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In this episode, we listen to words about a king’s nature, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Puranaanooru 9, penned about the Pandya King Palyaakasaalai Muthukudumi Peruvazhuthi by the poet Nettimaiyaar. The verse is situated in the category of ‘Paadaan Thinai’ or ‘praise of a king’ and demonstrates acutely the kind of person the ruler is.
‘ஆவும், ஆன் இயற் பார்ப்பன மாக்களும்,
பெண்டிரும், பிணியுடையீரும், பேணித்
தென் புல வாழ்நர்க்கு அருங் கடன் இறுக்கும்
பொன் போல் புதல்வர்ப் பெறாஅதீரும்,
எம் அம்பு கடி விடுதும், நும் அரண் சேர்மின்’ என,
அறத்து ஆறு நுவலும் பூட்கை மறத்தின்
கொல் களிற்று மீமிசைக் கொடி விசும்பு நிழற்றும்
எம் கோ, வாழிய, குடுமி தம் கோச்
செந் நீர்ப் பசும் பொன் வயிரியர்க்கு ஈத்த,
முந்நீர் விழவின், நெடியோன்
நல் நீர்ப் பஃறுளி மணலினும் பலவே!
We met this Pandya King recently in Purananooru 6, sung by the poet Kaari Kizhaar. And yet again, his fame is illustrated by another poet of the Sangam era and these words can be translated as follows:
“‘Attention! Cattle, ‘Parpanaa’ people with gentle natures akin to cattle, women, the sick and those who have no golden children to remember and perform yearly rites of dead ancestors, who live in the South, may you all seek places of protection for our arrows are about to rain upon you!’ – These words of justice he renders with principled valour, and his flag atop killer elephants shades the entire sky.
Long live our king Kudumi! Known for offering reddish gold gifts to artisans at the festival of the oceans, his ancestor Nediyon ruled the lands near fresh waters of the ‘Pahruli’ river. May our king live for years more than the sands of this river!”
Time to learn more nuances about this king. The poet starts by rendering a warning message which seeks the attention of cattle owners and then, a group of people, who have natures like that of cattle meaning that they never take to fighting, possibly referring to people of the priest clan. After this, it’s the turn of women and the sick. Then, the next group of people to be included in this list are those who have no children. To detail this category, the poet speaks of how these childless people will have no one to do the rites of the dead in the years that follow. Curiously, the dead are described as people living south, relaying to us a belief in Sangam times about how the dead went on to live in the southern direction, which would be sea as far as the eyes can see and beyond from the southern tip of India, ending only in the icy shores of Antarctica. The other sociological element we can grasp from this statement is that children were expected to remember and perform the rites of their ancestors, a practice that’s done yearly in many Tamil households even today.
Returning, this long list of people have been called out, only to be asked to leave the area and go to any place they consider safe because the king’s arrows were about to be released upon that land. A moment to pause and applaud this king for his thoughtfulness about the defenceless. How many kings would have the virtue to call those who cannot protect themselves in the enemy nation to seek refuge before they attack? Even in these modern times, some premiers have no pity for the public and bombs do rain upon hospitals too. But here is an ancient king, although waging a war, living by a strong moral code of not harming those who cannot fight for themselves.
After detailing this virtue of the king, the poet talks about how the king’s flag shades the entire sky, meaning so vast is the king’s domain. Wishing this king to live long, the poet then goes on to talk about how long he should live. For that, an ancestor of this king by the name of ‘Nediyon’ is remembered for his offering red gold to artists for their performances in the ocean festival, and then, specifically, a river in his domain is spotlighted upon. This is the ‘Pahruli’ river and the poet concludes by saying that the king must live on for years more than the sands of this river!
Moving away from the celebration of the king, let us explore the ‘Pahruli’ river. Some scholars say this is a mythical river said to have been in the lost continent of ‘Kumari’. However, I wish to zoom on to a very real river that flows even today in the Kanyakumari district of Tamilnadu, with a name very close to that of the said Sangam river. This living river is called as the ‘Parali’ river and originates in the Mahendragiri hills, part of the southern ranges of the Western Ghats. Could this be the mentioned river from two thousand or more years ago? It may not be long and famous but time does have a way of changing the landscape. Perhaps lands to the south of this very river got submerged in the rising levels of the sea at some point in the past and perhaps that gave rise to myths about the submerged Tamil continent. In any case, on this river Parali, an aqueduct known as the ‘Mathur Hanging Trough’ has been built for the purposes of irrigation and drought relief, and standing atop this structure, one can take in the breathtaking beauty and lushness of this land and imagine its glory and prosperity in the times of these ancient Pandya kings!
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