Tirukkural Chapter 23 - Couplets 7,8,9,10 Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

திருக்குறள் -THIRUKKURAL
அதிகாரம் 23 - ஈகை
CHAPTER 23 - ON LIBERALITY
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23/07. பாத்தூண் மரீஇ யவனைப் பசிஎன்னும்
தீப்பிணி தீண்டல் அரிது.

23/07. Paathuunn maree yavaanaip pasiennum
Theeppanni theenndal aridhu.

23/07. A man's habit of sharing his food with others
Will not bother him with hunger.
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Disciple: Why one should share his food with others?

Guru: In the bygone days
The daily custom was
To watch at the gate
For a hungry guest.

After giving him food,
A family took food.
So, it was a habit,
A thing of the past.

Hunger knows no one,
A rich or poor person,
But it gives its pain,
No matter, to everyone.

In plenty, Mother Earth gives,
But some traders hoard grains,
That helps a rich man to gain,
And poor to undergo hunger-pain.
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23/08. ஈத்துவக்கும் இன்பம் அறியார்கொல்? தாம்உடைமை
வைத்திழக்கும் வன்க ணவர்.

23/08. Eeththuvakkum inbam arriyaarkol? Thaamudaimai
Vaithizhakkum vanga nnavar.

23/08. A heartless man had lost his hard earned money.
Had he given it to poor he would have seen their smiles.
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Disciple: One prefer to lose his money
Rather than helping poor people.

Guru: A rich wants to be richer,
With no help to the poor,
And when he loses his money
He behaves in a manner funny.

A rich man was betting daily
All his hard earned money
On horse races, but was losing
All his money, and not gaining.

He regretted, instead of horse races,
He would have seen happy faces,
Had he given those money lost
To the suffering poor at last.
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23/09. இரத்தலின் இன்னாது மன்ற நிரப்பிய
தாமே தமியர் உணல்.

23/09. Iraththalin innaadhu manrra nirappiya
Thaame thamiyar unnal.

23/09. One who eats his self-earned food, without sharing it with others,
Will suffer hardship, as it is worst than begging food from others.
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Disciple: One should share his food with others.

Guru: He should share his food,
With others for his own good,
Otherwise, he'll suffer hardship
In his life with no outside help.

If he has bread, just four slices,
He can offer two slices
To a hungry person,
Who's really starving then.

The hunger is common to all,
Whether it is man or animal,
Or any living beings on earth.
They eat to escape from death.
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23/10. சாதலின் இன்னாதது இல்லை; இனிததூஉம்
ஈதல் இயையாக் கடை.

23/10. Saadhalin innaadhathu illai; inidhadhuum
Eedhal iyaiyaak kadai.

23/10. There is no hardship, worse than death,
For a man denied of that joy of helping others.
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Disciple: Will anyone know what joy of giving is?

Guru: The joy of giving is an art,
One should fully learn it.
If he wants to live happily
With no help coming forth easily.

With honor, one is born to live.
When it's lost, better to die,
That is what, elders say,
Not die of hunger, they say.

Hunger death tells upon
The society of ruling men
Who fails to save the poor
From starvation forever.
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