Making the Signs Known
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mukaimokku ḷuḷḷatu nāṟṟampōṟpētai / nakaimokku ḷuḷḷatoṉ ṟuṇṭu.
As the scent is already inside a bud that has not opened, there is something inside the smile this artless girl is beginning to smile.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“As fragrance in the opening bud, some secret lies / Concealed in budding smile of this dear damsel's eyes.”
“Even as the fragrance in the bud that is not yet blown, there is a secret meaning in the half-smile of this artless one.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
முகைமொக்குள் உள்ளது நாற்றம்போல்= முகையது முகிழ்ப்பின் உளதாய்ப் புறத்துப் புலனாகாத நாற்றம்போல; பேதை நகைமொக்குள் உள்ளது ஒன்று உண்டு= நின் பேதை என்னொடு நகக்கருதும் நகையது முகிழ்ப்பின் உளதாய்ப் புறத்துப் புலனாகாததோர் குறிப்புண்டு, எ-று.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar makes the comparison turn on one word that is easy to miss: not perceptible. The scent is present in the bud while the bud is still closed, and it cannot be smelt from outside. In the same way, he says, there is a kuṟippu — a sign, an intention — inside the smile she means to smile with me, present in it while it is still forming, and not perceptible outside it. That is the difference from the crystal bead. There the thread was inside and visible; here what is inside cannot yet be perceived at all. So the speaker is not reporting something he has detected. He is reasoning from the kind of thing it is: a bud has scent, and this smile is at that stage.