Thirukkural 608 in English
Tamil original, transliteration, English translation, meaning, commentary, pronunciation, and chapter context.
Tamil original
மடிமை குடிமைக்கண் தங்கின்தன் ஒன்னார்க்கு
அடிமை புகுத்தி விடும்.
Transliteration
Matimai Kutimaikkan Thangindhan Onnaarkku
Atimai Pukuththi Vitum
Modern English
“If laziness settles into a respected family, it can make its members dependent on those who oppose them.”
Modern Interpretation
If laziness settles into a respected family, it can make its members dependent on those who oppose them. For example, a person who refuses to work may eventually have to accept unfair conditions from someone who controls their livelihood.
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Tamil pronunciation
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Modern Plain English
If laziness settles into a respected family, it can make its members dependent on those who oppose them.
Poetic Couplet (Bharati)
If sloth invades a noble house It will become a slave of foes
G.U. Pope Translation
If sloth a dwelling find mid noble family,Bondsmen to them that hate them shall they be
Classical Meaning (Drew & Lazarus)
If idleness take up its abode in a king of high birth, it will make him a slave of his enemies
Tamil commentary
குடும்பத்தானுக்குச் சோம்பல் சொந்தமானால் அது அவனை அவனுடைய பகைவரிடத்தில் அடிமை ஆக்கிவிடும்.
Chapter 61
More from Unsluggishness
மடி இன்மை
Quenchless lamp of ancestry goes When foul idleness encloses
Kural 602To make your home an ideal home Loath sloth as sloth; refuse it room
Kural 603The fool who fosters sluggishness Before he dies ruins his house
Kural 604Who strive not high, sunk deep in sloth Ruin their house by evil growth
Kural 605To lag, forget, idle and doze These four are pleasure boats of loss
Kural 606With all the wealth of lords of earth The slothful gain nothing of worth
Kural 607The slothful lacking noble deeds Subject themselves to scornful words
Kural 608If sloth invades a noble house It will become a slave of foes
Kural 609The blots on race and rule shall cease When one from sloth gets his release
Kural 610The slothless king shall gain en masse *All regions trod by Lord apace * Hindu mythology holds that Lord Vishnu measured with his feet the three worlds