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In this episode, we perceive the courage and determination of a king, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Puranaanooru 17, penned for the Chera King Yaanaikatchey Maantharancheral Irumporai, by the poet Kurunkozhiyoor Kizhaar. The verse is set in the category of ‘Vaagai Thinai’ or ‘celebration of a king’s victory’ and talks about the past and present of this charismatic king.
தென் குமரி, வட பெருங்கல்,
குண குட கடலா எல்லை,
குன்று, மலை, காடு, நாடு,
ஒன்று பட்டு வழிமொழிய,
கொடிது கடிந்து, கோல் திருத்தி,
படுவது உண்டு, பகல் ஆற்றி,
இனிது உருண்ட சுடர் நேமி
முழுது ஆண்டோர் வழி காவல!
குலை இறைஞ்சிய கோள் தாழை
அகல் வயல், மலை வேலி,
நிலவு மணல் வியன் கானல்,
தெண் கழிமிசைத் தீப் பூவின்,
தண் தொண்டியோர் அடு பொருந!
மாப் பயம்பின் பொறை போற்றாது,
நீடு குழி அகப்பட்ட
பீடு உடைய எறுழ் முன்பின்,
கோடு முற்றிய கொல் களிறு
நிலை கலங்கக் குழி கொன்று,
கிளை புகலத் தலைக்கூடியாங்கு
நீ பட்ட அரு முன்பின்
பெருந் தளர்ச்சி, பலர் உவப்ப,
பிறிது சென்று, மலர் தாயத்துப்
பலர் நாப்பண் மீக்கூறலின்,
‘உண்டாகிய உயர் மண்ணும்,
சென்று பட்ட விழுக் கலனும்,
பெறல் கூடும், இவன் நெஞ்சு உறப் பெறின்’ எனவும்,
‘ஏந்து கொடி இறைப்புரிசை,
வீங்கு சிறை, வியல்அருப்பம்,
இழந்து வைகுதும், இனி நாம் இவன்
உடன்று நோக்கினன், பெரிது’ எனவும்,
வேற்று அரசு பணி தொடங்கு நின்
ஆற்றலொடு புகழ் ஏத்தி,
காண்கு வந்திசின், பெரும! ஈண்டிய
மழை என மருளும் பல் தோல், மலை எனத்
தேன் இறை கொள்ளும் இரும் பல் யானை,
உடலுநர் உட்க வீங்கி, கடல் என
வான் நீர்க்கு ஊக்கும் தானை, ஆனாது
கடு ஒடுங்கு எயிற்ற அரவுத் தலை பனிப்ப,
இடி என முழங்கும் முரசின்,
வரையா ஈகைக் குடவர் கோவே!
Without a doubt, the longest song we have seen in Sangam Lit thus far! There’s a repeated imagery of an elephant in this song and in the king’s name too, for the moniker ‘Yaanaikatchey’ means ‘the king with the look of an elephant’. This Chera King suffered a setback in the hands of the Pandya King Nedunchezhiyan and the events around that incident is presented as an exquisite simile in this verse. The poet’s words can be translated as follows:
“Within the limits of the Kumari lands in the south, the great mountains in the north, seas on the east and west, as all the mounds, hills, forests and lands therein come together to celebrate, slaying all evil, perfecting the sceptre, accepting the fair amount of taxes, taking the mid stance of impartiality, rolling on the radiant wheels sweetly, they ruled the land entire and you are the protecting progeny of those great kings!
With coconut trees having low hanging leaves, wide fields, mountains as fences, wide shores with moon-like sand, fire-like flowers upon its cool backwaters, stands the cool ‘Thondi’ and you are the fierce ruler of this town!
Not seeing the pit dug for an animal, a proud and powerful killer male elephant with long and mature tusks gets trapped in a deep hole. It then ruins that pit, rises up and joins its herd.
Akin to that, with your rare strength, you overcame that great setback, thereby filling others with delight and making your wide circle of kin sing praises of your victory.
Some think, ‘We may recover the great lands lost and precious possessions taken away, if we win the favour of his heart’, and others think, “We will lose greatly our fluttering flags, soaring walls, huge forts and wide palaces, if he were to look at us with fury’. Seeing this submission of your enemy kings, I came to sing of your abilities and fame, O lord!
As if they are clouds, stand together many shields. As if they are hills, making bees buzz around, stand many dark elephants. As if they are an ocean, making the sky dip to gather water, stand the huge army waiting to destroy enemies. As if it is thunder, making heads of snakes with hidden poison fangs tremble in fear, resounds the drums in your battlefields, O king of the western people with unceasing generosity!”
Time to get to know this Chera king better by delving deeper into these words about him! The poet starts by marking the boundary of an ancient nation, mentioning the Kumari lands in the South and the Himalayas in the North as well as the two seas on the East and West of the peninsula. A boundary map that is very close to the current borders of the modern Indian nation! Instead of mentioning the Indian ocean that borders the subcontinent on the South, this Sangam poem talks of Kumari lands, and it is verses like this that has given rise to speculation about a huge land mass to the south of the Tamil land. Hopefully advanced geological studies will clarify with conviction whether this was a myth or reality.
Heading back to the verse, these boundaries are mentioned to talk about how all the kings ruling all types of lands herein, be it mounds or hills or forests or plains, they all celebrated the ancestors of this Chera king. They seem to have been paragons of virtue, when it came to rendering the right rule for their subjects, for they were skilled in protecting the land from evil forces, proving a just rule, always being fair and praised in all the lands that their chariot wheels rode on.
After that celebration of the ancestors, the poet turns to sing the praises of the king’s capital called as ‘Thondi’, where there were tall coconut trees and lush fields, with fire-like flowers above the backwaters. Sounds like a verbal poster for ‘God’s own country’! Indeed, in Sangam times, the Chera kings ruled over the western portion of the Indian peninsula, the region referred to as ‘Kerala’ today.
From the king’s lands, the poet turns to talk about a momentous event in this king’s life. Instead of saying directly such and such thing happened, the poet chooses a striking simile. He talks about how a proud elephant falls in the trap laid for it. But that’s not the end of the elephant, for with its immense strength, it climbs up that deep pit and once again, joins its herd. Akin to that, the king too once was captured in the battle with the Pandya king and imprisoned. But with his strength, he escaped that prison and once again, went on rule famously, the poet implies.
Following this glimpse of the king’s past, the poet acutely presents what goes on in the mind of this king’s enemies, for some seem to think that their lost lands could be won back if they win his favour while others shiver in fear worrying that they will lose their all if they were to attract the ire of this king. As he saw all this, the poet decided to come celebrate his name and fame, the poet declares to this king.
Finally, the poet sketches a detailed image of the king’s army in the battlefield with the elegant use of similes. For the shields that stand in formation, it’s the clouds called in parallel. For battle elephants, it’s bee-buzzing hills. For the multitude of soldiers, it’s an ocean that is mentioned in parallel so much so that the sky wants to dip down to gather water. For the sound of war drums, it is thunder, something that makes the heads of serpents tremble. As the last word, the poet celebrates the king’s great benevolence and calls him the unparalleled king of the people living in the western regions!
Beyond the grandness of this king’s possessions and his prowess, rises one unforgettable image – that of a trapped elephant struggling and eventually soaring above its difficulty. There’s a strong implication that no matter whether prosperous or powerful, anyone can take a fall. To me, the song seems to say that there’s nothing to be ashamed of that fall, for what matters is how that person emerges out of the pit of their problems and finds their footing back in the world!
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