Kural #251
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Tamil text
தன்னூன் பெருக்கற்குத் தான்பிறிது ஊனுண்பான்
எங்ஙனம் ஆளும் அருள்
Taṉṉūṉ perukkarkut tāṉpiṟitu ūṇuṇpāṉ
Eṅṅaṉam āḷum aruḷ
English translation
How can one who eats the flesh of another creature to grow his own flesh, possess compassion?
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Explanation
Thiruvalluvar opens this chapter with a powerful rhetorical question. One who consumes the flesh of another being to nourish their own body cannot truly claim to have compassion (அருள்). The act of eating meat inherently contradicts the virtue of mercy.
விளக்கம்
தன் உடம்பை வளர்க்கப் பிற உயிரை உண்பவன் எப்படி கருணை உள்ளம் கொண்டவனாக இருக்க முடியும்? புலால் மறுத்தல் அதிகாரத்தில், பிற உயிர்களிடம் அன்பு காட்டாமல், தன்னலம் கருதுவது அறமாகாது என்கிறார் வள்ளுவர். இரக்கம் உள்ளவனே நல்ல மனிதன்.
Word meanings
- தன்taṉone's own
- ஊன்ūṉflesh/body
- பெருக்கற்குperukkarkuto increase/grow
- தான்tāṉoneself
- பிறிதுpiṟituanother's
- ஊன்ūṉflesh
- உண்பான்uṇpāṉone who eats
- எங்ஙனம்eṅṅaṉamhow
- ஆளும்āḷumwill possess
- அருள்aruḷcompassion/grace
Story behind this kural
In a small village nestled beside a whispering forest, lived a hunter named Arun. He was known for his skill, always returning with plump rabbits and juicy fowl. The villagers admired his ability, but also noticed a growing hardness in his eyes. One day, a young deer, separated from its mother, wandered into the village. It was weak and trembling. Arun, seeing the deer, felt a familiar pull – the desire for a fresh kill. He raised his bow. But as he looked into the deer's innocent eyes, he saw a reflection of the fear he sometimes felt, a fear of loneliness and pain. Arun lowered his bow. He brought the deer water and fed it berries. He nursed it back to health. Soon, the deer, now strong, rejoined its mother in the forest. Arun, watching them, felt a lightness he had not known before. The taste for flesh no longer called to him. He realized his strength came not from taking life, but from protecting it.