Abstaining from Intoxicants
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kaḷittaṟiyē ṉeṉpatu kaiviṭuka neñcat / toḷittatūu māṅkē mikum.
Give up the plea, ‘I was intoxicated and did not know’; for at that very time, even a fault hidden in the mind exceeds its former measure.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“No more in secret drink, and then deny thy hidden fraud; / What in thy mind lies hid shall soon be known abroad.”
“Let not the drunkard pretend, saying, I know not even what it is to be drunk: for thereby he would merely add falsehood to his other vice.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
களித்து அறியேன் என்பது கைவிடுக=மறைந்து உண்டுவைத்து யான் கள்ளுண்டு அறியேன் என்று உண்ணாதபொழுது தம் ஒழுக்கம் கூறுதலை ஒழிக; நெஞ்சத்து ஒளித்ததூஉம் ஆங்கே மிகும்= அவ்வுண்டபொழுதே, பிறர் அறியின் இழுக்காம் என்று முன் நெஞ்சத்து ஒளித்த குற்றமும், முன்னை அளவின் மிக்கு வெளிப்படுதலான்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains that a person who drank in concealment should stop saying while sober, ‘I do not know what I did when I was intoxicated.’ The reason is that a fault previously hidden in the mind for fear of disgrace becomes manifest during intoxication beyond its former measure. The commentary concerns the enlarged exposure of a pre-existing concealed fault; it does not say that every intoxicated statement is true or that absent memory proves wrongdoing. Any present-day correction should rest on conduct verified independently.