Aganaanooru 256 – An act of justice

In this episode, we perceive a sharp refusal, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 256, penned by Madurai Tamizh Koothanaar Kaduvan Mallanaar. The verse is situated amidst the blooming lilies of the ‘Marutham’ or ‘Farmlands landscape’, and depicts an anecdote about an act of justice in those times. பிணங்கு அரில் வள்ளை நீடு இலைப் பொதும்பில்மடி துயில் முனைஇய வள் உகிர் யாமைநொடி விடு கல்லின் போகி, அகன்துறைப்பகுவாய் நிறைய, நுங்கின் கள்ளின்நுகர்வார் அருந்து மகிழ்பு இயங்கு நடையொடுதீம் பெரும் பழனம் உழக்கி, அயலதுஆம்பல் மெல் அடை ஒடுங்கும் ஊர!பொய்யால்; அறிவென், நின் மாயம். அதுவேகையகப்பட்டமை அறியாய்; நெருநைமை எழில் உண்கண் மடந்தையொடு வையைஏர் தரு புதுப் புனல் உரிதினின் நுகர்ந்து,பரத்தை ஆயம் கரப்பவும், ஒல்லாதுகவ்வை ஆகின்றால், பெரிதே; காண்தகத்தொல் புகழ் நிறைந்த பல் பூங் கழனி,கரும்பு அமல் படப்பை, பெரும் பெயர்க் கள்ளூர்,திரு நுதற் குறுமகள் அணி நலம் வவ்வியஅறனிலாளன் ‘அறியேன்’ என்றதிறன் இல் வெஞ் சூள் அறி கரி கடாஅய்,முறி ஆர் பெருங் கிளை செறியப் பற்றி,நீறு தலைப்பெய்த ஞான்றை,வீறு சால் அவையத்து ஆர்ப்பினும் பெரிதே. We get to see plenty of picturesque scenes from the farmlands, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the man, who has returned after courting with a courtesan, seeking entry into the lady’s house: “Disliking its curled-up sleep amidst the long-leaved bushes of the rough and twisted ‘Vallai’ vines, a tortoise with sharp nails, crosses pebbles that resound aloud, and reaches the river shore. There, filling its split mouth to the full, by feasting on the drops that spill around those who are relishing the toddy of palm fruit, it proceeds with a swaying gait, muddles the huge and pleasant fields, and takes cover within the soft leaves of white lilies nearby, in your town, O lord! Don’t you utter lies! I know well about your tricks! You know not that you have been caught red-handed. Yesterday, along with the maiden having painted, kohl-streaked eyes, you delighted so rightfully in the exquisite, fresh stream of the Vaigai river. Even though the mates of that courtesan tried to hide the incident, relentlessly it has risen as a huge slander; In the town of Kalloor, celebrated for its good name, having ancient, picturesque and famous fields, filled with flowers, and soaring stems of sugarcane, an unjust man, had stolen the decorated beauty of a young maiden, having a fine forehead, and then denied knowing her. After investigating this unfair, harsh pledge with those who knew of their relationship, they tied him to the branches of a huge tree with sprouts, and poured slaked lime upon his head, causing a loud uproar in that esteemed assembly. Louder than that, is the slander you’ve caused in town, O lord!” Let’s tread in the footsteps of the waddling tortoise and listen to this intriguing tale! The confidante starts by painting a picture of the man’s town, and to do that, she brings a field tortoise into the frame. We catch this little creature, at a moment when it has grown tired of relishing a sweet sleep amidst the bushes of the ‘Vallai’ vines, and then sets out amidst the screeching pebbles, and reaches the shore of the gushing river. No doubt, this shore is a place of revels, where people delight in the toddy of palm fruit, and drops slosh about around them. Our wandering tortoise gulps these drops and with an intoxicated gait of a drunk, heads towards the fields, and seeking out the soft-leaves of a lily, conceals itself there, the confidante sketches. Seems like the confidante is projecting the man’s behaviour on this tortoise in his town!  Then, she comes to the crux of the matter and asks the man not to go on with his lies, and details how his secretive actions of the previous day in the company of the courtesan, playing in the gushing stream of the river, had become common knowledge in town, even though the courtesan’s friends had tried to hush it up. From here, the confidante takes us on a visit to an ancient and famous town by the name of ‘Kalloor’, and here, a huge injustice has been uncovered, that of a man denying knowing a maiden, with whom he had had a secret love relationship. The townsfolk, had investigated the crime and got the reports from those who knew what had happened and pronounced a verdict. That unjust man was to be tied to the branches of a tree, and something called as ‘neeru’ was to be poured on his head. The confidante emphasises on the uproar that this incident caused in that town and equates it to their current situation, saying the slander the man’s actions had aroused was louder than that commotion.  As for us, let’s investigate what this ingredient named as ‘neeru’ could be! Looking at the many meanings, it could first of all, be just water, but I doubt that a water wash is a punishment for anyone other than stubborn toddlers. Next, the word could mean ‘holy ash’. Again, just applying holy ash is not going to make the man repent. And so, the right meaning of the word should be ‘slaked lime’. When I researched about whether there was any recorded mentions of punishments by pouring slaked lime, I learnt that indeed there was, in Ancient Persia, an act that would end up blinding the one who was punished, and is referred by the term ‘Abacination’. Shocking punishment indeed! But goes to show how much importance these ancients endowed on the honour of their women. Quite a shift from that serene scene of the wandering tortoise to the enactment of justice on an erring human!