The Way of Building a Family Name
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Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
iṭumpaikkē koḷkalaṅ kollō kuṭumpattaik / kuṟṟa maṟaippā ṉuṭampu.
The body of the one who screens their own household from every ill — is it a vessel for sorrow alone, and for nothing else at all?
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Is not his body vase that various sorrows fill, / Who would his household screen from every ill?”
“Verily, is the body of the man that would protect his family against every ill a receptacle for toils and hardships alone?”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
குடும்பத்தைக் குற்றம் மறைப்பான் உடம்பு= மூவகைத் துன்பமும் உறற்பாலதாய தன் குடியை அவை உறாமல் காக்க முயல்வானது உடம்பு; இடும்பைக்கே கொள்கலம் கொல்லோ= அம்முயற்சித் துன்பத்திற்கே கொள்கலமாம் அத்துணையோ, அஃது ஒழிந்து இன்பத்திற்காதல் இல்லையோ?
Source: Tamil Wikisource
The body of a man who works to keep every kind of trouble from reaching his household — is it a vessel for the trouble of that work and nothing else? Is none of it for happiness?