Kural 261
It is the nature of asceticism to patiently endure hardship
and to not harm living creatures.
Kural 262
Austerity belongs to the naturally austere.
Others may attempt it, but to no avail.
Kural 263
Is it because they must provide for renunciates
that others forget to perform penance?
Kural 264
Should he but wish it, an ascetic’s austerities
will ruin his foes and reward his friends.
Kural 265
In this world men do austerities diligently,
assured of acquiring desires they desire.
Kural 266
Men who follow some austerity fulfill their karma.
All others, ensnared in desires, act in vain.
Kural 267
As the intense fire of the furnace refines gold to brilliance, so does
the burning suffering of austerity purify the soul to resplendence.
Kural 268
One who has realized by himself his soul’s Self
will be worshiped by all other souls.
Kural 269
So potent is the power acquired through disciplined self-denial
that those who attain it may even delay the moment of death.
Kural 270
A few people fast and abstain, while most do not.
Due to this, many suffer deprivation.