The Wasting Away
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pāṭu peṟutiyō neñcē koṭiyārkkeṉ / vāṭutōṭ pūca luraittu.
Will it win you any standing, my heart, to carry the noise of my wasting arm to the people who already call him cruel?
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“My heart! say ought of glory wilt thou gain, / If to that cruel one thou of thy wasted arms complain?”
“Wouldst thou obtain glory, O my Heart? Then run to the cruel one and tell him of the bruit that hath arisen here from the wasting away of my arm.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
நெஞ்சே= நெஞ்சே; கொடியார்க்கு என் வாடுதோள் பூசல் உரைத்து= இவள் கொடியார் என்கிறவர்க்கு, நீ சென்று என் மெலிகின்ற தோளினால் விளைகின்ற ஆரவாரத்தைச் சொல்லி; பாடு பெறுதியோ= ஒரு மேம்பாடு எய்த வல்லையோ, வல்லையாயின் அதனை ஒப்பது இல்லை, எ-று.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar reads the whole couplet as a woman addressing her own heart. Go, she says to it, to the people who are already calling him cruel, tell them the clamour my wasting arm has raised, and see whether you come back with any distinction. If you can, he adds, nothing equals it — and the answer is inside the offer.