The Possession of Self-control
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orumaiyuḷ āmaipōl aintaṭakkal āṟṟiṉ / eḻumaiyum ēmāp puṭaittu
Draw in the five senses as a tortoise draws in its limbs, and that strength shelters you across all your lives.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Like tortoise, who the five restrains / In one, through seven world bliss obtains.”
“Behold the man who can draw into himself his five senses even as the tortoise doth its limbs: he hath laid up for himself a treasure for all his future births.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
ஆமைபோல் ஒருமையுள் ஐந்து அடக்கல் ஆற்றின் = ஆமைபோல ஒருவன் ஒரு பிறப்பின்கண் ஐம்பொறிகளையும் அடக்க வல்லன் ஆயின்; எழுமையும் ஏமாப்பு உடைத்து = அவ்வன்மை அவனுக்கு எழுபிறப்பின்கண்ணும் அரண் ஆதலை உடைத்து.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
If a person can draw in all five senses in a single life as a tortoise draws its limbs into its shell, that mastery becomes a protection for him across all seven of his lives. What you discipline once guards you long after.