Kalithogai 121 – Lashing wave and thrashing fish

Sangam Lit

In this episode, we hear a passionate plea on behalf of a friend, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kalithogai 121, penned by Nallanthuvanaar. The verse is situated in the ‘Neythal’ or ‘Coastal Landscape’ and depicts the state of a maiden with elements of nature.

ஒண் சுடர் கல் சேர, உலகு ஊரும் தகையது,
தெண் கடல் அழுவத்துத் திரை நீக்கா எழுதரூஉம்,
தண் கதிர் மதியத்து அணி நிலா நிறைத்தர,
புள்ளினம் இரை மாந்திப் புகல் சேர, ஒலி ஆன்று,
வள் இதழ் கூம்பிய மணி மருள் இருங் கழி
பள்ளி புக்கது போலும் பரப்பு நீர்த் தண் சேர்ப்ப!

தாங்கருங் காமத்தைத் தணந்து நீ புறம் மாற,
தூங்கு நீர் இமிழ் திரை துணையாகி ஒலிக்குமே
உறையொடு வைகிய போது போல், ஒய்யென
நிறை ஆனாது இழிதரூஉம், நீர் நீந்து கண்ணாட்கு

வாராய் நீ புறம் மாற, வருந்திய மேனியாட்கு
ஆர் இருள் துணையாகி அசைவளி அலைக்குமே
கமழ் தண் தாது உதிர்ந்து உக, ஊழ் உற்ற கோடல் வீ
இதழ் சோரும் குலை போல, இறை நீவு வளையாட்கு

இன் துணை நீ நீப்ப, இரவினுள் துணையாகி,
தன் துணைப் பிரிந்து அயாஅம் தனிக் குருகு உசாவுமே
ஒண் சுடர் ஞாயிற்று விளக்கத்தான், ஒளி சாம்பும்
நண்பகல் மதியம் போல், நலம் சாய்ந்த அணியாட்கு

என ஆங்கு
எறி திரை தந்திட, இழிந்த மீன் இன் துறை
மறி திரை வருந்தாமல் கொண்டாங்கு, நெறி தாழ்ந்து,
சாயினள் வருந்தியாள் இடும்பை
பாய் பரிக் கடுந் திண் தேர் களையினோ இடனே.

The pain of a lady takes precedence in this one! The words can be translated as follows:

“As the radiant flame reaches the mountain, the one with a quality of roving over the world entire, the cool-rayed, beautiful moon rises from the southern ocean, pushing aside the waves, and fills the sky. As bird flocks eat their food and retire to their nests, resounding around, and thick and luscious petals close their buds in the sapphire-hued darkness, it appears as if the dark coast has gone to sleep in your domain, O lord of the cool, spreading seas!

As you stayed away leaving her with an unbearable desire, the waves, brimming over the dancing waters resound as the only companion of the maiden, with eyes that flow down with tears, incapable of stopping, akin to a flower filled with dewdrops!

As you visited not and stayed away, the pitch black darkness, even as it tormented her faded beauty, became the only companion of the maiden, whose bangles slip away from her wrist, akin to flowers of the flame lily, when the end is near, as their clusters droop down, shedding cool and fragrant pollen.

As you abandoned your sweet companion, the song of the solitary bird, parted away from its mate at night, became the only companion of the maiden, whose beauty has faded, akin to the moon in the middle of the day, shorn of its light, owing to the brightness of the radiant rays of the sun!

And so, akin to how a thrashing fish, thrown onto the sands of the shore by the waves, is quickly recovered without much pain by a returning wave, this is the time and place to end the suffering of the one, who worries and fades because of your actions, by wielding towards her, your sturdy chariot with leaping horses!”

Let’s explore the nuances. The verse is situated in the context of a man’s parting from a lady prior to marriage, and here, the confidante speaks to the man on behalf of the lady. She begins in the customary way of describing an evening, when the sun is down and the moon is up, birds are in their nests and flowers are closing their buds, giving an appearance of an entire land mass in deep slumber. The confidante then addresses the man and tells him how because he abandoned her and stayed away in his town, without trysting with her, the lady suffered with only the roaring waves, the spreading darkness and a singing bird, keeping her company, even as her eyes brimmed over with tears like a flower dripping with dew, her bangles slipped away like the pollen shedding from a drooping flame-lily and her beauty fading like the colour of the moon in the middle of a day, bright with the sun’s rays. Now, she comes to the core of her message and tells the man just the way a fish that was thrown by a wave, and which is thrashing about, fighting for its life, is quickly saved by that returning wave, the man too must direct his chariot and horses to the lady’s abode, and save her that very moment. Finally, it’s good to see actual elements of the sea in this series on the coastal domain. Especially, the last simile about a thrashing fish on the sands of the shore vividly illustrates the pain of the lady through piercing words!