Manly Exertion
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viṉaikkaṇ viṉaikeṭa lōmpal viṉaikkuṟai / tīrntāriṟ ṟīrntaṉ ṟulaku.
Once a work has begun, guard it from failing through incompletion. The world withdraws its trust from those who repeatedly leave a work deficient.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“In action be thou, 'ware of act's defeat; / The world leaves those who work leave incomplete!”
“Beware of leaving any work unfinished: for the world careth not for those that do not complete the work that they have once begun.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
வினைக்குறை தீர்ந்தாரின் உலகு தீர்ந்தன்று= வினையாகிய குறையைச் செய்யாதுவிட்டாரை உலகம் விட்டது; வினைக்கண் வினை கெடல் ஓம்பல்= ஆதலால், செய்யப்படும் வினைக்கண் தவிர்ந்து இருத்தலை ஒழிக.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar reads the first line as a duty to protect an undertaking from being ruined by an unfinished part. Those who repeatedly abandon their works with deficiencies are, in turn, abandoned by the world: people cease to rely on them.