Wealth Without Benefit
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eccameṉ ṟeṉṉeṇṇuṅ kollō voruvarā / ṉaccap paṭāa tavaṉ.
What does he reckon on as his remainder — a man not wanted by even one person?
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Whom no one loves, when he shall pass away, / What doth he look to leave behind, I pray?”
“The man who careth not to earn the attachment of his neighbours, what doth he hope to leave behind him when he is dead?”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
ஒருவரால் நச்சப்படாஅதவன்= ஒரு பொருளும் ஈந்தறியாமையின் ஒருவராலும் நச்சப்படுதல் இல்லாதவன்; எச்சம் என்று என் எண்ணுங்கொல்= தான் இறந்தவழி ஈண்டு ஒழிந்து நிற்பதாக யாதனைக் கருதுமோ?
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Because he has never known giving any thing to anyone, nobody looks to him with wanting. What, then, does he reckon will be left standing here after his death? Parimelazhagar reads the couplet as a question and does not answer it, and neither does the verse. The reason clause is his: ஒரு பொருளும் ஈந்தறியாமையின், from never having given anything at all.