73.2 Being Unafraid to Address an Assembly (அவை அஞ்சாமை)

 73.2 Being Unafraid to Address an Assembly (அவை அஞ்சாமை)

 

Question:

What about those who are afraid to address an assembly despite their scholarship?

 

Answer:

The scholarship of those who fear speaking in an assembly

is as useless as a shining sword in a eunuch’s hand.               (Couplet – 727)

பகையகத்துப் பேடிகை ஒள்வாள் அவையகத்து

அஞ்சு மவன்கற்ற நூல்.                                                   (குறள் – 727)

Explanation:

Traditionally, it is the role of a man to fight in a battle. Generally, women are not trained and are not expected to fight in a battle. Also, it is generally believed that women lack the courage to fight. However, there have been numerous women who have fought fearlessly in battles. In Couplet 727, the term eunuch is used to describe someone who may look like a man with female characteristics dominating and, therefore, afraid to fight on the battlefield. So, a bright and shining sword in the hands of a eunuch is of no use because he lacks the courage to fight. Valluvar compares the knowledge of a learned man who is scared to address an assembly to a shining sword in the hands of a eunuch who is afraid to fight.