Honour
.
Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
talaiyi ṉiḻinta mayiraṉaiyar māntar / nilaiyi ṉiḻintak kaṭai.
People who have come down from the standing that was theirs are like the hair that has fallen away from the head.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Like hairs from off the head that fall to earth, / When fall'n from high estate are men of noble birth.”
“Behold the men that have soiled a name that was honourable: they are even as the locks of hair that have been shaven off the head and thrown away.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
மாந்தர்= குடிப்பிறந்த மாந்தர்; நிலையின் இழிந்தக் கடை= தம் உயர்ந்த நிலையை விட்டு அதனினின்றும் தாழ்ந்தவழி; தலையின் இழிந்த மயிர் அனையர்= தலையைவிட்டு அதனினின்றும் வீழ்ந்த மயிரினை ஒப்பர்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Those who have left their own high state and fallen from it are like hair fallen from the head. (Parimelazhagar narrows மாந்தர் to those born of a good family.)