Reading Unspoken Signs
.
Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
kuṟippiṟ kuṟippuṇarā vāyi ṉuṟuppiṉu / ḷeṉṉa payattavō kaṇ.
If the eyes cannot understand another person's intention from visible signs, what distinctive function do they fulfil among the bodily faculties?
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“By sign who knows not sings to comprehend, what gain, / 'Mid all his members, from his eyes does he obtain?”
“What is the place of the eve among the organs of sense, if it divineth not by a look that which is in the heart?”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
குறிப்பின் குறிப்பு உணராவாயின்= குறித்தது காணவல்ல தம் காட்சியாற் பிறர் குறிப்பினை உணரமாட்டாவாயின்; உறுப்பினுள் கண் என்ன பயத்தவோ= ஒருவன் உறுப்புக்களுள் சிறந்த கண்கள் வேறென்ன பயனைச் செய்வன?
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar asks what further use the eyes—the foremost of a person's organs—serve if, despite their power of sight, they cannot understand another's intention from visible signs.