Lamenting at Evening
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mālaiyō vallai maṇantā ruyiruṇṇum / vēlainī vāḻi poḻutu.
Long life to you, evening — but evening you are not. You are the last hour, come to eat the lives of women who are wedded.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Thou art not evening, but a spear that doth devour / The souls of brides; farewell, thou evening hour!”
“Evening! Bless thee, but who calleth thee Evening? Thou art really the hour that devoureth the lives of the wedded ones!”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
பொழுது= பொழுதே!; நீ மாலையோ அல்லை= நீ முன்னாள்களின் வந்த மாலையோவெனின், அல்லை; மணந்தார் உயிர் உண்ணும் வேலை= இருந்தவாற்றான் அந்நாட்காதலரை மணந்த மகளிர் உயிரை உண்ணும் இறுதிக்காலமாய் இருந்தாய், எ-று.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
She calls out to the hour, wishes it long life, and then denies that it is the evening that used to come on former days, Parimelazhagar explains. What arrives now, she says, is the final hour, the one that devours the lives of women who live with their husbands. The time of day has not changed; the work it does has. So she withdraws the name she once gave it.