Transactional Relationships
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Tap an underlined Tamil word to explore its sound, meaning, and use.
payaṉṟūkkip paṇpuraikkum paṇpiṉ makaḷir / nayaṉṟūkki naḷḷā viṭal.
Women without the character they claim weigh the gain and praise their own virtue; weigh their conduct in turn, and decline their company.
▸Other translations · Pope (1886) & Aiyar (1916)
“Who weigh the gain, and utter virtuous words with vicious heart, / Weighing such women's worth, from their society depart.”
“Behold the women who speak honeyed words, but whose thoughts are ever fixed on their own profit: consider their ways and keep them at a distance.”
Parimelazhagar’s commentary
13th century · public domainParimelazhagar’s own words come first, unaltered. The plain reading follows below.
பயன்தூக்கிப் பண்பு உரைக்கும் பண்பில் மகளிர்= ஒருவனுக்கு உள்ள பொருளை அளந்தறிந்து அஃது எய்தும் துணையும் தம் பண்புடைமை சொல்லும் பண்பில்லாத மகளிரது; நயன் தூக்கி நள்ளா விடல்= ஒழுகலாற்றினை ஆய்ந்தறிந்து அவரைப் பொருந்தாது விடுக.
Source: Tamil Wikisource
In the historical frame, Parimelazhagar describes women without the character they claim. They measure a male patron's available wealth and praise their own character for as long as it may take to obtain that benefit. The hearer should separately investigate their conduct and decline the association. This gendered and sexually stigmatizing source is not a modern license to suspect women or sex workers; the limited analogy concerns freely chosen manipulation through false self-presentation.