The Worth of a Wife
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teyvam tozhāaḷ kozhunaṉ tozhutezhuvāḷ / peyyeṉap peyyum mazhai
So great is the strength of a wholehearted, faithful partner — one who, rising each day, honours her husband above all other powers — that, in the old image, even the rain would fall at her word.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“No God adoring, low she bends before her lord; Then rising, serves: the rain falls instant at her word.”
“Behold the woman who worshippeth not other Gods but worshippeth her husband even as she riseth from bed: the rain-cloud obeyeth her commands.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
தெய்வம் தொழாஅள் கொழுநன் தொழுது எழுவாள் பெய் என = (பிற) தெய்வந் தொழாது (தன் தெய்வமாகிய) கொழுநனைத் தொழாநின்று துயிலெழுவாள் பெய்யென்று சொல்ல; மழை பெய்யும் = மழை பெய்யும். (தெய்வந் தொழுதற்கு மனந் தெளிவது, துயில் எழுங் காலத்தாகலின் 'தொழுதெழுவாள்' என்றார். தெய்வந்தான் ஏவல் செய்யும் என்பதாம்.)
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Within a historical ideal that treats the husband as the wife's deity, the verse magnifies her devotional power through the poetic claim that even rain will fall at her command. This describes an old asymmetrical marital model; it is not a modern instruction to worship or obey a spouse.