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In this episode, we perceive events around a divination ritual, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work Ainkurunooru 241-250, situated in the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountain landscape’ and penned by the poet Kabilar.
Thus soars the Twenty Fifth Ten of Ainkurnooru : Divining the Truth
241 The truth of the relationship
நம் உறு துயரம் நோக்கி, அன்னை
வேலன் தந்தனள் ஆயின், அவ் வேலன்
வெறி கமழ் நாடன் கேண்மை
அறியுமோ தில்ல? செறி எயிற்றோயே!
Looking at our deep suffering, mother has brought ‘Velan’ the priest here. Will that Velan learn of your relationship with the lord of the land, filled with fragrance, O maiden with perfect teeth?
242 Cruel not to tell
அறியாமையின், ‘வெறி’ என மயங்கி,
அன்னையும் அருந் துயர் உழந்தனள்; அதனால்,
எய்யாது விடுதலோ கொடிதே நிரை இதழ்
ஆய் மலர் உண்கண் பசப்ப,
சேய் மலை நாடன் செய்த நோயே.
Out of ignorance, confused that this is due to a divine act, mother suffers from a deep sorrow. And so, it would be cruel to not let her know, about the reason for the affliction of pallor that spreads in the kohl-streaked eyes, akin to a beautiful flower with many petals, that affliction rendered by the lord of the faraway mountain country.
243 Velan’s declaration
கறி வளர் சிலம்பிற் கடவுள் பேணி,
அறியா வேலன், ‘வெறி’ எனக் கூறும்;
அது மனம் கொள்குவை, அனை! இவள்
புது மலர் மழைக் கண் புலம்பிய நோய்க்கே.
Praising the god of the mountain slopes, where grows lush pepper plants, unknowing Velan declares this as the divine act of ‘Veri’. You seem to believe that, O mother, as the reason for the affliction that torments her flower-like, rain-like eyes!
244 Song on the mountains
அம்ம வாழி, தோழி! பல் மலர்
நறுந் தண் சோலை நாடு கெழு நெடுந்தகை
குன்றம் பாடான் ஆயின்,
என் பயம் செய்யுமோ வேலற்கு வெறியே?
Listen my friend, may you live long! If he does not sing about the mountains of the esteemed lord, having cool and fragrant, flower-filled groves, of what use is this ‘Veri’ ritual that Velan undertakes?
245 Is it fitting?
பொய்யா மரபின் ஊர் முது வேலன்
கழங்கு மெய்ப்படுத்து, கன்னம் தூக்கி,
‘முருகு’ என மொழியும்ஆயின்,
கெழுதகைகொல் இவள் அணங்கியோற்கே?
With honesty as his tradition, is the old ‘Velan’ of our town. Using molucca beans to divine, lifting a talisman, if he declares as ‘Murugu’, is it fitting for the one, who has truly caused this affliction in her?
246 Satisfied by the unreal
வெறி செறித்தனனே, வேலன் கறிய
கல் முகை வயப் புலி கழங்கு மெய்ப்படூஉ,
புன்புலம் வித்திய புனவர் புணர்த்த
மெய்ம்மை அன்ன பெண்பாற் புணர்ந்து,
மன்றில் பையுள் தீரும்
குன்ற நாடன் உறீஇய நோயே.
Velan has made all preparations for the ‘Veri’ ritual. Mountain farmers, who have sowed crops in the harsh land, make a statue of a tiger that lives in the mountain cleft, spreading with pepper vines, and embed it with molucca beans to make it realistic. Thinking it to truly be a female, a tiger ends its suffering of desire in the frontyard. Such is the lord’s mountain country. That ritual has been arranged only because of the disease that the lord of the mountains has caused!
247 Is that his name?
அன்னை தந்தது ஆகுவது அறிவென்:
பொன் நகர் வரைப்பில் கன்னம் தூக்கி,
‘முருகு’ என மொழியும் ஆயின்,
அரு வரை நாடன் பெயர்கொலோ, அதுவே?
I know that mother has brought someone. If he will lift a talisman within the bounds of the golden house and declare it as ‘Murugu’, will that become the name of the lord of the formidable mountain?
248 Good tidings for her
பெய்ம்மணல் முற்றம் கவின் பெற இயற்றி,
மலை வான் கொண்ட சினைஇய வேலன்
கழங்கினான் அறிகுவது என்றால்,
நன்றால்அம்ம, நின்ற இவள் நலனே!
Spreading fresh sands and making the place beautiful and divine, if Velan praises the god in the high mountains and divines the truth from the molucca beans, then that would be something good for her health and beauty!
249 Velan knows not
பெய்ம்மணல் வரைப்பில் கழங்கு படுத்து, அன்னைக்கு,
‘முருகு’ என மொழியும் வேலன்; மற்று அவன்
வாழிய இலங்கும் அருவிச்
சூர் மலை நாடனை அறியாதோனே!
