Ainkurunuru (ஐங்குறுநூறு)

Introduction: Literary classics abound in all languages of the word and it is indeed a pleasure to read them and appreciate how our ancestors viewed life and how every civilization differed from each other in viewing at the aims and pursuits of life in this world. The objective here is to present once a week, the best poem or sloka or verse or song I have read among the different literary works of the world. "யான் பெற்ற இன்பம் பெருக இவ்வையகம்" என்று திருமூலர் திருமந்திரத்தில் கூறியதுபோல, let everyone attain the bliss I have received in reading them.

ஐங்குறுநூறு (Literally meaning: Five short hundred) பேயரில் உள்ளதுபோல 500 குறுகிய பாடல்களைக்கொண்டது. இதிலுள்ள சில பாடல்கள் குறுந்தொகையவிட சிறியது; அதாவது, 3 முதல் 6 வரிகள் வரை உடையது. For me, Ainkurunooru is perhaps the most systematically organized Sangam anthology, as it contains 100 poems each on the five Tinais (ஐந்தினை). And each of these 100 is sung by a particular poet. அதாவது,

1.    மருதம் by ஓரம்போகியார்

2.    நெய்தல் by அம்மூவனார்

3.    குறிஞ்சி by கபிலர்

4.    பாலை by ஓதலாந்தையார்

5.    முல்லை by பேயனார்.

The work’s amazing organization does not end here. Each of these 100 poems is grouped into 10 sections and each section contains 10 stanzas. இப்படி ஒழுங்காக தொகுத்து வழங்கிய பெருமை கூடலூர் கிழார் என்ற ஒரு புலவரைச்சாரும். The titles given to these chapters of 10 poems are based on the frequent occurrence of a word or phrase in each of these 10 poems. Interestingly many of these chapter names are those of animals and plants. Some of these are….

1. Crab ten (களவன் பத்து)
2. Buffalo ten (எருமைப் பத்து)
3. Cassia ten (ஞாழற் பத்து)
4. Little egret ten (வெள்ளாங் குருகுப் பத்து)
5. Terns ten (சிறுவெண் காக்கைப் பத்து.)
6. Wild boars ten (கேழற் பத்து)
7. Monkey ten (குரக்குப் பத்து)
8. Parakeets ten (கிள்ளைப் பத்து)
9. Peafowls ten (மஞ்சைப் பத்து)

To the best of my knowledge, the work has been translated into English at least twice. Once by P. Jotimuthu in 1984 published by the Madras Christian Literature Society (this may well be out of print) and recently in 2011 by Martha Ann Selby as a publication of Columbia University Press.  

இனி ஐங்குறுநூற்றிலுள்ள பாடல்களுக்கு வருவோம். அருமையான பல பாடல்கள் இதில் உள்ளன. எதை எடுத்தொச்சொல்வதென்று எனக்குத் தெரியவில்லை. After a long consideration, I have decided to highlight the following poems:

1) Crabs and crocodiles (Poet: Orampokiyar / ஓரம்போகியார்)

Freshwater crocodile (C. palustris)

Cannibalism occurs quite commonly in crocodilians and is sometimes considered as a population regulating mechanism. It is also one of the major causes of mortality in young crocodiles (*; *). The Tamil country had two species of crocodiles, namely the freshwater crocodile or mugger (C. palustris) and saltwater or estuarine crocodile (C. porosus). While the former inhabits rivers and reservoirs of the plains and forests, the latter once inhabited the coastal lagoons and mangrove forests of Tamil Nadu. Estuarine became locally extinct in Tamil Nadu in 1940 when the last one was killed (B.C. Choudhury, WII, pers.com.). In any case, these species should have been abundant during the Sangam days (200 B.C. to 300 A.D).

Two words are employed for crocodile in Sangam literature and these are முதலை and கராம். In Sangam literature, crocodiles appear in all landscapes, Palai (Akam, 3), Mullai (Kali, 103), Kurinchi (Natrinai, 292), Neythal (Akam, 80) and Marutham (Ainkuru, 41). When Kurunthogai (324) poem mentions of the bow-legged male crocodile in the black lagoons of grove-fringed coast, the reference is obviously to the saltwater crocodile.  Since this particular song from Ainkurunuru (24) is from Marutham landscape, the species here has to be C. palustris.

