The Wasting Away
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nayantavar nalkāmai colluva pōlum / pacantu paṉivāruṅ kaṇ.
Your eyes, gone sallow and running with tears, look as though they are telling other people that the man we set our hearts on has withheld his kindness.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“The eye, with sorrow wan, all wet with dew of tears, / As witness of the lover's lack of love appears.”
“My lacklustre eyes that are raining down tears look as if they would betray to others the unkindness of my beloved.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
பசந்து பனிவாரும் கண்= பசப்பெய்தன்மேல் நீர் வார்கின்ற நின்கண்கள்; நயந்தவர் நல்காமை சொல்லுவ போலும்= நம்மான் நயக்கப்பட்டவரது நல்காமையைப் பிறர்க்குச் சொல்லுவபோலாநின்றன. இனி, நீ ஆற்றல் வேண்டும், எ-று.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Your eyes, pale with the sallowness of separation and now running with tears, are behaving as though they were telling others that the man we set our hearts on has not been kind, Parimelazhagar explains. He adds a conclusion, and it is addressed to her: from here on you must bear up. She has never made the accusation with her mouth. The point is that it is going out anyway.