Aganaanooru 286 – Ways of the noble

In this episode, we perceive an insightful refusal to a request, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Aganaanooru 286, penned by Orambokiyaar. The verse is situated amidst the sounds of pounding in the ‘Marutham’ or ‘Farmlands landscape’ and delves into abstractions about the actions of the noble. வெள்ளி விழுத் தொடி மென் கருப்பு உலக்கை,வள்ளி நுண் இடை வயின் வயின் நுடங்க;மீன் சினை அன்ன வெண் மணல் குவைஇ,காஞ்சி நீழல், தமர் வளம் பாடி,ஊர்க் குறுமகளிர் குறுவழி, விறந்தவராஅல் அருந்திய சிறு சிரல் மருதின்தாழ் சினை உறங்கும் தண் துறை ஊர! விழையா உள்ளம் விழையும் ஆயினும்,என்றும், கேட்டவை தோட்டி ஆக மீட்டு, ஆங்கு,அறனும் பொருளும் வழாமை நாடி,தற் தகவு உடைமை நோக்கி, மற்று அதன்பின் ஆகும்மே, முன்னியது முடித்தல்;அனைய, பெரியோர் ஒழுக்கம்; அதனால்,அரிய பெரியோர்த் தெரியுங்காலை,நும்மோர் அன்னோர் மாட்டும், இன்னபொய்யொடு மிடைந்தவை தோன்றின்,மெய் யாண்டு உளதோ, இவ் உலகத்தானே? In this trip to the farmlands, rather than the usual love-quarrels, we get to see a different dimension, as we listen to the confidante say these words to the man, when he informs her about his wish to part away from the lady, earn wealth, and then return to marry her: “With the soft, black sugarcane stems as the silver-capped pestles, swaying their dainty waists to and fro, akin to ‘valli’ vines, heaping white sand, akin to fish eggs, in the shade of the portia tree, as the young maiden of the town sing the praises of their kin, in tune with their pounding, a small kingfisher that has feasted on murrel fish sleeps on the low-hanging branch of the Arjuna tree in your cool river shores, O lord! Even if a heart, which tends not to desire unjust things, happens to desire some such thing, with sharp questions as the goad, they would rein it in. Only after delving on questions of justice and fairness, and establishing that one is worthy of something, do they work towards accomplishing that; This is the discipline of those who are noble. When we ponder on the actions of such noble people, if someone like you, who is considered as one such, shows falsehoods in your actions, then where is truth to be found in this world?” Time to take a walk through this town of complexity! The confidante starts by describing the town of the man, and to do that, she paints a picture of young girls, using a sugarcane as a pestle, and the river sand, which appears like fish eggs, as the grains, imitating the actions of their elders, they pound and play, in the shade of a portia tree, even as they sing the praises of their townsfolk. As they sing and pound, a kingfisher, with its tummy full of murrel fish, sleeps on a branch of a ‘Marutham’ tree nearby, in the lord’s lush river shores, the confidante adds. After that tangible depiction of the world around, the confidante jumps into abstractions, talking about how the nature of the noble was to seek only what they think is just and fair and even if their minds sometimes pull them in the other direction, they tame those wild elephants with the goad of their intellect. She also mentions how they would weigh their worth before wanting something and only when they find themselves worthy, they would work towards attaining that. The confidante thus presents a portrait of the noble and concludes by saying to the man, ‘You are considered to be one such noble person. But if your actions show falsifications of these laws, then where only can we find truth in this world?’ To understand these abstractions, we have to travel back to the time when the man took an oath to never part from the lady, which gave confidence to the confidante and the lady, about his sincerity. So, now when the man says he wants to leave, the confidante is talking about how he’s going back on his words and it appears as if he said all that only to win the lady, by any means possible. She tries to appeal to his better nature by asking him that seemingly cynical question about the fate of truth in this world. Perhaps, hearing this, the man would realise the mistake in his ways and try to seek the lady’s hand, instead of parting away. In the scene of the kingfisher that sleeps on, not minding the pounding of young maiden, the confidante places a metaphor for how the man had been intent only on his pleasures of trysting with the lady, unmindful of the slander that he has caused around town. Leaving aside all this heaviness, the aspect that lingers on pleasantly is the memory of those songs of praise, reverberating with the rhythm of the pounding in the river shores of that rich town!