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In this episode, we listen to words of advice rendered to a king, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Puranaanooru 29, penned about the Chozha king Nalankilli by the poet Uraiyoor Muthukannan Saathanaar. Set in the category of ‘Pothuviyal Thinai’ or ‘miscellaneous matters’, the verse visualises the life this Chozha king shall lead.
அழல் புரிந்த அடர் தாமரை
ஐது அடர்ந்த நூல் பெய்து,
புனை வினைப் பொலிந்த பொலன் நறுந் தெரியல்
பாறு மயிர் இருந் தலை பொலியச் சூடி,
பாண் முற்றுக, நின் நாள் மகிழ் இருக்கை!
பாண் முற்று ஒழிந்த பின்றை, மகளிர்
தோள் முற்றுக, நின் சாந்து புலர் அகலம்! ஆங்க
முனிவு இல் முற்றத்து, இனிது முரசு இயம்ப,
கொடியோர்த் தெறுதலும், செவ்வியோர்க்கு அளித்தலும்,
ஒடியா முறையின் மடிவு இலை ஆகி,
‘நல்லதன் நலனும் தீயதன் தீமையும்
இல்லை’ என்போர்க்கு இனன் ஆகிலியர்!
நெல் விளை கழனிப் படு புள் ஓப்புநர்
ஒழி மடல் விறகின் கழி மீன் சுட்டு,
வெங் கள் தொலைச்சியும், அமையார், தெங்கின்
இளநீர் உதிர்க்கும் வளம் மிகு நல் நாடு
பெற்றனர் உவக்கும் நின் படை கொள் மாக்கள்
பற்றா மாக்களின் பரிவு முந்துறுத்து,
கூவை துற்ற நாற் கால் பந்தர்ச்
சிறு மனை வாழ்க்கையின் ஒரீஇ, வருநர்க்கு
உதவி ஆற்றும் நண்பின் பண்புடை
ஊழிற்றாக, நின் செய்கை! விழவில்
கோடியர் நீர்மை போல முறைமுறை
ஆடுநர் கழியும் இவ் உலகத்து, கூடிய
நகைப்புறன் ஆக, நின் சுற்றம்!
இசைப்புறன் ஆக, நீ ஓம்பிய பொருளே!
As if this poet had implicitly flashed a ‘to be continued’ sign in the previous poem, in this verse, he elaborates on the earlier words to the Chozha king Nalankilli. The poet’s rendition can be translated as follows:
“Wearing well-crafted, golden garlands of lotuses that bloom in the fire, tied together with thick threads to adorn their dishevelled, dark heads, may bards surround your pleasant day seat at the court!
After this crowd of bards parts away, may your women surround your shoulders and your wide sandalwood-streaked chest. And, in your court halls with no element of discord, as the drums resound sweetly, may you fulfil your duties of punishing the wicked and rewarding the good, with unswerving justice and untiring disposition. May you never associate yourself with those who claim ‘there is no good in good and no evil in evil!’
Those who chase away birds in the paddy fields, using the wood of fallen palm fronds, roast backwater fish and drink up warm toddy. Still not satisfied with these pleasures, they bring down the tender juice from the coconut tree in that fine and fertile land that was gifted to the joyous soldiers of your army. Unlike the state of those who are against you, who have the pitiable state of living in four-legged, small stilt houses with thatched roofs, you have empowered your people to have the quality of friendship to render aid to those who come to them!
Akin to the changing appearances of performers in their many roles in the festivities, changes this world, and yet, let joy be a constant in the lives of those around you! May the wealth you protect render unto you, everlasting fame!”
Let’s explore the details in these words to this famous Chozha king from the Sangam era! The first thing the poet talks about is a golden ornament, we have already seen in other Puranaanooru poems – the golden lotus. Apparently, such golden lotuses were carved in the heat of the forge and then tied together with silver threads. Was it made as an adornment for women or homes or chariots? The answer is none of the above. These seem to have been specially made to be given away as gifts to exceptional bards, who would then wear these as a head garland around their unkempt, black hair. The poet has rendered all these intricate details to say he wishes for many such bards wearing these golden lotus head garlands to surround the king in his court and sing his praises.
Next, when the bards are done with their verses and have parted away, the king must be in the company of his women, who embrace his sandalwood-streaked chest, the poet adds on. After this blessing, the poet goes on to say how the king must render justice by doling out punishments to the evil and rewards to the good. He then adds a curious commandment that the king should stay away from people who do not believe there’s good in good and evil in evil. This sounds so much like the principles of ‘Nihilism’. Were there some unpopular exponents of this philosophy in Sangam times that this king is being warned against?
Casting aside this question for the time being, if we reflect deeply on the three wishes rendered by this poet, we will know that these involve the three cornerstones of Tamil philosophy, and these are justice, wealth and pleasure. When the poet is talking about bards with golden lotuses, he is talking about how the king has used his wealth, and then, when the poet wishes for the king to be embraced by his women, he is dwelling on the aspect of pleasure, and finally, with those words about punishments and rewards as well as leading a middle path, the poet is focusing on the third and final tenet of justice.
Moving on, the poet then describes the fertile land of this king that has been gifted to the loyal soldiers in the king’s army, and here, we see how they have turned into paddy farmers, who spend their working hours chasing away birds that come to raid the fields. At the end of the day’s work, these people fish in the bountiful backwaters, roast that fish using palm fronds as wood, and also, drink up warm toddy as the accompanying beverage. As if these culinary pleasures weren’t enough, next, they climb up on coconut trees to bring down the fruit and savour its tender juice. In short, they are living a life of wealth and joy. This is in contrast to the people in the enemy nations, who live in tiny stilt houses with thatched roofs, the poet informs us. He adds that not only do the people in the king’s land have all this prosperity and pleasure, they are also empowered to do just things such as rendering the hand of friendship to those who come seeking to them.
Dwelling on the abstraction of life in this world being one that’s ever changing like the appearances of actors in different roles in the festivities, the poet contrasts it saying how though everything is changing, one thing is constant and that’s the happiness of those around the king. Wishing that the king’s wealth brings him great fame, the poet concludes his words.
From these words to the king, we can understand that the Tamils had a practical philosophy about life. They do not advocate being just and good to the exclusion of everything else, but rather they seem to call for a fine balance between rendering justice, spending wealth and enjoying pleasures. An approach that seems relevant even today in a world so different from that of golden lotuses, royal courts and monarch’s justice of two thousand years ago.
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