Puranaanooru 168 – A feast in the mountains

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அருவி ஆர்க்கும் கழை பயில் நனந் தலைக்
கறி வளர் அடுக்கத்து மலர்ந்த காந்தள்
கொழுங் கிழங்கு மிளிரக் கிண்டி, கிளையொடு,
கடுங் கண் கேழல் உழுத பூழி,
நல் நாள் வரு பதம் நோக்கி, குறவர்
உழாஅது வித்திய பரூஉக் குரல் சிறு தினை
முந்து விளை யாணர் நாள் புதிது உண்மார்
மரை ஆன் கறந்த நுரை கொள் தீம் பால்,
மான் தடி புழுக்கிய புலவு நாறு குழிசி
வான் கேழ் இரும் புடை கழாஅது, ஏற்றி,
சாந்த விறகின் உவித்த புன்கம்
கூதளம் கவினிய குளவி முன்றில்,
செழுங் கோள் வாழை அகல் இலைப் பகுக்கும்
ஊராக் குதிரைக் கிழவ! கூர்வேல்,
நறை நார்த் தொடுத்த வேங்கை அம் கண்ணி,
வடி நவில் அம்பின் வில்லோர் பெரும!
கை வள் ஈகைக் கடு மான் கொற்ற!
வையக வரைப்பில் தமிழகம் கேட்ப,
பொய்யாச் செந் நா நெளிய ஏத்திப்
பாடுப என்ப பரிசிலர், நாளும்
ஈயா மன்னர் நாண,
வீயாது பரந்த நின் வசை இல் வான் புகழே.

The domain of this king is the most interesting thing in this verse. The poet’s words can be translated as follows:

“In the vast spaces of the pepper-filled mountains, where cascades resound and bamboos abound, along with its herd, a harsh-eyed wild boar digs up fleshy tubers of a flowering flame-lily plant. In that soil, ploughed by boars, waiting for the right day and time, without ploughing themselves, mountain people sow millet seeds. The blooming clusters of this mature millet crop, they harvest and cook in the sweet and foam-filled milk of a mountain goat in an unwashed, white-hued, wide pot, which was used to cook deer flesh, atop a fire made of sandalwood twigs. Taking this cooked rice, they spread and serve it on the wide leaf of a mature banana tree in the front yard, where jasmines and nightshades bloom fragrantly, in your country of Kuthirai, that trots not, O lord!

Holding a sharp spear, wearing a garland of ‘vengai’ flowers stringed together on ‘narai’ vines, you stand as the leader of archers, who shoot sharp and etched arrows. O king, who is renowned for your generosity and speeding horses, for the entire Tamilakam in the spread of this world to hear, making fine tongues that speak only the truth tire out, supplicants unceasingly sing your praises, making miserly kings ashamed, and establish your flawless, sky-soaring fame!”

Let’s delve into the details in this verse. The poet teleports us to a mountain country in the Sangam era. He points out to how pepper plants grow in plenty here, denoting the spice wealth of this ancient land. As we walk along with him, we can hear waterfalls roaring and bamboos rustling in the mountain breeze. He takes us to a particular spot, a wide space there, and here, we see wild boars digging up a flame-lily plant. When we wonder why these animals are intent on destroying that plant with striking flowers, the answer appears in the form of the plant’s tubers beneath the soil. A moment to meander and note that while these boars are hunting for these tubers as a delicacy, the same are extremely poisonous to humans. Returning, the poet now points to the soil as it appears after these boars have left and says this is the place where mountain farmers wait for just the right time and then sow millet seeds without taking the trouble of ploughing themselves, for their work is already done by their mammalian cousins! 

Since we are on a time machine, we can zoom to the time when these millet crops have risen from the ground and are now fully ripe. It’s harvest time and the same farmers gather those millet ears. Then, as we follow them to their homes, we see one of them taking a wide pot, reeking of flesh, which the poet informs us comes from holding deer meet, and without washing this vessel, they pour the milk of a mountain goat there and add those millet clusters and boil them atop a fire built with sandalwood twigs. What a fragrant delicacy that must be! It’s a great menu item, no doubt but doesn’t the packaging also matter? To tick that box, these mountain farmers then cut a huge leaf of a well-grown banana plant, and spread it on the front-yard where there’s the pleasant fragrance of jasmines and nightshades dancing around. Talk about ambience! On the leaf, they serve that delicious food to visitors in the land of this king, the poet links.

Then, he goes to describe the king in other ways such as his garland of Kino flowers tied with vines and how he’s the leader of great archers, and that he bears a sharp spear. He concludes by saying the generosity of this king is celebrated by so many poets, who sing until their tongues tire out and spread his fame all over the land of Tamilakam, the two thousand year old name for the Tamil country, used to this day! No matter these high praises for the king, what etches the king firmly in our minds is the fertility and the hospitality in his country, even in the home of a humble mountain farmer. Truly, a delicious feast of words!