Wealth Without Benefit
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aṟṟārkkoṉ ṟāṟṟātāṉ celva mikanalam / peṟṟā ṭamiyaṇmūt taṟṟu.
The wealth of a man who does not do one thing for people who have nothing passes away to no purpose — like great beauty in a woman who grew old alone.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Like woman fair in lonelihood who aged grows, / Is wealth of him on needy men who nought bestows.”
“Behold the man that giveth not anything to the needy: the wealth in his hands is like a fair damsel that wasteth away her youth in loneliness.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
அற்றார்க்கு ஒன்று ஆற்றாதான் செல்வம்= ஒருபொருளும் இலர் ஆயினார்க்கு அவர் வேண்டியது ஒன்றனைக் கொடாதானது செல்வம் கொன்னே கழிதல்; மிக நலம் பெற்றாள் தமியள் மூத்தற்று= பெண்டிரின் மிக்க நலத்தினைப் பெற்றாள் ஒருத்தி, கொடுப்பார் இன்மையின் கொழுநன் இன்றித் தமியளாய் மூத்த தன்மைத்து.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
The wealth of a man who gives people with nothing not even the one thing they need is, in Parimelazhagar's phrase, கொன்னே கழிதல் — it passes away to no purpose. His comparison is to a woman who had great beauty and, because there was nobody to give her in marriage, grew old alone without a husband. That comparison belongs to a marriage economy in which women were given by others, and the assumption underneath it — that a woman's worth is measured by beauty, marriage or partnership — is one this project rejects. It is recorded here because the commentary says it, and only its structure is carried forward: a real capacity, and a use that never came.