Manly Exertion
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tāḷāṇmai yillātāṉ vēḷāṇmai pēṭikai / vāḷāṇmai pōlak keṭum.
Beneficence attempted without persevering capability fails, like a demanding instrument placed in hands not prepared to wield it.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Beneficent intent in men by whom no strenuous work is wrought, / Like battle-axe in sexless being's hand availeth nought.”
“Like unto a sword in the hands of a eunuch is the liberality of the indolent man: it will not endure.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
தாளாண்மை இல்லாதான் வேளாண்மை= முயற்சி இல்லாதவன் உபகாரியாம் தன்மை; பேடி கை வாளாண்மை போலக் கெடும்= படை கண்டால் அஞ்சும் பேடி அதனிடைத் தன்கையில் வாளை ஆளுதல்தன்மைபோல இல்லையாம்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains that beneficence undertaken without persevering capability comes to nothing. The verse's historical image of a ‘பேடி’ holding a sword carries a gendered disparagement from its period and must not be endorsed as a judgement about any person's body, gender, or worth. The transferable ethical point is narrower: possession of an instrument or generous intention is powerless without the effort and competence needed to use it.