Tirukural – Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Asserting Virtue’s Power
Verse 31
There are different virtues as we age from youth to adulthood to advanced age. The elderly woman is surrounded by family, the fruits of her virtuous life. Two devas shower flower petals from above to bless her virtue.
You can access the entire text, in Tamil and English here:
Weaver’s Wisdom
Verse 31
Virtue yields Heaven’s honor and Earth’s wealth.
What is there then that is more fruitful for a man?
Verse 32
There is nothing more rewarding than virtue,
nor anything more ruinous than its neglect.
Verse 33
Be unremitting in the doing of good deeds;
do them with all your might and by every possible means.
Verse 34
Keep the mind free of impurity. That alone is
the practice of virtue. All else is nothing but empty display.
Verse 35
Virtue is living in such a way that one does not fall
into these four: envy, anger, greed and unsavory speech.
Verse 36
Don’t tell yourself you’ll be wise enough to practice virtue tomorrow.
Do it now, for it will be your deathless companion when you die.
Verse 37
It is utterly superfluous to inquire about virtue’s benefits, so
evident in the difference between the palanquin’s rider and bearer.
Verse 38
Not allowing a day to pass without doing some good
is a boulder that will block your passage on the path to rebirth.
Verse 39
Only virtuous deeds abound in true joy.
All other deeds are empty and devoid of distinction.
Verse 40
Virtue is merely that which should be done in life,
and vice is merely that which should be avoided.
One Response to “Tirukural – Chapter 4”
From Our Gurus' Teachings
Archives are now available through 2001. Light colored days have no posts. 1998-2001 coming later.
October 5th, 2020 at 6:29 pm
“AUM”!.