Kurunthogai 9 – A mother-like maiden

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In this episode, we observe how a forgiving nature blooms like a blue lotus, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 9, penned by Kayamanaar. Set in the coastal regions of ‘Neythal’, the verse speaks in the voice of the confidante to the man, allowing him entry to the lady’s house.

யாய் ஆகியளே மாஅயோளே-
மடை மாண் செப்பில் தமிய வைகிய
பெய்யாப் பூவின் மெய் சாயினளே;
பாசடை நிவந்த கணைக் கால் நெய்தல்
இன மீன் இருங் கழி ஓதம் மல்குதொறும்
கயம் மூழ்கு மகளிர் கண்ணின் மானும்
தண்ணம் துறைவன் கொடுமை
நம் முன் நாணிக் கரப்பாடும்மே.

The kindness of a mother touches us in this verse, even as it opens with the words ‘யாய் ஆகியளே’ meaning ‘A mother, she turns’. Is this verse celebrating the birth of a child? Let’s journey on to find out! An ancient artefact, crafted intricately, appears before our eyes in ‘மடை மாண் செப்பில்’, which means, ‘in a tightly closed box’. Opening this, we find ‘பெய்யாப் பூ’, referring to ‘unworn flowers’. The flower that gives this landscape its name can be seen in ‘கணைக் கால் நெய்தல்’ meaning ‘thick-stemmed blue lotus’. ‘கயம் மூழ்கு மகளிர்’ clicks a word picture of ‘a maiden who takes a dip in a pond’. The verse ends with the intriguing words ‘கரப்பாடும்மே’ meaning ‘hides it within’.

A box that is shut and someone hiding something within! All this concealment seems to beckon us to investigate the context. The man and lady had been leading a married life when the man took to keeping the company of courtesans. One day, when he sees the error in his ways and decides to return home, he seeks the help of the lady’s confidante. To him, the confidante says, “Mother-like, that dark-skinned girl has become. Akin to unworn flowers kept isolated in a tightly shut box, her form has wilted. In the cool shores of the man, when the dark marsh, filled with schools of fish, floods, the green-leaved, thick-stemmed blue lotus looks like the eyes of a maiden, who takes a dip in a pond. Not wishing to speak of his cruelty before us, she hides her pain within herself!” With these words, the confidante conveys the lady’s noble nature and gives hope to the man that he will be accepted by her.

Weren’t songs from ‘Neythal’ or the coastal landscape supposed to revolve around the theme of lament? Instead, here it seems to revolve around a love-quarrel seen generally in a ‘Marutham’ or agricultural landscape. Following the rule that there will be exceptions to every rule, I guess! Right at the beginning, the confidante declares that the lady is one who has become a mother. Raising her hand as if to stop us from jumping into conclusions about the lady giving birth, the confidante points to a tightly shut box and informs us that within that, are flowers that have not been worn and explains how just like the fate of those wilting flowers, the lady too has lost her health and beauty. From the state of the lady’s health, the confidante turns to the man’s land and describes it as one by the shores, where thick-stemmed blue lotuses are flooded by the copious waters of the marsh, and emerge, looking like the eyes of a maiden, who has taken a dip in the pond. After that exquisite simile, she turns her attention to the harshness of the man and his cruelty to the lady, in his abandoning her and seeking courtesans. Even as it may be so, the lady seems not to be one who chides the man in front of her friends but a person who hides her suffering within herself, the confidante concludes!

Now, the reference to a mother becomes evident! It’s in the very nature of a mother to bear a burden and bring life into the world. The lady too, by bearing a different kind of burden, that of her pain, has become mother-like, the confidante reveals. Hinting that not only does a mother bear burdens but she is also forgiving, the confidante gives hope to the man that he will be forgiven for his erring ways. To me, the verse seems to whisper the gentle thought that although sharing of pain is highly recommended in most scenarios, in a situation of conflict in relationships such as this, rather than seeking temporary relief by venting out to friends, lasting solutions arrive with patience and through effective communication between the two concerned!