The Ambassador
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viṭumāṟṟam vēntark kuraippāṉ vaṭumāṟṟam / vāycōrā vaṉka ṇavaṉ.
The firm envoy who carries a ruler's mandate does not let fear make his mouth utter a blemishing or demeaning version of the entrusted message.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“His faltering lips must utter no unworthy thing, / Who stands, with steady eye, to speak the mandates of his king.”
“Behold the firm-minded man that will never let fall from his lips words that are weak and unbecoming: he is the fit man to deliver the messages of princes at foreign courts.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
விடு மாற்றம் வேந்தர்க்கு உரைப்பான்= தன்அரசன் சொல்லிவிட்ட வார்த்தையை வேற்றரசர்க்குச் சென்று சொல்லவுரியான்; வடு மாற்றம் வாய்சோரா வன்கணவன்= தனக்கு வரும் ஏதத்திற்கு அஞ்சி அவனுக்குத் தாழ்வான வார்த்தையை வாய்சோர்ந்துஞ் சொல்லாத திண்மையை உடையான்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar says the envoy who delivers his king's mandate must be firm enough not to let fear of personal harm make his lips utter language demeaning to that king. Modern clarification, translation, and accessible wording are compatible with fidelity when material meaning remains; fear-driven dilution is not.