Reading the Signs
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acaiyiyaṟ kuṇṭāṇṭō rēeryā ṉōkkap / pacaiyiṉaḷ paiya nakum.
Her words sent him away, but when he looked at her the refusal slipped and she smiled to herself. That small unguarded smile, not the words, is the real answer.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“I gaze, the tender maid relents the while; / And, oh the matchless grace of that soft smile!”
“The slender-shaped maid melteth to see my imploring look and softly smileth: and the gentle smile giveth her an added grace.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
யான் நோக்கப் பசையினள் பைய நகும்= என்னை அகற்றுகின்ற சொற்கு ஆற்றாது யான் இரந்து நோக்கியவழி அஃது அறிந்து நெகிழ்ந்து உள்ளே மெல்ல நகாநின்றாள்; அசை இயற்கு ஆண்டு ஓர் ஏர் உண்டு= அதனால் நுடங்கிய இயல்பினை உடையாட்கு அந்நகையின்கண்ணே தோன்றுகின்றதோர் நன்மைக் குறிப்புண்டு.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
The speaker here is the man in love; the woman he desires is the heroine. Parimelazhagar explains it thus: unable to bear the words with which she pushed him away, he looked at her pleadingly; she understood that look, her heart softened, and she smiled faintly to herself. And so, in that smile of the woman of slender, swaying nature, there appears one gracious sign of good for him.