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In this episode, we perceive the many ways a king has attained victory in a battlefield, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Puranaanooru 373, penned for the Chozha King Kulamutrathu Thunjiya Killivalavan by the poet Kovoor Kizhaar. Set in the category of ‘Vaagai Thinai’ or ‘Victory’, the verse spotlights a war zone from the perspective of the affected others.
உருமிசை முழக்கு என முரசம் இசைப்ப,
செரு நவில் வேழம் கொண்மூ ஆக,
தேர் மா அழி துளி தலைஇ, நாம் உறக்
கணைக் காற்று எடுத்த கண் அகன் பாசறை,
இழிதரு குருதியொடு ஏந்திய ஒள் வாள்
பிழிவது போலப் பிட்டை ஊறு உவப்ப,
மைந்தர் ஆடிய மயங்கு பெருந் தானை,
கொங்கு புறம்பெற்ற கொற்ற வேந்தே!
………………………………………தண்ட மாப் பொறி
மடக் கண் மயில் இயல் மறலியாங்கு,
நெடுஞ் சுவர் நல் இல் புலம்ப, கடை கழிந்து,
மென் தோள் மகளிர் மன்றம் பேணார்,
புண் உவந்து………………………………………
……………………..அணியப் புரவி வாழ்க என,
சொல் நிழல் இன்மையின் நல் நிழல் சேர
நுண் பூண் மார்பின் புன் தலைச் சிறாஅர்
அம்பு அழி பொழுதில் தமர் முகம் காணா,
………………………………வாளில் தாக்கான்
வேந்து புறங்கொடுத்த வீய்ந்து உகு பறந்தலை
மாடம் மயங்கு எரி மண்டி, கோடு இறுபு,
உரும் எறி மலையின் இரு நிலம் சேர,
சென்றோன் மன்ற, கொலைவன் சென்று எறி
வெம்புண் அறிநர் கண்டு கண் அலைப்ப
வஞ்சி முற்றம் வயக் களன் ஆக,
அஞ்சா மறவர் ஆட் போர்பு அழித்துக்
கொண்டனை, பெரும! குட புலத்து அதரி;
பொலிக அத்தை நின் பணை தயங்கு வியன் களம்!
விளங்கு திணை வேந்தர் களம்தொறும் சென்று,
”புகர்முக முகவை பொலிக!” என்று ஏத்தி,
கொண்டனர் என்ப, பெரியோர்; யானும்
அம் கண் மாக் கிணை அதிர ஒற்ற,
முற்றிலன் ஆயினும் காதலின் ஏத்தி,
நின்னோர் அன்னோர் பிறர் இவண் இன்மையின்,
மன் எயில் முகவைக்கு வந்திசின், பெரும!
பகைவர் புகழ்ந்த ஆண்மை, நகைவர்க்குத்
தா இன்று உதவும் பண்பின், பேயொடு
கண நரி திரிதரூஉம் ஆங்கண், நிணன் அருந்து
செஞ் செவி எருவை குழீஇ,
அஞ்சுவரு கிடக்கைய களம் கிழவோயே!
A long, long song indeed, with many missing lines too! The poet’s words to this victorious Chozha king can be translated as follows:
“Akin to resounding thunder, roars the drums; elephants with expertise in the battlefield turn into rainclouds; chariots and horses turn into rain drops; And evoking fear, arrows that are shot out turn into wind in that vast battlefield. As their raised swords, streaked with blood, comes down with vehemence and squeezes the life out of the wounds inflicted, these young men rejoice along with their huge army, O victorious king, who has seen many a ‘Kongu’ king retreat!
Having…. huge and dark spots, are the naive-eyed peacocks. Akin to their restless walk, move those delicate-armed young maiden, lamenting within the tall walls of their fine mansions, and then crossing over, venture not to the town centre but to see the wounds… they praise the horses that carried them, and without having any other refuge, they attain your shade.
As for scanty-haired, young children, with jewel-clad, soft chests, when their arrows run out, not finding their relatives to help them… Such is the state of this wide-spreading space, where enemy kings, without attacking with their swords, retreated showing their rears.
Arriving like a fire that devours mansions, and as tusks scatter on the ground, making those towering hills fall to the ground, fought a warrior, confident of victory. Seeing the wound made by an enemy’s spear on this warrior, even those who came to cleanse wounds with cotton, shed tears. The spread of the great town of Vanji turned into a battle zone, and you threshed the lives of these fearless warriors and heaped them like haystacks in the war-fields of the west, O lord! May your wide battlefields with ‘panai’ drums shine with brilliance!
Going to the battlefields, where glorious kings conquered, praising them and saying, ‘Render unto us, those spotted-faced elephants’, they attained those rewards too, say elders in the know. As for me, like them, I come here, making the beautiful eye of my ‘Kinai’ drum resound. Even though I’m not perfect and great like them, with affection, I sing your praises and seek the precious gifts claimed by you from the forts of your foes, O lord!
With a manliness that makes even enemies praise you, with a generosity that makes you give endlessly to your friends, you remain radiant in this fear-evoking space, where ghosts and foxes roam, feeding on flesh, even as red-headed vultures gather above, in this battlefield that you are the conqueror of!”
Time to delve into the details. The poet starts with the familiar comparison of a battlefield with a crop-field, associating thunder with drums, elephants with rain clouds, chariots and horses with rain drops, arrows as the wind, and later, heaps of enemy corpses as haystacks. He spotlights how warriors are delighted to be a part of this war that makes their swords gleam with blood. The poet then mentions how this Chozha king made the kings from the Kongu region run away from battlefields, defeated.
Following this introduction, the poet presents this event from the perspective of three different people. First, it’s the wives of enemy soldiers, who are first seen lamenting inside their houses, and walking within the walls with the troubled gait of a peacock. Then, they decide ‘enough is enough’ and without reaching the town centre, they travel to the battlefields to see for themselves, the wounds of their husbands, says the poet. The next group of people are the young children of defeated warriors, who see they have run out of arrows and find no known adults to help them with more. That children are the most affected in a war is a heart-wrenching truth even today. For the third perspective, the poet zooms on a warrior himself, who comes with so much determination, like a fire that spreads on mansions and made even elephants fall and die. But even such a mighty warrior fell and those who cleansed his wounds, had tears in their eyes, the poet details.
It’s such a worthy and brave field that this king has won over in the western regions, in Vanji, the poet mentions. Rendering a blessing upon this king’s battlefield, the poet talks about what he has heard from knowledgeable people about how poets used to come singing the praises of victorious kings in such battlefields and returned with elephants many. With humility, he says, even though he’s not to the calibre of those great poets, he too has come drumming his ‘kinai’ drum, seeking not elephants, but just the precious things claimed from the forts of defeated kings. A practical-minded man, this poet, no doubt!
The poet then praises the king’s qualities that make even his enemies praise him and his friends adore him. He then concludes celebrating the victory of this king over that fearsome battlefield, filled with ghosts, foxes and vultures. The victory of this king from the perspective of others is an interesting narration technique employed by this poet. Also, intriguing how the poet mentions the fact about other poets parting away with the gifts of elephants, something we have read for ourselves in the previous verses. This internal reference thus establishes a subtle yet solid connection in this segment of Sangam Literature!
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