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In this episode, we perceive the ecstasy of a person in love, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 262, penned by Paranar. The verse is situated amidst the splashing cascades of the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountain landscape’ and presents a historic incident in vivid detail.
முதை படு பசுங் காட்டு அரில் பவர் மயக்கி,
பகடு பல பூண்ட உழவுறு செஞ் செய்,
இடு முறை நிரம்பி, ஆகு வினைக் கலித்து,
பாசிலை அமன்ற பயறு ஆ புக்கென,
வாய் மொழித் தந்தையைக் கண் களைந்து, அருளாது,
ஊர் முது கோசர் நவைத்த சிறுமையின்,
கலத்தும் உண்ணாள், வாலிதும் உடாஅள்,
சினத்தின் கொண்ட படிவம் மாறாள்,
மறம் கெழு தானைக் கொற்றக் குறும்பியன்,
செரு இயல் நல் மான் திதியற்கு உரைத்து, அவர்
இன் உயிர் செகுப்பக் கண்டு சினம் மாறிய
அன்னிமிஞிலி போல, மெய்ம் மலிந்து,
ஆனா உவகையேம் ஆயினெம் பூ மலிந்து
அருவி ஆர்க்கும் அயம் திகழ் சிலம்பின்
நுண் பல துவலை புதல்மிசை நனைக்கும்
வண்டு படு நறவின் வண் மகிழ்ப் பேகன்
கொண்டல் மா மலை நாறி,
அம் தீம் கிளவி வந்தமாறே.
In this trip to the hills, we get to see plenty of dynamic sights and also take a historic detour, as we listen to the man say these words to his heart, after his successful tryst with the lady:
“From the deep and dense jungle, chopping away the intertwined vines, with many yoked bulls, they turned it into cultivable land, scattering the right amount of manure and made it bloom because of their efforts. Into this field, where crops had sprouted with fresh green leaves, a cow had entered and grazed. As a punishment, the owner of that cow, her truthful father was blinded without grace by those ancient leaders known as ‘Kosars’. Distraught seeing their pettiness, without eating any food, and not adorning herself with clean, white clothes, with rage, she took on a vow and did ceaseless penance. News of her state reached the victorious chief of the hill hamlets, the battle-worthy Thithiyan, who wields fine horses. Only when this chief ended the lives of those Kosars, her fury abated. Akin to that proud daughter Anni Mignili, I too, felt my body brim over with unceasing joy, at that moment when my maiden with sweet words, fragrant akin to the cloud-covered dark hills, brimming over with flowers, resounding with cascades, whose many fine sprinkling droplets moisten bushes all around, a land ruled by the generous Bekan, renowned for his bee-buzzing toddy, came near me!”
Let’s tread on those rugged paths and learn more! The man starts by describing the agricultural process of taming a jungle undergrowth and making it a cultivable land, employing oxen, manure and all the hard work it entails. He says this is due to the effort of some leaders from an ancient clan, the Kosars. Now, the Kosars seemed to have had a strong sense of possession over those fields, the man continues, for one day, just because a cow entered those fields with lush green leaves and grazed on it, these Kosars went and punished the owner, by blinding his eyes. Another verse, Aganaanooru 256, where we recently learnt about this ancient punishment of blinding using slaked lime comes to mind.
Returning, the man turns to talk about what happened to the daughter of this man, who was punished for letting his cows loose. That maiden seems to be become enraged at the pettiness of the Kosars’ sense of justice and she gave up eating and wearing proper clothes and took on a frenzied penance. Hearing of her plight, a chieftain of the hills by the name of Thithiyan seems to have waged war against the Kosars and killed them. When she learned of it, that girl, Anni Mignili started shivering with emotion, and felt ecstatic joy, the man describes. Note that feeling, that exact feeling, the man says, and concludes by saying that’s what he felt when his beloved lady, who had the fragrance of the generous patron Bekan’s picturesque cloud-covered hills, came to him!
In essence, we are hearing the words of a man in love, reliving the joy of meeting his beloved and seeing his love reciprocated! One is a woman, who is fulfilled by revenge, and the other is a man, who is fulfilled by love. The highlight is in how this ancient poet find the threads that link such different individuals, beyond age, gender, situation and time, united just by an expression of emotion at a particular moment!
