Medicine
.
Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
mikiṉuṅ kuṟaiyiṉu nōy ceyyu nūlōr / vaḷimutalā veṇṇiya mūṉṟu.
Whether it goes past the measure or falls short of it, the three that the treatise-holders reckoned, with wind first among them, will make disease.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“The learned books count three, with wind as first; of these, / As any one prevail, or fail; 'twill cause disease.”
“Every one of the three humours described by sages, beginning with the windy one, would cause disease whenever they go to either extreme.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
மிகினும் குறையினும்= உணவுஞ் செயல்களும் ஒருவன் பகுதிக்கொத்த அளவினவன்றி அதனின் மிகுமாயினும், குறையுமாயினும்; நூலோர் வளிமுதலா எண்ணிய மூன்றும் நோய் செய்யும்= ஆயுள்வேதம் உடையாரால் வாத முதலாக எண்ணப்பட்ட மூன்றுநோயும் அவனுக்குத் துன்பம் செய்யும்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
The three that the treatises count, beginning with wind, cause illness whether they exceed or fall short. (That what exceeds or falls short is food and activity, and that the measure is the one suited to each person's own portion, are Parimelazhagar's additions.)