Intrepidity in the Face of Misfortune
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aṟṟēmeṉ ṟallaṟ paṭupavō peṟṟēmeṉ / ṟōmputa ṟēṟṟā tavar.
Those who did not cling to prosperity with possessive hoarding do not collapse into ‘we have nothing’ when it recedes.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Who boasted not of wealth, nor gave it all their heart, / Will not bemoan the loss, when prosperous days depart.”
“The men that exult not at good fortune, can they ever fret themselves saying, Alas! we are ruined?”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
அற்றேம் என்று அல்லல் படுபவோ = வறுமைக்காலத்து யாம் வறியம் ஆயினேம் என்று மனத்தான் துயர் உழப்பாரோ? ; பெற்றேம் என்று ஓம்புதல் தேற்றாதவர்= செல்வக்காலத்து இது பெற்றேம் என்று இவறுதலை அறியாதார்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar asks rhetorically whether those who did not know possessive hoarding in prosperity will torment themselves with ‘we have become destitute.’ The answer is no. This does not minimise poverty or grief. A mind that never made possessions its whole identity is not wholly destroyed when possessions recede.