Reading Unspoken Signs
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Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
aiyap paṭāa takatta tuṇarvāṉait / teyvattō ṭoppak koḷal.
Regard as equal to the divine the person who understands, without uncertainty, what lies within another's mind.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Undoubting, who the minds of men can scan, / As deity regard that gifted man.”
“Look upon that man as a God who divineth with certitude that which is in the heart.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
அகத்தது ஐயப்படாஅது உணர்வானை= ஒருவன் மனத்தின்கண்நிகழ்வதனை ஐயப்படாது ஒருதலையாக உணரவல்லானை; தெய்வத்தோடு ஒப்பக் கொளல்= மகனே ஆயினும், தெய்வத்தோடு ஒப்ப நன்கு மதிக்க.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar says that one who can discern without doubt what is occurring in another's mind should be honoured as equal to the divine, even when that perceptive person is one's own son or otherwise socially junior.