Quarrelling with the Heart
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uṟāatavark kaṇṭa kaṇṇu mavaraic / ceṟāareṉac cēṟiyeṉ ṉeñcu.
You have seen for yourself that he is one who does not draw near. And still, my heart, you go to him, on the sole ground that he will not be harsh.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“'Tis plain, my heart, that he 's estranged from thee; / Why go to him as though he were not enemy?”
“Thou seest, my Heart, how he neglecteth me: and yet thou consortest with him as if he were thy friend!”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
என் நெஞ்சு= என் நெஞ்சே; உறாஅதவர்க் கண்ட கண்ணும்= மேலும் நாம்மாட்டு அன்புடையர் ஆகாதவரை உள்ளவாறு அறிந்தவிடத்தும்; செறாஅர் எனச் அவரைச் சேறி= நாம் சென்றால் வெகுளார் என்பதுபற்றி நீ அவர் மாட்டுச் செல்லா நின்றாய், இப்பெற்றியது மேலும் ஓர் அறியாமை உண்டோ, எ-று
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar rests the whole couplet on what she already knows. She has seen him as he is: not somebody who holds any love for her. The heart's ground for going is not that he loves her — it is only that he will not be angry when she comes. The commentator closes on a question, whether there can be a deeper want of understanding than this, because the heart has quietly put the absence of a reason to stay away in the place where a reason to go should be.