The Visions of the Night
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kātalar tūtoṭu vanta kaṉaviṉuk / kiyātucey vēṉkol viruntu.
It came bearing a message from my love — what feast shall I set before this dream?
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“It came and brought to me, that nightly vision rare, / A message from my love,- what feast shall I prepare?”
“What honours shall I do to the Dream which hath brought me a message from the beloved?”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
காதலர் தூதொடு வந்த கனவினுக்கு= யான் வருந்துகின்றது அறிந்து, அது தீரக் காதலர் விடுத்த தூதினைக்கொண்டு என்மாட்டு வந்த கனவினுக்கு; விருந்து யாது செய்வேன்= யான் விருந்தாக யாதனைச் செய்வேன், எ-று.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar reads the dream as a commissioned messenger: knowing how she suffered, the beloved sent word to end it, and the dream arrived at her side carrying that message. Custom feeds and honours whoever brings good news — but this bearer is a dream. What feast can I possibly set before such a guest, she asks, overflowing with thanks; and folded inside the question is its own admission: nothing she could offer would match what it brought.