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In this episode, we learn of the geographic extent of a king’s domain, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Purananooru 49, penned about the Chera king Kokothai Maarban by the poet Poikaiyaar. Set in the category of ‘Paadaan Thinai’ or ‘King’s praise’, the verse celebrates the wealth in the land of the Chera King.
நாடன் என்கோ? ஊரன் என்கோ?
பாடு இமிழ் பனிக் கடல் சேர்ப்பன் என்கோ?
யாங்கனம் மொழிகோ, ஓங்கு வாள் கோதையை?
புனவர் தட்டை புடைப்பின், அயலது
இறங்கு கதிர் அலமரு கழனியும்,
பிறங்கு நீர்ச் சேர்ப்பினும், புள் ஒருங்கு எழுமே!
A verse that made me wonder if I had wandered into the ‘Kurunthogai’ section, for so short was its rendition. The poet Poikaiyaar’s words about the Chera king Kothai can be translated as follows:
“Should I call him a man of the mountains, or a lord of the plains, or a leader of the seashore by which cool seas resound along? How should I describe King Kothai with a mighty sword? When farmers in his hills shake their rattles, from the farmland fields, with bent crop ears swaying in the breeze, as well as from the shore, with flooding waters, birds rise up as one!”
Now, for the nuances in this tiny gem of a verse! The poet wonders about what epithet he should give the Chera king. Should he say the king is the ruler of the mountains or farmlands or seashore, the poet seems to ask in bewilderment! He goes on to explain why that is, saying when a mountain farmer in the king’s land takes out his rattle to scare away the parrots thither, trying to steal the millet crops, not only are those parrots startled, but so are the birds in the farmland fields on the plains below, and also, the seabirds on the wave-roaring shore. With that one shake of the rattle in the mountains, the birds in all three lands rise up in unison, the poet concludes!
What a stunning imagery involving the sight and sound of thousands of different birds taking to the skies! The intricate layering in the verse is how the poet points out that this king’s domain seems to contain not one, not two, but three different fertile landscapes, that of ‘Kurinji’, the mountains, ‘Marutham’, the plains and ‘Neythal’, the coast! It makes me feel nostalgic to step into these landscapes that I read and relished in the ‘Akam’ verses of Natrinai and Kurunthogai! Even if one of these lands were there, that domain would be considered prosperous. So, see how much more prosperous my Chera king’s land is, encompassing the fertility of three landscapes, the poet seems to declare!
If we pause for a moment and think where this ancient Tamil land could be in contemporary India, ‘Kerala’ is the place that would pop into our minds immediately, and in fact, the Chera were the rulers of this region during Sangam times. Amusing to think that while the poet wonders two thousand years ago, what to call the king who rules over this land, twentieth century advertisers have come up with the perfect caption – ‘God’s own country’!
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