Eyes Worn Out with Grief
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ōo viṉitē yemakkinnōy ceytakaṇ / ṭāa mitaṟpaṭ ṭatu.
Oh, but this is sweet — the very eyes that made this grief for me have now fallen into it themselves.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Oho! how sweet a thing to see! the eye / That wrought this pain, in the same gulf doth lie.”
“Oh, it is a sweet revenge to me that the Eyes that caused me this sorrow are victims themselves to the selfsame anguish!”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
எமக்கு இந்நோய் செய்த கண் தாஅம் இதற்படடது= எமக்கு இக்காமநோயினைச் செய்த கண்கள் தாமும், இத்துயிலாது அழுதற்கண்ணேபட்டது; ஓஒ இனிதே= மிகவும் இனிதாயிற்று.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
The woman is speaking to her own eyes. Parimelazhagar first identifies them as the ones that made this love-grief for her. Now, he says, they too have come into the same condition and are caught inside the sleepless weeping. His gloss closes with her verdict: it has become very sweet. What satisfies her is the exactness of the return — the makers of the trouble have fallen into the trouble.