POEM FROM TAMIL LITERATURE - THE LION-KING’S ROAR BEYOND THE CAVE

ABOUT THE POEM: The poem THE LION-KING’S ROAR BEYOND THE CAVE is a powerful tribute to the valor and ambition of the Pandya king Maran, composed by the Sangam-era poet Maruthan Ilanaganar. It draws a vivid comparison between the king and a lion that refuses to rest in its mountain cave, driven by the fierce urge to hunt. Likewise, the king sets out to battle—not out of necessity, but out of a determined will to conquer and destroy rival northern kings.The poem warns that these enemy kings, unaware of their approaching doom, will soon face destruction. Through layered metaphors, it conveys that just as farmers suffer when birds eat the fish from their flooded fields, these kings will suffer—not due to natural losses—but due to the king’s might.The verse ends on a sombre prophetic note: if the king’s protective role is abandoned, sacred public places will fall into decay. The village shrine will lose its sanctity, elders will stop gathering, and once-orderly spaces will turn into wild forests where even jungle birds freely nest—symbolizing a collapse of civilization in the absence of righteous rule.Themes:Heroism and martial zealThe king as protector and destroyerThe consequences of neglecting governanceThe fragility of order and civilization.THE LION-KING’S ROAR BEYOND THE CAVEO Vazhuthi ! Seated on your chariot —Like a lionspurning the stillness of its own caveto chase fleshwith a fireonly the wild know —You march toward war,toward the land of the northern kings,intent on their ruin,while they, perhaps,do not yet knowthat sorrow stands at their gates.On the edge of the paddy,the vine clambers up the marutham tree —its fruit pluckedby those who feast.You, too, strike —but not at fish basking in idle pools —you strike at kings,and the very air grows weary.The godwho once stood guardin the village square —his stone form firmamidst prayer and pledge —will vanish,and in that place,grey-haired elders will no longer gather,no more games of valluplayed in the dust.The shrine will become a wilderness —where jungle fowllay eggsin silence.PURANANURU - 52POET: MARUTHAN ILANAGANAR (ALSO RENDERED AS MARUTHILA NAGANAR IN SOME VERSIONS OF THE TEXT).PATRONTHE PANDYA KING MARAN, WHO DIED AT KOODAL (MADURAI).NOTE: vallu:A pit where a wise man plays becomes a forest where a wild hen lays eggs is a proverb or saying. This refers to a town or place that was previously used by humans and then abandoned, becoming surrounded by nature and becoming a forest.