Puranaanooru 109 – Undeterred by any siege

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அளிதோதானே! பாரியது பறம்பே
நளி கொள் முரசின் மூவிரும் முற்றினும்,
உழவர் உழாதன நான்கு பயன் உடைத்தே:

ஒன்றே, சிறியிலை வெதிரின் நெல் விளையும்மே;
இரண்டே, தீம் சுளைப் பலவின் பழம் ஊழ்க்கும்மே;
மூன்றே, கொழுங் கொடி வள்ளிக் கிழங்கு வீழ்க்கும்மே;
நான்கே, அணி நிற ஓரி பாய்தலின், மீது அழிந்து,
திணி நெடுங் குன்றம் தேன் சொரியும்மே.

வான் கண் அற்று, அவன் மலையே; வானத்து,
மீன் கண் அற்று, அதன் சுனையே; ஆங்கு,
மரம்தொறும் பிணித்த களிற்றினிர் ஆயினும்,
புலம்தொறும் பரப்பிய தேரினிர் ஆயினும்,
தாளின் கொள்ளலிர்; வாளின் தாரலன்;
யான் அறிகுவென், அது கொள்ளும் ஆறே:

சுகிர் புரி நரம்பின் சீறியாழ் பண்ணி,
விரை ஒலி கூந்தல் நும் விறலியர் பின் வர,
ஆடினிர் பாடினிர் செலினே,
நாடும் குன்றும் ஒருங்கு ஈயும்மே.

The situation behind this rich song filled with many fascinating facts about Paari’s land unfolds when the three great rulers of the Tamil land – the Chera, Chozha and Pandya kings had sought Paari’s daughters in marriage and they were refused. At this time, these rulers come together to lay siege on King Paari’s country. The poet sings these words to those attacking kings. His words can be translated as follows:

“Your situation is to be pitied! For even if all three kings with your honourable, fine war drums lay a siege around Paari’s Parambu, this mountain land has four ways of yielding food, not sown by farmers.

One, from small-leaved bamboos, rice sprouts;
Two, sweet slices of the jackfruit ripen;
Three, beneath fleshy vines of the ‘fiveleaf yam’ plant, tubers flourish;
Four, brimming with the nectar of ‘Ori’ flowers in exquisite purple hues, hives break, and all over the dense, tall mountains, honey drips;

Akin to the sky, is his mountain; Akin to the stars in the sky, are this mountain’s springs; And so, even if you have elephants to tie to every single tree and even if you have chariots to spread on every bit of space in your land, you cannot win it with your efforts; He shall never give it on account of swords; I know the only way you can attain it!

Playing on the long, entwined strings of small lutes, as your dancing maiden with fragrant and luxuriant hair follow, if you would go to him, singing and dancing, he would render unto you, his land and peak too!”

Let’s delve into the treasure trove of details herein. The poet begins his words by telling the kings that if they thought that Paari’s Parambu country would be taught a lesson because of the siege around it by their combined forces, then they were very much mistaken. To categorically explain why is this is so, the poet refers to the expectation of these attacking kings that once they cut off the hill country from the farmlands in the plains around, the people in Paari’s Parambu would starve, and so, the king would surrender. Shattering the possibility of this hope, the poet talks about how there are four ways Paari’s hill country renders food that has no need to be reared by farmers in the plains. 

One by one, the poet lists the abundant food growing in this terrain. First, it’s the bamboo rice, the last offering from the wild bamboo plant, so rich in its medicinal benefits and nutritional value, and used by tribals in the Wayanad Sanctuary of Kerala even today. Second, the poet turns his attention to the luscious clusters of jackfruit that grow in abundance here. Third, it’s the turn of tubers growing from the ‘fiveleaf yam’ or ‘purple yam’ plant found in plenty in the hilly corners of the Parambu region. Fourth and finally, the poet talks about how purple lines spread across bee hives and these drip with honey. Purple honey, so rare in the world, is said to be from the nectar of elderberries or Kudzu vines. Returning to the four items on the menu, we know that it’s not mere food but a feast in itself that nature provides to Paari’s country, with no effort on the part of humans at all!

Then, the poet compares Paari’s mountain to the sky and points out to how, akin to countless stars in the sky, there are countless springs in this mountain, thus underscoring the innate fertility of the land. Food and water, all taken care of, and so, no matter if have so many elephants to tie to every tree in your domain or chariots to occupy every inch of space, all your efforts are useless for Paari is not one to surrender to the force of a sword, the poet tells the kings. 

Adding there is only one way for the kings to win Paari’s land, and that is, if the kings come singing and dancing, in the company of their women performers known as ‘Viraliyar’, playing on their small musical lutes. If the three great kings come in such a state to Paari, the charitable one would offer all his land and mountain peak too, the poet concludes. In essence, the poet declares that you can never win Paari by force but only by appealing to his generosity. 

In another tangent, isn’t it thought-provoking to see how we have moved so far away from such a bounty that nature gives us, in various forms of its wild-grown foods such as the bamboo rice, fruits, tubers and honey mentioned in this poem, to our processed and packaged food of today? If we were to return to such natural food to nourish our bodies, like the wise tribals, who live in the fringes of our society, still do, then, just like how Paari’s Parambu hills could bear the assault of any siege, so can we, against the attacking modern enemies of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and more!