The Kural · Chapter
CXXVII: The Longing of the Lovers to Meet explained
This chapter captures the intense longing and emotional turmoil of a wife separated from her husband, who has gone to war.
What happens
This chapter captures the intense longing and emotional turmoil of a wife separated from her husband, who has gone to war. She describes her physical decline—dull eyes, wasted arm, and lost beauty—as she counts the days until his return. Her thoughts oscillate between despair at his departure and joy at the prospect of his homecoming, wondering whether to sulk or embrace him. The husband, in turn, expresses his own yearning, hoping for a swift victory and a joyful reunion, while fearing that his beloved's heart may break before then.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Marriage
The chapter delves into the emotional bond between husband and wife, highlighting the pain of separation and the joy of anticipated reunion.
The Vanity of Worldly Life
The wife's physical decline and the transient nature of beauty underscore the fleetingness of worldly pleasures and the suffering caused by attachment.
Characters to notice
- Bouderie
The wife is depicted in a state of longing and physical decline, counting days and wasting away, embodying the pangs of separation.
- Pallor
Pallor is mentioned as the visible sign of the wife's suffering, which she hopes will vanish upon her beloved's return.
- Thiruvalluvar
The author of the Kural, whose verses in this chapter explore the theme of love and separation.
Key passages
“My eyes have lost their lustre and grown dull, and my fingers have worn away for counting of the days that I have noted on the wall.”
My eyes have dimmed and my fingers are worn from marking the days of your absence on the wall.
The wife's physical deterioration symbolizes her deep longing and the passage of time.
“What if I forget today, my maid? My beauty hath already left me and my bracelet hath slipped off my arm.”
Even if I forget today, my beauty is already gone and my bracelet has fallen off my thin arm.
Her lost beauty and loose bracelet indicate her wasting away due to separation.
“Only let my eyes take their fill of the sight of my beloved: pallor will then no more be seen on my wasted arm.”
If only I can see my beloved fully, the pallor on my thin arm will disappear.
She believes that reunion will cure her physical and emotional suffering.
“When the beloved who is dear even as my eyes cometh home, shall I sulk for his long absence? or shall I embrace him? or shall I do both?”
When my beloved, as dear as my own eyes, returns, should I sulk for his long absence, embrace him, or do both?
Her inner conflict between anger and love highlights the complexity of reunion emotions.
“To those who count the days and yearn for the return of the beloved who is away, one single day will creep along with the slowness of seven.”
For those who count the days and long for their absent beloved, a single day feels as long as seven.
The subjective experience of time during separation is painfully slow.