Page:The Kural or The Maxims Of Tiruvalluvar.pdf/337

 ''Note 9. Verse 1184.'' The fancy seems to be something like this : As evil spirits are warded off by devotion accompanied by the uttering of the name of God, so it should have been possible to ward off pallor of the body by thinking of the beloved and uttering his praises. If, in spite of this, pallor should overspread her frame, there should be some witchcraft somewhere to nullify the effects of her endeavours to keep it at a distance. Parimelajahar gives a different explanation.

''Note 10. Verse 1261.'' The artless simplicity of women is exaggerated by poets in a thousand ways. Here the wife is supposed to be unable to tell the number of days that have elapsed since the parting of the husband by means of a calendar or by memory. So she is described as making a mark on the wall for every day that has elapsed since his departure, and then counting the marks, touching them one by one with her fingers, whenever she wants to calculate the day of his return. Rh