Decision of Character
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uruvukaṇ ṭeḷḷāmai vēṇṭu muruḷperuntērk / kaccāṇi yaṉṉā ruṭaittu.
Do not despise people because their outward form or bearing seems small; the world has steadfast contributors like the little linchpin that secures a great rolling chariot.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Despise not men of modest bearing; Look not at form, but what men are: / For some there live, high functions sharing, Like linch-pin of the mighty car!”
“Despise not a man for his look: for there are men who are even as the axle pin of the mighty rolling car.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
உருள் பெரும் தேர்க்கு அச்சாணி அன்னார் உடைத்து= உருளாநின்ற பெரிய தேர்க்கு அச்சின்கண் ஆணி போல வினைக்கண் திண்ணியாரை உடையது உலகம்; உருவு கண்டு எள்ளாமை வேண்டும்= அதனால் அவரை வடிவின் சிறுமைநோக்கி இகழ்தலை ஒழிக.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains that the world contains people firm in action just as a small pin at the axle secures a great rolling chariot. Therefore one must abandon contempt based merely on a person's outward form or modest bearing.