The Rumour
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uṟāatō vūraṟinta kauvai yataṉaip / peṟāatu peṟṟaṉṉa nīrttu.
The whole town is saying our names in one breath. Isn't that a gain? Hearing it, I feel I already have what I have not yet been given.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“The rumour spread within the town, is it not gain to me? / It is as though that were obtained that may not be.”
“Is not this gossip of the village a precious thing unto me? for even without obtaining her I feel as if I possess her already.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
ஊர் அறிந்த கௌவை உறாதோ= எங்கட்குக் கூட்டம் உண்மை இவ்வூர் அறிதலான் விளைந்த அலர் எனக்கு உறுவது ஒன்று அன்றோ; அதனைப் பெறாது பெற்றன்ன நீர்த்து= அது கேட்ட என் மனம், அக்கூட்டத்தைப் பெறாது இருந்தே பெற்றாற் போலும் நீர்மை உடைத்தாகலான்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar reads this couplet as the hero speaking of the woman he loves. The town has come to know that a union between them is real, and rumour has risen from that knowing; is that rumour not something that does him good, he asks. For his mind, on hearing that talk, takes on the quality of having obtained that union even while it remains unobtained.