Not Offending the Great and Powerful
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āṟṟuvā rāṟṟa likaḻāmai pōṟṟuvār / pōṟṟalu ḷellān talai.
Not scorning the capability of those who can carry undertakings through is foremost among all the safeguards of people who protect themselves.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“The chiefest care of those who guard themselves from ill, / Is not to slight the powers of those who work their mighty will.”
“The greatest care of a man that looketh to his safety should be to guard himself carefully from offending the Great Ones.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
ஆற்றுவார் ஆற்றல் இகழாமை= எடுத்துக்கொண்டன யாவும் முடிக்கவல்லாருடைய ஆற்றல்களை அவமதியாமை; போற்றுவார் போற்றலுள் எல்லாம் தலை= தங்களுக்குத் தீங்கு வாராமற் காப்பார் செய்யும் காவல்கள் எல்லாவற்றினும் மிக்கது.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains that people who can finish whatever they undertake possess a capability that should not be treated with contempt. For those seeking to keep harm from reaching themselves, this is the foremost of all safeguards. Respecting capability does not make its possessor morally infallible or beyond question; the direct claim is about the prudence of not dismissing demonstrated power to accomplish.