Gambling
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oṉṟeyti nūṟiḻakkuñ cūtarkku muṇṭāṅko / ṉaṉṟeyti vāḻvatō rāṟu.
For gamblers who gain one and lose a hundred, is there so much as a single road left by which they might reach what is good and live well?
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Is there for gamblers, too, that gaining one a hundred lose, some way / That they may good obtain, and see a prosperous day?”
“Behold the gamblers who lose a hundred where they gain but one: is there forsooth a way even for them to thrive in the world?”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
ஒன்று எய்தி நூறு இழக்கும் சூதர்க்கும்= அத்தூண்டிற் பொன் போன்ற ஒன்றனை முன்பெற்று இன்னும் பெறுதும் என்னும் கருத்தால் நூற்றினை இழந்து வறியராம் சூதர்க்கும்; நன்று எய்தி வாழ்வது ஓராறு உண்டாம்கொல்= பொருளால் அறனும் இன்பமும் எய்தி வாழ்வதொரு நெறியுண்டாமோ, ஆகாது.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar connects this directly to the previous couplet: having first obtained the one thing that was like the gold of the hook, and holding to the thought that more will follow, they lose a hundred and are left destitute. He then asks whether any single path remains by which such people might reach virtue and enjoyment through means, and answers it himself — there is not. Because he expands ‘what is good’ into virtue and enjoyment, what is forfeited is not only money but the road that money constituted towards both.