False Friendship
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toḻutakai yuḷḷum paṭaiyoṭuṅku moṉṉā / raḻutakaṇ ṇīru maṉaittu.
A weapon may lie hidden even within an enemy’s supplicating hands; their tears may conceal the same.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“In hands that worship weapon ten hidden lies; / Such are the tears that fall from foeman's eyes.”
“Even in his joined hands thy enemy will have a weapon concealed: nor put thou more faith in his tears.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
ஒன்னார் தொழுத கையுள்ளும் படை ஒடுங்கும்= ஒன்னார் குறிப்பை உணரவல்லார்க்கு அவர் தொழுத கையகத்தும் படைக்கலம் மறைந்திருக்கும்; அழுத கண்ணீரும் அனைத்து= அவர் அழுத கண்ணீரும் அவ்வாறே அதுமறைந்திருத்தற்கு இடனாம்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains that one able to understand an enemy’s design knows a weapon may be concealed even within supplicating hands; the enemy’s tears may likewise provide a place in which harm is hidden.