Avoiding Harmful Associations
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maṉattuḷatu pōlak kāṭṭi yoruvaṟ / kiṉattuḷa tāku maṟivu
Understanding appears to reside in one person’s mind, yet the verse says it is formed within the company that person keeps.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Man's wisdom seems the offspring of his mind; / 'Tis outcome of companionship we find.”
“The disposition of a man seemeth to reside in his mind: but its veritable abode is the company in which he moveth.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
அறிவு= அவ்விசேட உணர்வு; ஒருவற்கு மனத்து உளது போலக்காட்டி= ஒருவற்கு மனத்தின்கண்ணே உளதாவது போலத் தன்னைப் புலப்படுத்தி; இனத்து உளதாகும்= அவன் சேர்ந்த இனத்தின்கண்ணே உளதாம்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar intensifies the chapter’s social account of cognition: what looks wholly private may be cultivated by a circle. A modern reading should preserve both influence and agency; groups do not mechanically program minds, excuse harmful action, or determine anyone by ancestry.