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In this episode, we hear about the wealth and strength of a girl’s family, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Puranaanooru 353, penned by the poet Kaaviripoompattinathu Kaarikkannanaar. Set in the category of ‘Kaanji Thinai’ or ‘Defence’, the verse sketches the arresting beauty of a maiden.
ஆசு இல் கம்மியன் மாசு அறப் புனைந்த
பொலம் செய் பல் காசு அணிந்த அல்குல்,
ஈகைக் கண்ணி இலங்கத் தைஇ,
தருமணல் இயல்வோள் சாயல் நோக்கி,
தவிர்த்த தேரை, விளர்த்த கண்ணை,
வினவல் ஆனா வெல் போர் அண்ணல்!
‘யார் மகள்?’ என்போய்; கூறக் கேள், இனி:
குன்று கண்டன்ன நிலைப் பல் போர்பு
நாள் கடா அழித்த நனந் தலைக் குப்பை
வல் வில் இளையர்க்கு அல்கு பதம் மாற்றாத்
தொல் குடி மன்னன் மகளே; முன்நாள்
கூறி வந்த மா முது வேந்தர்க்கு
…………………………………………………………..
………………………………உழக்கிக் குருதி ஓட்டி,
கதுவாய் போகிய துதி வாய் எஃகமொடு,
பஞ்சியும் களையாப் புண்ணர்,
அஞ்சுதகவு உடையர், இவள் தன்னைமாரே.
A verse which establishes context effectively. The poet’s words can be translated as follows:
“Faultless is the attire she wears around her waist, woven with many gold coins, made by a goldsmith with flawless skill. Exquisite is the golden necklace she wears, as she walks on the spreading sands of the shore. Seeing her visage, you stopped the chariot, and now, with awestruck eyes, you question me, asking ‘Whose daughter is she?’, O leader, victorious in battles, listen to me now!
As if seeing peaks many, stacks of hay have been threshed endlessly and the heaps of paddy from this effort is rendered to young men, skilled with their bows, to eat for days together, by a king from an ancient lineage, the one who is her father. The great and old kings who came seeking her a few days ago… vanquishing and making blood run in streams, carrying spears that had sharp edges, now blunted in battle, without removing the cotton coverings still, they remain with fresh wounds- those terrifying brothers of hers!”
Let’s delve into the details. The poet starts with a description of a maiden wearing gold coins on her attire, skilfully made by a goldsmith, who no doubt carved the golden jewels she wears too. He freezes the image of this lady walking on the shores and tells us how a young prince, one victorious in many battles, had seen her so, and had stopped in his tracks. He gets off the chariot to admire her beauty and later seeks out this poet to ask him whose daughter she was. The poet takes it upon him to talk about the girl’s father, and to do that, he mentions mounds of hay threshed and heaps of paddy obtained, which are then ceaselessly given to the young bowmen day after day by the father, who happens to be a king, who comes from an ancient lineage. As the story goes, this king had refused many a king, and in the ensuing battles, the girl’s brothers made blood run in streams, as they battled with their sharp spears, later blunted in the heavy action, and the poet concludes with the words they still have not removed the cotton dressing and roam around with perpetual fresh wounds. No doubt the words in the mind of that prince must be something in the order of ‘What a family!’ Joking apart, really pitiable is the state of these young men, who fall in love with these royal maiden. Wonder if their love is strong enough to bear the assault of such tales of terror about the girl’s family!
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