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In this episode, we meet with a generous lady, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Puranaanooru 333, penned by an anonymous poet. Set in the category of ‘Vaagai Thinai’ or ‘Victory’, the verse talks about the sense of compassion and fairness in the midst of an impoverished situation.
நீருள் பட்ட மாரிப் பேர் உறை
மொக்குள் அன்ன பொகுட்டு விழிக் கண்ண,
கரும் பிடர்த் தலைய, பெருஞ் செவிக் குறு முயல்
உள் ஊர்க் குறும் புதல் துள்ளுவன உகளும்
தொள்ளை மன்றத்து ஆங்கண் படரின்,
‘உண்க’ என உணரா உயவிற்று ஆயினும்,
தங்கினிர் சென்மோ, புலவிர்! நன்றும்;
சென்றதற் கொண்டு, மனையோள் விரும்பி,
வரகும் தினையும் உள்ளவை எல்லாம்
இரவல் மாக்கள் உணக்கொளத் தீர்ந்தென,
குறித்து மாறு எதிர்ப்பை பெறாஅமையின்,
குரல் உணங்கு விதைத் தினை உரல் வாய்ப் பெய்து,
சிறிது புறப்பட்டன்றோ இலளே; தன் ஊர்
வேட்டக் குடிதொறும் கூட்டு
………………………………………. உடும்பு செய்
பாணி நெடுந் தேர் வல்லரோடு ஊரா,
வம்பு அணி யானை வேந்து தலைவரினும்,
உண்பது மன்னும் அதுவே;
பரிசில் மன்னும், குருசில் கொண்டதுவே.
We are still in the boundaries of being generous not in prosperity but in poverty. The poet’s words can be translated as follows:
“With round eyes, akin to huge bubbles that pop up in water when heavy rain drops fall, a head above a black neck, big ears, is the small hare that leaps and frolics in the short bushes within the town near the centre filled with holes and burrows many. Even if there is no one to alleviate your tiredness, and say ‘Eat’, please stay there before you leave, O poets! When you do, seeing you arrive, with affection, the lady of the house, knowing that all the millets they had has been spent as it was rendered to supplicants as food, and since she was not able to get back what she had lent to others, she would gather clusters of millets on the pounding stone that had been set aside for seeding to cook the same for you. The thought of letting you leave empty handed will not cross her mind even a little bit. In the assembly of the tribe of hunters in her town… With the leather of monitor lizards to cover their arms, ride charioteers of great kings with tall chariots and elephants adorned with golden ornaments. Even if those kings were to come to her home, they would eat this same food; For whatever he gains by winning over other kings, the leader simply showers upon his supplicants!”
Let’s delve into the details. The poet starts by calling our attention to a sight most of us must have seen and relished – the appearance of a huge bubble when a rain drop falls on a water body. That bubble has been sketched for us, to place it in parallel with the eye of a hare. Continuing with a description of this hare, the poet says it has big ears and a head that rises above a black neck. The round eyes and big ears, we are familiar with, but what is this mention of a black neck? Only when I searched for an image of an ‘Indian hare’, I came away stunned by the truth of this acute description, for those images showed a striking black patch at the back of the animal’s head in the neck area even when the hare had brown fur. I saw a modern photographer and an ancient poet shake hands on their vivid captures of this wildlife for posterity.
Returning to the verse, we now learn that the poet has talked about these peppy animals only to say that they are prancing about in the town centre amidst the burrows there. What does this mean? That unlike the rich towns with heavy human habitation, here these town centres are not well maintained, and so, has been claimed by wild life, as was the case with many animals claiming streets of the world during the Covid lockdown. The poet continues saying even though the town centre is in such a state and there seems to be no one to ask the visitors to eat, the poet insists that they stay there. To explain the reason for this request, the poet visits the house of the leader, where his wife knows that there are no more millets at home because all of it has been given away. Even so, she would run to the pounding stone where a few clusters of millets have been kept aside to be used as seeds for the next season. Not minding their future purpose, the lady would cook the same and render unto those visitors, the poet connects, stressing that she does not have the heart to say no to them.
Following this with a missing line about the tribe of hunters, the poet then goes on to talk about the gloves made with the skin of monitor lizards that charioteers of kings use in their work. The poet adds that even if those great kings with immense wealth and resources were to visit the home of this leader, they too would eat the same humble food being offered to these poets. He concludes with the words that this is because the leader knows not the act of keeping his trophies to himself but always renders everything he wins to those who come seeking his patronage.
Another verse which proclaims the greatness of an extreme kind of generosity, of not saying no even when there is nothing. While that is repeated, what’s different here is the mention of how both the supplicants and the kings would be treated the same and there’s no variability in treatment because one is all powerful and the other has nothing to give. That is a noble virtue that we can relate to. But most of all, what shines in my eyes is that image of the water bubble transforming into the eye of an Indian hare with its black neck, which then leaps around the spaces of my mind, painting a smile on my face!
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