The River Speaks

by Elizabeth Rani Segran

  Line 287

  ‘yama melody’—we followed Pari. in translating this line. The original does not mention the name yama, and instead refers to ‘the melody which only has a pan but not a tiram’.

  paṇ is a heptatonic melody from which tiram—a pentatonic melody—is believed to be derived. The commentator says,

  the melody which has a pan but not a tiram—yama melody which arises in vilarippālai [the name of a melodic scale]—singing that to accompanying rhythm (Pari. 11:128)

  Line 300

  Having described the ceremonial bathing during the month of Tai thus, she [the heroine’s companion] now addresses the Vaiyai in the hero’s hearing (Pari. 11:133)

  Lines 304–08

  Both Pari. and Coma. understand the reference to ‘love for young women not in full bloom’ as indicating kaikkilai—the name given in the Tamil literary tradition to the feeling of desire (felt by a man) for a girl who is not sexually aware. Within the tradition, only a man can be portrayed as indulging in this sort of love.

  By ‘love for young women not in full bloom’ is meant the desire for a young girl who does not know passion and the affliction caused by it which knows no remedy. Refer to the earlier lines that describe an onlooker captivated by the beauty of a young girl saying to himself, ‘Look at the beautiful woman, / who smites those who behold her’ [lines 261–62].

  Since the book says, 15

  ‘Suffering from distress which knows no remedy

  from love for one who knows no passion,

  arguing the good and the bad

  with her and her consorts,

  not receiving a word in return—yet

  talking to oneself and deriving happiness—

  these are the signs of kaikkilai’

  thus [the reference to kaikkilai is justified] (Coma. 11:134–40)

  Lines 309–15

  ‘because of our past virtue’ (line 311)—munmurai ceytavattin immurai iyaintem translates as ‘we enjoyed this [the ceremonial bathing in the Vaiyai] because of the austerities we observed in the past’. Both Pari. and Coma. understand ‘past’ in this context to mean ‘previous births’; see, for a comparison, lines 184–91.

  ‘Again’ (line 315)—here, again, the poem uses the word murai; marumurai amaiyattum iyaika or ‘may we obtain this in the future too’. Pari. understands ‘future’ to mean ‘future births’.

  Paripāṭal XII

  Poet: Nalvalutiyar

  Music: Nalvalutiyar

  Melody: Pālaippaṇ

  Swaminatha Aiyar notes the suffix valuti in the poet’s name and suggests that he may have belonged to the Pāṇṭiyaṉ clan. The name valuti refers to the Pāṇṭiyaṉ kings.

  According to the colophon, the poem is to be understood as words spoken by the heroine’s female companion, who addresses the river Vaiyai. She describes the joyous scenes at the riverfront during the rainy season and tells the Vaiyai, ‘he [the hero] does not even think about you who bestow so much joy’. The implication is that the hero has forgotten the heroine. It is understood that the hero (being in the vicinity) hears these words. Within the literary convention of old Tamil poetry, this is called iyarpalittal, a theme where the heroine’s companion belittles the hero’s qualities. As with some of the other Vaiyai poems, the poem can be read without attempting to fit it to this situation.

  Lines 1–6

  Clouds struck by wind spread light and darkness alternately, and surround caiyamalai in clusters (Pari. 12:1–2)

  The reference to caiyamalai in the commentary is unclear. The word caiyam is often used in the sense of ‘mountain’ as is the word malai.

  Lines 7–14

  These lines describe various trees being washed away by the floodwaters. ‘Nakam … fearsome with its shiny spots’—the poem refers to a tree called nakam. However, the word also means ‘cobra’ and the poet plays on this ambiguity. Pari. justifies this poetic device in his commentary, citing similar examples from the literature.

  The naming of trees and flowers carried by the floodwaters is a common theme in the Vaiyai poems. Carrying trees, roots and flowers, the waters look colourful and exude a multitude of smells. See, for example, lines 152–60 in this poem.

