False Conduct
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maḻittalu nīṭṭalum vēṇṭā vulakam / paḻitta toḻittu viṭiṉ
“What's the worth of shaven head or tresses long, / If you shun what all the world condemns as wrong?”
“Neither matted hair thou wantest nor shaven head, if thou abstain from that which the world contemneth.”
Neither shaving the head nor growing matted hair is necessary if one gives up the conduct that the morally discerning world condemns.
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Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
மழிததலும் நீட்டலும் வேண்டா= தவஞ் செய்வார்க்குத் தலைமயிரை மழித்தலுஞ் சடையாக்கலுமாகிய வேடமும் வேண்டா; உலகம் பழித்தது ஒழித்து விடின்= உயர்ந்தோர் தவத்திற்கு ஆகாது என்று குற்றங் கூறிய ஒழுக்கத்தைக் கடிந்துவிடின்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Neither shaving the head bare nor cultivating matted locks is necessary for a virtuous life, if one simply renounces the shameful conduct that the discerning world condemns.