Shallow Understanding
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aṟṟa maṟaittalō pullaṟivu tamvayiṟ / kuṟṟa maṟaiyā vaḻi.
“Fools are they who their nakedness conceal, / And yet their faults unveiled reveal.”
“Where is the good of the fool covering his nakedness, if the deformities of his mind are still left uncovered?”
When internal character faults remain uncorrected, can merely covering bodily nakedness be considered true concealment? That too is shallow understanding.
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Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
தம் வயின் குற்றம் மறையா வழி= புல்லறிவாளர் தம்கண் நிகழும் குற்றங்களை அறிந்து கடியாராயின்; அற்றம் மறைத்தலோ புல்லறிவு= ஆடையால் அற்றம் மறைத்தாராகத் தம்மைக் கருதுதலும் புல்லறிவாம்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
When a person fails to recognize and eliminate internal character flaws, imagining oneself fully concealed merely by covering the body with clothes is foolishness.