kuRuntokai 22

[Lakshmi Srinivas]

 I have a question re KuRuntokai 22 which I reproduce
here for quick reference:

     nIrvAr kaNNai nIyiva Noziya
     yArO pirikiR pavarE cAraR
     cilampaNi koNTa valaJcuri marAattu
     vEni laJcinai kamazum
     tEmU roNNuta ninnoTuJ celavE.

 Loosely translated:
    You're crying that you remain here
    who'd want to part with you -
       with a bright brow sweet as the fragrance of
the
       right whorled white kadamba flowers
       blooming on the mountain slopes in spring

    It's with you that he will go.

 In his commentary to this verse, U Ve cAminAtaiyar
writes,

"ArrAmai mikka talaivi, 'yAro pirikiRpavarE' enRu tOzi
kURiya mAttirattil tuyar nIGkit talaiyetuttu nimirntu
nOkkinALAka, neRRiyin viLakkaGkANTA tOzi, " tEmu
roNNutal' enRu viLittAL." (kuRuntokai, u. Ve Ca.,
kapIr Press, 4th impression, 1962, p 64)

Loosely translated:

The grieving heroine, feels cheered by her companion's
words "who would want to part with you" and looks up.
The companion observing the (now) shining forehead
calls it, "fragrant bright brow".

It seems to me that this interpretation seems to, at
least implicitly,  subscribe to the view that poetic
utterance has creative potential. In other words,
poems have a mantra like power.

It may be noted that M. Shanmugam Pillai's usually
brief commentary does not contain this little
interpretative excursus for this verse.

Can this interpretation be considered to be justified?
I'd like the list members view on this topic.

Thanks and Warm Regards,

LS





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