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In this episode, we listen to a man’s passionate command, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 334, penned by Madurai Koothanaar. The verse is situated amidst the showering rainclouds of the ‘Mullai’ or ‘Forest Landscape’ and resounds with the yearning to be back home.
ஓடா நல் ஏற்று உரிவை தைஇய
ஆடு கொள் முரசம் இழுமென முழங்க,
நாடு திறை கொண்டனம்ஆயின் பாக!
பாடு இமிழ் கடலின் எழுந்த சும்மையொடு
பெருங் களிற்றுத் தடக் கை புரையக் கால் வீழ்த்து,
இரும் பிடித் தொழுதியின் ஈண்டுவன குழீஇ,
வணங்கு இறை மகளிர் அயர்ந்தனர் ஆடும்
கழங்கு உறழ் ஆலியொடு கதழ் உறை சிதறி,
பெயல் தொடங்கின்றால், வானம்; வானின்
வயங்கு சிறை அன்னத்து நிரை பறை கடுப்ப,
நால்கு உடன் பூண்ட கால் நவில் புரவிக்
கொடிஞ்சி நெடுந் தேர் கடும் பரி தவிராது,
இன மயில் அகவும் கார் கொள் வியன் புனத்து,
நோன் சூட்டு ஆழி ஈர் நிலம் துமிப்ப,
ஈண்டே காணக் கடவுமதி பூங் கேழ்ப்
பொலிவன அமர்த்த உண்கண்,
ஒலி பல் கூந்தல் ஆய் சிறு நுதலே!
In this trip to the lush forests, we get to see the weather in action, as we listen to the man say these words to his charioteer, when he’s returning home after a mission of war:
“As the victorious drum, woven with the skin of a handsome bull that retreats not, roars like thunder, we have claimed tributes of subdued nations, O charioteer! Soaring with the bundle gathered from the singing seas, appearing like a huddle of dark female elephants, sending down cloudbursts, akin to trunks of huge male elephants, and scattering hailstones, akin to ‘kazhangu’ beans that maiden with curving wrists play and delight in, along with thick rain, the sky has begun its downpour; Akin to the flight of an ordered row of swans, with radiant feathers, flying in that sky, let the four yoked, wind-like horses tied to the decorated tall chariot, speed on, without any pause, such that the sharp edges of the wheels split apart the moist earth of this wide, rain-soaked forest, filled with calls of peacocks. Ride on so that I get to see right away my beloved’s flower-like, radiant, well-set, kohl-streaked eyes, thick and luxuriant tresses and that beautiful, little forehead!”
Time to trot along the speeding chariot and listen to the man’s heartbeat! The man starts by talking about his successful mission, winning the war, and he does this by mentioning how the war drum had pronounced the victory and that they had received the offerings of conquered enemies. A nuance to be noted about the drum is in how it’s described as being made with the skin of a brave bull that does not know the meaning of retreating. This tells us much meaning was seen even in the choice of leather for a king’s war drum.
When we head back, we see that the man has turned his focus from their past events to the present and points to how the clouds have gathered, looking like a herd of female elephants, and how these send down bursts of rain, akin to a male elephant’s trunk. There’s also mention of hailstones, which are compared to ‘molucca beans’ that young maiden love to play with. In short, the rains have begun! The man now issues the command to his charioteer to make the four horses tied to their chariot to fly like the neatly ordered row of swans that fly on and on, without needing a break. Though the man uses the word ‘Annam’, which is associated with ‘swan’ in contemporary Tamil, probably he’s referring to the ‘Bar-headed geese’, known to fly ceaselessly and even sighted crossing the tallest peaks of the Himalayas. Also, in this verse, we find out the number of horses that were usually tied to a chariot in those times, and in this particular case, those four happen to be a dazzling white!
Returning, the man explains that he has asked his charioteer to wield the chariot so speedily, splitting the wet earth as its zooms past the rain-clothed forest, filled with the sounds of peacocks calling to their mates, because he wishes to relish the beautiful eyes, tresses and forehead of the lady, as soon as possible! In essence, the verse has that simple core of ‘Speed on the horses, my man’ and yet shines within the complex emotions of both the anxiety and anticipation in a homecoming!
