Setting Reserve Aside
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nāṇoṭu nallāṇmai paṇṭuṭaiyē ṉiṉṟuṭaiyēṉ / kāmuṟṟā rēṟu maṭal.
I used to have my reserve and my good name for self-possession; today the only thing I have left is the desperate measure lovers take when longing has taken everything else.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“I once retained reserve and seemly manliness; / To-day I nought possess but lovers' 'horse of palm'.”
“Firmness and delicacy I had formerly: but now I possess only the stalk of the palmyra that is ridden by the lovelorn lover.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
நாணொடு நல்லாண்மை பண்டு உடையேன்= நாணும் மிக்க ஆண்தகைமையும் யான் பண்டு உடையேன்; காமுற்றார் ஏறும் மடல் இன்று உடையேன்= அவை காமத்தான் நீங்குதலான், அக்காமம் மிக்கார் ஏறும் மடலினை இன்று உடையேன்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains this as the words of the hero (talaivan): "Formerly I possessed reserve and a strong, dignified manliness. Because love has driven those away from me, what I possess today is only the palmyra horse that those overtaken by love ride."