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In this episode, we perceive a persuasive argument to pacify an anxious heart, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 130, penned by Velli Veethiyaar. Set in the drylands of ‘Paalai’, the verse speaks in the voice of the confidante to the lady, allaying her anxiety about the man, who had parted away.
நிலம் தொட்டுப் புகாஅர்; வானம் ஏறார்;
விலங்கு இரு முந்நீர் காலின் செல்லார்;
நாட்டின்நாட்டின் ஊரின்ஊரின்
குடிமுறை குடிமுறை தேரின்,
கெடுநரும் உளரோ?-நம் காதலோரே.
‘Rhythm and reason’ reverberate herein! The opening words ‘நிலம் தொட்டுப் புகாஅர்’ meaning ‘he cannot break apart the land and vanish within’ seems to express one of the limits of what a human can do. Further, on the subject of limits, appears ‘வானம் ஏறார்’ meaning ‘he cannot step on to the skies’. Next, we see the word ‘முந்நீர்’ which translates as ‘three waters’ and is said to refer to the oceans of the world. Why ‘three waters’? Scholars speak of two meanings for this choice of word – one, these oceans are made of three kinds of water – water from the rivers that drain, seawater, and rain water; two, these oceans perform the three tasks of creating, protecting and destroying life. So much substance in so little a word for that entity that makes everything possible on earth. Returning, we next see repetitive phrases in ‘நாட்டின்நாட்டின்’ meaning ‘nation after nation’, followed by ‘ஊரின்ஊரின்’ meaning ‘town after town’ and finally ‘குடிமுறை குடிமுறை’ meaning ‘clan after clan’, endowing this verse with the richness of rhyme. Ending with the words ‘கெடுநரும் உளரோ?-நம் காதலோரே’ meaning ‘how can he escape – he, the one you love?’, the verse intrigues our curiosity.
Someone who cannot surpass limits and someone who cannot escape – who is being talked about? The context reveals that the man and lady had been leading a love relationship when the man parted away on some mission. When he did not return for a long while, the lady began to worry. To the lady, the confidante says, “He won’t dig open the earth and enter within; he won’t climb the skies; he won’t cross the dark and impeding ocean on foot. If we search country after country, town after town, settlement after settlement, how can he, the one you love, elude us?” With these words, the confidante consoles the lady saying she would find the man wherever he was and send a message to him, requesting that he return soon to his lady.
A simple verse echoing with the sincerity of truth! By mentioning three impossible things, the confidante begins her statement to the lady. The three: digging the earth and disappearing within, climbing the skies, and walking on the wall-like oceans on foot! Of the three, modern humans have achieved the second one to some extent – we can climb the skies on planes and even go beyond the skies on spaceships. And yet, even today, it cannot be done by the effort of a single human. Even if one is a pilot, so many people are needed to make that flight possible! So, humanity together may have surpassed its limits but not a single human, and that humbling thought would keep us grounded, no matter on what planets we may land on, someday. Returning to this two-thousand year old verse, the confidante has stated these limits with conviction. Then, she makes it clear who she is talking about by mentioning that if they decide to search nation after nation, town after town and house after house, surely, the man the lady loves, cannot escape their eyes.
Instead of resorting to untruths and vague words, the confidante uses logic and reasoning to address the anxiety of her friend. No one can fail to be impressed by the soundness of her rhetoric. She seems to say to her friend, ‘No, my dear, he cannot disappear beneath the earth, beyond the skies or across the seas. He is bound to be somewhere in the territories around us and nothing that a careful search cannot locate!’ Wouldn’t it be empowering to have a friend like this, who can see clearly in our foggy moments and point the way? Or perhaps, we can be that friend to someone, guided by the wisdom of this lady from the past!
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