவி உணவின் கேள்வி உடையார்= செவி உணவாகிய கேள்வியனை உடையார்; நிலத்து அவி உணவின் ஆன்றாரோடு ஒப்பர்= நிலத்தின்கண்ணராயினும் அவி உணவினை யுடைய தேவரோடு ஒப்பர்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar compares people nourished by learned listening on earth to gods nourished by sacrificial offerings. Preserve the religious simile without claiming listeners are divine, morally infallible, or superior in human worth, and without centering only spoken sound as the route to knowledge.