Divisive Hostility
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ikaleṉpa vellā vuyirkkum pakaleṉṉum / paṇpiṉmai pārikku nōy.
The learned call hostility a disease that spreads among all living beings the barren quality called disunion—the inability to live in fellowship with others.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Hostility disunion's plague will bring, / That evil quality, to every living thing.”
“The spirit of defiance is the peccant humour which developpeth in all men the distemper called hate.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
எல்லா உயிர்க்கும் பகல் என்னும் பண்பு இன்மை பாரிக்கும் நோய்= எல்லா உயிர்கட்கும், பிறஉயிர்களோடு கூடாமை என்னும் தீக்குணத்தை வளர்க்கும் குற்றம்; இகல் என்ப= இகல்என்று சொல்லுவர் நூலோர்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar says the learned call ikal the fault that cultivates in all beings the harmful quality of refusing fellowship with other beings. It is not mere disagreement. It is hostility deliberately maintained until human connection and necessary cooperation become impossible. Opposing injustice, speaking truth, demanding accountability, setting protective boundaries, and leaving abuse are not condemned.