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In this episode, we perceive the pain in parting, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 38, penned by Kabilar. Set in the mountain country of ‘Kurinji’, the verse speaks in the voice of the lady to the confidante, expressing her inability to bear with the man’s parting away.
கான மஞ்ஞை அறை ஈன் முட்டை
வெயில் ஆடு முசுவின் குருளை உருட்டும்
குன்ற நாடன் கேண்மை என்றும்
நன்றுமன் வாழி-தோழி!-உண்கண்
நீரொடு ஓராங்குத் தணப்ப,
உள்ளாது ஆற்றல் வல்லுவோர்க்கே.
Torment of a fragile thing echoes from the lines of this verse! We get the first glimpse of this in ‘கான மஞ்ஞை அறை ஈன் முட்டை’ referring to ‘the egg laid by a wild peahen on a rock’. Soon after, a familiar sight in Indian jungles appears in ‘வெயில் ஆடு முசு’ meaning ‘monkey playing in the sun’. Internal pain and angst pours out of ‘உண்கண் நீரொடு ஓராங்கு’ meaning ‘copious tears from kohl-streaked eyes’. Ending with ‘வல்லுவோர்க்கே’ meaning ‘those who are capable’, the verse intrigues our curiosity about the capability mentioned!
Tearful eyes and playful monkeys seem to tell an intricate story! The context reveals that the man and lady had been leading a love relationship when the man parted away to gather wealth for their wedding. Seeing the lady in angst, the confidante asks her why she was so, when the man had parted away only to gather wealth so as to claim her hand. At this time, the lady replies to her saying, “The jungle peahen’s just-laid egg is rolled by a black monkey’s infant, playing in the sunshine, in the man’s mountain country. His relationship is good, my friend, only for those who, without worrying and shedding copious tears from kohl-streaked eyes, have the ability to bear with his parting away!” With these words, the lady is conveying how the man’s parting away has wreaked havoc on her well-being.
Now, for the nuances! The lady takes us instantly to a spot in the mountains, where we catch a glimpse of a peahen’s egg being rolled around by a little black-faced monkey. Pointing out that such is the man’s mountain country, the lady turns to talk about the relationship with the man, mentioning that such a relationship would work well only for someone who did not care much when he parted away and who could bear it all without shedding tears from their kohl-streaked eyes. And through this, the lady is in fact, referring to the way her own kohl-streaked eyes are pouring tears now that the man is away.
Does the lady mean to say that she would not want to continue such a relationship? That would be the conclusion our modern minds may make. Here, it’s merely an expression of inability! The lady is simply talking about her own helplessness, even though the man has left on her behalf, and logic and reason stands on his side. In that image of the monkey rolling an egg that should be kept carefully incubated, the lady is expressing how her heart, which should have been kept warm in the man’s company, is tortured by his absence, akin to the fate of the peahen’s egg in the monkey’s hands! It’s only an acknowledgement of what the heart is feeling and yet, that’s all it takes to heal within and bear even with the unbearable!
