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In this episode, we listen to the lament of a lady, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 175, penned by Alamperi Saaththanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse portrays the victory of a historic king and the glory of a supernatural entity.
வீங்கு விளிம்பு உரீஇய விசை அமை நோன் சிலை
வாங்கு தொடை பிழையா வன்கண் ஆடவர்
விடுதொறும் விளிக்கும் வெவ் வாய் வாளி
ஆறு செல் வம்பலர் உயிர் செலப் பெயர்ப்பின்,
பாறு கிளை பயிர்ந்து படுமுடை கவரும்
வெஞ் சுரம் இறந்த காதலர் நெஞ்சு உணர
அரிய வஞ்சினம் சொல்லியும், பல் மாண்
தெரி வளை முன்கை பற்றியும், ”வினைமுடித்து
வருதும்” என்றனர் அன்றே தோழி!
கால் இயல் நெடுந் தேர்க் கை வண் செழியன்
ஆலங்கானத்து அமர் கடந்து உயர்த்த
வேலினும் பல் ஊழ் மின்னி, முரசு என
மா இரு விசும்பில் கடி இடி பயிற்றி,
நேர் கதிர் நிரைத்த நேமிஅம் செல்வன்
போர் அடங்கு அகலம் பொருந்திய தார்போல்,
திருவில் தேஎத்துக் குலைஇ, உரு கெழு
மண் பயம் பூப்பப் பாஅய்,
தண் பெயல் எழிலி தாழ்ந்த போழ்தே?
In this trip to the drylands, amidst the whizzing of arrows, we get to hear the lady say these words to her confidante, when the man continues to remain parted away, after leaving in search of wealth:
“Grazing the edge of the broad shoulder, lies the sturdy bow. When harsh-eyed men bend this bow and aim the arrow, they never miss their mark. Those arrows with sharp mouths, when left out, flies whistling, and end the life of wayfarers on those paths. And so, calling their kith and kin, vultures feast on that reeking flesh. Such is the scorching drylands that my lover has left to! That day, he swore a heartfelt, furious oath, as he held my forearm with many, well-etched, radiant bangles, and declared, ‘I shall return after my mission’! Wielding chariots that move like the wind, is the generous Chezhiyan. More than the spears raised in his victorious battle of Aalangkaanum, are streaks of lightning, and akin to the drums there, roars unceasing thunder in the huge, black sky. Akin to the garland on the enemy-slaying chest of God Selvan, who wields the discus with perfect spokes, a picturesque and colourful rainbow curves above. And so, making the land flower with flourish, clouds have descended down with moist rains. Wasn’t this the time he said he would return, my friend?”
Time to witness the action in the skies! The lady starts by painting a vivid picture of the drylands, zooming on to the highway robbers, mentioning bows hanging on their shoulders, and harp arrows that they launch, which always ends up finding their target in the chests of wayfarers, and delivering their end. What ends there becomes the feast of vultures, the lady adds, saying that’s the dreary place the man has left to. Then she recollects how the man had sworn an oath, holding her forearm, and said he would return by a specific time.
The lady now turns to the confidante and points out how the skies are flashing with streaks of lightning, just like the flashes of spears raised by the victorious army of the Pandya King Chezhiyan at the Thalaiyaalangaanam battle. In other verses we have read about how this king single handedly quelled the armies of seven kings and seized victory there. Returning, the lady then points to the sound of thunder echoing and connects it to the drums in that battlefield. From this king in life and blood, the lady shifts to mention a God, referred as ‘Selvan’ here, which interpreters attribute to ‘God Thirumal’ as identified by the ‘Sudarsana chakra’ or divine discus held in his right hand, symbolising the ‘wheel of time’. Interestingly I learnt today that there has been archaeological discoveries of coins in Taxila, featuring a sixteen-spoke wheel, dating back to the 2nd century BCE, thought to reflect a belief in this very God. This poem too makes specific mention of the perfectly radiating spokes of this discus held in the hand of God ‘Selvan’.
Reverting back to the lady’s words, we learn that she has mentioned this god’s name only to draw in parallel the many-flowered garland on his chest and the radiant rainbow curving in the sky. Lightning done, thunder done, rainbow done. All checks to say that it’s the season of rains, when the clouds pour down and make the land bloom, the lady connects. She concludes by asking her friend, ‘Wasn’t this when he said he would be back, with that firm oath of his?’
With these words, the lady intends to echo her anxiety about the man’s dangerous travels and the unfulfilled promise he made. Hope the man returns the very moment to slay the sorrow in her heart. Fascinating how the verse makes us fly from the feeding vultures down on the ground to the pouring clouds in the sky, on the chariot of a king and the discus of a god!
