Eyes Worn Out with Grief
Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
terintuṇarā nōkkiya vuṇkaṇ parintuṇarāp / paita luḻappa tevaṉ
Those darkened eyes looked at him that day without once examining what it would come to. Now they will not work out that they brought it on themselves and must bear it. What is all this wasting for?
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“How glancing eyes, that rash unweeting looked that day, / With sorrow measureless are wasting now away!”
“How is it that the Eyes that looked rashly on the beloved that day grieve today, instead of bearing patiently the consequences of their own folly?”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
தெரிந்து உணரா நோக்கிய உண்கண்= மேல்விளைவதனை ஆராய்ந்து அறியாது அன்று காதலரை நோக்கிநின்ற உண்கண்கள்; பரிந்து உணராப் பைதல் உழப்பது எவன்= இன்று இது நம்மால் வந்ததுஆகலின் பொறுத்தல் வேண்டும் எனக் கூறுபடுத்து உணராது துன்பமுழப்பது என்கருதி?
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar identifies the eyes as the ones that stood looking at the beloved that day without investigating what would come of it. The trouble that has arrived today came of their own act, and it therefore has to be borne. What they will not do is separate the matter out and grasp that much. Instead they go on suffering, and her question is with what thought they do it.