Farming
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Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
iravā rirappārkkoṉ ṟīvar karavātu / kaiceytūṇ mālai yavar.
They ask nobody for anything, and to those who ask them they give the thing wanted, concealing nothing they have: people whose settled way is to eat by the work of their own hands.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“They nothing ask from others, but to askers give, / Who raise with their own hands the food on which they live.”
“Behold the men that eat the bread of husbandry: they will not only not beg themselves, but they will also give alms to those that beg, without ever saying nay.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
கை செய்து ஊண் மாலையவர் இரவார்= தம் கையால் உழுதுண்டலை இயல்பாக உடையார் பிறரைத் தாம் இரவார்; இரப்பார்க்கு ஒன்று கரவாது ஈவர்= தம்மை இரப்பார்க்கு அவர் வேண்டியது ஒன்றனைக் கரவாது கொடுப்பர்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Those whose way it is to work with their hands and eat from it do not ask from anybody. To those who come and ask them, they give without concealing what they have.