Greatness
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perumai yuṭaiyava rāṟṟuvā rāṟṟi / ṉarumai yuṭaiya ceyal.
Those who possess greatness are able to carry through, by the very way of doing them, the deeds that are hard and rare — and the commentary adds: even when their own means are poor.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“The man endowed with greatness true, / Rare deeds in perfect wise will do.”
“Those that are great have the puissance to employ adequate means and achieve things that are impossible for others.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
பெருமை உடையவர்= அவ்வாற்றான் பெருமையுடையர் ஆயினார்; அருமை உடைய செயல் ஆற்றின் ஆற்றுவார்= தாம் வறியராயவழியும், பிறரான் செய்தற்கு அரியவாய தம் செயல்களை விடாது அவை செய்யும் நெறியான் கடைபோகச் செய்தலை வல்லராவர்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Those who possess greatness are able to carry through, by the very way of doing them, the deeds that are hard and rare. (That this holds even when their own means have shrunk is Parimelazhagar's addition.)