105.1 Poverty

 105.1 Poverty

(105.1 நல்குரவு)

Question:

                What are the horrors of poverty?

Answer:

Poverty alone is the most painful, and no other suffering

is as miserable as poverty.                                                                  (Couplet – 1041)

When cruel poverty comes on, it deprives joys of this

life and those of the next one.                                                             (Couplet – 1042)

The cravings arising from poverty will totally destroy

ancestral pride and fame.                                                                    (Couplet – 1043)

Poverty will force even men of noble birth to the moral

weakness of speaking disgraceful words.                                          (Couplet – 1044)

The pain of poverty brings in its course many kinds

of suffering.                                                                                        (Couplet – 1045)

 

இன்மையின் இன்னாதது யாதெனின் இன்மையின்

இன்மையே இன்னா தது.                                                       (குறள் – 1041)

இன்மை எனவொரு பாவி மறுமையும்

இம்மையும் இன்றி வரும்.                                                       (குறள் – 1042)

தொல்வரவும் தோலும் கெடுக்கும் தொகையாக

நல்குரவு என்னும் நசை.                                                           (குறள் – 1043)

இற்பிறந்தார் கண்ணேயும் இன்மை இளிவந்த

சொற்பிறக்கும் சோர்வு தரும்.                                              (குறள் – 1044)

நல்குரவு என்னும் இடும்பையுள் பல்குரைத்

துன்பங்கள் சென்று படும்.                                                      (குறள் – 1045)

 

Explanation:

                Poverty has been prevalent in the world for a long time. Tamil society has not been an exception to poverty. In the Sangam literature, we see numerous instances of poets and bards suffering extreme poverty and seeking assistance from kings. Even today, all over the world, millions of people are starving without food and going to bed hungry. There is no doubt that poverty is a severe scourge of the world. In the above-cited five couplets, Valluvar describes the horrors of poverty. He says that there is no other suffering greater than poverty. According to him, poverty affects a person not only in this birth but also in future births; it destroys a person’s fame and ancestral pride and makes him utter disgraceful words. In fact, Valluvar says that poverty may result in many other sufferings.