The Wasting Away
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ciṟumai namakkoḻiyac cēṭceṉṟā ruḷḷi / naṟumalar nāṇiṉa kaṇ.
Remembering the man who went far away and left this misery here with us, your eyes have lost their light, and now they stand ashamed before the fragrant flowers that once stood ashamed before them.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Thine eyes grown dim are now ashamed the fragrant flow'rs to see, / Thinking on him, who wand'ring far, leaves us in misery.”
“My eyes think on him who left me saying that it was but to increase my happiness that he went, and are ashamed to show their face before flowers.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
சிறுமை நமக்கு ஒழியச்சேட்சென்றார் உள்ளி= இவ்வாற்றாமை நம்கண்ணே நிற்பத் தாம் சேணிடைச் சென்ற காதலரை நீ நினைந்து அழுதலால்; கண் நறுமலர் நாணின= நின்கண்கள் ஒளியிழந்து முன் தமக்கு நாணிய நறுமலர்கட்கு இன்று தாம் நாணிவிட்டன, எ-று.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Because you wept remembering the man who went far off while this distress stayed here with us, Parimelazhagar explains, your eyes have lost their brightness. They now stand ashamed before the fragrant flowers — and those are the very flowers that used to stand ashamed before them. He is careful about the direction: the comparison has not merely been lost, it has been turned around.