Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Android | iHeartRadio | TuneIn | RSS | More
In this episode, we listen to the joyous news of the man’s return, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Ainkurunooru 351-360, situated in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’ and penned by the poet Othalaanthaiyaar.
Thus spreads the Thirty Sixth Ten of Ainkurunooru: Here he comes
351 Leaving behind the drylands
அத்தப் பலவின் வெயில் தின் சிறு காய்,
அருஞ் சுரம் செல்வோர் அருந்தினர் கழியும்
காடு பின் ஒழிய வந்தனர்; தீர்க, இனி
பல் இதழ் உண்கண் மடந்தை! நின்
நல் எழில் அல்குல் வாடிய நிலையே.
The small fruit of the jackfruit tree on the path, devoured by heat, is the only food for those traversing those formidable drylands. Leaving that jungle behind, he has crossed over and come. May it end now, O maiden with many-petaled, kohl-streaked eyes, the faded state of your beautiful waist!
352 Traversed the formidable
விழுத் தொடை மறவர் வில் இடத் தொலைந்தோர்
எழுத்துடை நடுகல் அன்ன விழுப்பிணர்ப்
பெருங்கை யானை இருஞ் சினம் உறைக்கும்
வெஞ் சுரம் ‘அரிய’ என்னார்,
வந்தனர் தோழி! நம் காதலோரே!
Those who perished by the bows of those drylands robbers with unfailing aim, are honoured with hero stones, inscribed with words. Akin to the rough surface of these stones is the skin of elephants with huge trunks, filled with mad rage, living in the hot drylands. Not thinking it’s hard to cross this domain, he has come, O friend, that lover of yours!
353 A chest to embrace
எரிக் கொடி கவைஇய செவ் வரை போலச்
சுடர்ப் பூண் விளங்கும் ஏந்து எழில் அகலம்
நீ இனிது முயங்க, வந்தனர்
மா இருஞ் சோலை மலை இறந்தோரே.
Akin to wildfires spreading vine-like in the red hot hill, are the radiant ornaments on his upraised, beautiful chest. For you to embrace that, he has come, the one who parted away to the mountain with dark and huge groves!
354 Maiden’s memories
ஈர்ம் பிணவு புணர்ந்த செந்நாய் ஏற்றை
மறியுடை மான் பிணை கொள்ளாது கழியும்
அரிய சுரன் வந்தனரே
தெரிஇழை அரிவை! நின் பண்பு தர விரைந்தே.
The wild red dog mounted on its moist mate and then let go of a young deer with a little fawn, without killing it, in that harsh drylands. From there, he has come so speedily, as the memories of you, the young maiden with well-etched ornaments, appeared in his mind!
355 Thinking of you
திருந்துஇழை அரிவை! நின் நலம் உள்ளி,
‘அருஞ் செயல் பொருள்பிணி பெருந் திரு உறுக!’ எனச்
சொல்லாது பெயர் தந்தேனே பல் பொறிச்
சிறு கண் யானை திரிதரும்
நெறி விலங்கு அதர கானத்தானே.
O maiden with well-etched ornaments, thinking of your fine beauty, I decided to let go of this affliction of seeking hard-to-attain wealth, and without telling others, I parted away, from that jungle, where small-eyed elephants rove and block the paths!
356 Pleasant to ponder
உள்ளுதற்கு இனியமன்ற செல்வர்
யானை பிணித்த பொன் புனை கயிற்றின்,
ஒள் எரி மேய்ந்த சுரத்திடை
உள்ளம் வாங்க, தந்த நின் குணனே.
Akin to the golden rope that the wealthy use to tie their elephants with, the glowing fire spreads in the drylands. Here, it seized my heart and made me return, those good qualities of yours, which were pleasant to ponder upon.
357 The power of flowers
குரவம் மலர, மரவம் பூப்ப,
சுரன் அணி கொண்ட கானம் காணூஉ,
‘அழுங்குக, செய்பொருள் செலவு!’ என விரும்பி, நின்
அம் கலிழ் மாமை கவின
வந்தனர் தோழி! நம் காதலோரே.
As the tarenna bloomed and the burflower blossomed, seeing the drylands jungle adorn itself with such beauty, deciding to let the journey to earn wealth perish, to make your dark-skinned beauty turn radiant, he has come, my friend, that lover of yours!
358 Thoughts that pull back
கோடு உயர் பல் மலை இறந்தனர் ஆயினும்,
நீட விடுமோ மற்றே நீடு நினைந்து,
துடைத்தொறும் துடைத்தொறும் கலங்கி,
உடைத்து எழு வெள்ளம் ஆகிய கண்ணே?