தாய்சாப் பிறக்கும் புள்ளிக் கள்வனொடு
பிள்ளை தின்னும் முதலைத்து அவனூர்
எய்தினன் ஆகின்று கொல்லோ? மகிழ்நன்     

பொலந்தொடி தெளிர்ப்ப முயங்கியவர்
நலங்கொண்டு துறப்பது எவன்கொல்? அன்னாய் ! 

Has he really gone back to his own city,

            Where about spotted crabs at whose birth their mother dies;

            And where crocodiles swallow their own brood?

How can he, after love’s embrace to the tinkling of my golden bracelets,

            Having robbed me of my maiden loveliness, desert me now?

(Ainkurunuru, 24) [Translator: P.N. Appuswami]

The poem also mentions the death of mother crabs after laying their eggs. This needs to be however verified. Sangam poems on both inland and coastal waters mention crabs. All crabs mentioned in Marutham (மருதம்) or Agricultural landscape should be freshwater crabs and those mentioned under Neythal (நெய்தல்) or Littoral zone the marine crabs. About two thirds of world’s freshwater crabs are said to be in danger of becoming extinct (*). Poet Orampokiyar says the mother crab dies after laying her eggs. This however needs to be verified.

2) Reed flowers and manes (Poet: Orampokiyar / ஓரம்போகியார்)

Inflorescence of Saccharum spp. (Photo: Dawn Smith)

The word vezham (வேழம்) in ancient Tamil literature had three major meanings: (i) Bull elephant (e.g. Naladiyar, 358; Purananuru, 152), (ii) sugarcane (Natrinai, 241; Akananuru, 6), (ii) bamboo (Akananuru 309) and (iii) a kind of reed or tall grass (Ainkurunuru, 13) (Subramanian, 1990). However, it is invariably used to refer the elephant and poem 13 in Ainkurunuru is one of the rare occasions where this word clearly means a tall grass.

Here poet Orampokiyar compares the inflorescence of the tall grass to the manes of horses. Identified as plume grass (Saccharum arundinaceum) by Krishnamurthy (2007), vezham (வேழம்) is related to sugarcane (S. officinarum). Since sugarcane finds a mention in almost all ancient literary works of Tamils, the cultivated plant appears to have originated in India (Mukherjee, 1957; Krishnamurthy, 2007). Since it is closely related to all members of the genus Saccharum, it is only natural that Tamil poets have sometimes used the same word vezham to mean the cultivated sugarcane as well.

பரியுடை நன்மான் பொங்குளை யன்ன

வடகரை வேழம் வெண்பூப் பகரும்

தண்துறை யூரண் பெண்டிர்

துஞ்சூர் யாமத்துந் துயலறி யலரே.

He is the lord of the land of many cool and lovely fountains,

Where reeds by the sea-shore parade their white flowers

Shining and glistening like the bristling manes of noble prancing steeds;

But alas! Those who love him know no sleep

Even in the middle of the night when the whole city sleeps.

(Ainkurunuru, 13) [Translator: P.N. Appuswami]

Nāladiyār (நாலடியார்), a didactic in Tamil belonging to circa 7^th century A.D., also has a poem where the flower of sugarcane (S. officinarum) is compared to the mane (தீம் கரும்பு ஈன்ற திரள் கால் உளை அலரி: Poem 199). Since only the mane is mentioned and not the animal, translators have interpreted it to mean it either as the horse or lion. 

3) Monkeys on the fig tree (Poet: Kapilar / கபிலர்)

The reason why I have chosen the following poem is because of the reference to a species of fig. 

கல் இவர் இற்றி புல்லுவன எறிக்

குளவி மேய்ந்த மந்தி துணையோடு

வரைமிசை உகளும் நாட நீவரின்

கல்லகத் ததுஎம் ஊரே

அம்பல் சேரி அலராம் கட்டே.

Man from the mountain country where female
monkeys leap around with their mates
on white fig trees that spread
their roots tightly on boulders
eating tender kulavi leaves nearby,
if you come to our town
surrounded by mountains,
there will be rumour and slander in our settlement.  

