Military Spirit
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iḻaitta tikavāmaic cāvārai yārē / piḻaitta toṟukkiṟ pavar.
Who could reproach as failures the warriors who die rather than depart from the vow they had made?
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Who says they err, and visits them scorn, / Who die and faithful guard the vow they've sworn?”
“Who hath the right to blame the men who lose their lives in the attempt to accomplish that which they have undertaken?”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
இழைத்தது இகவாமைச் சாவார்= தாம் கூறின வஞ்சினம் தப்பாமற் பொருட்டுச் சென்று சாவவல்ல வீரரை; பிழைத்தது ஒறுக்கிற்பவர் யாரே= அது தப்பியவாறு சொல்லி எள்ளுதற்கு உரியார் யாவர்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar reads the line as a rhetorical vindication of warriors able to go forth and die so that the martial vow they declared does not fail. Who would have standing to mock them by saying that undertaking had failed?