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In this episode, we perceive the helplessness in a lady’s heart, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 395, penned by an anonymous poet. Set in the drylands of ‘Paalai’, the verse speaks in the voice of the lady to the confidante, reflecting on her suffering-filled situation, as the man remains parted away.
நெஞ்சே நிறை ஒல்லாதே; அவரே,
அன்பு இன்மையின், அருள் பொருள் என்னார்;
வன்கண் கொண்டு வலித்து வல்லுநரே;
அரவு நுங்கு மதியிற்கு இவணோர் போலக்
களையார் ஆயினும், கண் இனிது படீஇயர்;
அஞ்சல் என்மரும் இல்லை; அந்தில்
அளிதோதானே நாணே-
ஆங்கு அவர் வதிவயின் நீங்கப்படினே!
‘What is to become of my sense of shame’ laments a voice in this verse! The opening words ‘நெஞ்சே நிறை ஒல்லாதே’ meaning ‘the heart is not stopping in its limits’ talks about a symptom that depicts the core theme. In the phrase ‘அருள் பொருள் என்னார்’ meaning ‘he does not seem to think that being gracious is what wealth is’, we see a nuanced moan about others looking for wealth in the wrong places. The words ‘அரவு நுங்கு மதியிற்கு’ meaning ‘the moon being eaten by a snake’ seems to depict beliefs about lunar eclipses. A calm sight of ‘someone sleeping peacefully’ can be seen in ‘கண் இனிது படீஇயர்’. In ‘அளிதோதானே நாணே’ meaning ‘my shame is to be pitied’, we get a glimpse of a precarious situation. Ending with the words ‘ஆங்கு அவர் வதிவயின் நீங்கப்படினே’ meaning ‘to go thither, to where he lives’, the verse intrigues our curiosity.
It’s all about the tumult within! The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a love relationship when the man decides it’s time to part away from the lady to gather wealth for their wedding. After a while, one day, the lady turns to her confidante and says, “My heart is not staying in control; As for him, having no love, he does not consider that grace is true wealth. As for those, who keep insisting with a hard heart, they, akin to those who live on this earth, upon seeing the sight of the moon being eaten by a snake, even though they slay not that angst, seem to sleep in peace; There is no one to tell me ‘fear not’. My sense of shame is to be pitied, for it keeps pushing me to go to the place where he is!” With these words, the lady details her delicate situation where her heart commands her to do something while modesty prevents her from proceeding in that direction!
Time to explore the nuances! The lady starts by talking about how her heart is refusing to stay in its limits. Then, she turns to talk about the man saying he seems to have no love in his heart for instead of gracing her with his company, he had parted in search of wealth. Then, in a veiled manner, she talks about a person, saying they seem to pressurise her with a severe heart. There is some disagreement about whom the lady is referring to, in this instance. Some say, it’s the man, for he seems to have persuaded the lady to give him leave to part away, while others, seem to think that the lady is talking about her confidante, who, during the day, seemed to pressurise her repeatedly to bear with the man’s parting and not show her feelings. This inference seems right to me, and is further strengthened by the simile the lady uses consequently. She talks about the moon being eaten by a snake and possibly refers to a lunar eclipse. At this time, the people of this world do nothing to save the moon from its distress, but simply talk about it uselessly, and then, go on to have a sweet sleep. Same is the state of those who seem to insist upon her impassive behaviour during the day, the lady adds, implying that she’s scolding the confidante for happily sleeping at the end of the day, while doing nothing to end the lady’s worry. Lamenting that there was no-one to calm her fears, the lady concludes saying her sense of shame is to be pitied for she wants more than anything to go to where the man lives just then!
Perhaps it was an unwritten rule in Sangam times that women do not seek out their men and that’s why the lady is so shaken by her heart wanting to go where the man is. That sharp remark about the sleeping confidante would no doubt nudge that friend to take concrete steps in resolving the lady’s pain. The verse highlights an acute recognition of all the elements in the outer world and also, aspects in the lady’s heart that’s affecting her in that particular moment of crisis, thereby paving the way for a clear resolution of the same!
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