Setting Reserve Aside
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niṟaiyariyar maṉṉaḷiya reṉṉātu kāma / maṟaiyiṟantu maṉṟu paṭum.
Love does not stop to consider that a woman's self-command is hard to overcome, or that she deserves to be treated gently — it simply breaks past everything she hid it behind and stands out in the open where the whole town can see.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“In virtue hard to move, yet very tender, too, are we; / Love deems not so, would rend the veil, and court publicity!”
“My Passion considereth not the strength of my modesty nor my kindness towards itself, and betrayeth my secret by showing itself abroad.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
நிறை அரியர் (என்னாது)= இவர் நிறையால் நாம் மீதூர்தற்கு அரியர் என்று அஞ்சுதல் செய்யாது; மன் அளியர் என்னாது= மிகவும் அளிக்கத்தக்கார் என்று இரங்குதல் செய்யாது; காமம் மறை இறந்து மன்றுபடும்= மகளிர் காமமும் அவர் மறைத்தலைக் கடந்து மன்றின்கண்ணே வெளிப்படுவதாயிருந்தது.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
A woman worn down by love speaks of her own state. Love never pauses to fear, "this woman has firmness of mind, she will not be easily overcome"; nor does it pause to pity, "this woman deserves to be spared." Women's love crosses the concealment they keep it behind and stands revealed in the public square of the town — so Parimelazhagar explains.