The Praise of God
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kōḷil poṟiyiṉ kuṇamilavē eṇkuṇattāṉ / thāḷai vaṇaṅgāth thalai
“Before His foot, 'the Eight-fold Excellence,' with unbent head, who stands, like palsied sense, is to all living functions dead.”
“Worthless indeed like the organs of sense which do not perceive is the head that boweth not at the feet of Him who is endowed with the eight attributes.”
Like sense organs that lack perception, heads that do not bow before the Possessor of Eightfold Qualities are devoid of purpose.
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Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
கோள் இல் பொறியின் குணம் இல = தத்தமக்கு ஏற்ற புலன்களைக் கொள்கையில்லாத பொறிகள் போலப் பயன்படுதலை உடையவல்ல; எண்குணத்தான் தாளை வணங்காத் தலை = எண்வகைப்பட்ட குணங்களை உடையானது தாள்களை வணங்காத தலைகள் (பயனில).
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains that just as sense organs that fail to perceive their proper objects are utterly useless, human heads that do not bow before the Divine possessing the eight transcendent perfections are devoid of true function. Intellectual capacity without ethical reverence is as lifeless as a paralyzed limb.