The Conduct of Affairs
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viṉaiyāṉ viṉaiyākkik kōṭa ṉaṉaikavuḷ / yāṉaiyāl yāṉaiyāt taṟṟu.
“By one thing done you reach a second work's accomplishment; / So furious elephant to snare its fellow brute is sent.”
“Men decoy one elephant by means of another: even so make one enterprise the means of achieving a second.”
Use one undertaking to bring another undertaking to completion, like binding one elephant by means of another elephant.
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Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
வினையான் வினை ஆக்கிக் கோடல்= செய்கின்ற வினையாலே அன்னது பிறிதும் ஓர் வினையை முடித்துக் கொள்க; நனை கவுள் யானையால் யானை யாத்தற்று= அது மதத்தான் நனைந்த கபோலத்தினையுடைய யானையாலே அன்னது பிறிதுமோர் யானையைப் பிணித்ததனோடு ஒக்கும்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Accomplishing a secondary undertaking through the momentum of a primary action is like capturing a wild elephant by using a trained elephant.