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In this episode, we relish the intricate methods of conveying intention as expressed in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 98, written by Ukkira Peruvazhuthi, a famous poet-king from Sangam times. Set in the ‘Kurinji’ landscape of mountain country, the poem speaks in the voice of the confidante to the man, passing on a hidden message to make him hasten his marriage with the lady.
எய்ம் முள் அன்ன பரூஉ மயிர்எருத்தின்
செய்ய்ம்ம் மேவல் சிறு கட் பன்றி
ஓங்கு மலை வியன் புனம் படீஇயர், வீங்கு பொறி
நூழை நுழையும் பொழுதில், தாழாது
பாங்கர்ப் பக்கத்துப் பல்லி பட்டென,
மெல்லமெல்லப் பிறக்கே பெயர்ந்து, தன்
கல் அளைப் பள்ளி வதியும் நாடன்!
எந்தை ஓம்பும் கடியுடை வியல் நகர்த்
துஞ்சாக் காவலர் இகழ் பதம் நோக்கி,
இரவின் வரூஉம் அதனினும் கொடிதே-
வைகலும் பொருந்தல் ஒல்லாக்
கண்ணொடு, வாரா என் நார் இல் நெஞ்சே!
Evoking a prickly feeling within, the poem opens with the word ‘எய்ம் முள்’ meaning ‘porcupine’s quills’. Although it starts with a porcupine, we mustn’t jump to the conclusion that it’s all about one, for we meet ‘சிறு கட் பன்றி’ meaning ‘a small-eyed boar’. ‘வீங்கு பொறி’ tells us danger awaits this beast, for it means ‘a huge trap’. To make many a dainty heart leap, appears a ‘பல்லி’ or ‘lizard’. To test your Tamil pronunciation skills, in close proximity appears ‘பள்ளி’ which means ‘school’ in contemporary times whereas it meant ‘sleep’ or ‘rest’ in the past. Won’t it be a wonderful thing if schools indeed drop the mad pace and embrace ‘rest and play’ much more? Getting back to the verse, I learnt that ‘வியல் நகர்’ means ‘wide mansion’. Wonder if there’s any connection to the ‘nagar’ in Tamil street names we find today! The final surprise was the word ‘நார்’ which means not the ‘fibre on a coconut’s skin’ but ‘love’ or ‘affection’. I could only make the connection by taking the third meaning of the word , which is ’rope’, and use it as a bridge between the ‘fibre’ used to make a rope and ‘love’ as a binding rope that ties one’s heart!
Moving from words to meaning, we learn that the man and woman have been in a love relationship and the man arrives to tryst with the lady at night. Sensing that his mind is showing no inclination towards a formal union, the lady’s confidante tells him in a subtle manner, “With thick hair on its neck akin to a porcupine’s quills, a small-eyed boar plans to enter a vast millet field on the mountain slopes. It is unaware of the huge trap waiting for it. At the moment the boar takes a step towards the field’s entrance, like a friend who discerns what’s good and not, from the side, a lizard clicks unceasingly. Taking it for a bad omen, the boar slowly takes step after step backwards and goes to rest in its rock cave. Our lord comes from a mountain country filled with such scenes. Waiting for the moment when the sleepless soldiers of father’s well-guarded mansion rest their guard fatigued, our lord enters our house in the dark of the night. More cruel than that act are my eyes that know no rest, worrying about the hardships on his path and my heart that stays away with him, with no love at all for me!” Fret not that such words of love are being spoken by the confidante rather than the lady. As we have seen in other instances, the confidante sometimes assumes the voice of the lady, to drive home a message to the man. With these words, the confidante intends to convey to the man that the lady worries about him all day and that it would be better to forge a formal union.
To unravel the deeper meaning of the metaphors, let’s travel into the verse’s remote corners. A porcupine’s quills is brought in as a simile for the thick hair on the boar’s neck. Then, the confidante paints a vivid scene in the lord’s mountain country. On the slope, extends a rich green millet field and the boar yearns for a bite of the delicious crop. A danger awaits our millet thief! The farmers have laid a trap for the boar, which it’s unaware of. As it inches closer to the entrance of the field, a sharp sound is heard. It’s a lizard clicking its tongue. Perhaps, the boar hears it like the ‘Tch, tch, tch’ of a friend that it immediately stops in its tracks and takes a step backwards. Then another and then another until it is safe in its rocky den. Hold on to this ‘Animal Planet’ Sangam scene, while we turn our gaze to the man of the mountains. What is he upto? He waits for the moment the soldiers nod off in tiredness, to sneak in through father’s fenced mansion. What a cruel one he is to do this, the confidante remarks! But that’s nothing she says when compared to the unkind heart of the lady that stays away with the man, not considering her health and leaves no rest for those eyes all day every day!
Now, bring forth the scene of the boar and stack it in parallel to the man. The boar is wise to heed the warning of the lizard and retreat. Will the man realise the dangers in his current path too? Of walking through the terror-filled mountain path only to encounter the even more terrifying soldiers in father’s mansion. The confidante thus subtly points to the boar as an inspiring example and her words are to be taken as the warning of that clicking lizard. Should the man retreat like the boar? No, no, the confidante completes saying the lady’s heart is away with the man and the only right thing therefore, is to seek her hand in marriage and enter her life, the just way. What’s amazing in these poems is that the metaphors and similes for humans are found in the animal world! We live in a time when to compare humans to such beasts may be considered as a negative thing whereas then, it seems to be a natural thing. It’s here, the Sangam folks shine like our guiding light to embrace all life as one!
அப்பன்றி முள்ளைப்போன்ற மயிர்களை உடைய முள்ளம்பன்றி