Thirukkural · அறத்துப்பால் · தவம்

Thirukkural 266

Kural 266

தவஞ்செய்வார் தங்கருமஞ் செய்வார்மற் றல்லார்
அவஞ்செய்வார் ஆசையுட் பட்டு.

Thavanj Cheyvaar Thangarumanj Cheyvaarmar
Rallaar Avanjeyvaar Aasaiyut Pattu

Who works of 'penance' do, their end attain, Others in passion's net enshared, toil but in vain

Meaning

Those discharge their duty who perform austerities; all others accomplish their own destruction, through the entanglement of the desire (of riches and sensual pleasure).

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).

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