Kurunthogai 215 – Descending sun and declining sorrow

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படரும் பைபயப் பெயரும்; சுடரும்
என்றூழ் மா மலை மறையும்; இன்று அவர்
வருவர்கொல், வாழி-தோழி!-நீர் இல்
வறுங் கயம் துழைஇய இலங்கு மருப்பு யானை
குறும் பொறை மருங்கின் அமர் துணை தழீஇக்
கொடு வரி இரும் புலி காக்கும்
நெடு வரை மருங்கின் சுரன் இறந்தோரே.

‘He will be back to protect you’ proclaims this verse. The opening words ‘படரும் பைபயப் பெயரும்’ meaning ‘suffering will slowly fade away’ renders positive words to the listener. In the phrase ‘சுடரும் என்றூழ் மா மலை மறையும்’, we see a daily event for it means ‘the glowing sun disappears behind the huge mountains’. Isn’t it curious how when the sun is setting in Sangam verses, it always seems to be setting into the peaks? If this region pertains to current-day Tamilnadu, these mighty peaks most probably pertain to the hills of the Western Ghats. Moving on, the core promise shines from ‘இன்று அவர் வருவர்கொல்’ meaning ‘He shall return today’. True to the setting of the drylands, appears the phrase ,’நீர் இல் வறுங் கயம்’ talking about ‘dry ponds without water’. Imagine how widespread elephants must have been in the Tamil country, for even near the drylands, we get to glimpse this gentle giant in ‘இலங்கு மருப்பு யானை’ meaning ‘elephant with luminous tusks’. A romantic click can be viewed in ‘அமர் துணை தழீஇ’ meaning ‘hugging the loving mate’. Danger does lurk in the background in the words ‘கொடு வரி இரும் புலி’ meaning ‘huge tiger with stripes’. Ending with the words ‘சுரன் இறந்தோரே’ meaning ‘the one who parted away to the drylands’, the verse invites us to listen to this tale of separation.

What do elephants in the wild have got to do with the man’s return home? The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a happy, married life when the man parted away to gather wealth. The lady languished in his absence and one day, close to his promised time of return, the confidante turns to the lady and says, “Sorrow shall fade away little by little; The scorching sun too vanishes beyond the huge mountain; He will return for sure today. May you live long, my friend. After digging in the waterless, dried-up pond, the elephant with radiant tusks, then moves towards the little peak, where it embraces its desirable mate and protects it from the striped, huge tiger, in the drylands region next to those tall mountains, to which he parted away!” With these words, the confidante allays the anxiety in the lady’s mind and assures her of the man’s arrival.

Time to explore the nuances. The confidante opens her statement directly by saying that sorrow will fade away bit by bit from the lady’s life. Then, she talks about how the burning sun vanishes behind the mountains. What could be the reason for the confidante referring to the sun in the same breath as the lady’s sorrow? Let’s hold on to that question and continue listening to the confidante. She promises the lady that the man will return the very day. Then, she moves on to talk about how an elephant searches for water in a dried pond and then moves towards the hills so as to embrace its mate and protect it from the pounce of a huge tiger. Narrating this scene to say that the man has walked to the drylands near the mountains, where this scene is unfolding, the confidante concludes her words.

The description of a scene in Sangam Literature is mostly not a mere description for the sake of establishing the setting. If we plumb the depths, we will find hidden layers. Likewise, here in the scene of the elephant digging up for water in those dried ponds, lies a metaphor for the man’s difficult search for wealth. Let’s pause a moment and reflect on the behaviour of elephants to go beyond the surface. There’s no water in sight in that pond, not a drop, and yet the animal seems to be digging up holes and reaching for something unseen. Animal watchers today would nod in agreement on understanding this Sangam statement for elephants are know to dig through dry patches with their feet, trunk and tusks and suck out the water hiding within. These water holes not only quench the thirst of the elephants but many other animals that come after them. What a fitting metaphor for the man who wants to earn wealth to render unto those who come seeking to him! Continuing in that scene, the elephant embracing its mate and protecting it from the tiger is another metaphor for the man’s return so as to save the lady from the attack of tiger-like pining. Not only by concealing within these metaphors, but also openly, the confidante declares the man would return just that day, perhaps as the sun was setting into the mountains.

Reverting to our initial question as to why the confidante should talk about sorrow fading and the sun diminishing, we will find our answer when we reflect on how even a sweltering sun finds an end to its attack at the end of the day. Here, I want to approach this message of positivity from a Western perspective. There, one would say that the dark and cold night would end and the dawn would rise with a new sun, when talking with optimism, whereas in this literature from the East, the contrast lies in the harsh attack of the sun ending to signal good things to come. Isn’t it fascinating to see how where we live and what we experience changes the way we think about the same things?