(Ainkurunuru 279) [Translator: Vaidehi]

Ficu drupacea (left) and Ficus talboti (right)

Based on the descriptions on the habits and characteristic features of the species இற்றி (Itri) found in other Sangam works, it appears to be a fig (Ficus spp.) growing on rocky areas with roots entrapping the boulders (Ainkurunuru, 279) which sometime resemble a waterfall crashing down a hill (Kurunthogai, 106). Its long stilt roots are swung by the wind (Natrinai, 162) sweeping the rocky soil (Akananuru, 345). The tree also has a short trunk (Akananuru 57) with leaves and twigs which dry and wither (Akananuru 57) in dry season(?). That the tree is deciduous is clear (as most figs are) from this description. K.V. Krishnamurthy (2007) mentions இச்சி and இத்தி in his book “தமிழரும் தாவரமும்” but not இற்றி. According to him ichchi could be either Ficus virens or F. talboti and iththi Ficus spp. The names ichchi and iththi could be derivatives of the Sangam word itri and they all might refer to some species of Ficus. Relevant to point out here is the name aththi (அத்தி) which is often taken as Ficus racemosa (=F. glomerata). Itri here could also be the short trunked Mysore fig (F. drupaceae) which is called 'கல் ஆல்' in Tamil

The word குளவி here refers to jungle or forest jasmine (Jasminum spp.). And of course there are monkeys on them, surprisingly not feeding the fig fruits but on the tender leaves of kulavi which is apparently a species of jungle jasmine! It is very likely that the fig tree in question was not in the fruiting stage for otherwise the monkeys would have preferred them over leaves. The manthi (மந்தி) or monkey here could be the folivorous gray langur (Semnopithecus spp.) and not bonnet macaque (Macaca radiata).

References:

1) Krishnamurthy, K.V. 2007. தமிழரும் தாவரமும். பாரதிதாசன் பழ்கலைக்கழகம், திருச்சிராப்பள்ளி. Page 406
2) Mukherjee, S.K. 1957. Origin and Distribution of Saccharum. Botanical Gazette

Vol. 119, No. 1: 55-61
3) Subramanian, N. 1990. Pre-Pallavan Tamil Index. University of Madras. Page798 

 

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Purananuru (புறநானூறு)

Introduction: Literary classics abound in all languages of the word and it is indeed a pleasure to read them and appreciate how our ancestors viewed life and how every civilization differed from each other in viewing at the aims and pursuits of life in this world. The objective here is to present once a week, the best poem or sloka or verse or song I have read among the different literary works of the world. "யான் பெற்ற இன்பம் பெருக இவ்வையகம்" என்று திருமூலர் திருமந்திரத்தில் கூறியதுபோல, let everyone attain the bliss I have received in reading them.

If there is a work called 'Akananuru' in Sangam literature that deals with "internal matters" (அகத்திணை) like love (pre and post marital), there should be one anthology to deal with "external matters" (புறத்திணை). Yes there is, not one but quite a few. The most famous of them all is the Purananuru' (புறநானூறு), another anthology of 400 poems. One may ask why all these anthologies contain 400 poems invariably! Yes, for some strange reasons, Tamil anthologists preferred to restrict their collected poems to 400. Natrinai, Akananuru, Purananuru, Kurunthogai, Naaltiyar and Pazhamozhi Nanuru are some of the well known examples in Tamil literature.  In the northern tongue (Sanskrit and Prakriti), there is this tradition of compiling 700 poems (called "sathasai" / “சத்தசை”). Hala’s Sattasai, Bihari Sattasai, Vajjalaggam, Durga Saptasati are some examples. I will take some of these works at a later time for discussion.

