Seeking the Support of the Wise
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iṭippārai yillāta vēmarā maṉṉaṉ / keṭuppā rilāṉuṅ keṭum
A ruler without people who can rebuke, and therefore without protection, will perish even when no enemy seeks that ruin.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“The king with none to censure him, bereft of safeguards all, / Though none his ruin work, shall surely ruined fall.”
“Behold the prince who reposeth not on the support of men who can rebuke him: he will perish even when he hath no foes.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
இடிப்பாரை இல்லா ஏமரா மன்னன்= கழறுதற்கு உரியாரைத் தனக்குத் துணையாகக் கொள்ளாமையின் காவலற்ற அரசன்; கெடுப்பார் இலானும் கெடும்= பகையாய்க் கெடுப்பார் இல்லையாயினும் தானே கெடும்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar says a ruler who lacks reproving allies is unguarded and will collapse through personal faults even without an external destroyer.