Natrinai 329 – Falling feather and flying arrow

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வரையா நயவினர் நிரையம் பேணார்,
கொன்று ஆற்றுத் துறந்த மாக்களின் அடு பிணன்
இடு முடை மருங்கில், தொடும் இடம் பெறாஅது,
புனிற்று நிரை கதித்த, பொறிய முது பாறு
இறகு புடைத்து இற்ற பறைப் புன் தூவி
செங் கணைச் செறித்த வன்கண் ஆடவர்
ஆடு கொள் நெஞ்சமோடு அதர் பார்த்து அல்கும்,
அத்தம் இறந்தனர் ஆயினும், நத் துறந்து
அல்கலர் வாழி- தோழி!- உதுக் காண்:
இரு விசும்பு அதிர மின்னி,
கருவி மா மழை கடல் முகந்தனவே!

Opening with ‘வரையா நயவினர்’ meaning ‘one who has endless love’, the verse begins sketching the good heart of a person. In contrast to this goodness, appears ‘அடு பிணன்’ or ‘abandoned corpses’, filling one with dread. The phrase ‘பொறிய முது பாறு’ refers to ‘a spotted, old vulture’ and ‘புன் தூவி’ to ‘its soft feather’. ‘செங்கணைச் செறித்த வன்கண் ஆடவர்’ is a phrase-portrait of the highway robbers, who inhabit drylands, and means ‘fierce-eyed men who hold red arrows’. In the same spirit as the opening phrase appears ‘நத் துறந்து அல்கலர்’ meaning ‘he is not one who can live without you’. The verse ends with ‘கடல் முகந்தனவே’ meaning ‘sipped from the seas’ and no doubt talks about the clouds gathering in the skies, with a promise of rain!

The man and lady had been leading a love relationship when the man felt compelled to go in search of wealth for their wedding. As days roll by, the lady starts worrying about the dangers in the man’s path and his safe return. To her worried friend, the confidante says, “He, who has limitless love, will never seek the path of wrongdoing. An old vulture that has recently given birth, the one which has a back filled with spotted feathers, perceiving that there is not a spot to peck on the corpses of murdered wayfarers, wafting with a thick stench, flies away, fluttering its wings. Just then, a soft feather falls down and is gathered by those fierce-eyed men who wield red arrows. These men, with a heart desirous of victory, wait near the long paths. Although your man went on, minding not such a dangerous path, he is not someone who can live, forgetting you. May you live long, my friend! Behold, lighting up the dark skies, huge clouds journey on, having drunk from the seas!” With these words, the confidante extols the virtues of the man and assures the lady that the time of his return is near.

Now, let’s explore the details! The confidante opens crisply with a character-sketch of the man, who has parted away. She says that the man has boundless love for his beloved and adds that he is one who always shuns the path of wrongdoing. After saying this, the confidante transports the listener to the drylands. There, a corpse is lying about, sending out a thick stench in the wind! How did the corpse come to be there? A vulture overhead has no questions of this sort and pulled by the scent, comes there, for a feed. The confidante further points to us that this bird is a mature one and that it has recently given birth. However, not finding a single spot on this corpse to peck, it flies away disappointed and just then, one of its soft feathers fall to the ground. Ready to pick it up, is a highway robber with raging eyes, holding a blood-stained arrow in his hands! Now, it becomes clear it’s these men who have murdered a wayfarer and abandoned the corpse in the hot sands of the drylands. Perhaps finished off by other land animals, the roving vulture found no success in its search for prey here!

Two fascinating facets beckon us in this scene from the wild!  One, the act of a vulture shedding its feathers. I read that these are powerful birds of flight and that they cannot afford to shed all their feathers in one go. So, a few feathers at a time, is all it can spare, so that it can keep flying and this is captured in the verse of how a single soft feather falls from the mature vulture. As if knowing the rarity of finding such a feather, the highway robber immediately pounces on it. Why does he do that? Not for sentimental reasons of a keepsake but, for practical reasons to make his weapon the best it can be! For thousands of years, archers have been adding feathers to their arrows to improve the aerodynamics of the same. This process is called ‘fletching’ and if you know someone with the surname of ‘Fletcher’, most probably it came from this very profession of their ancestors. The importance of tying feathers to arrows seems to have spread across space and time. In this Sangam verse too, we see men of the drylands collecting the feathers of these strong birds of flight, to make their arrows fly swift and true!

Returning to the verse, the confidante has elaborated that entire scene in the drylands only to say that the man walks these paths, minding not such dangers that await him. Though he cares not for the dangers, the confidante assures the lady that the man cares much for her and that he cannot live without her. The confidante, pointing to the skies, says that the clouds, having had their fill from the seas, are rolling in the company of thunder and lightning, to pour joy into her life. From this, we understand that the man had promised to return by the rainy season and the confidante insists that as the rains are approaching, so will the man! With the initial words about the dangers in the drylands, the confidante shows the lady that she has listened to the fears in the lady’s heart. After that acknowledgement, she renders the assurance that in spite of everything, the man will return. The verse seems to whisper to us that the right way of allaying someone’s fears is to first see with the eyes of that person and then, render words of hope and positivity!