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In this episode, we perceive a historical event interwoven with a confidante’s cunning, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kurunthogai 73, penned by Paranar. Set in the mountains of ‘Kurinji’, the verse speaks in the voice of the confidante to the lady, explaining the reasons for her recent refusals to the man’s requests to tryst with the lady.
மகிழ்நன் மார்பே வெய்யையால் நீ;
அழியல் வாழி-தோழி!-நன்னன்
நறு மா கொன்று நாட்டிற் போகிய
ஒன்றுமொழிக் கோசர் போல,
வன்கட் சூழ்ச்சியும் வேண்டுமால் சிறிதே.
Intrigue seems to shade every line of this verse! The opening words ‘மகிழ்நன் மார்பே’ talk about ‘the lord’s chest’ and this is followed by the verb ‘desire’ in ‘வெய்யை’. A single word offers all the consolation in ‘அழியல்’ meaning ‘do not worry’. Thereafter, historical characters make their presence felt in ‘நன்னன்’, the king we have previously encountered in Natrinai 270 and 391, as well as ‘ஒன்றுமொழிக் கோசர்’ meaning ‘men of their word, the Kosars’, a tribe in the Sangam age. Ending with the significant words ‘வன்கட் சூழ்ச்சியும் வேண்டுமால் சிறிதே’ meaning ‘a little of hard-eyed cunning is required’, the verse beckons us into this interesting tale!
What could be the clever strategy hiding in these words? The context reveals that the man and lady were leading a love relationship and the man was trysting with her by day. After a while, the confidante refuses to allow him to tryst by day and asks him to come at night. Soon after, declaring the dangers of the night tryst, the confidante refuses to allow the man to meet with the lady at night too. Hearing of this, the lady languishes. To the worried lady, the confidante says, “You desire your lover’s chest. But, don’t you worry. May you live long, my friend! Like the Kosars, men of their words, who axed Nannan’s fragrant mango tree and conquered his country, a little hard-hearted scheming is also needed here!” With these words, the confidante is assuring the lady that she has her friend’s best interests in mind and that her actions would soon yield the fruit of permanent happiness.
All we heard was the story of how the confidante keeps refusing trysts by day and night and how could this possibly lead to the lady’s happiness? Let’s follow the confidante’s words closely and see where she takes us! The thing I love about the confidante’s stance is the immediate acknowledgement of what the lady desires. She turns to the lady and says, ‘Yes, I know that all you can think of, is being in the company of the lord’. The angst of the opponent is understood and acknowledged. And there, the battle is half won, I would say! Then, the confidante asks the lady not to be worried. Instead of saying exactly why there is no cause for worry, the confidante instead chooses to tell the story of King Nannan and the Kosars. Reading some references, I learnt that a mango tree was accorded special status in King Nannan’s domain and was considered as the protector of his land. This was a tree situated by a river and one day, its fruit seems to have fallen down in the river. A pregnant woman bathing downstream seems to have savoured this fruit, without knowing it was from Nannan’s special tree. Hearing that his tree’s fruit was eaten by this woman, king Nannan subjects her to death. It turns out that this woman belongs to the tribe of Kosars, who are renowned as men who keep their word. So, with a plan to avenge the woman’s death, they rush into Nannan’s country, chop down this mango tree and teach the king a lesson!
The confidante narrates this entire story and says that kind of hard-hearted planning was needed not just in the life of kings and warriors but also when it comes to the lady’s love life! The finer details of how the ‘Kosars’ managed to win over king Nannan are lost in time but that should no doubt make an intriguing story. However, here the confidante is simply likening her refusals to the man’s requests to that cunning strategy of the Kosars. The highlight of her statement is when she says how ‘a little’ of the scheming is needed. You do not want too much or too obvious scheming to make the man abandon the lady but just enough so that he’s gently nudged in the right path of seeking the lady’s hand in marriage. And with that, the confidante seems to be telling the lady, ‘Don’t you worry about temporary setbacks. Permanent joy is heading your way!’ Yet another instance of the wisdom and strategy of this stellar character of the Sangam age, the lady’s confidante!
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