Poverty
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iṉmaiyi ṉiṉṉāta tiyāteṉi ṉiṉmaiyi / ṉiṉmaiyē yiṉṉā tatu.
If you ask what is harder to bear than want, it is want alone.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“You ask what sharper pain than poverty is known; / Nothing pains more than poverty, save poverty alone.”
“Wantest thou to know what is more galling than indigence? then know that indigence alone is more galling than indigence.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
இன்மையின் இன்னாதது யாது எனின்= ஒருவனுக்கு வறுமைபோல இன்னாதது யாது என்று வினவின்; இன்மையின் இன்னாதது இன்மையே= வறுமைபோல இன்னாதது வறுமையே பிறிதில்லை.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
If you ask what is as hard on a person as want — nothing is as hard as want except want itself.