Assessing Enmity
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pakaiyeṉṉum paṇpi lataṉai yoruva / ṉakaiyēyum vēṇṭaṟpāṟ ṟaṉṟu.
Hostility has no good quality; one should not desire it even in play.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“For Hate, that ill-conditioned thing not e'en in jest. / Let any evil longing rule your breast.”
“The accursed thing called enmity should never be courted willingly even though it be only in jest.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
பகை என்னும் பண்புஇலதனை= பகை என்று சொல்லப்படும் தீமை பயப்பதனை; ஒருவன் நகையேயும் வேண்டற்பாற்று அன்று= ஒருவன் விளையாட்டின்கண்ணே ஆயினும் விரும்புதல் இயற்கைத்தன்று நீதிநூல்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar calls hostility a thing without goodness because it produces harm. Therefore, it is not fitting in a just discipline to desire it even as play. Competition, humour, and principled disagreement are not forbidden; the warning concerns turning them into cultivated enmity.