Tirukural

CHAPTER 44

Guarding Against Faults

431

Those who are free from vanity, vulgarity and venomousness will prosper in deserving dignity.§

432

Avarice, arrogance and crude amusements are flaws in the character of an unfit king.§

433

Though their fault be as small as a millet seed, to those who dread disgrace it will appear as large as a palm tree.§

434

One’s own faults are one’s mortal enemies. It follows that to guard against them is life’s gravest concern.§

435

The good fortune of a man who does not guard against failings before they manifest will perish like a stack of straw before a fire.§

436

What fault remains in a king who expunges his own faults before examining the faults in others?§

437

The wealth of him who, out of avarice, fails to do what should be done will vanish without the slightest vestige.§

438

When all faults are reckoned, one remains unrivaled: the greedy grasping known as avarice.§

439

Never indulge in admiring yourself. Never be drawn toward deeds that do not benefit others.§

440

Delighting in life’s pleasures in guarded privacy nullifies the conspiring schemes of enemies.§