Aganaanooru 178 – The blessed boar

In this episode, we perceive the trust and confidence in the actions of another, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 178, penned by Paranar. The verse is situated amidst the gushing springs of the ‘Kurinji’ or ‘Mountain landscape’ and etches a day in the life of a wild boar. வயிரத்தன்ன வை ஏந்து மருப்பின்,வெதிர் வேர் அன்ன பரூஉ மயிர்ப் பன்றிபறைக் கண் அன்ன நிறைச் சுனை பருகி,நீலத்தன்ன அகல் இலைச் சேம்பின்பிண்டம் அன்ன கொழுங் கிழங்கு மாந்தி,பிடி மடிந்தன்ன கல் மிசை ஊழ் இழிபு,யாறு சேர்ந்தன்ன ஊறு நீர்ப் படாஅர்ப்பைம் புதல் நளி சினைக் குருகு இருந்தன்ன,வண் பிணி அவிழ்ந்த வெண் கூதாளத்துஅலங்கு குலை அலரி தீண்டி, தாது உக,பொன் உரை கட்டளை கடுப்பக் காண்வர,கிளை அமல் சிறு தினை விளை குரல் மேய்ந்து,கண் இனிது படுக்கும் நல் மலை நாடனொடுஉணர்ந்தனை புணர்ந்த நீயும், நின் தோட்பணைக் கவின் அழியாது துணைப் புணர்ந்து, என்றும்,தவல் இல் உலகத்து உறைஇயரோ தோழி”எல்லையும் இரவும் என்னாது, கல்லெனக்கொண்டல் வான் மழை பொழிந்த வைகறைத்தண் பனி அற்சிரம் தமியோர்க்கு அரிது” என,கனவினும் பிரிவு அறியலனே; அதன்தலைமுன் தான் கண்ட ஞான்றினும்பின் பெரிது அளிக்கும், தன் பண்பினானே. In this illuminating trip to the mountains, we get to hear the confidante say these words to the lady, pretending not to notice the man listening nearby, but making sure he’s in earshot: “A wild boar, with upraised tusks, sharp like a diamond; dense hair, akin to bamboo roots; drinks up water from a brimming spring, akin to the eye of a drum; eats up fleshy tubers, akin to sacrificial offerings of food, from the Blue Taro, with wide leaves, in the hue of sapphires; descends carefully from atop a boulder, akin to a sleeping female elephant; moves towards green shrubs, next to cascades, appearing like river tributaries; and akin to a bird that perches on the curving branches, rests there. As the boar brushes against the swaying clusters of the white nightshade, which has loosened the tightness of its buds, pollen sheds down, making the boar appear like a touchstone, coated in gold dust. It then grazes on dense crop ears of the flourishing little millet, and rests peacefully in the fine mountain country of the lord. Overcoming your reservations, you united with him. May he render his sweet company always, never letting the bamboo-like beauty of your fine arms fade, and may you live in this world as you would in the flawless other world, my friend! Knowing that, ‘In the moist and cold season, not minding if it’s day or night, dark clouds shower rains resoundingly. A dawn in such a time is hard to bear for those who are alone’, he would never think of parting from you even in his dreams. And also, he has the good nature of showering even more love and grace than what you have seen before!” Time to track a wild boar in the hills! The confidante starts with a description of the man’s mountain country, and to do that, she chooses a particular animal, a wild boar, and portrays the animal and its activities with a stack of similes, comparing its pointed tusks to the sharpness of diamonds, and its fur, to knotted bamboo roots. She talks about how this boar feeds on the tubers of the Blue Taro, with sapphire-like leaves, and then steps down from a boulder, which resembles a sleeping female elephant. It goes near lush bushes, growing near cascades, and here it brushes against the white nightshade flower clusters and becomes coated in gold dust, looking like a goldsmith’s touchstone. Then, it looks for even more food amidst the millet fields and filled to the brim, rests peacefully, the confidante sketches. What a life of bliss our boar leads! The confidante turns from the man’s country and recollects how the lady decided to accept him and united with him. Then, from the past, she moves on to the future, blessing the lady to live joyously with the man, never losing the beauty of her arms. After this, it’s praise for the man saying he’s someone who would never let the lady remain alone in the cold season when the rains pour incessantly. She concludes with the words promising the lady that the man has the nature of showering even more love than the lady had seen thus far.  Why is the confidante singing these praises of the man? It’s because she knows the man has arrived there with the intention of claiming the lady’s hand, and with these words, she wishes to convey to him he’s on the right path. Even in that lengthy description of the wild boar in the man’s mountain country, the confidante places a metaphor for how the man would do all things perfectly and ensure a blissful life for him and the lady. A nuanced strategy on the part of the confidante to express trust in the man’s future behaviour, thereby inspiring him to live up to the image she has presented to the lady! She is indeed a treasure of a friend, who keeps on giving!