The Assertion of the Strength of Virtue
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aṟattiṉūuṅgu ākkamum illai adhaṉai / maṟattaliṉ ūṅgillai kēḍu
“No greater gain than virtue aught can cause; No greater loss than life oblivious of her laws.”
“There is no greater good than Righteousness, nor no greater ill than the forgetting of it.”
There is no greater gain than the practice of virtue, and no greater ruin than forgetting it.
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Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
அறத்தின் ஊங்கு ஆக்கமும் இல்லை = ஒருவனுக்கு அறம் செய்தலின் மேற்பட்ட ஆக்கமும் இல்லை; அதனை மறத்தலின் ஊங்கு இல்லை கேடு = அதனை மயக்கத்தான் மறத்தலின் மேற்பட்ட கேடும் இல்லை. (அது செய்யாவழிக் கேடு வருதல் கூறப்பட்டது.)
Source: Tamil Wikisource
There is no greater gain for a human being than the steadfast practice of virtue; likewise, there is no ruin more disastrous than forgetting it through delusion or neglect.