Ainkurunooru 491-500: Ripples of the Return

Sangam Lit

In this episode, we perceive the celebration in the man’s return home, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Ainkurunooru 491-500, situated in the ‘Mullai’ or ‘Forest landscape’ and penned by the poet Peyanaar.

Thus blooms the Fiftieth Ten of Ainkurunooru: Ripples of the Return

491 Beauty back to you
கார் எதிர் காலை யாம், ஓவின்று நலிய,
நொந்து நொந்து உயவும் உள்ளமொடு,
வந்தனெம் மடந்தை, நின் ஏர் தர விரைந்தே.

In this time, when the rains were approaching, worrying unceasingly, with a heart that ached and ached, I have come here, O naive maiden, with much haste, to render your beauty back to you.

492 Racing against the rains
நின்னே போலும் மஞ்ஞை ஆல, நின்
நன்னுதல் நாறும் முல்லை மலர,
நின்னே போல மா மருண்டு நோக்க,
நின்னே உள்ளி வந்தனென்
நன்னுதல் அரிவை, காரினும் விரைந்தே.

Just like you, the peacock dances; Just like your fine forehead, the wild jasmine blooms; Just like you, the deer looks with startled eyes; And so, thinking just of you, I came here, O maiden with a shining forehead, racing against the rains!

493 Arrived with the rains
ஏறு முரண் சிறப்ப, ஏறு எதிர் இரங்க,
மாதர் மான் பிணை மறியொடு மறுகக்,
கார் தொடங்கின்றே காலை,
நேர் இறை முன்கை, நின் உள்ளி யாம் வரவே.

As bulls bellow with force, as thunder resounds in response, as the beautiful female deer along with its calf leaps about, it’s now the time, when the rains begin, after I have arrived thinking of you, O maiden wearing etched bangles on your forearms!

494 As you wished
வண்டு தாது ஊதத், தேரை தெவிட்டத்,
தண் கமழ் புறவின் முல்லை மலர,
இன்புறுத்தன்று பொழுதே,
நின் குறி வாய்த்தனம், தீர்க இனி படரே.

As bees buzz around pollen, as toads croak, as the cool and fragrant wild jasmine blooms in the forest, beautiful is this time. Knowing your heart, I have arrived as you wished, and so let your suffering cease!

495 Sweet turns the forest
செந்நில மருங்கில் பல் மலர் தாஅய்ப்,
புலம்பு தீர்ந்து இனியவாயின புறவே,
பின்னிருங் கூந்தல் நன்னலம் புனைய,
உள்ளுதொறும் கலிழும் நெஞ்சமொடு,
முள் எயிற்று அரிவை, யாம் வந்தமாறே.

Upon the red earth, many flowers bloom and letting go of its lament, sweet turns the forest. This is because, with a heart that shed tears every time I thought of you, O young maiden with thorn-like teeth, to adorn your braided dark tresses with beauty, I have arrived here!

496 Flowers for her tresses
மா புதல் சேர, வரகு இணர் சிறப்ப,
மா மலை புலம்பக் கார் கலித்து அலைப்பப்,
பேரமர்க்கண்ணி, நின் பிரிந்து உறைநர்
தோள் துணையாக வந்தனர்,
போது அவிழ் கூந்தலும் பூ விரும்புகவே.

As deer find refuge in the bushes, as millet clusters prosper, leaving the huge mountains in loneliness, rains resound and roar with waves. O maiden with huge and beautiful eyes, the one, who was parted away from you, has returned to become the companion for your arms. May your tresses hanging low, without adornments, wear flowers with desire now!

497 Rains and the Return
குறும் பல் கோதை கொன்றை மலர,
நெடுஞ்செம் புற்றம் ஈயல் பகர,
மாபசி மறுப்பக் கார் தொடங்கின்றே,
பேரியல் அரிவை, நின் உள்ளிப்
போர் வெங்குருசில் வந்தமாறே.

Making many small garlands of the golden shower bloom, termites to part away from their tall, red mounds, and animals to forget their hunger, the rains have begun, O maiden with an admirable nature, because the lord, who loves battles, has thought of you and returned!

498 He has arrived
தோள் கவின் எய்தின, தொடி நிலை நின்றன,
நீள் வரி நெடுங்கண் வாள் வனப்பு உற்றன,
ஏந்து கோட்டு யானை வேந்து தொழில் விட்டென,
விரைசெலல் நெடுந்தேர் கடைஇ,
வரையக நாடன் வந்தமாறே.

Arms have regained their beauty; Bangles have retained their position; Huge eyes with long lines have attained the brightness of swords; All because the king, who wields elephants with uplifted tusks, has ended his war mission, and riding his tall chariot, with great speed, the lord of the mountains has arrived!

