Longing for the Beloved
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pulappēṉkol pulluvēṉ kollō kalappēṉkol / kaṇṇaṉṉa kēḷir variṉ.
When the one who is dear to me as my own eyes comes back, shall I hold off in displeasure, or shall I take hold of him, or shall I somehow do both at once?
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Shall I draw back, or yield myself, or shall both mingled be, / When he returns, my spouse, dear as these eyes to me.”
“When the beloved who is dear even as my eyes cometh home, shall I sulk for his long absence? or shall I embrace him? or shall I do both?”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
கண் அன்ன கேளிர் வரின்= கண்போற் சிறந்த கேளிர் வருவராயின்; புலப்பேன்கொல்= அவர் வரவு நீட்டித்தமை நோக்கி யான் புலக்கக்கடவேனோ; புல்லுவேன்கொல்= அன்றி என் ஆற்றாமைநோக்கிப் புல்லக்கடவேனோ; கலப்பேன்கொல்= அவ்விரண்டும் வேண்டுதலான் அவ்விருசெயல்களையும் விரவக்கடவேனோ, யாது செய்யக்கடவேன், எ-று.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar takes the last line first and settles who is coming: the companion who is excellent as her own eyes. Then he gives each of the three verbs a reason of its own, and this is the whole of his reading. She may hold off, he says, in view of how long he has taken to come. She may embrace him, in view of her own inability to bear it. She may do both together, because both are wanted. Then he refuses to choose. His paraphrase ends where the couplet ends, with a question that is left standing: what, then, am I to do? He does not resolve it, and he does not suggest that one of the three is the right one.