Gambling
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iḻattoṟūuṅ kātalikkuñ cūtēpōṟ ṟuṉpa / muḻattoṟūuṅ kātaṟ ṟuyir.
Just as the gambler comes to love gambling more each time he loses by it, so the life within holds its love for the body more each time it suffers through it.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Howe'er he lose, the gambler's heart is ever in the play; / E'en so the soul, despite its griefs, would live on earth alway.”
“The passion for gambling increaseth with the losses incurred in the bettings: even so doth the craving of the soul for life grow with the griefs that it suffereth therein.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
இழத்தொறூஉம் காதலிக்கும் சூதேபோல்= சூதாடலான் இருமைப் பயன்களையும் இழக்கும்தோறும் அதன்மேல் காதல்செய்யும் சூதன்போல; துன்பம் உழத்தொறூஉம் காதற்று உயிர்= உடம்பான் மூவகைத் துன்பங்களையும் அனுபவிக்கும்தோறும் அதன்மேற் காதலை உடைத்து உயிர்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Just as love for gambling grows with every loss, so life's love for the body grows with every suffering the body brings. (That what is lost is the good of both worlds, and that the suffering arrives by way of the body, are Parimelazhagar's additions.)