பதினேழாம் நூற்றாண்டில் வாழ்ந்த ஆங்கில கவிஞர் சேக்ஸ்பியர் “Pericles” (II.3) என்ற தன்னுடைய படைப்பில் இவ்வாறு குறிப்பிடுகிறார்: “We are gentlemen that neither in our hearts nor outward eyes envy the great nor shall the low despise.” பதினெட்டாம் நூற்றாண்டில் வாழ்ந்த பஹாய் மதத்தை உறுவாக்கிய பஹாவுள்ளா தன்னுடைய பயானில் “The earth is but one Country, and mankind its Citizens.” (Gleanings from the writings of Baha’u’llah, CXVII) என்று எழுதுகிறார். இதைப்போலவே, 16-ஆம் நூற்றாண்டில் வாழ்ந்த கன்னட கவிஞர் சர்வஜ்னமூர்த்தியும் தன்னுடைய ஒரு வசனத்தில் “All are my relatives, of every street and town” என்று முழக்கமிடுகிறார். இவ்விரு கருத்துகளையும் சுமார் 2,000 ஆயிரம் ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பே நம் தமிழகத்தில் தோன்றிய கணியன் பூங்குன்றன் என்ற புலவர் “யாதும் ஊரே; யாவரும் கேளிர்” என்று தொடங்கும் 192-ஆவது புறநானூறு பாடலில் எடுத்துறைக்கிறார். “யாதும் ஊரே; யாவரும் கேளிர்” என்று தமிழில் உள்ளது போலத்தான் கன்னட மொழியிலும் சர்வஜ்ன “ஊரெல்ல நெண்டரு கேரியெல்லவூ பளக” (ಊರೆಲ್ಲ ನೆಂಟರು, ಕೇರಿಯೆಲ್ಲವೂ ಬಳಗ) என்று சொல்லுகிறார்.

Needless to say this is one of the most impressive of all Purananuru poems, as far as I am concerned.

யாதும் ஊரே; யாவரும் கேளிர்;
தீதும் நன்றும் பிறர்தர வாரா;
நோதலும் தணிதலும் அவற்றோ ரன்ன;
சாதலும் புதுவது அன்றே; வாழ்தல்
இனிதுஎன மகிழ்ந்தன்றும் இலமே; முனிவின்,
இன்னா தென்றலும் இலமே; ‘மின்னொடு
வானம் தண்துளி தலைஇ, ஆனாது
கல்பொருது இரங்கும் மல்லற் பேர்யாற்று
நீர்வழிப் படூஉம் புணைபோல, ஆருயிர்
முறைவழிப் படூஉம்’ என்பது திறவோர்
காட்சியின் தெளிந்தனம் ஆகலின், மாட்சியின்
பெரியோரை வியத்தலும் இலமே;
சிறியோரை இகழ்தல் அதனினும் இலமே.

Every town is our town. Everyone is our kin.

Failure and prosperity do not come to us because of others!

Nor do suffering and end of suffering.

There is nothing new in death.

Thinking that living is sweet, we do not rejoice in it.

Even less do we say that life is miserable if times of crisis!

Through the vision of those who have understood life,

We know that life, with its hardship, makes its way like a raft

Riding the water of a huge and powerful river roaring

Without pause as it breaks against rocks because the clouds

Crowded with bolts of lightning pour down their drops of rain,

And so we are not amazed at those who are great,

Even less do we despise the weak!

(Purananuru, 192) (Translators: G.L. Hart & H. Heifetz) (Slightly modified)

The next Purananuru poem I take for a discussion is the song number 369 which has an interesting series of similes to compare the scenes in a battlefield to natural phenomena of thunder and rain. In Indian poetry, it is not uncommon to see herds of elephants being compared to rainclouds and a shower of arrows to rain. We see this, for instance, in Valmiki Ramayana: “Behold the great black clouds like to battling elephants leaping and rolling in heaven” and also “Rendering himself invisible, he rose high in the air and showered arrows like rain until Rama and Lakshmana, who were grievously wounded, fell down and pretended to be dead” (Valmiki Ramayana, CHAPTER XXVI). Not only Valmiki, but also Kalidasa employs these similes, befittingly in his work on ‘seasons’ Ritusamhara.

The season of rains has come my dear,

With all the pomp and panoply of a king,

The dark clouds are his war-elephants,

Lightnings his royal flags,

And thunders his ratting drums.

(Ritusamhara, II: 1 – Translator: A.N. Kapoor)

In the following Puranānūru poem, poet Paranār takes this comparison a stage beyond the natural heavenly events to the earthly activities during monsoon. He compares the some of the events in the battlefield with activities in the agricultural field (போர்க்களமும் ஏர்க்களமும்). So this practice of comparing the battlefield scenes to monsoon is at least as old as Valmiki times. Perhaps Valmiki set the precedence if we are to assume that Paranar was aware of Valmiki’s composition.

