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In this episode, we listen to the rendition of a much-awaited news, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 269, penned by Madurai Maruthan Ilanaakanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse presents intricate details about the custom of installing hero stones.
தொடி தோள் இவர்க! எவ்வமும் தீர்க!
நெறி இருங் கதுப்பின் கோதையும் புனைக!
ஏறுடை இன நிரை பெயர, பெயராது,
செறி சுரை வெள் வேல் மழவர்த் தாங்கிய
தறுகணாளர் நல் இசை நிறுமார்,
பிடி மடிந்தன்ன குறும்பொறை மருங்கின்,
நட்ட போலும் நடாஅ நெடுங் கல்
அகல் இடம் குயின்ற பல் பெயர் மண்ணி,
நறு விரை மஞ்சள் ஈர்ம் புறம் பொலிய
அம்பு கொண்டு அறுத்த ஆர் நார் உரிவையின்
செம் பூங் கரந்தை புனைந்த கண்ணி
வரி வண்டு ஆர்ப்பச் சூட்டி, கழற் கால்
இளையர் பதிப் பெயரும் அருஞ் சுரம் இறந்தோர்,
தைஇ நின்ற தண் பெயல் கடை நாள்,
பொலங்காசு நிரைத்த கோடு ஏந்து அல்குல்
நலம் கேழ் மாக் குரல் குழையொடு துயல்வர,
பாடு ஊர்பு எழுதரும் பகு வாய் மண்டிலத்து
வயிர் இடைப்பட்ட தெள் விளி இயம்ப,
வண்டற் பாவை உண்துறைத் தரீஇ,
திரு நுதல் மகளிர் குரவை அயரும்
பெரு நீர்க் கானல் தழீஇய இருக்கை,
வாணன் சிறுகுடி, வணங்கு கதிர் நெல்லின்
யாணர்த் தண் பணைப் போது வாய் அவிழ்ந்த
ஒண் செங் கழுநீர் அன்ன, நின்
கண் பனி துடைமார் வந்தனர், விரைந்தே.
In this trip to the drylands, we get to see intriguing sights and take a detour to a historic site, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the lady, at a time, when the man continues to remain parted away, having left in search of wealth:
“Let the bangles ascend on your arms! Let the suffering cease! Let flower garlands adorn your wavy, dark tresses! After rescuing herds of cattle comprising of prize bulls, without retreating, those fearless men stood and fought against the cattle stealers, who bear thick and curving white spears. To reinstate the good fame of these warriors, near small hills, which appear akin to a seated female elephant, their young helpers wearing resounding anklets, carve on tall and natural stones, which appear as if planted there, inscribing the many names of those fearless fighters in the wide spaces, streaking fragrant paste of turmeric upon the radiant, moist stone surfaces, and adorning them with peeled bark of trees cut by arrows and garlands of woven red globe thistle flowers. Only then do they leave from those formidable drylands, where the man has left to, now.
In the month of ‘Thai’ when the last cool showers cease, wearing coins of gold around their uplifted waists, along with swaying, many-hued flowers and dark clusters of leaves, as clear notes of music that arises from the huge open mouth of the ‘vayir’ horn instrument spreads all around the land, carving dolls of mud on the shore, maiden with fine foreheads perform the ‘Kuravai’ dance in those well-watered orchards of the prosperous town of ‘Sirukudi’, ruled by Vaanan. Here, amidst the curving crops of paddy blooming in the fertile fields, blooms a shining red lotus that has opened its petals. Akin to this red lotus, are your eyes, and to wipe away the tears dropping down from them, he has come, with much haste!”
Let’s walk along with the wandering man through the drylands and explore on! The confidante starts with a jubilant shout, saying the lady’s bangles will not slip away anymore, and her dark days were at an end and that it was time to adorn those tresses with exquisite flowers. Then without saying why, she goes on to talk about the place where the man has left to, and to do that first she brings forth the setting of a cattle theft, and then zooms on to those warriors, who valiantly rode behind and defeated those cattle stealers and recovered the cattle. Though they won in that conflict, they were killed and in honour of their memory, their helpers would choose the perfect stones, which may seem like someone installed them there, but were actually natural, and would carve the names of those warriors, streak turmeric paste, adorn with globe thistle flowers and then only leave that place. The confidante has been describing all this to say the man had left the lady to go to such a drylands region. Then, she goes into another lengthy description of a town called ‘Sirukudi’, ruled by Vaanan, where maiden would come together and carve mud dolls in the month of ‘Thai’, which corresponds to mid-January, a time when the rains are said to cease, and those women would perform the ‘Kuravai’ dance as part of the festivities. Why has the confidante mentioned all this? Only to take us to the lush paddy fields in this prosperous town and point to a red lotus blooming there. She then compares the lady’s eyes to that particular flower and concludes by saying the man was coming there with much speed, to wipe away the dew from the lady’s lotus-like eyes!
To put it in a nutshell, the confidante’s message is ‘The man is on the way home and all your pain is about to be gone’! Wrapping this gift to the lady with those scenes of hero stone worship and celebrations in Sirukudi, the confidante also offers us the gift of travelling to a long-gone time, meeting the people who lived then and witnessing their ways of life!
