Kalithogai 135 – Dashing against the doors

In this episode, we listen to an appeal to a person’s sense of honour, as depicted in Sangam Literary work, Kalithogai 135, penned by Nallanthuvanaar. The verse is situated in the ‘Neythal’ or ‘Coastal Landscape’ and portrays a lady’s state in the midst of parting. துணை புணர்ந்து எழுதரும் தூ நிற வலம்புரிஇணை திரள் மருப்பாக, எறி வளி பாகனாஅயில் திணி நெடுங் கதவு அமைத்து, அடைத்து, அணி கொண்டஎயில் இடு களிறே போல் இடு மணல் நெடுங் கோட்டைப்பயில்திரை, நடு நன்னாள், பாய்ந்து உறூஉம் துறைவ! கேள்: கடி மலர்ப் புன்னைக் கீழ்க் காரிகை தோற்றாளைத்தொடி நெகிழ்ந்த தோளளாத் துறப்பாயால்; மற்று நின்குடிமைக்கண் பெரியது ஓர் குற்றமாய்க் கிடவாதோ? ஆய் மலர்ப் புன்னைக் கீழ் அணி நலம் தோற்றாளைநோய் மலி நிலையளாத் துறப்பாயால்; மற்று நின்வாய்மைக்கண் பெரியது ஓர் வஞ்சமாய்க் கிடவாதோ? திகழ் மலர்ப் புன்னைக் கீழ்த் திரு நலம் தோற்றாளைஇகழ் மலர்க் கண்ணளாத் துறப்பாயால்; மற்று நின்புகழ்மைக்கண் பெரியது ஓர் புகராகிக் கிடவாதோ? என ஆங்கு,சொல்லக் கேட்டனை ஆயின், வல்லே,அணி கிளர் நெடு வரை அலைக்கும் நின் அகலத்து,மணி கிளர் ஆரம் தாரொடு துயல்வரஉயங்கினள் உயிர்க்கும் என் தோழிக்குஇயங்கு ஒலி நெடுந் திண் தேர் கடவுமதி விரைந்தே. Passionate words from the confidante! The words can be translated as follows: “With a pair of embracing, white-hued conches joined together as tusks, the furious wind as the mahout, akin to elephants that attack the closed, tall gates, fitted with spears, waves roar, leap and dash against the tall towers of sand dunes at midnight in your shores, O lord! Listen: If you forsake the one, who lost her beauty to you, under the laurel wood tree with fragrant flowers, and leave her with arms, from which bangles slip away, won’t that become a huge blemish on the honour of your family? If you forsake the one, who lost her fine beauty to you, under the laurel wood tree with exquisite flowers, and leave her in a state, wherein affliction brims over, won’t that become a huge stain of deception in your honesty? If you forsake the one, who lost her esteemed beauty to you, under the laurel wood tree with radiant flowers, and leave her with eyes that lose to the beauty of flowers, won’t that become a huge infamy in the tale of your fame? And so, you heard what I had to say! Now, making the sapphire-filled necklace and garland on your chest, which shames the picturesque, tall mountains, sway, to breathe life into my wallowing friend, ride your tall and sturdy chariots, resounding with bells, with much haste!” Let’s delve into the details. The verse is situated in the context of the man’s parting from the lady, prior to marriage, and here, the confidante addresses the man for the sake of the lady. She starts with an exquisite metaphor, wherein the waves of the sea are portrayed as battle elephants, barging against fort doors, and the metaphor extends intricately to match the conch shells with the elephant’s tusks, the roaring wind as the mahout, who rides the elephant, and the sand dunes on the shore as the towering forts. Now, the confidante turns to the man and asks him if he abandons the lady after uniting with her under the laurel wood tree, in a state, where her bangles slip away, affliction brims over and her beauty fades, wouldn’t that be a blot, stain and mark on his family’s name, reputation of honesty, and the spread of his fame? With these sharp words, the confidante asks the man to head straight to the lady, hastening his tall chariot! While dwelling on the same core, the verse delighted with its imaginative depiction of the immediate elements of the land with a scene from a faraway battlefield and also with that subtle subtext of the confidante’s attack on the doors of the man’s heart, with her fiery plea!