Kural 891
Of all the ways to protect oneself, the foremost is this:
do not belittle the prowess of powerful men.
Kural 892
Disrespectful conduct toward great men will bring,
through those great men, unremitting miseries.
Kural 893
If you desire destruction, simply ignore the rules
and provoke those who, if they desire, can destroy you.
Kural 894
For the powerless to wreak harm upon the powerful
is to summon Death with a gesturing hand.
Kural 895
Once he incurs a fierce king’s withering wrath,
one is doomed, wherever he wanders, whatever he does.
Kural 896
Though burned by a blazing fire, one may still survive;
but there is no survival for those who offend great men.
Kural 897
What is the use of a man’s varied life and splendid wealth
if he reaps the wrath of great and righteous men?
Kural 898
If men of mountainous stature are meagerly esteemed,
others who seemed as enduring as earth will die, as will their kin.
Kural 899
The most kingly king will tumble from his throne and die,
should he unleash a towering sage’s bridled temper.
Kural 900
Though he commands unrivaled powers of protection,
a king cannot survive the wrath of powerful ascetics.