Poverty
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iṉmai yeṉavoru pāvi maṟumaiyu / mimmaiyu miṉṟi varum.
“Malefactor matchless! poverty destroys / This world's and the next world's joys.”
“Caitiff Indigence is an enemy to the joys of this life as well as of the next.”
When the sinner called poverty strikes, it robs a person of happiness both in this life and the next.
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Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
இன்மை என ஒரு பாவி= வறுமை என்று சொல்லப்படுவதொரு பாவி; மறுமையும் இம்மையும் இன்றி வரும்= ஒருவனுழை வருங்கால், அவனுக்கு மறுமை இன்பமும், இம்மையின்பமும் இல்லையாக வரும்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
When that cruel sinner called poverty seizes a person, it robs them simultaneously of the joys of this earthly life and the spiritual fruits of the next.
This verse is in tension
AI draft · pending scholar review