Not Offending the Great and Powerful
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yāṇṭucceṉ ṟiyāṇṭu muḷarākār ventuppiṉ / vēntu ceṟappaṭṭa var.
Those targeted by a king of fierce strength against enemies cannot remain anywhere, wherever they flee.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Who dare the fiery wrath of monarchs dread, / Where'er they flee, are numbered with the dead.”
“Behold the men who provoke the wrath of princes of the mighty arm: wheresoever they go they will not thrive.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
வெந்துப்பின் வேந்து செறப்பட்டவர்= பகைவர்க்கு வெய்தாய வலியினையுடைய வேந்தனாற் செறப்பட்ட அரசர்; யாண்டுச் சென்றும் யாண்டும் உளராகார்= அவனைத்தப்பி எங்கேபோய் உளராவர், ஓரிடத்தும் உளராகார்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains that rulers pursued by a king whose power is fierce toward enemies cannot escape him and remain alive or established in any place, wherever they go. This is an absolute claim about royal reach in the ancient political order; it does not say the target deserves persecution. Modern courts, asylum, protected reporting, and human-rights safeguards may interrupt such reach.