POEM FROM TAMIL LITERATURE - TRUE KINGSHIP AND FALSE GRANDEUR

ABOUT THE POEM:The poem TRUE KINGSHIP AND FALSE GRANDEUR contrasts two kinds of rulers. A weak and petty ruler, who inherits power through ancestral victories, wrongly believes himself great and burdens his people with excessive taxes, lacking true courage and nobility. In contrast, a ruler who possesses moral strength, courage, and martial spirit finds governance effortless and light, like holding a weightless staff. True kingship, the poem suggests, lies not in inherited authority or exploitation, but in inner strength, restraint, and righteous action.TRUE KINGSHIP AND FALSE GRANDEURWhen elders pass and claim their destined throne,Old victories, by rite of time made sure,Grant royal right that seems already grown.Yet deeming this his glory rich and pure,He drains his people, asks for heavier due—Such petty rule lacks manly strength secure.Not noble is the act of one who knewNo courage to restrain his grasping hand,But leans on past-earned fame to squeeze the few.But he who holds white parasol well planned,The war-drum loud, beneath a faultless sky,With daring heart and forceful striving stands,For him, to rule is light as reeds that lieBy shallow pools where waters once had been—A silver staff, no weight to lift or ply.PURANANURU - 75POET: CHOLAN NALANGILLI