Aganaanooru 177 – A return to adorn

In this episode, we listen to words of consolation rendered to allay anxiety, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 177, penned by Seyaloor Ilampon Saaththan Kotranaar. Set in the ‘Paalai’ or ‘Drylands landscape’, the verse portrays the victory of a king and the beauty of a lady. தொல் நலம் சிதையச் சாஅய், அல்கலும்,“இன்னும் வாரார்; இனி எவன் செய்கு?” எனப்பெரும் புலம்புறுதல் ஓம்புமதி சிறு கண்இரும் பிடித் தடக் கை மான, நெய் அருந்துஒருங்கு பிணித்து இயன்ற நெறி கொள் ஐம்பால்தேம் கமழ் வெறி மலர் பெய்ம்மார், காண்பின்கழை அமல் சிலம்பின் வழை தலை வாடக்கதிர் கதம் கற்ற ஏ கல் நெறியிடை,பைங் கொடிப் பாகற் செங் கனி நசைஇ,கான மஞ்ஞைக் கமஞ்சூல் மாப் பெடைஅயிர் யாற்று அடைகரை வயிரின் நரலும்காடு இறந்து அகன்றோர் நீடினர் ஆயினும்,வல்லே வருவர்போலும் வெண் வேல்இலை நிறம் பெயர ஓச்சி, மாற்றோர்மலை மருள் யானை மண்டுஅமர் ஒழித்தகழற் கால் பண்ணன் காவிரி வடவயின்நிழற் கயம் தழீஇய நெடுங் கால் மாவின்தளிர் ஏர் ஆகம் தகை பெற முகைந்தஅணங்குடை வன முலைத் தாஅய நின்சுணங்கிடை வரித்த தொய்யிலை நினைந்தே. In this trip to the drylands, we get to hear the confidante say these words to the lady, when the man continues to remain parted away, having left in search of wealth: “Ruining your old beauty, you worry day after day, saying, ‘He still has not returned. How can I bear this?”. Please stop this great lament of yours! He has left to the drylands path, filled with huge stones, sweltering in the heat of the sun’s rays, which scorch the tops of laurel wood trees, in those spaces by the mountain slopes, decked with bamboos, pleasing to the eyes, where desiring the red fruit of the bitter gourd, growing on green vines, a huge, pregnant jungle peafowl, cries aloud, akin to the ‘vayir’ horn on the banks of the ‘Ayiri’ river. Your oil-moistened, well-tied, five-part braid is akin to the curving trunk of a huge female elephant with small eyes. Even though he is delayed, he will return soon to adorn these tresses of yours, with honey-fragrant, colourful flowers. The great Pannan, who wears warrior anklets, is renowned for changing the hue of his leaf-tipped white spear and destroying the enemy’s elephants, akin to mountains, in the battlefield. To the north of his domain of the ‘Kaveri’ river, there stands a tall-trunked mango tree, rendering its shade to a huge pond. Akin to a tender leaf of this tree, is your tormenting bosom. Dreaming about covering the pallor spots that spread on this beautiful bosom of yours with ‘thoyyil’ paintings, he shall return soon indeed!” Let’s brave the heat and walk the drylands path to learn more! The confidante starts by describing the lady’s current state of pining for the man, worrying incessantly about how he has not returned, ruining her health. She asks the lady to give up this worry of hers, and then goes on to describe the hot drylands path, by the mountains, that the man walks, where he can hear the cry of a pregnant peahen, which he describes as sounding like a ‘vayir’ horn on the banks of a river. This is excellent material for makers of ancient musical instruments for though the ‘vayir’ is no more, the world still has peahens and it gives hope to recreate the music of the past. Returning, we find the confidante describing the lady’s thick tresses, which she equates to an elephant’s trunk! Imagine the thickness of that braid, to be characterised as such! Looks like it was a blessed time for women’s hair, without the ubiquitous chemicals and pollutants that destroy the health of many a modern woman’s locks. The confidante has mentioned that the man cannot keep away from the beauty of these tresses and that he would indeed return soon to adorn it with the choicest of fragrant and vibrant flowers. Then, the confidante goes on to talk about how King Pannan quelled his enemy’s elephants in the battlefield, reddening the leaf tip of his spears. She has summoned this king only to say the River Kaveri was part of his domain, and there was a lush mango tree, to the north of this river, by a fertile pond, and she goes on to equate the tender leaf of this particular tree to the beautiful bosom of the lady, which would no doubt torment the man, no matter where he was. With the additional promise that the man would want to return and adorn the pallor spots on the lady’s bosom with thoyyil paintings, the confidante concludes her words to her friend!  In essence, the confidante is saying, ‘How can the man forget your beauty and stay away?’.’Like a force of nature, it will pull him back to your fold’, the friend promises. The reference to a king’s exploits in the battlefield and then the trip to a mango tree in his domain was an unexpected turn of events. Intriguing to reflect on the creativity of Sangam poets, who could connect vastly disparate things like majestic valour in the tangible reality of a battlefield to intimate beauty in the tender abstraction of relationships!