Reading the Signs
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Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
kaṇṇoṭu kaṇṇiṇai nōkkokkiṉ vāyccoṟka / ḷeṉṉa payaṉu mila.
Once two people have looked at each other and the look matched, speech has nothing left to add. The sentence you had ready is now only an echo of what the eyes already finished saying.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“When eye to answering eye reveals the tale of love, / All words that lips can say must useless prove.”
“When eyes speak their consent to eyes, the words of the mouth are quite superfluous.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
கண்ணொடு கண்ணிணை நோக்கு ஒக்கின்= காமத்திற்குரிய இருவருள் ஒருவர் கண்களோடு ஒருவர் கண்கள் நோக்கல் ஒக்குமாயின்; வாய்ச் சொற்கள் என்ன பயனும் இல= அவர் வாய்மைதோன்றச் சொல்லுகின்ற வாய்ச்சொற்கள் ஒரு பயனும் உடையவல்ல.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains that when the eyes of the two who share this love meet in a single matching look, the words their mouths speak to make their truth appear carry no use at all. He is explicit that the couplet speaks of the two who belong to each other in love.