Tyrannical Rule
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maṉṉarkku maṉṉutal ceṅkōṉmai yaḵtiṉṟēṉ / maṉṉāvā maṉṉark koḷi.
“To rulers' rule stability is sceptre right; / When this is not, quenched is the rulers' light.”
“It is just rule that bringeth renown unto princes: and an unjust government darkeneth their glory.”
Just rule is what makes a ruler's fame endure; without it, royal splendour cannot last.
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Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
மன்னர்க்கு மன்னுதல் செங்கோன்மை= அரசர்க்குப் புகழ்கள்தாம் நிலைபெறுதல் செங்கோன்மையான் ஆம்; அஃது இன்றேல் மன்னர்க்கு ஒளி மன்னாவாம்= அச்செங்கோன்மை இல்லையாயின், அவர்க்கு அப்புகழ்கள்தான் உளவாகா.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
What grants enduring stability and fame to rulers is upright justice; without it, their sovereign glory will vanish and never endure.