Declaring the Excellence of Love
.
Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
neñcattār kātalavarāka veytuṇṭa / lañcutum vēpāk kaṟintu.
He lives so completely inside her that she cannot swallow anything hot without flinching on his behalf. Love has moved the other person from outside the body to inside it, and every ordinary act now has to pass a second test.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Within my heart my lover dwells; from food I turn / That smacks of heat, lest he should feel it burn.”
“My beloved is ever in my heart: so I eat not hot food lest it burn him there.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
காதலவர் நெஞ்சத்தாராக வெய்து உண்டல் அஞ்சுதும்= காதலர் எம் நெஞ்சினுள்ளார் ஆகலான் உண்ணுங்கால் வெய்தாக உண்டலை அஞ்சாநின்றேம்; வேபாக்கு அறிந்து= அவர் அதனான் வெய்துறலை அறிந்து.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
The woman speaking is parted from the man she loves. Because that man dwells inside her heart, she is afraid to eat her food hot; she is afraid, Parimelazhagar explains, because she knows that the heat would scorch him where he dwells.