Reserve Overcome
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maṟaippēṉmaṟ kāmattai yāṉō kuṟippiṉṟit / tummalpōṟ ṟōṉṟi viṭum.
I do mean to keep this desire hidden. But it takes no notice of what I mean: like a sneeze, it shows itself outright, with no sign given first.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“I would my love conceal, but like a sneeze / It shows itself, and gives no warning sign.”
“I try indeed to shut my love up within my heart: but like a sneeze it breaketh out of itself without a warning.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
காமத்தை யான் மறைப்பேன்மன்= இக்காமத்தை யான் என்னுள்ளே மறைக்கக் கருதுவேன்; குறிப்பு இன்றித் தும்மல்போல் தோன்றிவிடும்= அதனால் என், இஃது என்கருத்தின் வாராது தும்மல்போல வெளிப்பட்டே விடாநின்றது,; எ-று.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar reads the two lines as a statement and the objection that undoes it. She intends, he says, to hide this desire inside herself, and he uses the ordinary word for concealing rather than anything grander. Then he raises the question the second line answers: and what has that intention achieved? The thing does not travel by way of her intention at all. It appears of itself, the way a sneeze appears. He leaves the comparison exactly where the couplet leaves it, without lifting it into anything more dignified.