Tirukural – Chapter 55
Chapter 55: Just Reign
Verse 547
A king is meeting with his subjects and, as the balance scales above him show, he is thoughtfully working to be fair and just to all sides.
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Weaver’s Wisdom
Verse 541
Investigate well, show favor to none, maintain impartiality,
consult the law, then give judgment–that is the way of justice.
Verse 542
All the world looks to the rain cloud for sustenance.
All the people look to the king’s scepter for protection.
Verse 543
Even the Vedas of the brahmins and all dharma therein
rely on the sovereign’s sturdy staff for sustenance.
Verse 544
The world embraces the feet of a great kingdom’s monarch
who lovingly embraces subjects under his justice-wielding scepter.
Verse 545
Rain and rich harvests arise together
in a country whose sovereign ruler raises his rod lawfully.
Verse 546
Victory is not won by the lance,
but by the king’s scepter, provided it is not crooked.
Verse 547
The potentate protects the whole world,
and Justice protects him if he does not stray from Her.
Verse 548
An inaccessible ruler who listens and adjudicates inattentively
will inevitably plummet from power and perish.
Verse 549
No fault befalls a king who, in guarding and caring for his subjects,
punishes wrongdoers–for that is his duty.
Verse 550
A ruler’s punishing cruel criminals by execution
is like a gardener’s removing weeds from his garden.
One Response to “Tirukural – Chapter 55”
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September 26th, 2021 at 9:51 pm
“AUM”!.