In the fresh sands, divining with molucca beans, Velan says ‘Murugu’ to mother. May he live long! He knows not the lord of the fearsome mountains, glowing with cascades
250 Not the god, but a lord
பொய் படுபு அறியாக் கழங்கே! மெய்யே
மணி வரைக் கட்சி மட மயில் ஆலும் நம்
மலர்ந்த வள்ளிஅம் கானங் கிழவோன்;
ஆண்தகை விறல் வேள் அல்லன் இவள்
பூண் தாங்கு இளமுலை அணங்கியோனே.
O molucca beans, you do not know how to lie! The truth lies however in the sapphire-hued mountains, where peacocks dance and blooming ‘valli’ creepers spread in the forests of the lord. It is not the victorious and loveable god Murugu, but that lord of the mountains, who has caused this affliction on her young bosom, bearing ornaments many!
So concludes Ainkurunooru 241-250. All the verses in this section are set in the context of a man’s love relationship with a lady prior to marriage. The unifying theme of all these songs is the religious act of divination called as ‘Veri’, a practice undertaken by Sangam people in different regions to different gods to try and understand the cause and consequence of inexplicable things. Since these songs are situated in the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountain landscape’, the god who is being worshipped in this ritual is ‘Murugu’, who is a favourite deity of the Tamils, and goes by the name ‘Murugan’ in contemporary times. A priest devoted to Murugu known as ‘Velan’ is summoned to conduct this divination ritual in this domain. Returning to these verses, each one is uttered by the lady’s confidante and she says this either to the lady, the lady’s mother, and in one case, to the molucca beans, objects used for this divination. Even as the confidante speaks to the lady, she does it so as to make the lady’s family or the man understand the truth.
We learn of many facets about this ‘Veri’ ritual in these verses. Primarily, the reason for mother summoning ‘Velan’ the priest to conduct the ritual is because of all the changes in the lady’s form, owing to her separation from the man. Mother, although she was no doubt a young woman herself a while ago, seems to be suffering from amnesia, for she has no clue about why the lady is behaving so. She thinks it’s a divine act of fury, and so, she calls the priest to solve this seeming riddle about the lady’s ill heath. The specific events in this ritual seem to be spreading of fresh sands in the front yard of the lady’s home, then throwing molucca beans on the ground, and from the patterns, trying to read god’s mind. There is also mention of the Velan holding a talisman and then dancing in a frenzy, as if god had descended upon his body. Interestingly, this frenetic dancing and speaking in tongues still goes on in the villages of Tamilnadu and is known as ‘Saami aaduthal’.
In almost all the verses, the confidante declares the futility of this ‘Veri’ ritual for she is the one, who knows the true cause for the lady’s affliction. In the first, the confidante wonders aloud to the lady, while the lady’s mother is in earshot, whether Velan will find out that the reason for the lady’s affliction is her relationship with the man. In the second, she presses the lady to reveal the real reason for her disease is the man to mother, and allay her confusion and sorrow. In the third, the confidante addresses the lady’s mother directly, and laments that mother seems to believe as true the words of Velan, blaming god for the lady’s affliction. In the fourth, she speaks to the lady, when mother is in hearing, saying what’s the use of this ritual if Velan does not sing of the lord’s mountains as the reason for the lady’s affliction.
The fifth sees the confidante speaking to the lady again, however in the presence of the man, and wonders if Velan says the reason is ‘Murugu’, is that right by the honour of the man, who has caused this affliction? Through this, she intends to nudge the man to seek the lady’s hand and avoid the dishonour of a ‘Veri’ ritual. In the sixth too, the confidante speaks to the lady, with the man in hearing, and laments that Velan is going ahead with the ‘Veri ritual’, when the lord of the mountains was the real reason for the lady’s sorrow. Here, the confidante describes the man’s country as one, where mountain farmers make a statue in the image of a tiger, so as to scare away other animals, which come to feed on their crops. An actual tiger descends there, and thinking this is a female, it gives vent to its desire. This intricate description is the only metaphor in this section wherein the confidante indirectly scolds the man for indulging in the fake pleasure of trysting instead of seeking the real and permanent path of marriage.
In the seventh, the confidante goes back to the lady and as the lady’s family are in earshot, asks if in case Velan declares ‘Murugu’ as the reason for the lady’s disease, will that become the man’s name? In the eighth, she addresses the lady’s mother and says if at all Velan can find the truth about the lady from those beans, then that would bring good health back to the lady, implying that the truth is not to be found there. In the ninth, she speaks to the lady, when mother is in earshot, saying poor ‘Velan’ doesn’t know the lord of the mountains. That’s why he’s saying the wrong thing. In the final one, she talks to the molucca beans, while the lady’s family listen nearby, declaring without a doubt that it’s not the good god who is the reason for the lady’s trouble but the man of the sapphire mountains, where peacocks dance and ‘valli’ vines spread around. To summarise the essence, in this section, the confidante takes the stance of a scientist, who wants the world to know the true cause of an event, rather than trusting in imaginative superstitions, and this is one of the reasons the confidante is the most admirable character in this Sangam star cast!
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