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In this episode, we listen to an emphatic refusal, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 296, penned by Madurai Peralavayaar. The verse is situated amidst the gushing rivers of the ‘Marutham’ or ‘Farmlands landscape’ and narrates scenes of celebration in the domain of a famous Pandya king.
கோதை இணர குறுங் கால் காஞ்சிப்
போது அவிழ் நறுந் தாது அணிந்த கூந்தல்,
அரி மதர் மழைக் கண் மாஅயோளொடு
நெருநையும் கமழ் பொழில் துஞ்சி, இன்றும்
பெரு நீர் வையை அவளொடு ஆடி,
புலரா மார்பினை வந்து நின்று, எம்வயின்
கரத்தல் கூடுமோ மற்றே? பரப்பில்
பல் மீன் கொள்பவர் முகந்த இப்பி
நார் அரி நறவின் மகிழ் நொடைக் கூட்டும்
பேர் இசைக் கொற்கைப் பொருநன், வென் வேல்
கடும் பகட்டு யானை நெடுந் தேர் செழியன்,
மலை புரை நெடு நகர்க் கூடல் நீடிய
மலிதரு கம்பலை போல,
அலர் ஆகின்று, அது பலர் வாய்ப் பட்டே.
In this crisp trip to the farmlands, we get to witness familiar scenes of romping about, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the man, when he had returned after leaving the lady to go court a courtesan:
“With that dark-skinned maiden, having tresses, adorned with the fragrant pollen from clusters of blooming flowers, akin to flowering garlands, on the short-legged Portia tree, and radiant, red-streaked, rain-like eyes, you had rested in the fragrant orchards yesterday. Today too, after playing with her in the gushing waters of the Vaigai river, you come here, and stand with your chest, still moist. Did you think it was possible for you to hide all this from us? Those men, who gather heaps of fish in the seas, bring along shells in their catch and sell it in exchange for that delightful, well-filtered toddy in the city of ‘Koodal’, ruled by the King of Korkai, one of immense fame, one who wields arrogant, strong elephants, tall chariots and victorious spears, having the name of ‘Chezhiyan’. Akin to the uproar that brims over in the streets of ‘Koodal’ with mansions, soaring akin to peaks, spreads slander in our town, from the mouths of many, many.”
Time to stroll these lands of plenty and learn more! The confidante starts by describing the courtesan as a maiden who has dark skin, whose tresses waft with the scent of Portia tree flowers and whose eyes are rain-like. So much praise for an adversary! Returning, next she tells the man that he had spent his time with the said courtesan, resting together in the orchards and then today, he had taken to playing with the courtesan in the new floods of the Vaigai river. After all this, he has the gall to come and act as if nothing has happened, standing so audaciously, with a moist chest that too, the confidante adds. She asks him whether he thought he could hide his antics from the lady and herself. Then she switches tracks and goes on to describe the valour of King Chezhiyan, the conqueror of many battlefields and his capital of ‘Koodal’, referring to the contemporary city of ‘Madurai’, and how people from the shores would arrive to the streets of this world-famous city, to barter their shells for its delicious toddy. The confidante concludes by asking the man to reflect on the kind of buzz that would rise from the streets of Koodal and connects by saying that’s how loud the gossip about the man’s meanderings were, in their town!
In essence, it’s a strict ‘No’ to the man for his request to enter the lady’s home. Yet again, it’s a depiction of the state of wandering and quarrelling, in the land of riches. Within these pages, however, we get to travel in time and glimpse the buzzing streets of Koodal, and witness scenes involving trade and toddy, the seemingly age-old preoccupations of humans everywhere!
