Lamenting at Evening
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kālaikkuc ceytanaṉ ṟeṉko levaṉkolyāṉ / mālaikkuc ceyta pakai.
What kindness did I ever do the morning? And what wrong did I do the evening, that it should treat me as an enemy?
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“O morn, how have I won thy grace? thou bring'st relief / O eve, why art thou foe! thou dost renew my grief.”
“What is the kindness that I had done to the morning hour? and how have I injured eventide?”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
யான் காலைக்குச் செய்த நன்று என்கொல்= (காலையும், மாலையும் அவர் கூடியஞான்று போலாது இஞ்ஞான்று வேறுபட்டு வாராநின்றன அவற்றுள்) யான் காலைக்குச் செய்த உபகாரம் யாது; மாலைக்குச் செய்த பகை எவன்= மாலைக்குச் செய்த அபகாரம் யாது, எ-று.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Morning and evening no longer arrive as they once did, and on that ground she asks two questions, Parimelazhagar explains: what service did I do the morning, and what injury did I do the evening? One hour treats her with kindness and the other as an enemy, and she cannot find in herself the cause of either. The point is that the questions have no answers: without any reason she gave, one part of the day is sweet to her and another burns.