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In this episode, we relish alluring imagery from the natural world, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 284, penned by Milaivel Thithanaar. The verse is situated in the mountains of ‘Kurinji’ and speaks in the voice of the confidante to the lady, in response to the lady’s worry about the slander that would spread in the village after the man’s parting.
பொருத யானைப் புகர் முகம் கடுப்ப,
மன்றத் துறுகல் மீமிசைப் பல உடன்
ஒண் செங் காந்தள் அவிழும் நாடன்
அறவன் ஆயினும், அல்லன் ஆயினும்,
நம் ஏசுவரோ? தம் இலர்கொல்லோ?-
வரையின் தாழ்ந்த வால் வெள் அருவி
கொன் நிலைக் குரம்பையின் இழிதரும்
இன்னாது இருந்த இச் சிறுகுடியோரே.
‘Don’t you worry about those senseless people’ seems to be the core thought here. The opening words ‘பொருத யானை’ meaning ‘warring elephant’ makes us wonder about who the elephant was fighting with. In ‘மன்றத் துறுகல்’, we glimpse at ‘a huge rock in the village centre’. That picturesque flower of the mountains makes an appearance in ‘செங் காந்தள்’ or ‘flame-lily’. The phrase ‘அறவன் ஆயினும் அல்லன் ஆயினும்’ meaning ‘if he’s a man of justice or he is not’ talks about the two possibilities of a man’s nature. In ‘ஏசுவரோ’ meaning ‘will they blame?’, the ancient origin of the contemporary word for ‘scold’ in Sri Lankan Tamil smiles at us. While ‘scolding’ is called as ‘திட்டுதல்’ in contemporary mainland Tamil, the Tamil people in Sri Lanka, now spread all over the world, continue to use the word ‘ஏசுதல்’ for the same. Fascinating how Sangam Tamil still lives on in the lingo of these islanders, echoing a bond that goes back millennia! Returning, we take in this picturesque sight, predominant in the mountain regions, in ‘வால் வெள் அருவி’ meaning ‘a shining white waterfall’. Ending with the words ‘இன்னாது இருந்த இச்சிறுகுடியோரே’ meaning ‘the people of this little village who seem to cause suffering’, the verse welcomes us to listen with empathy.
Someone is sure angry at the people around! The context reveals that the man and lady had been leading a love relationship when the man parted away to gather wealth for their wedding. As days pass by, the lady starts to worry that if the man does not return in time, the village folk would spread gossip about her relationship with the man. In reply to these anxious words of the lady, the confidante says, “Akin to a battling elephant’s dotted face, appears a rock in the village centre atop which glowing red flame-lilies blossom in the land of the lord. If he is an honest man or not, why should they talk ill of us? Don’t they have any sense of their own? Coming down from the mountains, the shining white cascade flows down near the huts thatched with abundant leaves in this small hamlet, with people who are not good to us!”. With these words, the confidante tells the lady that no matter what the townsfolk talk, she should pay no attention to that.
Whatever be the era, ‘don’t bother about what others say’ is the way to be! Let’s explore how the confidante conveys her views in this regard. She starts by talking about the spotted face of an elephant, back from battle, only to say that’s how a rock above which flame-lilies burst into bloom look like, in the man’s land. While that seems like a mere description of the place the man comes from, let’s take a moment to truly delve into the beauty and aptness of that simile. The image of red flame-lilies sprouting atop the rock clearly tells us that the elephant is bleeding profusely. The curving petals of that glowing flower just reflect the battle wounds on that elephant. What splendid imagination to look at a rock and see an elephant there!
When we head back to the verse, we see the confidante talking about the possibilities of who the man could be. Whether he was an honest man of his word or if he was not, why should the others blame the lady, the confidante asks. The lady cannot be held responsible for who the man turns out to be. And whether he fulfils his promise of returning to claim the lady’s hand or not, the consequences remain only with the lady. So, why should those strangers bother about that? Don’t they have any discernment of their own? So asks the confidante, further describing their village as one where white cascades flow next to thatched huts. Such an idyllic village but not so, its people, the confidante concludes, saying that they seem to only cause distress to them!
When we ponder over it, the verse encapsulates a modern thought of not worrying about the thoughtless words of others. Note that these words are being said not in the twenty-first century, when people live individual lives and shrug off the words of strangers as being none of their business. It’s the ancient past when societies were tightly knit and what one did was everyone’s concern. Even in such a situation, to see that the words of others lacks sense and hence is to be disregarded highlights forward thinking and self-confidence in one’s own path. Something to remember even today when a little, nagging voice within worries about the insensitive words of others in one’s own journey through life!
Wonderful சங்கத்தமிழ். Paints extremely beautiful landscapes of சங்கத்தமிழகம் in words and in the reader’s mind. Let me extend my gratitude to you for bringing old tamil into digital world, making oldtamil easily accessible and understandable too.
Allow me to add just this too – “ஏசுதல்”ங்கற சொல் is still a contemporary, absolutely a colloquial word in நெல்லைத் தமிழ்.🙂 That is how close nellai tamil “and people” are, to the sangam lit.
Thanks a lot for your warm words of appreciation. Delighted to learn how close Nellai Tamil is to Sangam Literature. Instinctively, I felt that the land referred in Sangam Literature belongs to current day Nellai, when I visited it last year. Thanks again for your thoughts.