1065. What work leaves

அரைத்தார் மறைந்தார் அரைத்தகல் நிற்கும்உரையின் மணமும் அது

araithaar maraindaar araithakal nirkumuraiyin manamum adhu

Those who ground the sandalwood are gone; the stone they ground it on stands, and so does the fragrance of their words.

Sandalwood is rubbed on a stone into fragrant paste. The Tamil word for that rubbing, urai, also means speech.

1066. What is passed on lives

ஒருபோழ்தில் ஊதி அவியுமொரு தீநூறுகைமாறி வாழும் கனல்

orupozhthil oodhi aviyumoru theenoorukaimaari vaazhum kanal

A fire given one breath in one moment goes out; an ember passed through a hundred hands lives on.

1067. Made for unknown hands

மாலையின் பூத்தொடுத்தாள் மாலை யறியாளேகாலையில் சூட்டும் கரம்

maalaiyin poothoduthaal maalai yariyaalekaalaiyil soottum karam

She who strung flowers into a garland in the evening does not know the hand that puts it on in the morning.

In Tamil, maalai means both ‘evening’ and ‘garland’.