Praising Her Beauty
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malaraṉṉa kaṇṇāṇ mukamotti yāyiṟ / palarkāṇat tōṉṟaṉ mati.
He looks at the moon and says: if you really want to be as lovely as her face, then show yourself to me alone — don't come out where everyone can see you. The praise turns, mid-breath, into a wish to keep her beauty private.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“If as her face, whose eyes are flowers, thou wouldst have charms for me, / Shine for my eyes alone, O moon, shine not for all to see!”
“If thou want, O Moon, to emulate the face of her whose eyes are like flowers, show not thyself unto all but shine alone for me.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
மதி= மதியே!; மலர் அன்ன கண்ணாள் முகம் ஒத்தியாயின்= இம்மலர் போலும் கண்ணினை உடையாள் முகத்தை நீ ஒக்க வேண்டுதியாயின்; பலர் காணத் தோன்றல்= இதுபோல யான் காணத்தோன்று, பலர்காணத் தோன்றாது ஒழி.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
The man who has been praising his beloved now speaks to the moon. He says: moon, if you wish to be the equal of the face of the woman whose eyes are like flowers, then appear like this for me to see, and do not appear for many to see. So Parimelazhagar explains.