Friendship
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ceyaṟkariya yāvuḷa naṭpi ṉatupōl / viṉaikkariya yāvuḷa kāppu.
What is as difficult to form as true friendship? Once formed, what other protection is as difficult for hostile action to penetrate?
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“What so hard for men to gain as friendship true? / What so sure defence 'gainst all that foe can do?”
“What is there in the world that is so difficult to acquire as friendship? and what other armour equalleth it as a defence against the machinations of foes?”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
நட்பின் செயற்கு அரிய யா உள= நட்புப்போலச்செய்துகோடற்கு அரிய பொருள்கள் யாவை உள; அதுபோல் வினைக்கு அரிய காப்பு யா உள= செய்துகொண்டால் அதுபோலப் பகைவர் செய்யும் வினைக்குப் புகற்கரிய காவலாவன யாவை உள?
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar asks two linked questions: what is as difficult to establish as friendship, and once established, what protection is as hard for an enemy's action to penetrate? The first concerns formation; the second, defence.