Not Backbiting
Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
aṟaṉaḻīi allavai seytaliṉ tītē / puṟaṉaḻīip poyttu nakai
“Than he who virtue scorns, and evil deeds performs, more vile, / Is he that slanders friend, then meets him with false smile.”
“It is wrong to turn away from good and do evil: but it is far worse to smile before and vilify behind.”
To deny that virtue exists and then do evil is bad; but to smile to a person's face and tear them down behind their back is worse.
Choose a section
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
அறன் அழீஇ அல்லவை செய்தலின் தீதே = அறன் என்பது ஒன்று இல்லை என அழித்துச் சொல்லி அதன்மேற் பாவங்களைச் செய்தலினும் தீமை உடைத்து; புறன் அழீஇப் பொய்த்து நகை = ஒருவனைக் காணாத வழி இகழ்ந்துரையால் அழித்துச் சொல்லிக் கண்டவழி அவனோடு பொய்த்து நகுதல்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Denying that virtue exists and openly doing evil is bad — but smiling to someone's face while tearing them apart behind their back is worse still. Two-faced slander outranks even open wrongdoing in wickedness.
Ask about this Kural
Answers are drawn only from this Kural's sourced text and named commentary, and always cite what they used.