Abstaining from Flesh
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tiṉaṟporuṭṭāṟ kollā tulakeṉiṉ yārum / vilaipporuṭṭā lūṉṟaruvā ril
“'We eat the slain,' you say, by us no living creatures die; / Who'd kill and sell, I pray, if none came there the flesh to buy?”
“If the world desireth not meat for eating, there will be none to offer it for sale.”
If the world did not kill for the purpose of eating, no one would supply flesh for the purpose of receiving a price.
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Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
தினல்பொருட்டால் = பேதைமை காரணமாக அல்லது, ஊன் தின்கை காரணமாக; உலகு கொல்லாது எனின்= உலகம் கொல்லாதாயின்; விலைப் பொருட்டால் ஊன் தருவார் யாரும் இல்= பொருள் காரணமாக ஊன் விற்பார் யாவரும் இல்லை.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
If people in the world did not kill animals to satisfy their appetite for meat, no merchant would slaughter creatures to sell flesh for money; it is the eater's demand that sustains the trade of killing.