Reading Unspoken Signs
Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
kūṟāmai nōkkik kuṟippaṟivā ṉeññāṉṟu / māṟānīr vaiyak kaṇi.
“Who knows the sign, and reads unuttered thought, the gem is he, / Of earth round traversed by the changeless sea.”
“Behold the man who divineth what is in the mind before the voice uttereth it: he is an ornament unto all the world.”
One who reads an unspoken intention by observing its signs is, at all times, an ornament to the world encircled by the unfailing sea.
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.
குறிப்புக் கூறாமை நோக்கி அறிவான்= அரசனால் குறித்த கருமத்தை அவன் கூறவேண்டாவகை அவன் முகத்தானும் கண்ணானும் நோக்கி அறியும் அமைச்சன்; எஞ்ஞான்றும் மாறா நீர் வையக்கு அணி= எஞ்ஞான்றும் வற்றாத நீரால் சூழப்பட்ட வையத்துள்ளார்க்கு ஓர் ஆபரணமாம்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
One who discerns another's inner intention merely by looking at their countenance without being told is an ornament to this entire sea-girt world.