The Character of Enmity
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kāṇāc ciṉattāṉ kaḻiperuṅ kāmattāṉ / pēṇāmai pēṇap paṭum.
Hostility toward one blinded by rage and possessed by ever-growing desire will be eagerly chosen.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Blind in his rage, his lustful passions rage and swell; / If such a man mislikes you, like it well.”
“Behold the prince who is a slave to his lust and who loseth his reason in the blindness of rage: his enmity will be welcomed by his foes.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
காணாச் சினத்தான்= தன்னையும் பிறரையும் தான் அறியாமைக்கு ஏதுவாகிய வெகுளியை உடையான் யாவன்; கழிபெருங் காமத்தான்= மேன்மேல் வளராநின்ற மிக்க காமத்தை உடையவன் யாவன்; பேணாமை பேணப்படும்= அவரது பகைமை விரும்பிக் கொள்ளப்படும்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains that hostility toward one whose rage prevents awareness of self and others, and whose excessive desire keeps growing, will be willingly embraced by opponents.