Following a Wife's Direction
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Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
imaiyāriṉ vāḻiṉum pāṭilarē yillā / ḷamaiyārṭō ḷañcu pavar.
In its ancient patriarchal frame, the couplet says: even if they live like the gods, those who fear their wife's bamboo-like shoulders lack masculine distinction.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Though, like the demi-gods, in bliss they dwell secure from harm, / Those have no dignity who fear the housewife's slender arm.”
“Behold the men who stand in awe of the tender arms of their wives: though they live like Gods no man will respect them.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
இல்லாள் அமை ஆர் தோள் அஞ்சுபவர்= தம் இல்லாளுடைய வேய்போலும் தோளினை அஞ்சுவார்; இமையாரின் வாழினும் பாடு இலர்= வீரத்தான் துறக்கம் எய்திய அமரர் போல இவ்வுலகத்து வாழ்ந்தாராயினும், ஆண்மை இலர்.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
Parimelazhagar explains that men who fear their wife's bamboo-like shoulders lack masculinity even if they live in this world like immortals who attained heaven through valour. The bamboo-shoulder phrase is an old poetic image for the wife's body and is not reproduced as body objectification in modern scenes. The judgement is explicitly patriarchal. Today, threats, surveillance, and isolation can affect any gender; visible wealth or fame does not make control harmless, and the controlled person is not blameworthy.