The Distress of Her Beauty
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aṇaṅkuko lāymayil kollō kaṉaṅkuḻai / mātarkoṉ mālumeṉ ṉeñcu.
At first sight of someone, the mind runs through every category it has and none of them fit. The confusion is not about her; it is what the shock of seeing her has done to the one looking.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Goddess? or peafowl rare? She whose ears rich jewels wear, / Is she a maid of human kind? All wildered is my mind!”
“The jewelled form that appeareth yonder, is it a Goddess? or a peacock chosen from among its kind? or is it simply a lovely maid? Verily I am too dazed to tell.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
கனம் குழை= இக்கனவிய குழையை உடையாள்; அணங்கு கொல்= இப்பொழிற்கண் உறைவாளோர் தெய்வ மகளோ; ஆய்மயில் கொல்லோ= அன்றி ஒரு மயில் விசேடமோ; மாதர்கொல்= அன்றி ஒரு மானுட மாதரோ?; என் நெஞ்சு மாலும்= என் நெஞ்சு மயங்காநின்றது.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
The woman wearing the heavy ornamented earring — is she a goddess who dwells in this grove? Or some rare peacock? Or is she a human woman after all? My heart stands bewildered. This is how Parimelazhagar explains the couplet.