Declaring the Excellence of Love
.
Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
imaippiṟ karappāk kaṟiva laṉaittiṟkē / yētila reṉṉumiv vūr.
She will not close her eyes for even a moment, because closing them would hide the one she is holding inside them. The neighbours see only that she cannot sleep, and conclude from that one visible sign that he must not love her at all.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“I fear his form to hide, nor close my eyes: / 'Her love estranged is gone!' the village cries.”
“I wink not for fear that I should lose sight of him even for that instant: and for this the village folk charge him with cruelty.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
இமைப்பிற் கரப்பார்க்கு அறிவல்= என்கண் இமைக்குமாயின் உள்ளிருக்கின்ற காதலர் மறைதலை அறிந்து இமையேன்; அனைத்திற்கே ஏதிலர் என்னும் இவ்வூர்= அவ்வளவிற்கு அவரைத் துயிலா நோய்செய்தார் அன்பிலர் என்று சொல்லாநிற்கும் இவ்வூர்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
The woman explains herself: her lover lives inside her eyes, and she knows that if she so much as blinks he will be hidden from her, so she does not blink. Because she does not blink she does not sleep; and on that evidence alone, says Parimelazhagar, the town declares that the man who gave her this sleepless affliction is a man without love.