Not Coveting Another's Wife
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eṉaittuṇaiyar āyiṉum eṉṉām tiṉaittuṇaiyum / tērāṉ piṟaṉil pukal
“How great soe'er they be, what gain have they of life, / Who, not a whit reflecting, seek a neighbour's wife.”
“Let a man be ever so great: what availeth it all if he committeth adultery without thinking ever so little of the shame that floweth therefrom?”
However great a man may be, what is it worth if, without weighing his fault even a little, he enters another's home?
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Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
எனைத் துணையர் ஆயினும் என்னாம் = எத்துணைப் பெருமை உடையர் ஆயினும் ஒருவர்க்கு யாதாய் முடியும்; தினைத் துணையும் தேரான் பிறன் இல் புகல் = காம மயக்கத்தால் தினையளவும் தம் பிழையை ஓராது பிறனுடைய இல்லின்கண் புகுதல்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
However great a person may be, what does that greatness come to if, in the daze of desire, they enter another's home without weighing their wrong even a grain's worth? Even the highest can fall to ruin this way.