Kalithogai 2 – The notes of a lute

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தொடங்கற்கண் தோன்றிய முதியவன் முதலாக,
அடங்காதார் மிடல் சாய, அமரர் வந்து இரத்தலின்,
மடங்கல் போல், சினைஇ, மாயம் செய் அவுணரைக்
கடந்து அடு முன்பொடு, முக்கண்ணான் மூஎயிலும்
உடன்றக்கால், முகம் போல ஒண் கதிர் தெறுதலின்,
சீறு அருங் கணிச்சியோன் சினவலின் அவ் எயில்
ஏறு பெற்று உதிர்வன போல், வரை பிளந்து, இயங்குநர்
ஆறு கெட விலங்கிய அழல் அவிர் ஆர் இடை
மறப்பு அருங் காதல் இவள் ஈண்டு ஒழிய,
இறப்பத் துணிந்தனிர், கேண்மின் மற்று ஐஇய!

‘தொலைவு ஆகி, இரந்தோர்க்கு ஒன்று ஈயாமை இழிவு’ என,
மலை இறந்து செயல் சூழ்ந்த பொருள் பொருள் ஆகுமோ
நிலைஇய கற்பினாள், நீ நீப்பின் வாழாதாள்,
முலை ஆகம் பிரியாமை பொருளாயின் அல்லதை?

‘இல் என, இரந்தோர்க்கு ஒன்று ஈயாமை இழிவு’ என,
கல் இறந்து செயல் சூழ்ந்த பொருள் பொருள் ஆகுமோ
தொல் இயல் வழாஅமைத் துணை எனப் புணர்ந்தவள்
புல் ஆகம் பிரியாமை பொருளாயின் அல்லதை?

‘இடன் இன்றி, இரந்தோர்க்கு ஒன்று ஈயாமை இழிவு’ என,
கடன் இறந்து செயல் சூழ்ந்த பொருள் பொருள் ஆகுமோ
வடமீன் போல் தொழுது ஏத்த வயங்கிய கற்பினாள்
தட மென் தோள் பிரியாமை பொருளாயின் அல்லதை?

என, இவள்
புன் கண் கொண்டு இனையவும், பொருள்வயின் அகறல்
அன்பு அன்று, என்று யான் கூற, அன்புற்று,
காழ் வரை நில்லாக் கடுங் களிற்று ஒருத்தல்
யாழ் வரைத் தங்கியாங்கு, தாழ்பு, நின்
தொல் கவின் தொலைதல் அஞ்சி, என்
சொல் வரைத் தங்கினர், காதலோரே.

Just like Ainkurunooru, the previous Sangam Literary collection we encountered, Kalithogai too is grouped by the landscape, with all the poems therein being sung by the same poet. For this ‘Paalai’ or ‘drylands landscape’, a Chera King, who has contributed immensely to the Sangam corpus, dons the role of the wordsmith. It’s heartening to know that in the Sangam era, there lived a king, who cared not about outer conquests and expansion that would inscribe his name in history, but gave his time to studying inner life and the exposition of emotions through poetry. The poet-king’s words can be translated as follows:

“With the Elder, who appeared before the beginning, at the fore, the immortals pleaded to slay the strength of the unruly. And so, like a lion, with fury, he conquered those deceptive demons with his immense skill, and with his three eyes, he burnt their three forts. Akin to the way his face glowed at that moment, burns the sun with its shining hot rays, and akin to how those forts shatter in the rising rage of the one, who wields the powerful battle-axe, mountains break apart and ruin the paths of travellers in the ire of the sun. Such is the drylands path, where you dare to part, leaving her to suffer here with her love that knows not how to forget. Listen to what I have to say!

Thinking, ‘It’s a dishonour not to render something to those who come and plead owing to their poverty’, you wish to gather wealth crossing mountains many. But can that be considered wealth? She is one with unswerving chastity, the one who will perish if you part away. What else can be wealth other than the state of not parting away from her tender bosom?

Thinking, ‘It’s a dishonour not to render something to those who come pleading saying they have nothing’, you wish to gather wealth crossing rocky hills many. But can that be considered wealth? She is one who united with you, seeing you as her companion, as per the ancient custom. What else can be wealth other than the state of not parting away from her soft bosom?

Thinking, ‘It’s a dishonour not to render something to those who come pleading saying they have nowhere to go’, you wish to gather wealth crossing jungles many. But can that be considered wealth? She is one with a chastity, worthy of being worshipped, akin to the northern star. What else can be wealth other than the state of not parting away from her soft and curving arms?

As I said to him, ‘Leaving her to suffer with dull eyes, if you leave for the sake of wealth, that is not love’, filled with love, akin to a mad, male elephant that is stopped, not even by a goad, but that which is calmed by a lute, bending from his stance, fearing that your old beauty would be lost, he paid heed to my word and stayed back, that lover of yours!”

Time to delve into the details. The verse revolves around the context of a man’s parting from his lady after marriage, and is expressed in the words of the confidante to the lady and within this outer margin, contains conversations of the confidante with the man. The confidante starts by sketching God Siva we encountered in the previous verse of invocation. Looking back at the first verse, perhaps this verse was the inspiration for that invocation, which is said to be added at a later stage. Without naming the god mentioned as Siva, the verse talks about the circumstances that lead to this god’s burning of the fort of the demons. Apparently, taking the Elder, the Creator God, as their leader, a bunch of immortals seemed to have sought the help of this God to quell the arrogance of the demons. So, this god, described as one having three eyes, an attribute assigned to God Siva, burns the three forts of the demons and wins over them. 

The confidante has rendered this lengthy, mythical description only to say just the way the God’s face glowed as he burnt those forts, the sun scorches the drylands, and just the way the God’s battle axe broke the forts, the sun breaks apart mountains and impedes the travel of the wayfarers. Describing this drylands path, the confidante connects saying this is exactly where the man planned to go. 

Following this clarification of context, the confidante describes how she speaks about the reasons for the man’s decision to leave. Though she says it in three different ways, ultimately the man wants to part away, only because he cannot bear to say ‘no’ to those who come seeking to him, out of their poverty, with nowhere to go. She establishes that his journey is not for selfish reasons, but for the act of rendering to others. Then, she puts the question to him asking if what he gains can be considered wealth at all. So, what is wealth, he may ask her, and readily she gives the answer that true wealth lies in the man not parting away from the noble, chaste, trusting lady, and living in her embrace. 

After narrating all these words about wealth she said to the man, the confidante delivers the final punch to him saying if he leaves, then his love is not love. Hearing these words, like a mad elephant that could not be tamed even by a powerful goad, which then stands still hearing the notes of a lute, the man too retreated, bent from his resolve, and decided to stay back, concludes the confidante, conveying the joyous news that the man will not part from the lady. 

Through this verse, the poet presents the dilemma between earning wealth and being with a beloved, and argues in a way such that love triumphs. Within these lines, hides the intricate art of negotiation, wherein we see how the confidante presents her case, first by acknowledging the man’s noble intentions in seeking wealth, and then raising a doubt by asking a question. She presents the criticality of choosing that path she recommends by describing the lady’s virtues and the lady’s inability to bear with the man’s parting. Finally, with that exquisite simile of the elephant and the lute, she ends with the lesson that it’s not harsh and punitive whipping rod, such as insults, anger and shouting, that would make someone change their mind, but the gentle notes of a calm appeal to reason. A lesson that shows the way to subdue all those wild elephants in our minds and lives!