Speaking with the Heart
.
Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
kalantuṇarttuṅ kātalark kaṇṭāṟ pulantuṇarāy / poykkāyvu kāytiyeṉ ṉeñcu.
My heart, in front of the man who settles a quarrel by drawing you close you cannot hold a sulk at all — so this heat you are burning with now is a heat you do not have.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“My heart, false is the fire that burns; thou canst not wrath maintain, / If thou thy love behold, embracing, soothing all thy pain.”
“When thou lookest on the beloved who is clever in the art of conciliating, my Heart, thou wouldst not even take huff but wouldst rush to his embrace, forgetting all: I fear that now too thy anger is only feigned.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
என்நெஞ்சு= என்னெஞ்சே!:; கலந்து உணர்த்தும் காதலர்க் கண்டாற்புலந்து உணராய்= யான் தம்மொடு புலந்தால், அப்புலவியைக் கலவிதன்னானே நீக்கவல்ல காதலரைக் காண்டாற் பொய்யேயாயினும் ஒருகாற் புலந்து பின்அதனை நீங்க மாட்டாய்; பொய்க்காய்வு காய்தி= அதுவும் மாட்டாத நீ, இப்பொழுது அவர் கொடியர் எனப் பொய்க்காய்வு காயாநின்றாய், இனி அதனை ஒழிந்து அவர்பால் செல்லத் துணிவாயாக, எ-று.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar reads the line as an accusation the heart cannot answer. When she sulks, this is a man who ends the sulk by drawing her close; and in front of him, the commentator says, the heart cannot manage even a pretended sulk and hold to it. Being unable to do that, it now blazes at a distance, calling him cruel. That blaze is a false one, and to the verdict he adds a direction: give it up and resolve to go to him.