Poverty
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aṟañcārā nalkura vīṉṟatā yāṉum / piṟaṉpōla nōkkap paṭum.
“From indigence devoid of virtue's grace, / The mother e'en that bare, estranged, will turn her face.”
“The poverty that is divorced from virtue will estrange even the mother that bore him from the side of the miserable wretch.”
One who is poor without virtue will be regarded as a stranger even by their own mother.
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Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
அறம் சாரா நல்குரவு= அறத்தோடு இயைபில்லாத நல்குரவு உடையான்; ஈன்ற தாயானும் பிறன்போல நோக்கப்படும்= தன்னை ஈன்ற தாயானும், பிறனைக் கருதுமாறு போலக் கருதி நோக்கப்படும்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
One whose poverty is coupled with a lack of moral virtue will be looked upon with cold indifference, like a stranger, even by the very mother who gave him birth.