The Dread of Begging
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teṇṇīr aṭupuṟkai yāyiṉun tāṭanta / tuṇṇali ṉūṅkiṉiya til.
Even if what your own effort brought is gruel as thin as clear water, there is nothing sweeter than eating it.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Nothing is sweeter than to taste the toil-won cheer, / Though mess of pottage as tasteless as the water clear.”
“Though it is only gruel thin as water, nothing is more savoury than the food that is earned by the labour of one’s hands.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
தாள் தந்தது தெண்ணீர் அடுபுற்கை ஆயினும்= நெறியாய முயற்சி கொடுவந்து தந்தது தெளிந்த நீர்போலும் அடுபுற்கையே ஆயினும்; உண்ணலின் ஊங்கு இனியது இல்= அதனை உண்டற்குமேல் இனியது இல்லை.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Even if what effort brought and handed over is gruel like clear water, nothing is sweeter than eating it. (Parimelazhagar's நெறியாய makes that effort one that keeps to the right way.)