The Way of Building a Family Name
.
Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
iṭukkaṇkāl koṉṟiṭa vīḻu maṭuttūṉṟu / nallā ḷilāta kuṭi.
Trouble cuts through the base and down it comes: the household that has no good person to come up beside it and prop it.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“When trouble the foundation saps the house must fall, / If no strong hand be nigh to prop the tottering wall.”
“Behold the family that hath no good man to prop it up: calamities will gnaw into its roots and it will fall to the ground.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
இடுக்கண் கால் கொன்றிட வீழும்= துன்பமாகிய நவியம் புகுந்து தன் முதலை வெட்டிச் சாய்க்க ஒரு பற்றின்றி வீழாநிற்கும்; அடுத்து ஊன்றும் நல்லாள் இலாத குடி= அக்காலத்தும் பற்றாவன கொடுத்துத் தாங்கவல்ல நல்ல ஆண்மகன் பிறவாத குடியாகிய மரம்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
When trouble comes like an axe and cuts through the base, the tree falls with nothing left holding it. The falling tree is a household that has nobody coming alongside to give what is needed and take the weight. (The tree is Parimelazhagar's image for the household.)