Military Spirit
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kāṉa muyaleyta vampiṉil yāṉai / piḻaittavē lēnta liṉitu.
It is more worthy to bear the spear that missed an elephant than the arrow that successfully struck a woodland hare.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Who aims at elephant, though dart should fail, has greater praise. / Than he who woodland hare with winged arrow slays.”
“The javelin that is aimed at a tusker but misseth bringeth more glory than the arrow that is aimed at a hare and even hitteth.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
கான முயல் எய்த அம்பினில்= கானகத்தின்கண் ஓடும் முயலைப் பிழையாமல் எய்த அம்பை ஏந்தலினும்; யானை பிழைத்த வேல் ஏந்தல் இனிது= வெள்ளிடை நின்ற யானையை எறிந்து பிழைத்த வேலை ஏந்துதல் நன்று.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains that carrying a spear thrown at a great elephant in the open, even though it missed, is better than carrying an arrow that successfully struck a running woodland hare. The ancient comparison ranks the greatness of the attempted target above easy success.