The Pallor of Longing
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pacantā ḷivaḷeṉpa tallā livaḷait / tuṟantā ravareṉpā ril.
That she has gone pale — that is all anyone says. There is not one person who says that he was the one who left her.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“On me, because I pine, they cast a slur; / But no one says, 'He first deserted her.'”
“There are people to reproach me saying, Behold she hath become sallow and pale: but there is none to reproach him for abandoning me!”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
இவள் பசந்தாள் என்பது அல்லால்= இவள் ஆற்றியிராது பசந்தாள் என்று என்னைப் பழிகூறுவதல்லது; இவளை அவர் துறந்தார் என்பார் இல்= இவளை அவர் துறந்து போயினார் என்று அவரைக் கூறுவார் ஒருவரும் இல்லை, எ-று.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
The people around her are all saying one thing: that she could not hold out, that she has lost her colour. The reproach lands on her. But of the man who went away there is not one person who says he was the one who left her. Two of them were together; one of them went; the whole of the talk falls on the one who stayed. What she is pointing at is the one-sidedness of it.