Gratitude
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payaṉtūkkār seyta utavi nayaṉtūkkiṉ / naṉmai kaṭaliṉ peritu
“Kindness shown by those who weigh not what the return may be: / When you ponder right its merit, 'T is vaster than the sea.”
“Behold the kindness done without thought of recompense: it is mightier than the ocean.”
When you truly weigh the goodwill of those who helped you without once asking what they would get back, it runs deeper than the sea.
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Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
பயன் தூக்கார் செய்த உதவி நயன் தூக்கின் = இவர்க்கு இது செய்தால் இன்னது பயக்கும் என்று ஆராய்தல் இலராய்ச் செய்த உதவியாகிய ஈரம் உடைமையை ஆராயின்; நன்மை கடலிற் பெரிது = அதன் நன்மை கடலினும் பெரிதாம்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Weigh the kindness of those who helped without ever calculating 'what will I get back from this?' — that pure, return-blind goodwill, when you measure it truly, is greater than the sea.