The Visions of the Night
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naṉaviṉā ṉalkārai nōvar kaṉaviṉāṟ / kātalark kāṇā tavar.
It is those who never meet their lover in dream who reproach him for not coming to them in waking.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“In dreams who ne'er their lover's form perceive, / For those in waking hours who show no love will grieve.”
“They reproach my beloved for that he doth not meet me to their knowledge: but then they see him not in dreams.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
கனவினான் காதலர்க் காணாதவர்= தமக்கொரு காதலர் இன்மையின் அவரைக் கனவிற்கண்டறியாத மகளிர்; நனவினான் நல்காரை நோவர்= தாமறிய நனவின்கண் வந்து நல்காத நங்காதலரை அன்பிலர் என நோவா நிற்பர், எ-று.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
It is women who, having no lover of their own, never behold him in dream, Parimelazhagar explains, who reproach her beloved — calling him loveless — for not coming to show tenderness in waking. For those who see their lover in dream and are made full, no such complaint arises; the reproach springs only from the emptiness of not seeing.