Manly Exertion
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ūḻaiyu muppakkaṅ kāṇpa rulaiviṉṟit / tāḻā tuñaṟṟu pavar
Those who act without agitation or delay, adapting and persisting, make even the fate that obstructs their result turn its back.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Who strive with undismayed, unfaltering mind, / At length shall leave opposing fate behind.”
“They will snap their fingers even at Destiny who succumb not to it but labour unremittingly in despite of it.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
ஊழையும் உப்பக்கம் காண்பர்= பயனை விலக்குவதாய ஊழினையும் புறங் காண்பர்; உலைவு இன்றித தாழாது உஞற்றுபவர்= அவ்விலக்கிற்கு இளையாது வினையைத் தாழ்வற முயல்வார்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains that those who do not collapse before obstructing fate and who act without delay will make even that fate show its back. This is not a promise that individual labour instantly conquers every barrier. Its force lies in calm, timely, adaptive persistence—using knowledge, safety, collective action, authority, and redesign until the condition that blocked the result itself changes.
This verse is in tension
AI draft · pending scholar review