Puranaanooru 4 – Blood red hues of battle

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வாள், வலம் தர, மறுப் பட்டன
செவ் வானத்து வனப்புப் போன்றன;

தாள், களம் கொள, கழல் பறைந்தன
கொல் ஏற்றின் மருப்புப் போன்றன;

தோல், துவைத்து அம்பின் துளை தோன்றுவ,
நிலைக்கு ஒராஅ இலக்கம் போன்றன;

மாவே, எறி பதத்தான் இடம் காட்ட,
கறுழ் பொருத செவ் வாயான்,
எருத்து வவ்விய புலி போன்றன;

களிறு, கதவு எறியா, சிவந்து, உராஅய்,
நுதி மழுங்கிய வெண் கோட்டான்,
உயிர் உண்ணும் கூற்றுப் போன்றன;

நீயே, அலங்கு உளைப் பரீஇ இவுளிப்
பொலந் தேர்மிசைப் பொலிவு தோன்றி,
மாக் கடல் நிவந்து எழுதரும்
செஞ் ஞாயிற்றுக் கவினை மாதோ

அனையை ஆகன்மாறே,
தாய் இல் தூவாக் குழவி போல,
ஓவாது கூஉம், நின் உடற்றியோர் நாடே.

Following the series of tributes to God Shiva, a Chera king and a Pandya king, now the spotlight turns west to the Chozha country and focuses on the king Ilanchetchenni, who is said to be the father of Karikaala Chozhan, and zooms on to the activities of his army at battle. The fiery words of this ancient Tamil text can be translated as follows:

“As swords bring success, they are stained in the picturesque hues of the red sky;

As feet stride on the battlefield, the anklets are worn smooth and appear like the horns of killer bulls;

As shields are pierced by arrows, they look like targets that stay not in one place;

As horses pounce and reveal the spaces from where enemies attack, with their face shields and red mouths, they resemble a tiger that has bit the neck of its prey.

As elephants strike against fort walls in fury and roam about, with their white tusks blunted, they seem like ‘Kootruvan’, who feeds on lives;

As for you, shining brightly atop your radiant chariot, drawn by galloping horses with dancing manes, you appear with the brightness and beauty of the red sun that rises above the dark seas.

Since you are so, like a motherless baby, which has no way to eat, the country that enrages you will likewise cry ceaselessly!”

Indeed, a difficult song for peace-lovers! Keeping aside our convictions, let’s step into the verse and understand the nuances. Paranar is a poet whose words we have oft encountered in ‘Akam’ poems and even in that domestic sphere, he would never fail to include references to kings and wars, and was known as a historian poet. Here, he gives a scene-by-scene narration of this Sangam king in the battlefront. 

The poet starts by talking about the handy tools of war, the swords, and mentions how these implements are glowing in the crimson hue of the twilight sky, as they bring victories to the king on the field. From this inanimate object, the poet shifts his focus on another object, an ornament on the feet of warring soldiers. Originally these anklets must have been carved intricately but now after days of fighting, they are worn smooth and look like the curving horns of a killer bull. Then, the poet moves to the third and final object, the shields carried by the soldiers and these being endlessly pierced by arrows seem to look like a target practice mat that stays not in one place.

Now, the poet turns to the living beings on the battle-field, first it’s the horses and how these prance about and show where enemies are attacking from, with the splash of blood pouring on their faces, adorned in gold, these animals start to look like a tiger that has just had the taste of its prey, with blood oozing from its mouth. From the horse, the poet turns to another huge participant, the elephant, and how it seems to be banging the fort walls with such rage, making its once-so-sharp tusks blunted on impact, and how it seems so dangerous like the God of Death himself. 

Objects and animals done, the poet turns to describe the king as he rides atop his golden chariot pulled by proud horses and calls him the scarlet sun that rises from the dark seas. Given all these aspects, the king’s enemy nations can do nothing but cry with no end in sight, like a motherless baby that has no way to feed its hunger, the poet concludes. To sum up this song, although the king is praised as the dawning sun, we cannot miss the red shades of battle with Death trumpeting aloud, as blood and tears flow on. That is war then and today. No matter the justification, the pain remains and there can be no true winners. Human history is bathed in many a bloodshed, and yet, that keeps repeating. Could there by a day when peace education is made mandatory for politicians of all nations, so that they will turn away from petty aggressions, and instead, focus on the bigger picture of fostering what’s good for humanity as a whole?