False Friendship
.
Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
iṉampōṉ ṟiṉamallār kēṇmai makaḷir / maṉampōla vēṟu paṭum.
The friendship of those who seem like one’s own but are not truly so changes when opportunity appears—an idea the verse compares, through an unacceptable historical stereotype, to women’s minds.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Friendship of those who seem our kin, but are not really kind. / Will change from hour to hour like woman's mind.”
“Behold the men who look like friends but are enemies at heart: their friendship will alter even as the heart of a woman.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
இனம்போன்று இனமலலார் கேண்மை= தமக்கு உற்றார் போன்று உறாதாரோடு உளதாய நட்பு; மகளிர் மனம்போல வேறுபடும்= இடம்பெற்றால் பெண்பாலார் மனம்போல வேறுபடும்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains that friendship with people who seem like one’s own kin but are not truly aligned changes when they obtain an opportunity. The verse compares this change to “women’s minds.” That is a historical patriarchal gender stereotype and is neither factual nor endorsed here. The transferable insight concerns corroborated opportunistic conduct: someone performs kin-like belonging while it is useful and changes the relationship once advantage appears.