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In this episode, we listen to a determined request put forth to a king, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Puranaanooru 164, penned about the Velir King Kumanan by the poet Perunthalai Saathanaar. The verse is situated in the category of ‘Paadaan Thinai’ or ‘King’s praise’ and reveals the impoverished state of the poet’s family.
ஆடு நனி மறந்த கோடு உயர் அடுப்பின்
ஆம்பி பூப்ப, தேம்பு பசி உழவா,
பாஅல் இன்மையின் தோலொடு திரங்கி,
இல்லி தூர்ந்த பொல்லா வறு முலை
சுவைத்தொறு அழூஉம் தன் மகத்து முகம் நோக்கி,
நீரொடு நிறைந்த ஈர் இதழ் மழைக்கண் என்
மனையோள் எவ்வம் நோக்கி, நினைஇ,
நிற் படர்ந்திசினே நல் போர்க் குமண!
என் நிலை அறிந்தனைஆயின், இந் நிலைத்
தொடுத்தும் கொள்ளாது அமையலென் அடுக்கிய
பண் அமை நரம்பின் பச்சை நல் யாழ்,
மண் அமை முழவின் வயிரியர்
இன்மை தீர்க்கும் குடிப் பிறந்தோயே.
A different poet sings the praises of King Kumanan, about whom we have heard a lot from the poet Perunchithiranaar previously. The situation is rather intriguing because the event outlined in this verse happens when Kumanan’s kingship had been usurped by his brother and this Tamil king had been banished from his own capital and was living in a jungle. At this time, the poet goes to him and says:
“On the upraised mud stove, which has forgotten the act of cooking, mushrooms had bloomed. Seeing the face of her child trying to suckle her empty, milk-less breast, shrunken to the bone, owing to her state of having nothing to end her harrowing hunger, the moist, rain-like eyes of my wife filled with tears. Seeing her suffering, I thought of you and decided to find you, O battle-strong Kumanan! If you understand my state, even though you are in such a state, you will not let me leave without rendering gifts, for you are someone born in a clan, renowned for slaying the poverty of performers, who play on fine lutes made of leather with strings, covered in tunes, and drums, covered in clay!”
Let’s delve deeper into the words. The poet starts by teleporting the listener to his home and zooms on to the spot where the mud stove has been placed. There, mushrooms are rearing their heads, a clear indication that the stove had not been used in a long while. From that inanimate object, the camera turns to focus on a child trying to suckle from his mother’s shrivelled, milk-less breast and failing terribly, the child starts crying inconsolably. No food for the lady, as we could infer from the glimpse of the unused stove, and therefore, no food for the child! From the crying child’s face, the lens moves up to capture the tears moistening the rain-like eyes of the mother, and the next shot changes to the poet’s face looking at the tears of his wife. The moment the poet sees his lady’s tears, he knows there’s only one person to end their suffering and that’s King Kumanan.
Now the poet tells the king that he knows fully well that that whatever state Kumanan may be in, the king will not let him part from there without gifts once he hears of the poet’s state. Why because, the King is born to such a clan that has been celebrated for ending the sorrow of many a performer, whose livelihood depended on their stringed lutes and clay-coated drums! The trust of this poet in the king’s generosity is vividly sketched in the trajectory of the words that move from the mushroom-coated stove to the hungry child to the tearful mother to the watching poet and ends by standing before King Kumanan. While that may be so, is it right for the poet to go seeking to this king who has already lost everything? Let’s hold on to that question and see if we find our answer in the events that follow!
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