Kural #554
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Tamil text
கூழுங் குடியும் ஒருங்கிழக்கும்
கோல்கோடிச் சூழாது செய்யும் அரசு
Kūḻuṅ kuṭiyum oruṅkiḻakkum
Kōlkōṭic cūḻātu ceyyum aracu
English translation
A king who rules unjustly without deliberation will lose both his wealth and his subjects at once.
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Explanation
This kural warns of the dual loss from tyranny: கூழ் (wealth/food) and குடி (subjects/people). When the scepter bends from justice (கோல்கோடி), both economic prosperity and population flee. An unjust ruler destroys everything simultaneously.
விளக்கம்
கொடுங்கோல் ஆட்சி செய்யும் அரசன், ஆலோசனை இல்லாமல் செயல்பட்டால், செல்வத்தையும் மக்களையும் ஒருசேர இழப்பான். நியாயமற்ற ஆட்சி, நாட்டை வறுமையில் தள்ளி, குடிமக்களை விரட்டிவிடும். சிந்தித்து செயல்படாத அரசு அழிவை தரும்.
Word meanings
- கூழ்kūḻwealth/food/prosperity
- குடிkuṭisubjects/people
- ஒருங்குoruṅkutogether/at once
- இழக்கும்iḻakkumwill lose
- கோல்kōlscepter/rule
- கோடிkōṭibending/deviating
- சூழாதுcūḻātuwithout deliberation
- அரசுaracuking/government
Story behind this kural
In a valley nestled between towering peaks, lived King Alaric. He ruled with an iron fist, his decrees swift and often cruel. Taxes soared, and the granaries emptied to fill his coffers. The villagers, once prosperous farmers, grew thin and weary. One harsh winter, the King demanded an exorbitant levy of grain. The farmers pleaded, their children already hungry. Alaric scoffed, dismissing their pleas as weakness. He seized their stores, leaving the people with nothing. That night, a blizzard descended, burying the valley in snow. Without food, many villagers perished. Those who survived, weakened and bitter, began to flee, seeking refuge elsewhere. The King, surrounded by empty halls and an empty treasury, was left alone in his icy kingdom. He had wealth, but no one to share it with, and soon, nothing to rule.