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In this episode, we perceive how a disappointment is handled, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Puranaanooru 209, penned about the Velir King Moovan by the poet Perunthalai Saathanaar. The verse is situated in the category of ‘Paadaan Thinai’ or ‘Praise’ and sketches the riches in a king’s land.
பொய்கை நாரை போர்வில் சேக்கும்
நெய்தல் அம் கழனி, நெல் அரி தொழுவர்
கூம்பு விடு மெண் பிணி அவிழ்ந்த ஆம்பல்
அகல் அடை அரியல் மாந்தி, தெண் கடல்
படு திரை இன் சீர்ப் பாணி தூங்கும்
மென் புல வைப்பின் நல் நாட்டுப் பொருந!
பல் கனி நசைஇ, அல்கு விசும்பு உகந்து,
பெரு மலை விடரகம் சிலம்ப முன்னி,
பழனுடைப் பெரு மரம் தீர்ந்தென, கையற்று,
பெறாது பெயரும் புள்ளினம் போல, நின்
நசை தர வந்து, நின் இசை நுவல் பரிசிலென்
வறுவியேன் பெயர்கோ? வாள் மேம்படுந!
ஈயாய் ஆயினும், இரங்குவென்அல்லேன்;
நோய் இலை ஆகுமதி, பெரும! நம்முள்
குறு நணி காண்குவதாக நாளும்,
நறும் பல் ஒலிவரும் கதுப்பின், தே மொழி,
தெரிஇழை மகளிர் பாணி பார்க்கும்
பெரு வரை அன்ன மார்பின்,
செரு வெஞ் சேஎய்! நின் மகிழ் இருக்கையே!
This poet’s request for gifts seems to be rejected by yet another king. His words can be translated as follows:
“The pond swan rests on a haystack in the fields along the coast, where farmers, who reap paddy, drink toddy on the wide leaves of the waterlily that has loosened the ties of its soft buds. Such is your fine country with gentle lands that sway to the pleasant rhythm of roaring waves rising above the clear waters of the sea!
Wishing to feed on fruits, soaring high on its abode of the sky, calling aloud making the clefts in the mountains resound, birds arrive expectantly to a huge fruiting tree. Seeing the tree bereft of its fruits, feeling helpless, they fly away, empty-handed. Should I, who came here with desire hearing of your great fame, part away in the same state too? May your sword flourish!
Even though you grant not, I will not be filled with sorrow. May you remain free of affliction, O lord! Let only those, who are close to you in your court know of this exchange between us, O king, who desires the battlefront, while maiden with thick and luxuriant tresses, honey-like words and well-etched ornaments await to embrace your mountain-like wide chest!”
Time to explore the nuances. The poet brings before our eyes an ancient seaside farming village, talking about a pond swan resting on a stack of hay, farmers drinking toddy from waterlily leaves, and a pleasant sensation of the land seeming to sway to the waves of the sea. This is a description of the king’s fertile land. Then, the poet moves on to talk about how a flock of birds rush to a tree faraway expecting it to hold fruits many and on reaching there, find the tree without fruits any. At that point, those birds will turn away feeling helpless and fly elsewhere. Is he to do the same thing, the poet asks the king. At the same time, the poet blesses the victory of the king’s sword and declares he’s not going to be sorrowful because of this disappointment, and renders another blessing wishing the king to be free of disease. Then, he praises the king’s consorts describing their tresses, words and jewels and talks about how they yearn to embrace the king’s chest while he yearns for the battlefront, the warrior he is. In conclusion, he wishes that no one but the king’s close ones should come to know of this exchange between the poet and the patron!
If he truly wanted that, the poet should not have written a poem about it and added it to a collection that will be read two thousand years later! Joking apart, here’s yet another instance of a poet’s disappointment and how he handles that with grace. Seeing these repeated instances of the same theme in Puram poetry makes me think of how in Aham poetry, there were numerous repetitions of the separation between the man and woman. That these themes and concerns seem almost trivial today should tell us how our own concerns will feel the same way to the people of the future! At the same time, no matter the repetitions and the seeming insignificance, we can always rejoice about glimpsing images from an ancient place and time and about reading the thoughts of those people, so different, and yet, so similar to us!
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