The Visions of the Night
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kayaluṇkaṇ yāṉirappat tuñciṟ kalantārk / kuyaluṇmai cāṟṟuvēṉ maṉ.
If only these carp-like, kohl-dark eyes would sleep when I beg them, I would tell him myself, in full, how I still hold on to life.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“If my dark, carp-like eye will close in sleep, as I implore, / The tale of my long-suffering life I'll tell my loved one o'er.”
“If only I could persuade my eyes to sleep, I would fly to my beloved in my dream, and tell him the story of how I manage yet to hold on to life.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
கயல் உண்கண் யான் இரப்பத்துஞ்சின்= துஞ்சாதுவருந்துகின்ற என் கயல்போலும் உண்கண்கள் யான் இரந்தால் துஞ்சுமாயின்; கலந்தார்க்கு உயல் உண்மை சாற்றுவேன்மன்= கனவிடைக் காதலரைக் காண்பேன், கண்டால் அவர்க்கு யான் ஆற்றியுளேனாய தன்மையை யானே விரியச் சொல்வேன், எ-று.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Her eyes, Parimelazhagar notes, stay awake grieving. If they would only sleep when she begs them, she would meet her beloved in dream and tell him herself, at full length, how she still manages to hold on to life. But the closing particle maṉ cancels the wish as it is spoken: the eyes do not sleep, so the message stays untold. The one gate through which she could reach him is barred by the very eyes that weep for him.