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In this episode, we reflect on abstract truths about love and wealth, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Natrinai 337, penned by Paalai Paadiya Perunkadunko, a Chera King. Set in the drylands of ‘Paalai’, the verse speaks in the voice of the confidante to the man, expressing her dissent on hearing the news of his intention to part away.
உலகம் படைத்த காலை-தலைவ!-
மறந்தனர்கொல்லோ சிறந்திசினோரே-
முதிரா வேனில் எதிரிய அதிரல்,
பராரைப் பாதிரிக் குறு மயிர் மா மலர்,
நறு மோரோடமொடு, உடன் எறிந்து அடைச்சிய
செப்பு இடந்தன்ன நாற்றம் தொக்கு உடன்,
அணி நிறம் கொண்ட மணி மருள் ஐம் பால்
தாழ் நறுங் கதுப்பில் பையென முள்கும்
அரும் பெறல் பெரும் பயம் கொள்ளாது,
பிரிந்து உறை மரபின பொருள் படைத்தோரே.
The verse opens with ‘உலகம் படைத்த காலை’ which translates as ‘when the world was created’ and makes us wonder if the verse is putting forth a creationist theory. Let’s investigate in a while! Then, we glimpse at the word ‘சிறந்திசினோரே’, which refers to ‘those who are great and wise’. A bouquet of flowers welcomes us with an assortment of ‘அதிரல்’ or ‘jewel vine’, ‘பாதிரி’ or ‘trumpet flowers’ and ‘மோரோடம்’ or ‘black cutch flowers’. The phrase ‘மணி மருள் ஐம் பால் தாழ் நறுங் கதுப்பில்’ refers to the ‘sapphire-coloured five-layered tresses that hangs low, wafting with fragrance’ and underscores the importance rendered to women’s tresses in Sangam times. Ending with ‘பிரிந்து உறை மரபின பொருள் படைத்தோரே’ meaning ‘it is custom for those who seek wealth to part away’, the verse seems to reveal the dynamics between seeking wealth and familial life, and invites us into the story within!
The man and lady had been leading a happy, married life when the man had to part away to seek wealth. Knowing that the lady would suffer because of this news, he seeks the help of the confidante to break it gently to her. Hearing his intention to part away, the confidante replies, “O lord, when they created the ways of this world, did those great philosophers forget this truth? As if a box, in which the flowers of the jewel vine that anticipates spring, the trumpet flowers with short hairs that blooms on the thick-trunked tree, and the fragrant black cutch flowers have all been shut together, has been suddenly opened, a fragrance wafts from her beautiful, sapphire-hued tresses that are designed into a five-layered braid. Without relishing the rare and great delight of embracing gently those low-hanging, fragrant tresses, those who seek to attain wealth are commanded to part away!” With these words, the confidante subtly dissuades the man from pursuing his plan of leaving the lady to go in search of wealth.
Time to delve into the details! The confidante opens her statement by talking about the time when the world was created or so it seemed to us, in the beginning. However, the word ‘உலகம்’ does not signify its contemporary meaning of ‘the world’ but talks about the morals or principles that guide this world. This becomes clear by association with the word ‘சிறந்திசினோரே’ referring to ‘the great and wise philosophers’. To summarise, she’s starting with the question wondering if those great philosophers who wrote down the moral principles of the world had forgotten something important. After putting forth this question, she does not clarify what she means immediately. Instead, she travels into the real world and mentions the jewel vine flowers that seem to await spring eagerly. Searching more about this flower, I found it to be a wild variety of jasmine that blooms in neat, linear clusters, abundant in South-East Asia. Jewel vine is not the only flower mentioned for we also see the bright, yellow-coloured trumpet flowers of a deciduous tree, found in India, and the last of the flowers are those of the ‘black cutch tree’ that bloom in clusters, looking like a lamb’s tail. Why has the confidante been listing out all these flowers in her world? Only to say imagine a box where these three different flowers have been kept together shut tightly and think of how it would feel if the box were to be opened suddenly. The fragrance that would waft out of this trio is the fragrance of the lady’s hair, the confidante concludes. She then talks about how those tresses are so thick that they are crafted into a five-layered braid and that is so long that it hangs low and wafts with that heavenly fragrance!
Why this elaborate description of the lady’s hair? The confidante explains that instead of embracing these tresses and delighting in the company of the lady, the man has to part away to seek wealth. Although she has been talking about her friend’s tresses, she then assumes a philosophical angle and seems to mean that any person who leaves in search of wealth will have to forego the happiness of being with their beloved. It’s through this link, the confidante connects back to the initial question of whether the philosophers when they laid down rules for wealth, happiness and justice in this world, forgot about the crucial contradiction that happiness and seeking wealth cannot abide together! The confidante seems to hint at the pain the man’s parting would cause in the lady, and seeks to gently dissuade him from pursuing his mission. A curious verse, which is a fusion of intangible abstractions and sensorial realities of this world!
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