24. Worthless than a shred of pottery

Verse 24

வீடெடுத்து வேள்விசெய்து மெய்யினோடு பொய்யுமாய்

மாடுமக்கள் பெண்டிர்சுற்றம் என்றிருக்கும் மாந்தர்காள்

நாடுபெற்ற நடுவர் கையில் ஓலைவந்து அழைத்திடில்

ஓடுபெற்ற அவ்விலை பெறாதுகாண் இவ்வுடலமே!

Translation:

Establishing a residence, performing rituals, with truth and fallacy,

You humans who live with cows, offspring, wife and relatives!

When the One from the land of death comes calling with summon on hand,

This body will not be worth even the price of a shred of pottery.

Commentary:

This figurative verse says that when the Lord of Death visits us with his invitation all our belongings- house, cows, offspring, wife, relatives and even this body in which one has been living all these years in this natural world- will wither away.  The word naduvar is significant.  It means a judge who is impartial.  It stands for the Lord of Death, Yama, who is impartial.  Just as how one cannot refuse the summons of a judge, one cannot refuse the summons of Lord Yama also.  This verse reveals Civavākkiyar’s knowledge of Jurisprudence.