Tirukkural Chapter 78 - Couplets 7,8,9,10 Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

திருக்குறள் -TIRUKKURAL
அதிகாரம் 78 - படைச்செருக்கு.
CHAPTER 78 - PRIDE OF THE ARMY
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78/07. சுழலும் இசைவேண்டி வேண்டா உயிரார்
கழல்யாப்புக் காரிகை நீர்த்து.

78/07. Suzhalum isaivendi vendaa uyiraar
Kazhalyaappuk kaarigai neerththu.

78/07. A warrior doesn't want a world of reputation,
but he is happy with his warrior's anklets adorning his legs.
***
Giridhar: More than his reputation in the world,
A warrior is proud of his anklets beautifying his legs.

Laxman: What more a warrior wants
He's happy with his anklets
Adorning his legs as a warrior,
Rather than his fame world over.

It is for his self satisfaction,
He fights again and again,
And not to get a name
Or in the world his fame.

Warriors have come and gone,
But their lists not yet done,
Yet, the bloods, they had spilled,
Have gone deep underground.
***
78/08. உறினுயிர் அஞ்சா மறவர் இறைவன்
செறினும்சீர் குன்றல் இலர்.

78/08. Urrinuyir anjaa marravar irraivan
Serrinumseer kundral ilar.

78/08. A warrior, with no fear for his life, goes to a war,
but when the King is not in favor of that war,
his valor will never come down.
***
Giridhar: A warrior is a warrior
Whether he is at home or in the battlefield.

Laxman: His image as a warrior
Will be shining forever,
Whether he goes for fight,
Or remains at home for rest.

This kind of warriors,
As world class fighters,
Lived in their glorious past,
And fought wars till their last.

If there are no warriors,
There exist no countries.
As they guard boundaries,
They keep safe all countries.
***
78/09. இழைத்தது இகவாமைச் சாவாரை யாரே
பிழைத்தது ஒறுக்கிற் பவர்.

78/09. Izhaiththadhu igavaamaich saavaarai yaarea
Pizhaiththadhu orrukkirr pavar.

78/09. When a warrior vows to win the war, but in the meantime he dies
who'll blame him that he has not fulfilled his vow?
***
Giridhar: When a warrior died before the end of war
He dies a martyr's death.

Laxman: He died fighting in the war.
How he is responsible for
Breaking his vow for victory,
When the war is not yet over?

His heroic death is one,
That can never be undone,
To fulfill his promise,
And to witness its success.

One must appreciate
His fighting spirit,
Foreseeing his death
Until his last breath.
***
78/10. புரந்தார்கண் நீர்மல்கச் சாகிற்பின் சாக்காடு
இரந்துகோள் தக்கது உடைத்து.

78/10. Purandharkann neermalgach saaghirrpin saakkadu
Irandhukoll thakkadhu udaiththu.

78/10. If the death of a warrior brings tears of gratitude to a King
that is a glorious death for him.
***
Giridhar: What more he wants when King
Sheds tears for his death?

Laxman: Nothing is more glorious
Than a King shedding tears
For the death of his warrior
While fighting in the war.

He would have received,
If he was alive, an award
In the form of a land
To live on it till his end.

Now that he's no more,
A wreath made of flower
Adorns his grave pit
As a mark of respect.
***
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