Ending Desire
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vēṇṭuṅkāl vēṇṭum piṟavāmai maṟṟatu / vēṇṭāmai vēṇṭa varum
“If desire you feel, freedom from changing birth require! / 'I' will come, if you desire to 'scape, set free from all desire.”
“If thou must needs long for anything, long for freedom from reincarnation: and that freedom shall come to thee if thou long to conquer longing.”
If one must desire, desire freedom from birth; that freedom comes when one desires freedom from desire itself.
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Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
வேண்டுங்கால் பிறவாமை வேண்டும்= பிறப்புத்துன்பமாதல் அறிந்தவன் ஒன்றை வேண்டிற் பிறவாமையை வேண்டும்; அது வேண்டாமை வேண்ட வரும்= அப்பிறவாமைதான் ஒரு பொருளையும் அவாவாமையை வேண்ட அவனுக்குத் தானேயுண்டாம்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
If a person must desire anything at all, let them desire freedom from rebirth; and that supreme release is attained only by desiring the complete cessation of desire.