Avoiding Faults
Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
tiṉaittuṇaiyāṅ kuṟṟam variṉum paṉaittuṇaiyāk / koḷvar paḻināṇu vār
“Though small as millet-seed the fault men deem; / As palm tree vast to those who fear disgrace 'twill seem.”
“Behold the men who are jealous of their reputation: though their fault be small even like a millet seed, they look upon it as of the measure of a palmyra tree.”
Those who are ethically ashamed of blameworthy conduct regard even a millet-sized fault in themselves as though it were palm-sized.
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.
பழி நாணுவார்= பழியை அஞ்சுவார்; தினைத்துணையாம் குற்றம் வரினும் பனைத் துணையாக் கொள்வர்= தங்கண் திணையளவாம் குற்றம் வந்ததாயினும் அதனை அவ்வளவாகவன்றிப் பனையின் அளவாகக் கொள்வர்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Those who dread the shame of dishonor will regard even a millet-seed of a fault in their conduct as though it were as vast as a palmyra tree.