Even though he crossed over many hills with soaring peaks, will that let him prolong his journey, those thoughts of yours that make your eyes well with tears, and even though, you wipe and wipe, it continues to soar like a rising flood that breaches the dam?
359 Exhausting to ecstatic
அரும் பொருள் வேட்கையம் ஆகி, நிற் துறந்து,
பெருங் கல் அதரிடைப் பிரிந்த காலைத்
தவ நனி நெடிய ஆயின; இனியே,
அணியிழை உள்ளி யாம் வருதலின்
நணிய ஆயின சுரத்திடை ஆறே.
Desiring to attain rare wealth, leaving you behind, I parted to the path on the huge mountain. At that time, it seemed to be extremely long and exhausting. But now, as I came thinking of you, the maiden wearing beautiful ornaments, it turned so beautiful, that path in the midst of the drylands!
360 An effortless return
எரி கவர்ந்து உண்ட என்றூழ் நீள் இடை
அரிய ஆயினும், எளிய அன்றே
அவவு உறு நெஞ்சம் கவவு நனி விரும்பி,
கடு மான் திண் தேர் கடைஇ,
நெடு மான் நோக்கி! நின் உள்ளி யாம் வரவே!
Although the long path scorched by the sun and devoured by wild fire was formidable, it appeared effortless for me, as my heart, filled with desire, thought about embracing you, making me hasten the sturdy chariot tied with speedy horses, focusing on the moment of being with you, O maiden with huge, deer-like eyes!
So concludes Ainkurunooru 351-360. All the verses are set in the context of a man’s parting from a lady, after marriage, when he leaves her in search of wealth. The unifying theme of these songs is that they all speak about the man’s return from his journey to the drylands to seek wealth and all are addressed to the lady. The confidante says these words to the lady for the most part with some verses appearing in the point of view of the man as well.
Here’s a section which contains some descriptions about the drylands. In one, we see how there’s no other food in the drylands other than a piece of small, shrivelled jackfruit. In another, we see how memorial stones with inscriptions are placed for those who perished in the attack of drylands robbers. The highlight here is the mention of the word ‘எழுத்துடை’ meaning with ‘with letters’ and this showcases the literacy of this ancient culture that honoured its dead with words, two thousand years ago. This memorial stone in turns stands in as a simile for the wild and furious elephants that lived in these drylands. In another instance, we observe how a wild red dog or ‘dhole’ has just finished its mating with its sweet mate, and in that pleasant mood, takes pity on a deer with a young one and lets the poor mother and child escape unharmed. To talk about the spreading wildfire in another scene, the simile of a golden rope that wealthy people tie their elephants with, is brought forth. From this scene of ruin, the focus falls on blooming flowers such as tarenna and burflower and the way these flowers transform those drylands into groves of beauty, proclaiming the arrival of spring. In other instances, there’s further mention of this region being scorched by the harsh sun, and in addition, devastated by wildfires as well. Hot and fiery is the mood of the land here!
Turning to the intent of the speakers, in the first, it’s the confidante conveying the good news saying that the lady’s ruined waists will now transform with beauty, since the man has crossed the drylands and was on his way there. In the second, it’s her again, talking about the man’s courage to cross the terrifying drylands filled with mad elephants, she declares he has returned. In the third, she says to the lady that the man has returned just so that the lady can embrace his handsome, gold-clad chest. In the fourth, the confidante talks about how the man returned so quickly because of thoughts about the lady.
The man takes the spotlight in the next two verses, with him declaring, in the fifth, that he decided to not proceed with this pointless pursuit of wealth and how he returned without telling others, thinking of the lady and the joy to be had in her company. In the sixth, he talks about how the lady’s fine qualities, so sweet to think about, pulled him back from the drylands.
In the seventh, the confidante once again becomes the speaker and she talks about how when spring announced itself in the drylands through the flowering of the ‘kuravam’ and ‘maraam’, the man decided to let go of of his journey and to make the lady happy, he was returning. In the eighth too, the confidante talks about how the lady’s tears and thoughts would not let the man prolong his journey, no matter how far he had gone.
We hear the man’s voice in the last two verses. In the ninth, he contrasts the path he took to reach the drylands on his onward and return journey. Onward, when seeking wealth, it seemed so exhausting, but when returning, it turned so pleasant and beautiful, because he was thinking of the lady. He echoes a similar thought in the tenth about how the onward path was terrible with its heat and wildfire and seemed impossible to cross, but on the return, it was effortless because the man just thought about being with the lady and embracing her, as he wielded his horses and chariot so speedily in her direction.
When it’s about wealth, the path traversed is portrayed as harsh and impassable, but when it’s about being with a beloved, the same path seems to become a place of beauty and ease. A section which shows the timeless feeling of how the entire world seems to transform when one journeys towards love!
Share your thoughts...