The Pallor of Longing
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nayantavarkku nalkāmai nērntēṉ pacantaveṉ / paṇpiyārk kuraikkō piṟa.
I was the one who agreed to it, when the man who wanted me asked to keep himself away. So this faded state I am in now — whom else is there to tell it to?
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“I willed my lover absent should remain; / Of pining's sickly hue to whom shall I complain?”
“It is I myself that consented to the parting of my beloved: to whom shall I complain now of my pallor?”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
நயந்தவர்க்கு நல்காமை நேர்ந்தேன்= என்னை நயந்தவர்க்கு அதுபொழுது பிரிவை உடம்பட்ட நான்; பசந்த என் பண்பு யார்க்கு உரைக்கோ= அதனை ஆற்றாது இதுபொழுது பசந்த என் இயல்பினை யார்க்குச் சொல்வேன் எ-று.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar begins by fixing the fact of her consent: at that time she herself agreed to the parting from the man who desired her. Unable to bear it since, she has now lost her colour, and the question she asks is who she is to tell that condition to. She cannot lay it on the man, because he asked and she answered. So the question is left standing with nobody in it to receive it.