Tirukkural-On Virtue-Avoiding Idle Talk-Kural 191

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The man who talks purposeless rant in a congregation Will make himself the laughing stock of all.

In this chapter Thiruvalluvar deals with the habit of indulgence in profitless. Words. According to Parimelalagar, this is the fourth of the sins, committed by one's tongue. These sins are falsehood, harsh words, tale-bearing and profitless words. This is in line with the postulations in old tamil literature (Eaelaadhi 28).

He would explain that as falsehood is something which cannot be fully eschewed except by ascetics, the poet gives here, in relation to householders, only his precepts for eschewing the other three. This chapter on avoidance of idle talk, therefore, follows the one on not slandering.

The practice of indulging in profitless and purposeless words, wastes everybody's time, offends and hurts others and injures the speaker too. In the process, he lowers himself into universal contempt. By his idle talk he will only succeed in making himself an object of ridicule.

The Bible has this to say on the subject:

'A fool's mouth is his destruction; and his lips are the snare of his soul'.
(Proverbs 18:7)