Poverty
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iṉmai yeṉavoru pāvi maṟumaiyu / mimmaiyu miṉṟi varum.
There is a sinner whose name is want, and it comes leaving neither the world to come nor this one.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Malefactor matchless! poverty destroys / This world's and the next world's joys.”
“Caitiff Indigence is an enemy to the joys of this life as well as of the next.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
இன்மை என ஒரு பாவி= வறுமை என்று சொல்லப்படுவதொரு பாவி; மறுமையும் இம்மையும் இன்றி வரும்= ஒருவனுழை வருங்கால், அவனுக்கு மறுமை இன்பமும், இம்மையின்பமும் இல்லையாக வரும்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Want is a wretch of a thing. When it comes to a person, both the happiness of this life and the happiness of the next are gone.