Examining Friendship
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nāṭātu naṭṭaliṟ kēṭillai naṭṭapiṉ / vīṭillai naṭpāḷ pavarkku.
“To make an untried man your friend is ruin sure; / For friendship formed unbroken must endure.”
“There is no greater ill than making a friend without first testing him: for, once a friendship is formed, there is no giving it up for the man of heart.”
No harm compares with forming a friendship without examination; once the bond is made, a person committed to friendship has no easy release.
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Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
நட்பு ஆள்பவர்க்கு நட்டபின் வீடு இல்லை=நட்பினை விரும்பி அதன்கண்ணே நிற்பார்க்கு ஒருவனோடு நட்புச்செய்தபின் அவனை விடுதல் உண்டாகாது; நாடாது நட்டலிற் கேடு இல்லை= ஆகலான், ஆராயாது நட்புச்செய்தல்போலக் கேடு தருவது பிறிதில்லை.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
There is no greater folly than forming a friendship without careful examination; for once a bond is embraced, parting from it later brings deep pain and difficulty.