46. Earrings are different, gold is the same.

Verse 46

சாதியாவதேதடா சலம் திரண்ட நீரலோ

பூதவாசல் ஒன்றலோ பூதம் ஐந்தும் ஒன்றலோ

காதில்வாளி காரைகம்பி பாடகம் பொன் ஒன்றலோ

சாதிபேதம் ஓதுகின்ற தன்மை என்ன தன்மையே?

Translation:

What is caste, isn’t it water with motion?

The entrance of the elements, isn’t it one, the five elements, are they not the same?

Among the ear ornaments, kārai, kambi, pādakam, the gold is the same, isn’t it?

What kind of a quality is it- propagating caste based bigotry?

Commentary:

In this verse Civavākkiyar deplores caste-based bigotry.  He says a life form is nothing but water with movement, a short-lived wave. Further, like the wave, births keep occurring and ending.  Hence, there is nothing special in being born in one place, in one family at a time as it will come to an end and the soul will be born again in another context.  Also, all the material bodies are nothing but the byproduct of the five elements- space, air, water, fire and earth.  Hence, there cannot be any differences based on one’s body.  Thus, the entire system of prejudices based on one’s caste is baseless. Civavākkiyar explains this with an example.  While the ear ornaments have different names, their origin, the gold, is the same entity.  Hence, it is not correct to propagate caste-based bigotry.