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Kural #169

Virtue· அறம்Not Envying· அழுக்காறாமை

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Tamil text

அழுக்கற் றகன்றாரும் இல்லை

அஃதுஇல்லார் பெருக்கத்தில் தீர்ந்தாரும் இல்

Aḻukkaṟ ṟakaṉṟārum illai

Aḵtillār perukkattiṉ tīrntārum il

English translation

No envious person has ever prospered, and no one free from envy has ever lost their prosperity.

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Explanation

A universal law: envy and prosperity are mutually exclusive. Those with envy never flourish; those without it never decline. History has no counter-examples to this truth.

விளக்கம்

பொறாமை உள்ளவர் முன்னேறவே முடியாது. பொறாமை இல்லாதவர் செல்வம் குறையாமல் வாழ்வார். அழுக்காறாமை அதிகாரத்தில், பிறர் வளர்ச்சியை கண்டு பொறாமைப்படாமல் இருக்க வேண்டும் என்பதே நீதி. இது வாழ்க்கைக்கு முக்கியமான அறம்.

Word meanings

  • அழுக்குaḻukkuenvy
  • அற்றுaṟṟuhaving
  • அகன்றார்akaṉṟārthose who prospered
  • இல்லைillaithere is not
  • அஃதுaḵtuthat (envy)
  • இல்லார்illārthose without
  • பெருக்கத்தில்perukkattiṉfrom prosperity
  • தீர்ந்தார்tīrntārthose who declined

Story behind this kural

In a small village nestled beside a whispering river, lived two farmers, Arun and Bala. Arun toiled tirelessly, yet his crops always seemed blighted. He watched Bala, whose fields flourished under the same sun, and felt a bitter seed of envy sprout in his heart. “Why him and not me?” he’d grumble, ignoring the advice of his elders. Bala, meanwhile, found joy in every harvest, sharing his bounty with the village. When Arun’s crops failed yet again, Bala offered him seeds and help. Arun, however, refused, convinced that Bala was somehow cheating. He spent his days muttering complaints, his own land slowly turning barren. Years passed. Bala’s farm expanded, his generosity known throughout the land. Arun’s field remained desolate, his spirit as withered as his crops. The villagers, once sympathetic, eventually turned away from his constant negativity. His envy had consumed everything, leaving him with nothing.