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In this episode, we observe the bewilderment of a person at another’s course of action, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 349, penned by Maamoolanaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse etches the victory and generosity of a Sangam-era king.
அரம் போழ் அவ் வளை செறிந்த முன்கை
வரைந்து தாம் பிணித்த தொல் கவின் தொலைய,
எவன் ஆய்ந்தனர்கொல் தோழி! ஞெமன்ன்
தெரி கோல் அன்ன செயிர் தீர் செம் மொழி,
உலைந்த ஒக்கல் பாடுநர் செலினே,
உரன் மலி உள்ளமொடு முனை பாழாக,
அருங் குறும்பு எறிந்த பெருங் கல வெறுக்கை
சூழாது சுரக்கும் நன்னன் நல் நாட்டு,
எழிற் குன்றத்துக் கவாஅன், கேழ் கொள,
திருந்து அரை நிவந்த கருங் கால் வேங்கை
எரி மருள் கவளம் மாந்தி, களிறு தன்
வரி நுதல் வைத்த வலி தேம்பு தடக் கை
கல் ஊர் பாம்பின் தோன்றும்
சொல் பெயர் தேஎத்த சுரன் இறந்தோரே?
In this trip to the drylands, we get to see the usual sights and visit a king’s court, as we listen to the lady say these words to her confidante, when the man had parted away from her and gone in search of wealth:
“Leaving me to lose the old beauty of these forearms, decked with beautiful bangles, cut with a saw, which he had claimed in marriage and held close, what has he found that’s so precious, my friend? Nannan renders flawless, fine words with justness, akin to the mid pointer of a weighing balance, and when seeing singers and their fatigued clan, he would render without any hesitation, great vessels and wealth that he had captured from the formidable forts of his foes, after ruining them in the battlefield with much determination. In Nannan fine country, where soars the Ezhil mountain peak, blooms a bright-hued, dark-stemmed Kino tree, with an etched and soaring trunk. Feeding on its flame-like flowers, a male elephant places its tired, curving trunk on its striped forehead, which appears akin to a snake crawling on a boulder. Why has he gone, crossing many such countries, where languages differ, and parted away to those drylands?”
Time to ponder on the lady’s words! She starts by asking a question to her friend about the man, wondering what is that thing he has found to be so important for him to leave her and make her lose the beauty of those arms the man had linked together in marriage. Then she goes on to talk about King Nannan and his just nature, bringing the pointer of a weighing scale to symbolise his qualities, and mentions how he would render all the wealth he had gained in the battlefields to singers and their clan, without any thought of keeping it for himself. We learn that Nannan has been called to mention his country of Ezhil mountains, and the lady taking us to this land, points to a particular Kino tree growing there, whose flowers a tired elephant preys upon, having nothing to eat, and places its trunk on its head, making it appear like a snake crawling up a hill. After that description, the lady connects saying it’s crossing many such countries, where different languages are spoken, the man has gone to the drylands, leaving her!
In essence, the lady’s wonder is, ‘What is that which he deems so precious than my health and beauty?’. When in courtship, no doubt the man had been pursuing the lady with such devotion, but once he was married, he was off to his new pursuit, and that’s why the comparison is so stark in the lady’s mind. Pondering on a beloved’s choices seem to be a custom, then and now, here and everywhere!
