Kalithogai 149 – Past promises and present duties

In this episode, we perceive abstractions on ethics in human behaviour, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kalithogai 149, penned by Nallanthuvanaar. The verse is situated in the ‘Neythal’ or ‘Coastal Landscape’ and puts forth a well-thought-out plea! நிரை திமில் களிறாக, திரை ஒலி பறையாக,கரை சேர் புள்ளினத்து அம் சிறை படையாக,அரைசு கால் கிளர்ந்தன்ன உரவு நீர்ச் சேர்ப்ப! கேள்: கற்பித்தான் நெஞ்சு அழுங்கப் பகர்ந்து உண்ணான் விச்சைக்கண்தப்பித்தான் பொருளேபோல், தமியவே தேயுமால்,ஒற்கத்துள் உதவியார்க்கு உதவாதான்; மற்று அவன்எச்சத்துள் ஆயினும், அஃது எறியாது விடாதே காண் கேளிர்கள் நெஞ்சு அழுங்கக் கெழுவுற்ற செல்வங்கள்தாள் இலான் குடியே போல், தமியவே தேயுமால்,சூள் வாய்த்த மனத்தவன் வினை பொய்ப்பின்; மற்று அவன்வாள் வாய் நன்று ஆயினும், அஃது எறியாது விடாதே காண் ஆங்குஅனைத்து, இனி பெரும! அதன் நிலை நினைத்துக் காண்:சினைஇய வேந்தன் எயிற்புறத்து இறுத்தவினை வரு பருவரல் போல,துனை வரு நெஞ்சமொடு வருந்தினள் பெரிதே. After a long time, we get to hear the wise voice of the lady’s confidante in this one! The words can be translated as follows: “With rows of ships as elephants, roar of waves as drums, rout of birds with exquisite wings, gathering on the shore, as soldiers, akin to a king readying for a battle, appears the sea in your domain, O lord! Listen: Akin to the wealth of one, who has missed learning in life, the one who leaves the heart of his teacher to suffer, by not sharing his food with him, will be ruined inevitably; When a man does not help the one, who helped him when in suffering, that act will not spare him, even after his death! Akin to the livelihood of one, who does not make any effort, even prosperous wealth gathered by making the heart of kin suffer, will be ruined inevitably; When a man who swore an oath from his heart fails in his action, that act will not spare him, even if he wields a formidable sword! Such is the truth now, O lord! Consider the consequences! Akin to the suffering that soars by the act of a furious king, who has laid siege to their fort, with an angst-filled heart, she languishes greatly!” Let’s explore the nuances. The verse is situated in the context of a man’s love relationship with a lady, prior to marriage, and here the confidante speaks to the man on behalf of the lady. Returning to the old custom of describing the man’s land, the confidante sketches the ships there as elephants, the birds adorning the shores with their bright wings as soldiers and the thundering roar of the waves as the sound of drums and connects how the seas around the man’s domain appear like a king preparing for war. Then, she talks about certain elements that are doomed to be ruined and these are the wealth of a person, who is uneducated, and the livelihood of a person, who takes no effort, and these are placed in parallel to the inevitable ruin of the man, who does not share his food with his teacher, and the one, who has gathered wealth by making the heart of his relatives suffer. Then, the confidante connects these abstractions to the situation wherein a man does not return the help rendered to him and when a man fails to fulfil his oath, and describes how even if this man bears a fierce sword, and even after his death, that act will not spare him ever. With those words, the confidante reminds the man of how the lady had saved him from suffering in the early days of their courtship and how the man had sworn oaths many to win the lady over. Through this, the confidante subtly warns that the same fate awaits the man, if he forgets the help rendered and the oaths sworn. Changing tracks, the confidante concludes by talking about how the lady suffers greatly, like the people in a fort, which has been laid siege to, by a furious enemy king. Intriguing to observe the flow of thought in this verse, which starts with praise for the man’s land, and then enters the domain of explaining what’s right and wrong, appealing to the man’s sense of justice, and finally, ends knocking on the door of the man’s compassion, by painting a portrait of that pining lady. Such situations may not be relevant in our lives, but the art of negotiation in these ancient words sure glows with a timeless truth!