Not Killing (By St. Thiruvalluvar) Poem by Rajendran Muthiah

321.Not to kill any being is the work of virtue;
But to kill leads to sinful deeds.
322.To share with other beings and protect them is the chief
Of all the virtues, the sages have enumerated.
323.Not to slay is an excellent virtue.
The next good thing is not to tell lies.
324.To think to protect the virtue of not slaughtering
Any being is the good way of living.
325.A noble man fearing murder and remembering the virtue
of not killing, betters the sages in dread of next birth.
326.The God of Death devours not to slit the lifetime
Of those who hold fast to non-killing.
327.Despite the risk of losing your life
Don’t do the acts of taking away the sweet life of others.
328.Though greater is the gain of doing murders,
The Wise despise the mean gain of killing.
329.Killing is the trade of human-born animals.
The Wise think of them as doers of mean, vile deeds.
330.The worst life who lead with dearth and disease eaten body
Are men, the Wise declare them as the sinners of murders