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In this episode, we listen to an account of an impossible situation, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 252, penned by Nakkannaiyaar. The verse is situated amidst the dark and dangerous ranges of the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountain Landscape’ and etches an exquisite simile to capture an intricate emotion.
இடம் படுபு அறியா வலம் படு வேட்டத்து
வாள் வரி நடுங்கப் புகல்வந்து, ஆளி
உயர் நுதல் யானைப் புகர் முகத்து ஒற்றி,
வெண் கோடு புய்க்கும் தண் கமழ் சோலைப்
பெரு வரை அடுக்கத்து ஒரு வேல் ஏந்தி,
தனியன் வருதல் அவனும் அஞ்சான்;
பனி வார் கண்ணேன் ஆகி, நோய் அட,
எமியேன் இருத்தலை யானும் ஆற்றேன்;
யாங்குச் செய்வாம்கொல் தோழி! ஈங்கைத்
துய் அவிழ் பனி மலர் உதிர வீசித்
தொழில் மழை பொழிந்த பானாட் கங்குல்,
எறி திரைத் திவலை தூஉம் சிறு கோட்டுப்
பெருங் குளம் காவலன் போல,
அருங் கடி அன்னையும் துயில் மறந்தனளே?
In this little trip to the mountains, we get to meet the wild beasts of the land, as we listen to the lady say these words to her confidante, pretending not to notice the man listening nearby, but making sure he’s in earshot:
“Making a tiger with sword-like stripes, one which knows not to fell its prey on the left and always hunts it down on the right, to quiver, with a desire to kill, a ferocious lion pounces on the spotted face of an elephant with an upraised forehead, and tears apart its white tusks, in the cool and fragrant orchard, amidst the tall mountain ranges. Treading through such a space with a single spear, he comes alone without any fear; With tears pouring down from my eyes, with the affliction of love attacking me, I too cannot bear to be apart from him; What are we to do, my friend? Making the touch-me-not’s dew-covered flowers with fuzzy petals to drop down, rain clouds gush and pour in the midnight hour. At this time, when the soaring waves spray and spread their droplets in that huge pond with a weak bank, akin to the one who stands in guard there, mother too has put up a protective watch and has forgotten the meaning of sleep now!”
Let’s brave the storm clouds and the roving beasts, and listen to the lady’s heartbeat! The lady starts by introducing a tiger, one which is so flawless in its skill of killing that it never hunts a prey on the left and always finishes it on the right. Apparently, this was a big deal to the ancients, as we have heard this obsession over right-side-killing in more than one song! After presenting a portrait of such a valorous tiger, the lady relates a scene which seems to make even this brave tiger quiver in fear, and that’s the scene of an animal she calls as ‘Aali’ attacking an elephant and tearing out its tusks. This ‘Aali’ is a mythical creature depicted in Hindu temples with the composite parts of many animals. However, in this instance, it’s interpreted as a lion. Though today there are no lions in the state of Tamil Nadu and they are confined to the state of Gujarat, perhaps this was a time when the lions roved freely in the South too.
Returning, the lady has mentioned the attack only to depict the dangerous path the man walks, with only a spear for company, in the dead darkness of the night, without a drop of fear in his heart. As if saying he may not fear for his safety, but she does, the lady talks about how though tears pour down her eyes, she too cannot bear the thought of being apart from him. After relating the state of mind of the man and herself, the lady turns to depict a third person in this scene, and that’s the state of her mother, who keeps a watchful eye on her daughter, much like how a guard would watch an ebbing pond with a thin bank and though it’s the midnight hour, would forget to seek the calming refuge of sleep. The lady concludes by asking her friend what was the man and herself to do in such a difficult situation!
In essence, the lady is telling the man that mother was aware that something’s up and so there’s danger of discovery and the only course of action for the man was to seek the lady’s hand in marriage. With that nuanced depiction and comparison with a person who stands guard around a tank with a weak bank on a rainy night, the verse paints the strokes of anxiety and insomnia with expert hands! Timeless emotions have a way of speaking across the ages indeed!
