Declaring the Excellence of Love
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uṭampo ṭuyiriṭai yeṉṉamaṟ ṟaṉṉa / maṭantaiyo ṭemmiṭai naṭpu.
He is saying that whatever the bond is between a body and the life inside it, that is exactly the bond between this woman and him. Not two people who love each other, but two things that only work while they are together.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Between this maid and me the friendship kind / Is as the bonds that soul and body bind.”
“How great is the love between the body and the soul? Even so great is my love for this artless one.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
உடம்பொடு உயிரிடை என்ன அன்ன= உடம்பொடு உயிரிடை உளவாய நட்புக்கள் எத்தன்மைய அத்தன்மைய; மடந்தையொடு எம்மிடை நட்பு= இம்மடந்தையொடு எம்மிடை உளவாய நட்புக்கள்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
In Kural 1122 the speaker is the hero, praising the woman he loves. He says: whatever kind of bond exists between a body and the life within it, the bond between this young woman and me is of exactly that kind — so Parimelazhagar explains.