The Distress of Her Beauty
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nōkkiṉā ṇōkketir nōkkuta ṟākkaṇaṅku / tāṉaikkoṇ ṭaṉṉa tuṭaittu.
Looking at her was already more than he could carry. Her looking back doubled it.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“She of the beaming eyes, To my rash look her glance replies, / As if the matchless goddess' hand Led forth an armed band.”
“How would it fare with men if the fascinating siren of the solitudes assail them with a whole host behind her? So fareth it with me when the lovely one returneth my look.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
நோக்கினாள் நோக்கு எதிர்நோக்குதல்= இப்பெற்றித்தாய வனப்பினையுடையாள் என் நோக்கிற்கு எதிர்நோக்குதல்; தாக்கு அணங்கு தானைக் கொண்டன்னது உடைத்து= தானே தாக்கி வருத்துவதோர் அணங்கு, தாக்குதற்குத் தானையையும் கொண்டுவந்தாற் போலும் தன்மையை உடைத்து.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains it this way: when the woman of such beauty meets his look with a look of her own, it has the quality of a goddess who already wounds by her own strike arriving with an army as well.