இருப்புமுகம் செறிந்த ஏந்தொழில் மருப்பின்,
கருங்கை யானை கொண்மூவாக,
நீண்மொழி மறவர் எறிவனர் உயர்த்த
வாள்மின் நாக, வயங்குடிப்பு அமைந்த
குருதிப் பலிய முரசுமுழக் காக,
அரசராப் பனிக்கும் அணங்குறு பொழுதின்,
வெவ் விசைப் புரவி வீசுவளி யாக,
விசைப்புறு வல்வில் வீங்குநாண் உகைத்த
கணைத்துளி பொழிந்த கண்ணகன் கிடக்கை,
ஈரச் செறுவயின் தேர்ஏ ராக,
விடியல் புக்கு, நெடிய நீட்டி, நின்
செருப்படை மிளிர்ந்த திருத்துறு பைஞ்சால்.
பிடித்தெறி வெள்வேல் கணையமொடு வித்தி,

விழுத்தலை சாய்த்த வெருவரு பைங்கூழ்ப்,
பேய்மகள் பற்றிய பிணம்பிறங்கு பல்போர்பு,

Paranar:

The elephants with their dark trunks and their handsome tusks

raised on high tipped with iron are the clouds.

The swords of warriors who swore oaths as they flourished them

            for the attack form the lightning.

The royal drums that received a sacrifice of blood

are with their glowing drumsticks the thunder

that makes those snakes, the enemy kings,

tremble and feel deep anguish.

The fast horses are the driving wind on the wide field

where arrows shower like rain

released by the mighty strings of the strong, swift bows.

On the drenched battlefield, chariots are the plows.

In the long and fresh furrows scored

and then turned over by your weapons of battle ….

White spears and clubs that were seized and hurled have been planted.

And terrible new crop, with the handsome heads bending low,

            has been the many towering stacks of corpses

            with female ghouls crowding around them.

(Purananuru, 369: Translators – George Hart and Hank Heifetz)

Paranar here compares the elephants in a battlefield to rainclouds, shining swords like lightening, sounds of battle drums to thunder, horses to wind, arrows shower like rain, fast moving chariots to ploughs, spears that hit the ground to seeds and human corpses to crops after harvest!

Movement of elephant herds do resemble moving clouds, as this image from the African continent show.
Photo from Andy's "Timeless Africa" gallery. Image Courtesy and Copyright © Andy Biggs.

Reproduced below are three poems from medieval Indian literature in other languages. The 19^th century Hindi poet Gwal of Mathura employs a different set of natural phenomena to compare with the battlefield:

The gathering of the army is like the stars in the sky.

A number of battalions move like storms.

The black uniforms of soldiers are like dense clouds.

Thundering shouts are heard like the roaring of clouds.

(Sankalit, 2: Translator – J.P. Srivastava)

The twelfth century poet Kallol of Rajasthan, for a change, compares the rainy season to the events in the battlefield in Apabhramsha language:

The array of advancing clouds is like an invading army;

The play of lighting, the glint of swords;

And the rain-drops strike one like piecing arrows;

In this season of the rains, o my beloved husband,

How could I possibly live without you?

(Dhola Maru ra Duha, 4: Translator – Kesri Singh)

Bharateshwar Bahubali Rasa, a Jaina work in Gujarati of the 12^th century A.D., is considered to be one of the earliest compositions in Western Indian language. It has a long poem which has vivid descriptions of various aspects war. The similes are scattered across different stanzas:

Armour-clad, excellently-bred elephants looked like moving mountains

Who were swinging their mace-like trunks to and fro,

And trumpeting loudly, they were rocking their bodies. (I.21)

Those horses were walking about here and there like a hooded cobra

And were making puffing and hissing sounds with their nostrils.

Those bright, agile, spirited Tatari horses fairly resembled the horses of the sun-god. (I.25)

A profound darkness created by the dust raised by the trampling hooves of horses

Spread everywhere like a canopy of clouds.