  Lines 26–27

  removing sandalwood paste from their bodies and smearing them with the smoked paste of akil (Pari. 12:13–14)

  Akil refers to the fragrant eaglewood tree. From the many references to akil paste in these poems, it would seem that people smeared themselves with smoked akil paste and bathed in the river.

  Lines 28–29

  This is one of the five modes of dressing a woman’s hair, mentioned in the literature. According to Coma. (12:9–18) who quotes from an old lexicon, the five different modes are kontai (tuft at the side of the head), kulal (curls), paniccai (locks), muti (tuft on top of the head), curul (braided locks). The word aimpal (five-moded) is often used in Tamil poetry to describe women’s hair.

  Line 31

  The text uses the word puttakam, which the commentator says is a ‘putavai [sari] appropriate for bathing’ (Pari. 12:17)

  Lines 36–40

  The text uses three different words, vannam, tecu and oli, to describe the lustre on the women’s faces. According to the commentator they are, respectively,

  natural beauty, artificial beauty and the colour that comes from sexual union (Pari. 12:20–21)

  Line 41

  Eating betel nut flavoured with five different kinds of spices (Pari 12:22).

  The commentator of the Tamil epic, the Cilappatikaram, specifies the five kinds of aromatics used to flavour betel nut. They are clove, cardamom, camphor, nutmeg and cubeb (a kind of pepper called valmilaku in Tamil).

  Line 49

  O-canai is a unit of distance measuring approximately thirteen kilometres. The word derives from the Sanskrit yojana.

  Lines 1–65

  The advent of the Vaiyai is described thus. In the following, the poet describes the joys of the water sport by describing what the onlookers see and hear (Pari. 12:34–35)

  Lines 66–67

  Tirumunrurai—the name given to the shallow waters (bathing area) of the Vaiyai. Pari. reads munrurai as turai mun, ‘in front of the bathing area’ (Pari. 12:36–44).

  We chose not to reorder the phrase and read it as the name of the shallow waters; see, for a comparison, Paripāṭal VII:159.

  Lines 71–81

  We could only hear snippets. Why? He [the poet] gives reasons. The reason for that is this. Look at the beautiful women dancing to the music of well-tuned flutes, measuring the rhythms of the mulavu, mattari, tatari and tannumai drums with their slender forearms (Pari. 12:36–44)

  The idea is that the onlookers were distracted both by the sound of the music and the sight of the beautiful women dancing, and hence could not listen carefully to the conversations taking place around them.

  Line 83

  ‘After enjoying her beautiful shoulders’—this is a common expression in old Tamil, which means ‘after enjoying her embrace’.

  Lines 90–95

  Standing in the crowds, looking at the round breasts of one who is slender as a vine, he has a tender heart and a fickle mind (Pari. 12:50–51)

  Line 96

  The text reads corintatuum, the meaning of which is unclear in context. We follow Coma. who reads it as corintatuum, ‘bestowed’ as flowers, gifts, etc.

  Line 110

  The poem does not specify if indeed the man and woman were husband and wife. We follow Pari. who makes this assignment in the commentary.

  Seeing a beautiful woman casting her nectar-like looks on her husband (Pari. 12:57–60)

  Lines 155–60

  These lines name the flowers carried by the rushing waters of the river. Kurukkatti, common delight of the woods, is also known as matavikkoti.

  Lines 169–72

  Pari.’s commentary is not available. The text uses the word kalila in describing the waters. The word usually means ‘to shine or to be lu
strous’. Coma. understands it as ‘muddied’, and further adds,

  the waters are muddied in the morning because of people bathing in the river. It indicates how popular bathing in the river was (Coma. 12:77–86)

  We chose this reading, as it is more appropriate in the context of the lines that follow.

  Lines 184–90

  Pari. glosses these lines as,

  she raised her forearm and adjusted the flowers in her hair to look beautiful. By this gesture, know this good man to be her husband. Look at this sight! (Pari. 12:90–92)

  and further adds,

  this is a gesture since she makes him notice her limbs that bind his heart (Pari.12:90–92)

  Coma. says,

  by ‘limbs that bind his heart’, her breasts are indicated. Since the beauty of the breasts is enhanced when a woman raises her hands high and adjusts the flowers on her head, she did so. This is the idea (Coma. 12: 87–92)

  Line 191

  ‘the old city’ refers to Maturai. See also, line 205.

