Knowing the Right Place
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neṭumpuṉaluḷ vellu mutalai yaṭumpuṉali / ṉīṅki ṉataṉaip piṟa
In deep water the crocodile defeats other creatures; if it leaves the waters in which it prevails, other creatures defeat it.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“The crocodile prevails in its own flow of water wide, / If this it leaves, 'tis slain by anything beside.”
“All-powerful is the crocodile in deep water: but out of it, it is the plaything of its foes.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
முதலை நெடும்புனலுள் பிற வெல்லும்= முதலை ஆழமுடைய நீரின்கண் ஆயின் பிறவற்றை எல்லாம் தான் வெல்லாநிற்கும்; புனலின் நீங்கின் அதனைப் பிற அடும்= அப்புனலின் நீங்குமாயின் அதனைப் பிறவெல்லாம் வெல்லாநிற்கும்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
The crocodile image makes capacity relational to habitat: dominance in deep water can become vulnerability outside it. This is a strategic analogy, not a ranking of bodies, species, disability, race, sex, or community; people can adapt, use tools, cooperate, and change conditions, and no one deserves attack because they are outside a familiar setting.