Poverty
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aṟañcārā nalkura vīṉṟatā yāṉum / piṟaṉpōla nōkkap paṭum.
A person whose want is not joined with right conduct is looked upon, even by the mother who bore them, as one looks upon someone not one's own.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“From indigence devoid of virtue's grace, / The mother e'en that bare, estranged, will turn her face.”
“The poverty that is divorced from virtue will estrange even the mother that bore him from the side of the miserable wretch.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
அறம் சாரா நல்குரவு= அறத்தோடு இயைபில்லாத நல்குரவு உடையான்; ஈன்ற தாயானும் பிறன்போல நோக்கப்படும்= தன்னை ஈன்ற தாயானும், பிறனைக் கருதுமாறு போலக் கருதி நோக்கப்படும்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
A person in want that is not joined with right conduct is looked at even by the mother who bore him as one would look at a stranger. ('Not joined with right conduct' stands first in the couplet.)