Poverty
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tuppura villār tuvarat tuṟavāmai / yuppiṟkuṅ kāṭikkuṅ kūṟṟu.
“Unless the destitute will utterly themselves deny, / They cause their neighbour's salt and vinegar to die.”
Editors' note: the neighbour is Parimelazhagar's supplement, பிறர் இல்லன் உளவாய, not the couplet's; and the Tamil predicates கூற்று of an omission rather than making people the agents of it.
“The one way open to the indigent is to renounce utterly, their lives: their not doing so is but death to salt and rice-water.”
Editors' note: 'their lives' is Aiyar's. The couplet has no word for life, and neither does Parimelazhagar, whose துறத்தல் is the renunciation of consumable goods — நுகரப்படும் பொருள்கள். Nothing in these two lines says what is to be renounced.
Those with nothing who refuse to renounce the world become a destructive drain on others' humble salt and broth.
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Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
துப்புரவு இல்லார் துவரத் துறவாமை= நுகரப்படும் பொருள்கள் இல்லாதார் தம்மாற் செயற்பாலது முற்றத் துறத்தலேயாகவும் அது செய்யாது ஒழிதல்; உப்பிற்கும் காடிக்கும் கூற்று= பிறர் இல்லன் உளவாய உப்பிற்கும் காடிக்கும் கூற்றாம்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Those who possess nothing left to live upon, yet refuse to renounce worldly life and embrace asceticism, end up merely becoming a fatal burden on the salt and sour broth of other households.
This verse is in tension
AI draft · pending scholar review