Thirukkural 28 in English

No merit can be held so high As theirs who sense and self deny

To con ascetic glory here Is to count the dead upon the sphere

No lustre can with theirs compare Who know the right and virtue wear

With hook of firmness to restrain The senses five, is heaven to gain

Indra himself has cause to say How great the power ascetics' sway

The small the paths of ease pursue The great achieve things rare to do

They gain the world, who grasp and tell Of taste, sight, hearing, touch and smell

Their wrath, who've climb'd the mount of good, Though transient, cannot be withstood

With gentle mercy towards all, The sage fulfils the vitue's call