The Pallor of Longing
பிரிவால் உடலில் படரும் பசலை நிறம் தன் துயரத்தை ஊருக்குக் காட்டிவிட்டதே எனக் குமுறுதல். — Lamenting the sorrowful pallor (பசலை) spreading on her skin, revealing her inner hurt.
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cāyalu nāṇu mavarkoṇṭār kaimmāṟā / nōyum pacalaiyun tantu.
“Of comeliness and shame he me bereft, / While pain and sickly hue, in recompense, he left.”
“My comeliness and my modesty he hath taken away, giving in exchange nought but the pangs of the heart and my pallid hue.”
My grace and my modesty he took with him when he went — and in exchange he gave me this sickness and this pallor.
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Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
கைம்மாறா நோயும் பசலையும் தந்து= பிரிகின்ற ஞான்றே அவ்விரண்டற்கும் தலைமாறாக இக்காமநோயினையும் பசலையையும் எனக்குத் தந்து; சாயலும் நாணும் அவர் கொண்டார்= என் மேனியழகினையும், நாணினையும் அவர் கொண்டுபோயினார், எ-று.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Departing from me, my lover carried away my beauty and modesty, leaving in their place only this wasting ache and the pallor of grief.