499 Thinking of her worries
பிடவம் மலரத், தளவம் நனையக்,
கார் கவின் கொண்ட கானம் காணின்,
வருந்துவள் பெரிதென, அருந்தொழிற்கு அகலாது
வந்தனரால் நம் காதலர்,
அம் தீம் கிளவி, நின் ஆய் நலம் கொண்டே.

Thinking that she will worry immensely, if she sees the forest attain the beauty of the rains that make wild jasmines bloom and pink jasmines soak, without parting for other challenging missions, he has returned, that lover of yours, O woman with sweet words, bringing back your excellent beauty!

500 Transformation of her eyes
கொன்றைப் பூவின் பசந்த உண்கண்,
குன்றக நெடுஞ் சுனைக் குவளை போலத்
தொல் கவின் பெற்றன இவட்கே, வெல்போர்
வியன் நெடும் பாசறை நீடிய
வயமான் தோன்றல், நீ வந்தமாறே.

O lord, who appears like a strong tiger, the one who had been delayed at the wide and spreading battle camp of the winning king, the kohl-streaked eyes that had spread with the pallor of the golden shower flowers, have attained their old beauty, akin to the blue lily in the wide mountain spring, just because you have returned!

So concludes Ainkurunooru 491-500. All the verses are situated in the context of a man’s post-marital relationship with the lady. The unifying theme of the songs is the joyous moment when the man has returned and reunited with the lady.

In the first, the man expresses his feelings of worry as he saw that the rains were approaching and how that made him travel with great speed, so as to give back the beauty of the lady that was lost with his parting away. In the second, the man describes how all the elements of nature on his path, be it a peacock or the blooming jasmines or a startled deer, everything reminded him of his lady and that’s why he rushed to her, wanting to beat the rains in that race against time. In the third, the man says the rains have begun, making bulls bellow, thunder roar and deer romp, after he had arrived, telling us he has won the race with the rains. In the fourth, the man says to the lady that knowing that she wished for his arrival before the rains more than anything else, he made it there to slay her suffering and now the world feels so beautiful to savour, as sounds of bees buzzing, toads croaking, and the scent of wild jasmines echo that the rains are here. The fifth sees the man celebrating the beauty of the forest again, wherein flowers bloom upon the red earth and the domain gives up its lament about the dry season and welcomes the rains, and it feels so sweet only because he is back and one with the lady.

The confidante takes the speaker’s spotlight in the next five. In the sixth, she points to the changes in the world around, such as deer hiding in the bushes, millets raising their heads with delight, and making all life leave the mountains, leaving it in loneliness, because the rains were there. There is no cause for worry in the lady though, as the man was back and now the tresses, which the lady had abandoned without care, can delight in wearing flowers again. The confidante once again highlights how Sangam women avoided adorning themselves in the time their man was away. Returning, in the seventh, the confidante offers other instances of the effect of rains, such as the blooming of the golden shower, the parting away of termites from their mounds, and also, the forgetting of hunger by animals, as they shiver in the cold of the season, seeking protection from the elements. The confidante seems to say in this one that the rains have begun only because the man has returned, thinking of the lady.

The eighth sees the confidante turning her attention from the changes in the outer world to the appearance of her friend and remarks how the lady’s arms have become beautiful, the bangles are not slipping away, and her eyes are bright once again, and this is only because the man had finished the king’s mission victoriously and was back with her. In the ninth, the confidante celebrates the man’s thoughtfulness in considering how the lady would worry if she saw the rains arrive and moisten the jasmines, for he returned to the lady, bringing back her beauty in time. In the final verse, the confidante addresses the man directly, calling him a tiger and remarking how he had been delayed at the king’s battle camp, and concludes with the words that the lady’s eyes, which had spread with pallor in the colour of golden shower flowers, have now transformed to seem like a cool and fragrant blue lily in a mountain spring, just because the man was back.

And so we see how the man seems to be the custodian of the lady’s beauty, taking it away with him, when he goes, and bringing it back, when he returns. The essence of this section is the inner and outer transformation in a person’s return to their beloved. On that sweet note of a reunion amidst the lush and blooming spread of this domain, verses on the ‘Mullai’ or ‘Forest landscape’ ends, a section where the focus was not on intricate metaphors but rather a direct depiction of the emotions in parting and togetherness, in the bond and the joy of love. These verses echo to us that it’s not only earth-shattering moments of history that need to be sung about and celebrated, but the simple truth that even the simple joys of a family life have lasting value in linking generations, across space and time.