Kural #278
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Tamil text
மனத்தது மாசாக மாண்டார் நீராடி
மறைந்தொழுகு மாந்தர் பலர்
Maṉattatu mācāka māṇṭār nīrāṭi
Maṟaintoḻuku māntar palar
English translation
Many are those who bathe in sacred waters while having impurity in their minds, living in secret sin.
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Explanation
External ritual purification is meaningless when the mind remains impure. Many people perform religious bathing while harboring sinful thoughts and living secret lives of wrongdoing. True purity must be internal.
விளக்கம்
மனதில் அழுக்கு வைத்துக்கொண்டு, புனித நீரில் குளித்து பாவங்களை மறைக்க நினைப்போர் பலர். கூடாவொழுக்கம் அதிகாரத்தில், உள்ளத்தூய்மையே முக்கியம் என்பதை வள்ளுவர் கூறுகிறார். வெளித் தோற்றம் முக்கியமில்லை, மனசாட்சியே பிரதானம்.
Word meanings
- மனத்ததுmaṉattatuin the mind
- மாசுmācuimpurity
- ஆகākabeing
- மாண்டார்māṇṭārhonored/sacred
- நீர்nīrwater
- ஆடிāṭibathing
- மறைந்துmaṟaintuin secret
- ஒழுகும்oḻukumliving/behaving
- மாந்தர்māntarpeople
- பலர்palarmany
Story behind this kural
The villagers of Eldoria held a sacred spring in high regard. It was said the water possessed the power to wash away sins, and each morning, many came to bathe. Among them was Elara, a woman known for her kindness. She always helped those in need and spoke with a gentle heart. However, there was also Theron, a wealthy merchant. He, too, visited the spring daily. He would emerge, dripping and cleansed, yet his mind was a tangled knot of greed. He cheated his customers, hoarded his wealth, and gossiped maliciously. One day, Elara found Theron weeping by the spring. "My heart is heavy," he confessed, "I still feel the weight of my wrongdoings, even after bathing." Elara gently smiled, "Perhaps, true cleansing requires more than just the water." She then went to help a poor villager. Theron watched her, and for the first time, he felt truly unclean.