Just Rule
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vēlaṉṟu veṉṟi taruvatu maṉṉavaṉ / kōlatūuṅ kōṭā teṉiṉ.
It is not the spear that gives a king victory, but his sceptre—and that only if the sceptre does not bend from justice.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Not lance gives kings the victory, / But sceptre swayed with equity.”
“It is not the lance that bringeth victory unto the prince: it is rather his sceptre, and that provided it is straight and leaneth not to either side.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
மன்னவன் வென்றிதருவது வேல் அன்று கோல்= மன்னவனுக்குப் போரின்கண் வெற்றியைக் கொடுப்பது அவன் எறியும் வேல்அன்று, கோல்; அதூஉம் கோடாது எனின்= அஃதும் அப்பெற்றித்தாவது, தான் கோடாதாயின்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains that what gives the king victory in war is not the spear he throws but the sceptre he exercises. Yet the sceptre has that power only on the condition that it does not bend away from justice.