Kalithogai 139 – Plea to the Wise

In this episode, we perceive a man’s plea to the wise, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kalithogai 139, penned by Nallanthuvanaar. The verse is situated in the ‘Neythal’ or ‘Coastal Landscape’ and depicts the suffering of a man, smitten by love. சான்றவிர், வாழியோ! சான்றவிர்! என்றும்பிறர் நோயும் தம் நோய் போல் போற்றி, அறன் அறிதல்சான்றவர்க்கு எல்லாம் கடன் ஆனால், இவ் இருந்தசான்றீர்! உமக்கு ஒன்று அறிவுறுப்பேன்: மான்றதுளி இடை மின்னுப் போல் தோன்றி, ஒருத்தி,ஒளியோடு உரு என்னைக் காட்டி, அளியள், என்நெஞ்சு ஆறு கொண்டாள்; அதற்கொண்டும் துஞ்சேன்,அணி அலங்கு ஆவிரைப் பூவோடு எருக்கின்பிணையல் அம் கண்ணி மிலைந்து, மணி ஆர்ப்ப,ஓங்கு இரும் பெண்ணை மடல் ஊர்ந்து, என் எவ்வ நோய்தாங்குதல் தேற்றா இடும்பைக்கு உயிர்ப்பாகவீங்கு இழை மாதர் திறத்து ஒன்று, நீங்காது,பாடுவேன், பாய் மா நிறுத்து யாமத்தும் எல்லையும் எவ்வத் திரை அலைப்ப,‘மா மேலேன்’ என்று, மடல் புணையா நீந்துவேன்தே மொழி மாதர் உறாஅது உறீஇயகாமக் கடல் அகப்பட்டுஉய்யா அரு நோய்க்கு உயவாகும் மையல்உறீஇயாள் ஈத்த இம் மா காணுநர் எள்ளக் கலங்கி, தலை வந்து, என்ஆண் எழில் முற்றி உடைத்து உள் அழித்தரும்‘மாண் இழை மாதராள் ஏஎர்’ என, காமனதுஆணையால் வந்த படைகாமக் கடும் பகையின் தோன்றினேற்கு ஏமம்எழிநுதல் ஈத்த இம் மா அகை எரி ஆனாது, என் ஆர் உயிர் எஞ்சும்வகையினால், உள்ளம் சுடுதரும் மன்னோமுகை ஏர் இலங்கு எயிற்று இன் நகை மாதர்தகையால் தலைக்கொண்ட நெஞ்சு!அழல் மன்ற, காம அரு நோய்; நிழல் மன்ற,நேரிழை ஈத்த இம் மா ஆங்கு அதை,அறிந்தனிர் ஆயின், சான்றவிர்! தான் தவம்ஒரீஇ, துறக்கத்தின் வழீஇ, ஆன்றோர்உள் இடப்பட்ட அரசனைப் பெயர்த்து, அவர்உயர்நிலை உலகம் உறீஇயாங்கு, என்துயர் நிலை தீர்த்தல் நும்தலைக் கடனே. It’s again the theme of trying to win over a maiden by seeking the help of the townsfolk as the last resort! The words can be translated as follows: “O wise elders, may you live long, O wise elders! If it’s true that it’s the duty of wise people to see the adversity of others as one’s own and seek the path of justice, then I wish to say something to you, O wise elders, who are here! Akin to a dazzling lightning, amidst a downpour, a maiden appeared and revealed her radiant form to me, and then, that precious one stole away my heart. I haven’t slept since! Wearing this beautiful garland of swaying matura tea tree flowers, tied together with strands of milkweed flowers, as bells resound, crawling on a horse, made from the fronds of a huge and soaring palmyra tree, ceasing the trot of my leaping horse, I shall sing a song, without missing anything, as an exhalation of this suffering-filled disease, beyond my ability to bear, caused by the maiden wearing heavy ornaments! As I wallow amidst the waves of sorrow, by day and night, hoping that I will rise above, I swim with this palmyra horse as my raft, caught in this ocean of love affliction, rendered by that maiden with honey-sweet words, who does not accept me. In this ceaseless, terrible disease, my only aid is this horse, offered to me by the maiden, who has made me bewitched. As I’m left confused, much to the amusement and laughter of others, coming before me and destroying the fort walls of my manly beauty in its entirety, proceeding to create havoc within, that maiden wearing fine jewels and shining with resplendent beauty, arrived in the form of an army that comes to attack on the command of the love god. For me facing the fire of this passion’s enmity, the only protection is this horse, rendered to me by the maiden with a graceful forehead. Burning endlessly, making my precious life quiver and burn, suffers my heart, stolen by the esteem of the maiden with a sweet smile and bud-like, shining teeth! Amidst the heat of this terrible love affliction, as my only shade stands this horse, rendered to me by the maiden with perfect jewels! And so, if you have understood all about this, O wise elders, akin to how when seeing a king give up his penances and move away from his path to heaven, great elders around him would rescue him and set him on the right path to ensure he attains that higher world, it is your foremost duty to end my state of sorrow!” Time to delve into the details. The verse is situated in the context of the man’s love relationship with the lady, prior to marriage, and here, the man makes an appeal to the town elders. He starts by invoking the sense of duty in the wise people to see others’ distress as their own and then goes on to talk about how a maiden appeared like a lightning, and stole away his heart in a flash, and then left him wallowing. He tells them how he has decided to sing about his state, wearing those flowers others avoid, stepping off from his proud horse and climbing on to this palmyra horse, declaring this is the only outlet for the deep suffering in him caused by the love affliction for the lady. He then goes on to describe himself as struggling in the sea of affliction, destroyed from within in the attack of that maiden on the command from the god of love and also burnt by the scorching rays of the love disease. In each of these scenarios, that palmyra horse, which the lady had rendered unto his life, is his only raft, shield and shade, the man mentions! Concluding this song, he turns to those elders and talks about how wise elders, when seeing a king swerve from the righteous path of penances, would guide him in the right direction and make him attain that higher world. Like that, it was the duty of these town elders to resolve his problem and pain, the man concludes! Like the previous song, we see the man declaring his love opening with this ritual of ‘Madal Eruthal’ as the last resort to win his love. Wonder what these elders would do now? Would they trust in the man’s love and advise the lady to accept him? Would they leave it to the lady to decide? Or would they just listen to the angst of another? Indeed, what more is needed that ears that listen with concern and without judgement!