Tyrannical Rule
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muṟaikōṭi maṉṉavaṉ ceyyi ṉuṟaikōṭi / yollātu vāṉam peyal.
If a king acts by departing from justice, the seasonal clouds, the classical claim says, will depart from their course and fail to rain.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Where king from right deflecting, makes unrighteous gain, / The seasons change, the clouds pour down no rain.”
“The heavens will not send showers in their season if the prince swerveth from justice and right.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
மன்னவன் முறை கோடிச் செய்யின்= மன்னவன் தான்செய்யும் பொருளை முறைதப்பச் செய்யுமாயின்; உறைகோடி வானம் பெயல் ஒல்லாது= அவன்நாட்டுப் பருவமழை இன்றாம்வகை மேகம் பொழிதலைச் செய்யாது.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains that if the king's actions depart from just order, seasonal rain will fail and the clouds will not pour over his country. This is a classical moral-cosmic claim, not a modern scientific mechanism of weather.