Considerate Regard
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kaṇṇiṟ kaṇikalaṅ kaṇṇōṭṭa maḵtiṉṟēṟ / puṇṇeṉ ṟuṇarap paṭum.
Considerate regard is the eye's true ornament; without it, the eye is perceived as a wound.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Benignity is eyes' adorning grace; / Without it eyes are wounds disfiguring face.”
“Indulgence is the ornament of the eye: the eye that hath it not will be looked upon as a mere sore.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
கண்ணிற்கு அணிகலம் கண்ணோட்டம்= ஒருவன் கண்ணிற்கு அணியும் கலமாவது கண்ணோட்டம்; அஃது இன்றேல் புண் என்று உணரப்படும்= அக்கலம் இல்லையாயின் அஃது அறிவுடையோரால் புண் என்று அறியப்படும்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
The commentary calls considerate regard the eye's ornament and, when it is absent, describes the eye as a wound. This is ethical rhetoric about a gaze that harms rather than honours, never an assessment of bodily appearance or disability.