Reading Unspoken Signs
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Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
kuṟittatu kūṟāmaik koḷvārō ṭēṉai / yuṟuppō raṉaiyarāl vēṟu.
Though alike in bodily form, those who grasp an intended thought before it is spoken are different in intelligence from those who cannot.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Who reads what's shown by signs, though words unspoken be, / In form may seem as other men, in function nobler far is he.”
“The men that understand without words may have the same features with the men that do not so understand: but they form a class apart.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
குறித்தது கூறாமைக் கொள்வாரோடு= ஒருவன் மனத்துக் கருதிய அதனை அவன் கூறவேண்டாமல் அறியவல்லாரோடு; ஏனை உறுப்பு ஓரனையர்= மற்றை மாட்டாதார் உறுப்பால் ஒருதன்மையாராக ஒப்பாராயினும்; வேறு= அறிவான் வேறு.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar says that the person who understands another's intended thought before it is spoken differs in intelligence from those who cannot, although their bodily members may look alike.