Abstaining from Anger
Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
cellā viṭattuc ciṉantītu celliṭattu / millataṉiṟ ṟīya piṟa
“Where power is none to wreak thy wrath, wrath importent is ill; / Where thou hast power thy will to work, 'tis greater, evil still.”
“It is wrong to get angry even when thou art helpless to strike: and when thou hast the power, there is nothing that is worse than anger.”
Anger where it cannot strike is harmful to the angry person; where it can strike, no evil is worse than using that power in anger.
Ask about this Kural
Answers are drawn only from this Kural's sourced text and named commentary, and always cite what they used.
Choose a section
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
சினம் செல்லா இடத்துத் தீது= ஒருவன் வெகுளி தன்னின் வலியார்மேல் எழின் தனக்கே தீதாம்; செல் இடத்தும் அதனின் தீய பிற இல்= மற்றை எளியார்மேல் எழினும் அதனின் தீயன பிற இல்லை.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
To indulge anger where one has no power to strike brings only harm to oneself; even where it can strike, there is no greater evil than yielding to it.