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In this episode, we observe the unshakeable trust in a beloved, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 187, penned by Kabilar. The verse is situated in the hills of ‘Kurinji’ and speaks in the voice of the lady to her confidante, in response to the confidante’s words berating the parted man for the delay in returning to the lady.
செவ் வரைச் சேக்கை வருடைமான் மறி
சுரை பொழி தீம் பால் ஆர மாந்தி,
பெரு வரை நீழல் உகளும் நாடன்
கல்லினும் வலியன்-தோழி!-
வலியன் என்னாது மெலியும், என் நெஞ்சே.
‘Stronger than a mountain’ is the verdict about a person in this verse. The opening words ‘செவ் வரைச் சேக்கை வருடைமான்’ meaning ‘the goat’s home on the steep mountain’ brings before our eyes, a sturdy mountain goat, most probably, the Nilgiri Tahr, a goat found only in India and that too, in the Western Ghats. Curiously, this goat is referred to as ‘varaiaadu’ in both Tamil and Malayalam, no doubt, a derivative from the ancient Tamil word we find here – ‘வருடை’. The phrase ‘சுரை பொழி தீம் பால்’ meaning ‘the gushing sweet milk from the udders’ focuses on the quintessential attribute of a mammal. In the words ‘கல்லினும் வலியன்’ meaning ‘a man, stronger than the mountain’, we perceive the core thought mentioned earlier. Ending with the words ‘மெலியும் என் நெஞ்சே’ meaning ‘weakens my heart’, the verse welcomes us to listen with empathy.
A mountain’s strength on one side and a weakened heart on the other beckons us! The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a love relationship when the man parted away to gather wealth for their wedding. Days rolled by and he returned not. Sensing the worry in the lady, the confidante decides on a ruse to nudge her out of it. To the lady, she talks ill about the man. Responding, the lady says, “The mountain goat kid that lives on the steep hill drinks contentedly, the gushing, sweet milk from its mother, and in the shade of the huge mountains leaps and frolics in the land of the lord. He’s stronger than a mountain, my friend! And yet, not understanding what a strong man he is, pines my heart!” With these words, the lady refuses to accept the confidante’s words of rebuke about the man but instead praises his strength and reiterates her trust in him.
What conviction in words! The lady starts by talking not about the man or herself but instead an element in nature – a mountain goat’s young one. This kid slurps up the milk gushing out of its mother to its heart’s content and then plays in the shade of the great mountains, the lady says. She has described this scene to mention the land of the man. After that introduction to where the man comes from, the lady then talks about what sort of person he is, and to say that, she once again picks an element of her own surrounding, calling him, someone stronger than a mountain. While that is true, her heart seems not to take that into account, but instead, worries and loses its health, the lady concludes.
The confidante’s ruse has worked brilliantly! Refusing to allow her friend to say negative things about her beloved, the lady defends him strongly. Even in the scene of the frolicking goat kid that plays in the shade of the mountains after relishing its mother’s milk, the lady places a metaphor for how the man too will earn what he went to seek and then return to live joyously in the shade of their happy home. You might have noticed this when talking to your friends. They may berate someone close to them but the moment you start adding to it, they would rise up and defend that person. It is this nuanced reaction that the lady too is exhibiting. Another fine point here is how there is a vast gap between what the mind understands and what the heart accepts. The lady says that she knows the man to be stronger than even the mountains and that he would accomplish what he went to accomplish and return to her, but at the same time, her heart doesn’t seem to realise this and worries needlessly. The mind does have all the answers but sometimes the heart, caught in the pulls of the moment, fails to pay heed to the truth within. Something to remember when in the throes of anxiety in the future!
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