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In this episode, we observe negative emotions between two women, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 164, penned by Mangudi Maruthanaar. The verse is situated in the agricultural regions of ‘Marutham’ and speaks in the voice of the courtesan to her friend, while passing on a pointed message to the lady’s friends, listening nearby.
கணைக் கோட்டு வாளைக் கமஞ் சூல் மட நாகு
துணர்த் தேக்கொக்கின் தீம் பழம் கதூஉம்
தொன்று முதிர் வேளிர் குன்றூர்க் குணாது
தண் பெரும் பௌவம் அணங்குக-தோழி!-
மனையோள் மடமையின் புலக்கும்
அனையேம் மகிழ்நற்கு யாம் ஆயினம் எனினே!
‘Faultless, I am’ declares a voice in this verse! The opening words ‘கணைக் கோட்டு வாளைக் கமஞ் சூல் மட நாகு’ is a one-line portrait of a fish, talking about ‘a female scabbard fish with thick fins, one which is fully pregnant and which is talked about as an innocent one’. So much about a fish in so few words! Reading ‘தேக்கொக்கின் தீம் பழம்’ meaning ‘sweet fruit of the mango tree’ made my mouth water for this summer delicacy. Next, it’s time for history, as echoed by the words ‘தொன்று முதிர் வேளிர் குன்றூர்’ referring to ‘the ancient tribe of Velir’ and their town of ‘Kundroor’. As we have seen in the past few verses, this verse too seems to have an element of the sea and talks about ‘தண் பெரும் பௌவம்’ meaning ‘the huge, cold ocean’. In the words ‘மனையோள் மடமை’ meaning ‘the ignorance of the man’s wife’, we perceive the lady being portrayed as belonging to the confines of a home, for the word ‘மனை’ means ‘a home’. Ending with the words ‘யாம் ஆயினம் எனினே’ meaning ‘if we become that’, the verse intrigues our curiosity with this hypothetical statement.
Female fish and falling fruit seem to depict more than the scene. The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a married life when the man took to keeping the company of courtesans. The lady is angered by this action of the man and turns her fury towards the courtesan, speaking ill of her to her friends. When news of this reaches the courtesan, she waits for an opportunity when the lady’s friends are close by, and then, making sure they are listening, she says to her friend, “The naive, pregnant female of the thick-finned scabbard fish snatches the sweet fruit from clusters of a mango tree, in Kundroor, the ancient town of the Velirs, to the east of which is the great, cold ocean. May it make me suffer, O friend, if, as conveyed by those hateful words of the man’s wife, spoken in ignorance, I have done that to the man from this town!” With these words, the courtesan conveys that she is not to be blamed for the man’s actions of parting with the lady.
Hidden meanings abound here, no doubt! Let’s listen closely to the courtesan’s words to find out more. She starts by talking not about the lady or the man, but instead a scabbard fish with dense fins, and that too, a particular female one, which is fully pregnant. Further, as if the courtesan has done a psychological analysis of this fish, she calls it a ‘naive’ fish. Looks like, anytime a female was portrayed, be it human or animal, this adjective would pop into the pens of the poets! Moving on, it’s time for action, for this scabbard fish pounces on a fruit that falls from the clusters of a mango tree, in the ancient town of Kundroor, the domain of an early people, the ‘Velirs’, who are considered by some, to be the originators of Tamil civilisation. Then, the courtesan adds, to the east of this ‘Kundroor’ is a huge ocean. As a side-note, if ‘Kundroor’ is anywhere close to the borders of current-day Tamilnadu, this ocean is none other than the ‘Bay of Bengal’. The courtesan has mentioned this ocean only to say, let that ocean rise and attack her, if the foolish words of the man’s wife were true!
To know what those words were, we have to delve deeper into the scene of that innocent, female scabbard fish snatching at a falling mango. This scene is a metaphor for how the courtesan has accepted the man’s company because he came on his own accord and sought her. Can the scabbard fish climb the mango tree to snatch that fruit? No, and so, it cannot be blamed for eating the fruit that fell in its path, the courtesan implies. From this, we can infer that the lady should have spoken words denouncing the courtesan for stealing her husband. In response to that statement, the courtesan vows, asking the oceans around ‘Kundroor’ to seize her, if there was a grain of truth in the lady’s words. At the core, it’s two women fighting over a man. As we have discussed in many verses from this region, the scarcity of males in towns, being lost to wars and travel, as well as the disproportionate distribution of wealth should have caused this state of affairs. But, dear ladies of the past, if only you had set aside petty squabbles about a man, and focused on moving your lives ahead, perhaps your daughters in the present would have climbed the ladder to equality much sooner. In any case, at least the women of today must realise the truth that there are better things to do in life than fight over a man!
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