Military Spirit
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cuḻalu micaivēṇṭi vēṇṭā vuyirār / kaḻalyāppuk kārikai nīrttu.
For warriors who seek fame that circles the world and do not desire life, fastening the heroic anklet possesses fitting beauty.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Who seek for world-wide fame, regardless of their life, / The glorious clasp adorns, sign of heroic strife.”
“Behold the men that care not for their lives but yearn for the fame that encompasseth the earth about: the anklet that they wear round their foot is a very feast to the eye.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
சுழலும் இசை வேண்டி வேண்டா உயிரார்= துறக்கத்துத் தம்மொடு செல்லாது, வையத்தைச் சூழ்ந்து நிற்கும் புகழைவேண்டி உயிர் வாழ்தலை வேண்டாத வீரர்; கழல் யாப்புக் காரிகை நீர்த்து= கழல் கட்டுதல் அலங்கார நீர்மையை உடைத்து.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains that warriors desire fame which does not accompany them beyond death but remains circulating through the inhabited world, and they do not desire continued life. For such warriors, fastening the heroic anklet has the beauty of fitting adornment. This is ancient martial praise, not modern counsel to seek death or suicide.