The Pallor of Longing
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pacakkamaṟ paṭṭāṅkeṉ mēṉi nayappittār / naṉṉilaiya rāva reṉiṉ.
Then let my body go on losing its colour, exactly as it has. It is enough for me if the one who talked me into agreeing is held to stand well.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Well! let my frame, as now, be sicklied o'er with pain, / If he who won my heart's consent, in good estate remain!”
“Acquit him forsooth, my maid, of all harmful intent: the deathlike pallor of my body is nothing to thee.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
நயப்பித்தார் நன்னிலையார் ஆவர் எனின்= இப்பிரிவை யானே உடம்படும்வகை சொல்லியவர் இன்று நின் கருத்தான் நல்லநிலையினர் ஆவராயின்; என்மேனி பட்டாங்கு பசக்க= என்மேனி பட்டதுபடப் பசப்பதாக, எ-று.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
The woman is speaking to her companion. She has not forgotten that it was he who talked her into agreeing to this parting. If, in the companion's own estimation, he now stands in good repute, that is enough for her. In that case, she says, let her body go on as it is, in exactly the state it has come to. She is paying with what is said about her, and taking in exchange the fact that nothing is said against him.