Unendurable Separation
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cellāmai yuṇṭē leṉakkurai maṟṟuniṉ / valvaravu vāḻvārk kurai.
If there is such a thing as your not going, tell that to me. If what you have to say is that you will return quickly, say it to whoever will still be alive to hear it.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“If you will say, 'I leave thee not,' then tell me so; / Of quick return tell those that can survive this woe.”
“If there is anything about not parting, speak it to me: but if it is only thy quick return, tell it to those who will survive till then.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
செல்லாமை உண்டேல் எனக்கு உரை= நீ எம்மைப் பிரியாமை உண்டாயின் அதனை எனக்குச்சொல்; மற்று நின் வல்வரவு வாழ்வார்க்கு உரை= அஃதுஒழியப் பிரிந்துபோய் விரைந்து வருதல் சொல்வையாயின், அதனை அப்பொழுது உயிர்வாழ்வார்க்குச் சொல்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar reads this as the woman speaking to the man who is about to leave. Tell me one thing only, she says: that you are not going. If instead you mean to tell her that you will go and come back quickly, then that message belongs to somebody who will still be alive on the day you arrive. She is saying, without saying it outright, that she will not last the waiting.