Lamenting at Evening
மாலை நேரம் காதலரின் பிரிவை ஒரு போர்க்களமாய் மாற்றித் தாக்குவதாக இரங்குதல். — Twilight (மாலை) arriving like an executioner, intensifying the agony of separation.
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mālaiyō vallai maṇantā ruyiruṇṇum / vēlainī vāḻi poḻutu.
“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!”
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.
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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
O dusk, you are not merely the sweet evening of lovers joined in bliss; to abandoned women like me, you arrive as a lethal battlefield that slays life itself.
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