# Parimêlajahar — The Kural character guide

> Parimêlajahar in The Kural by Thiruvalluvar.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** himself

**First appearance:** 0007-parim-lajahar

## Snapshot

A Brahman scholar of Kânchi who, six centuries after the poet, cracked open the Kural's compressed verses and refused to let a single loose reading stand.

## Who they are

Nine commentators had already tried their hand at the Kural before him, but it was Parimêlajahar who entered, as the tradition says, into the very mind of the author. His commentary is as terse and vigorous as the original, and his condemnations of rival readings are sharp, logical, and unsparing. Without him, the modern reader would miss half the point of verses like the one on ambassadors, where he unpacks duty, time, place, and deliberation into a small treatise on statecraft.

## In the story

### [Thiruvalluvar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kural_se/chapters/thiruvalluvar)

Not directly mentioned in the excerpts; included as a canonical figure but no specific role in this chapter.

### [Part II—Wealth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kural_se/chapters/part-ii-wealth)

Commentator responsible for dividing the book into sections, including chapters 91-94 on unfit friends.

### [Parimêlajahar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kural_se/chapters/parim-lajahar)

The great Brahman commentator of the Kural, known for his terse, vigorous commentary and incisive criticism.

### [The Kural](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kural_se/chapters/the-kural)

Commentator on the Kural, providing interpretations of the maxims.

### [Part I: Righteousness](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kural_se/chapters/part-i-righteousness)

The commentator whose interpretations illuminate the Kural's verses on virtue.

### [XXXIX: The Qualifications of the Prince](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kural_se/chapters/xxxix-the-qualifications-of-the-prince)

Commentator whose interpretations may inform the understanding of these verses.

### [Judging of Place](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kural_se/chapters/l-judging-of-place)

Commentator whose interpretations may inform the understanding of these verses.

### [LXXVI: The Acquisition of Wealth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kural_se/chapters/lxxvi-the-acquisition-of-wealth)

As the commentator, Parimêlajahar's interpretations underpin the chapter's exposition.

### [LXXVII: The Characteristics of the Army](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kural_se/chapters/lxxvii-the-characteristics-of-the-army)

Commentator whose interpretations may inform the understanding of these verses.

### [Section III: Miscellaneous](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kural_se/chapters/section-iii-miscellaneous)

Commentator whose interpretations are referenced in this section.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kural_se/chapters/endnotes)

Cited as the commentator who explains attributes of the patient, physician, medicine, and apothecary.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kural_se/characters/parimelajahar
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kural_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_kural_se/characters