The king’s army made its progress onward in the light of their flashing weapons. (I.37)

புறநானூற்றில் எனக்கு பிடித்த மற்றுமொரு பாடல் “நரம்பு எழுந்து“ என்று தொடங்கும் நச்செள்ளையார் எழுதிய 278-ஆவது பாடல். In Thirukkural we see Thiruvalluvar saying “A woman rejoices at the birth of a son, but even more when he is praised” (ஈன்ற பொழுதின் பெரிதவக்கும் தன்மகனைச் சான்றோன் எனக்கேட்ட தாய், குறள் 69). Here we see poet Nachelliyar narrating an incident when a mother rejoices at the death of her son in the battle. Of course elsewhere in Thirukkural, Valluvar talks about the death of soldier would bring tears from the eyes of the ruler: “If death lies in glory that draws tears from the ruler, it is worth seeking even in alms” (புரந்தார்கண் நீர்மல்கச் சாகிற்பின் சாக்காடு இரந்துகோள் தக்கது உடைத்து, குறள் 780). Let us now see the poem from Purananuru:

“நரம்புஎழுந்து உலறிய நிரம்பா மென்தோள்
முளரி மருங்கின், முதியோள் சிறுவன்
படைஅழிந்து மாறினன்” என்று பலர் கூற,
“மண்டுஅமர்க்கு உடைந்தனன் ஆயின், உண்டஎன்
முலைஅறுத் திடுவென், யான்’ எனச் சினைஇக்,
கொண்ட வாளடு படுபிணம் பெயராச்,
செங்களம் துழவுவோள், சிதைந்துவே றாகிய
படுமகன் கிடக்கை காணூஉ,
ஈன்ற ஞான்றினும் பெரிதுஉவந் தனளே! (278)

When she heard the many voices saying,

            “That aged woman with dry, veined arms where the soft flesh hangs down,

                        she whose belly is wrinkled like a lotus leaf –

                        her son was afraid of the enemy army

                        and he showed them his back and ran!”,

            Then rage overcame her and she said,

            “If he fled in the furious battle, I will cut off the breast at which he sucked!”

            And she snatched up the sword and she turned over every body

                        lying there on the blood-soaked field.

            And when she found her son who was scattered in pieces,

                        she felt happier than she had been the day she bore him.

(Purananuru 278, Translators: G.L. Hart & H. Heifetz)

The fourth poem I would like to quote here deals with captive elephants and horses. Poet Moolangkizhar (ஆவூர் மூலங்கிழார்) makes an extraordinary reference to the anguish of captive bound horses and elephants in the Pandya King Keeranjaathan’s kingdom. 
 

கந்துமுனிந்து உயிர்க்கும்யானையொடு,பணைமுனிந்து,
கால்இயற் புரவி ஆலும் ஆங்கண்,
மணல்மலி முற்றம் புக்க சான்றோர்
உண்ணார் ஆயினும், தன்னொடு சூளுற்று
உண்மென இரக்கும் பெரும்பெயர்ச் சாத்தன்

ஈண்டோர் இன்சா யலனே ;

Cāttan whose fame ranges far is a man of dulcet benevolence,

For he has vowed that he will never eat if ever his urgings cannot persuade men

To do once they have entered his courtyard with its expanses

Where elephants sigh because they hate being tied to posts,

Where horses swift as the wind neigh with their hatred of stables!

(Purananuru, 178) (Translators: G.L. Hart & H. Heifetz)

The fifth and last poem I would like highlight here is a short four-liner in Purananuru, perhaps the easiest of all the poems to memorize. In chapter 74 on “Land”, Valluvar says “Unfailing harvests, learned men and honest traders constitute a country” (தள்ளா விளையுளும் தக்காரும் தாழ்விலாச் செல்வரும் சேர்வது நாடு, குறள் 731). A Hebrew proverb says "The place honours not the man; it is the man who honours the place". So also a proverb from Greece "The people make the town".  This idea is conveyed brilliantly in the following Purananuru poem attributed to Avvaiyar (ஔவையார்). A land is valued, she says, based on the quality of people who live there, and not whether it is a valley or a mountain, forest or cultivated land.

நாடா கொன்றோ ; காடா கொன்றோ;
அவலா கொன்றோ ; மிசையா கொன்றோ;
எவ்வழி நல்லவர் ஆடவர்,
அவ்வழி நல்லை ; வாழிய நிலனே!

O Land!
You may be a flourishing kingdom or a wild jungle:
You may be a hollow depression, or a high table-land:
These matter not.
Wherever men are good, there you are good:
So, long may you live, O Land.
(Purananuru 187) [Translator: P.N. Appuswamy]

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