1126. One Who Dwells in My Eye

"I have always been holding you inside my heart" said Ram.

"It is usual for men to say such things to the women they love. I don't believe it" said Anjana.

"What should I do to make you believe me? It is said that Hanuman tore open his chest and showed to Rama the image of Rama*, he had been holding in his heart. Should I do such a thing?"

"You can't, because YOU are Ram, not me! I am Anjana, the mother of Hanuman. There is some kind of a role reversal here!"

"When you say role reversal, are you implying that you have been holding me in your heart?" asked Ram.

"Holding someone in our heart is not a big deal for anyone. We keep so many things in my heart. You keep me too, among other things" said Anjana.

"Gosh! You are being so academic. Saying such romantic things adds some thrill to the conversation between lovers. If I say that I am holding you in my heart, you are expected to reciprocate by saying that you are holding me in your heart too. That will make me feel happy. But you are making a logical analysis of what I have said. It is exasperating!" said Ram.

"I am doing even better than you. I am holding you inside my eye."

"You are saying this to counter my saying that I am holding you in my heart."

"There is a difference between holding a person in the heart and holding the person in the eye. The heart is a garbage bin. Everything gets dumped into it. But the eye is sensitive. You can't keep anything in the eye. When I say that I am holding you inside my eye, I mean that even if you are not in front of my eyes, your image is always inside my eye."

"Oh! It is nice to hear what you say. But, be careful. Whenever you close and open your eyes or even wink your eyes, my image inside your eye will get squeezed. Will it not hurt me?"

"It won't. Even if there is a tiny particle of dust inside the eye, it will irritate the eye and cause pain. But, even though you are always inside my eye, I don't feel any pain or irritation. Does it not mean that you are present in my eye in a form subtler than the tiniest particle of dust? Your presence in my eye is like that of air. Being so subtle in form, you won't feel any pain" said Anjana.

"First, I should dwell on your tongue and learn to speak intelligently like you" said Ram, admiring his lover.

*Hanuman, a character in the Hindu epic Rama is depicted as a staunch devotee of Rama, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

Thirukkural
Section 3

Love

Chapter 113
In Praise of Love

Verse 1126 (in Tamil):
kaN uLLin pOgAr imaippin paruvarAr
nuNNiyar em kAdhalar avar.

Meaning:

My lover won't step out of my eyes. He won't feel any pain, by my closing or winking my eyes. He is so subtle in form.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'kaN mUdum vELaiyilum' by the same author.)

Verse 1127 (Soon)
Verse 1125