Rejoicing in the Embrace
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tammi liruntu tamatupāt tuṇṭaṟṟā / lammā varivai muyakku.
Holding the woman he loves feels like eating at his own table: food he earned himself, shared out first with those it is owed to, and only then enjoyed. The pleasure is not stolen or hoarded — it belongs to his settled, shared life, and that is exactly what makes it sweet.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“As when one eats from household store, with kindly grace / Sharing his meal: such is this golden maid's embrace.”
“The embrace of this lovely fair is supremely joyous, even as the family life of the householder who eateth his portion only after distributing charity.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
அம் மா அரிவை முயக்கு= அழகிய மாமை நிறத்தை உடைய அரிவையது முயக்கம்; தம்மில் இருந்து தமது பாத்து உண்டற்றால்= இன்பம் பயத்தற்கண் தமக்குரிய இல்லின்கணிருந்து, உலகோர் தம் தாளான் வந்த பொருளைத் தென்புலத்தார், தெய்வம், விருந்து, ஒக்கல்கட்குப் புகுத்துத் தம் கூற்றை உண்டாற்போலும்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
The embrace of the beautiful, dark-complexioned young woman gives joy in this way, says Parimelazhagar: a householder stays in the home that is his own, and out of the wealth that came by his own effort he first sets aside portions for the ancestors, for the deities, for guests and for kin, and then eats his own share. That is what her embrace is like, Parimelazhagar explains.