Natrinai 116 – Wallowing elephant and wasted jackfruit

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”தீமை கண்டோர் திறத்தும் பெரியோர்
தாம் அறிந்து உணர்க” என்பமாதோ;
வழுவப் பிண்டம் நாப்பண் ஏமுற்று,
இரு வெதிர் ஈன்ற வேல் தலைக் கொழு முளை,
சூல் முதிர் மடப் பிடி, நாள் மேயல் ஆரும்
மலை கெழு நாடன் கேண்மை, பலவின்
மாச் சினை துறந்த கோள் முதிர் பெரும் பழம்
விடர் அளை வீழ்ந்து உக்காஅங்கு, தொடர்பு அறச்
சேணும் சென்று உக்கன்றே அறியாது
ஏ கல் அடுக்கத்து இருள் முகை இருந்த
குறிஞ்சி நல் ஊர்ப் பெண்டிர்
இன்னும் ஓவார், என் திறத்து அலரே!

The poem opens with a pithy saying, whose word spacing and style, reminds one of Thirukkural, the later era, well-known Tamil couplets on justice, wealth and love. From abstract philosophy, the poem moves into the realm of the real with the word ‘பிண்டம்’ meaning ‘foetus’. A related word ‘சூல்’ meaning ‘conceived’ adds to the hint about a life in the offing. Like two complementing drumbeats, the rhythmic phrases, ‘சூல் முதிர் மடப் பிடி’ and ‘கோள் முதிர் பெரும் பழம்’, talking about a ‘pregnant elephant’ and a ‘ripe jackfruit’ proclaim the essence of the poem. A meta-level satisfaction to see the word ‘குறிஞ்சி’ in this poem from the ‘Kurinji’ land or ‘mountain country’. Now, let’s take a trek into this wild land!

After being in a love relationship with the lady for a while, the man stays away, for some reason. The confidante tries to console the lady saying that the man will return. However, the lady does not accept the confidante’s consolation and says to her, “Tempted by desire in the middle of the forest, the pregnant elephant devours the spear-headed, fleshy bamboo shoots all day and lets its foetus fall. The lord comes from such a fertile mountain country. My relationship with him is like a well-ripened, huge jackfruit that snaps from the branch of the tree and falls into the crack of the mountain, of no use to anyone. Even though my relationship with him has ended days ago, not knowing that, the good Kurinji women, who live in the darkness-filled regions of that arrogant mountain range, do not cease to spread slander about me. Their action is contrary to the maxim, ‘Great minds will pause to reflect and understand, even when seeing wrongdoing, right before their eyes’”. With these words, the lady verbalises the deep pain in her, caused by the absence of the man and the rumours in the town. 

Like those great minds mentioned in the maxim, let’s reflect and understand deeply, the nuances in this mountain story. The lord’s fertile mountain country beckons us. Here, we see a pregnant elephant in the middle of the forest. It’s seduced by the fleshy, bamboo shoots, which is said to have a spear-like head. Must be a favourite food of this elephant for we see it gobbling the shoots, without any restraint. This causes the poor elephant to suffer a miscarriage. These lines tell us that ancient Tamils had a belief that eating bamboo shoots causes abortion. Even today, this same belief is held by tribes who live, not in South India, but in Northeast India. This cultural belief from the past echoed in a different region of the country in the present shows that no matter how farther apart we have been thrown by time, we will find bonds that tie, not just people of a country, but people of the world entire, if we care to explore! Returning to the poem’s present, we understand that the lady mentions the suffering elephant as a metaphor for how she has been reckless in pursuing the relationship with the man and how she now suffers for it, with her reputation destroyed.

The lady then likens her relationship with the man to a ripe jackfruit that has broken from the branch and fallen, not on the ground below, but into a crack of the mountain, yielding no use to anyone. She says that even though that relationship has fallen away, the village women continue to spread slander about her. She wonders how they can act contrary to what seems to be a well-known saying to them, about analysing things deeply and not passing instantaneous judgements.

Excited to see a couplet, mentioning such philosophical words, I explored to see if the same words were to be found in Thirukkural. Though not the same words, I found conceptually similar couplets. The presence of this couplet and the casual way it has been employed by the poet, makes me wonder if there was an ancient book of behaviour, pre-dating the Thirukkural, that was studied by the scholars and poets of the Sangam times. The evidence, in this poem at least, seems to point in that direction. Instead of a primitive approach of doling out punishment at the moment of wrongdoing, this saying advocates a calm and measured response. It seems to say, just because you see it before your eyes, does not mean it’s true. No better advice can there be, in these times of ‘fake news’ and ‘post-truth’!