Tirukkural Chapter 88 - Couplets 1,2,3 Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

திருக்குறள் -TIRUKKURAL
அதிகாரம் 88 - பகைத்திறம் தெரிதல்.
CHAPTER 88 - KNOWING ENEMIES' STRENGTH
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88/01. பகையென்னும் பண்பி லதனை ஒருவன்
நகையேயும் வேண்டற்பாற்று அன்று.

88/01.Pagaiyennum pannbi ladhanai oruvan
Nagaiyeyum venndarrpaatrru andrru.

88/01. The enmity is not good and even for a joke
one should not desire for it.
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Jignesh: How enmity arises in this world of peace?

Mangal: How the enmity arises?
One has more wealth, another has less,
The less man envies the more man
And starts fighting with more man.

One loves a pretty girl
Another loves the same girl
Then the enmity comes
In between two of them

A big country wants
Small countries to submit
Their freedom at its feet,
As their powerful boss.
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88/02. வில்லேர் உழவர் பகைகொளினும் கொள்ளற்க
சொல்லேர் உழவர் பகை.

88/02. Villaer uzhavar paghaikollinum kollarrka
Sollaer uzhavar paghai.

88/02. Even if one becomes an enemy of a soldier fighting with his bow,
he should not become an enemy of popular scholars.
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Jignesh: That is the reason why elders say,
"Pen is mightier than sword."

Mangal: With his sword, a warrior fights,
While blood sheds in the war fields;
With his pen, a scholar writes,
And the love of the people he wins.

Where more deaths are involved,
Is warriors' bloodshed is good?
Or, where happy lives are involved,
The writers' pen is good?

The pens dipped in inks
Writes the lovely letters,
While the swords cutting heads
Pours the warriors' bloods.

Which one is good,
You please decide.
Why then the wars,
And not the peace?
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88/03. ஏமுற்ற வரினும் ஏழை தமியனாய்ப்
பல்லார் பகைகொள் பவன்.

88/03. Aemutrra varinum aezhai thamiyanaaip
Pallaar paghaikoll bhavan.

88/03. Without the help of relatives and friends,
if he has alone become an enemy to all,
he's considered to be a fool, worst than a mad man.
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Jignesh: It is unimaginable that a fool
Of this type lives anywhere in the world.

Mangal: With no relatives or friends,
Standing alone before enemies,
He's that type of a person,
Worst than a mad man.

One must have good relatives,
And also good friends,
Who'll help him to fight
His enemy on the spot.

Otherwise, standing alone
He cannot fight and win
But will be a loser all the time
As none will care for him.
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