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Thirukural-(Risk) Assessment of Relative Strength-Kural 473

Thirukural 473
Udaitham valiyariyaar uookaththin uooki
Idaikkan murindhaar palar.


Many ambitious kings have enthusiastically over-rated their own strength,
And destroyed themselves during their campaign.

This kural is in the nature of a caution to an enthusiastic campaigner, who does not assess (risk assessment) his own strength fully before venturing upon his aggressive operation. I have already quoted the example of Saddam Hussein under Kural 471. Montague is believed to have remarked once, “we undo ourselves by Impatience".

Thirukural

Thirukural is an ethical treatise belonging to Tamil classical literature, written by Thiruvalluvar. In Kural 473, Valluvar cautions people of their overconfidence which is bound to pull them down as a result of not gaining assessment of their own relative strength. RamanandaAdigalar Foundation has taken Thirukural to a larger reading mass with its English translation.

Story first published: Friday, October 8, 2010, 14:19 [IST]