Thirukkural · அறத்துப்பால் · புறங்கூறாமை

Thirukkural 185

Chapter 19: புறங்கூறாமை (Not Backbiting) · Virtue

Kural 185

அறஞ்சொல்லும் நெஞ்சத்தான் அன்மை புறஞ்சொல்லும்
புன்மையாற் காணப் படும்.

Aranjollum Nenjaththaan Anmai Puranjollum
Punmaiyaar Kaanap Patum

The slanderous meanness that an absent friend defames,'This man in words owns virtue, not in heart,' proclaims

Meaning

The emptiness of that man's mind who (merely) praises virtue will be seen from the meanness of reviling another behind his back.

Plain English meaning from the 19th-century prose translation by W. H. Drew and John Lazarus. The verse above is G. U. Pope's translation (1886).

Other kurals in புறங்கூறாமை

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