  Paripāṭal XVI

  Poet: Nallaliciyar

  Music: Nallacutanar 16

  Melody: Notiram

  The colophon reads this poem as the heroine’s female companion refusing entry to the hero (husband), who is trying to win the affections of the heroine (wife). The heroine’s companion describes the scenes at the river, and implies that she and the heroine know that the hero bathed in the river with his mistresses. The same situation, called vayil maruttal—refusing entry to an unchaste husband—is exemplified in Paripāṭal VI.

  Following the colophon, Pari. comments on the setting of the poem at various places, indicating the identities of the speaker and the listener.

  Lines 16–18

  ‘headdresses’ translates muñcam—an ornament worn over the crown of the head by children. The poem describes these children as tinai piri putalvar, a phrase which Pari. glosses as ‘children who have left their homes’, that is, children who are in the river by themselves.

  Lines 20–21

  The dark lines in the whites of women’s eyes are considered beautiful.

  Lines 23–28

  The phrases ‘carrying blooming flowers’ and ‘full of lustrous water’ apply to a field, as well as a dancer’s stage. In the case of the field, these phrases are to be understood as ‘being full with shining water carrying blooming flowers’ and for a dancer’s stage as, ‘filled with flowers and water scattered for the putar [gods] during the kamalavarttanai rite’ (Pari. 16:11)

  kamalavarttanai—the gesture of the lotus.

  kamalavarttanai—the sign of a lotus shown by dancers when they take the stage. Since the first gesture the dancers perform with their hands is this sign of the lotus, this rite is called kamalavarttanai. It is also called kamalavattanai or vattanai. This is understood from Naccinarkkiniyar’s commentary on the Civaka Cintamani where he says, ‘placing their right foot first as they step on the stage, positioning themselves near the right pillar, showing the gesture [of the lotus] is called kamalavarttanai’ … and regarding the offering of flowers during this rite to the putar, gods of the four varnas, Atiyarkkunallar writes in his commentary on the Cilappatikaram, ‘and constructed in this way as the texts describe is the stage. And there, painting [on the backdrop of the stage], the gods of the four varnas—antanar [Brahmins], aracar [Kings], vanikar [Merchants] and cuttirar [Sudras] for all to praise and pray’ (Coma. 16:11–19)

  Line 40

  Spraying with water, and the use of squirts in water games; see, for a comparison, Paripāṭal VI:71–72.

  Lines 40–63

  These lines are to be understood as the [heroine’s] female companion’s words. Addressing the hero who wishes to regain the favours of the heroine, the heroine’s companion describes the scenes in the water to make him aware that she and the heroine know that the hero sported in the water with his mistress. Since it is not appropriate [in a poem] to describe a heroine or to banter with the hero in such vulgar terms, it should be realized that the poem refers here to a mistress (Coma. 16:20–31)

  These and the following lines refer to the mistress (Pari. 16:20–31)

  Line 57

  ‘nor wiping away’ translates kuruti tutaiya. The verbal participle tutaiya can also be read as ‘wiping away the blood-red water’ (Pari. 16:20–31). But we chose to retain the negative sense, since it reinforces the hero’s haste in making love to the mistress, as implied in the previous line, ‘not drinking the fruit liquor’.

  Lines 71–73

  ‘The Vaiyai resembles the Kankai, / which flows in the sky’—the reference is to the river Ganges which, according to Hindu mythology, flows in the sky before falling to earth.

  Lines 93–97

  The hero’s chest is compared to the mountain and the musk paste to honey.

  Like the honey which drips on the hillsides when the bamboo, bent on account of the cold, springs up as the mist clears and attacks [the honeycombs where honey is stored] (Pari. 16:39–46)

  Lines 104–18

  The heroine’s companion says all this (viz., lines 1–103) describing the bathing scenes. Now, apparently addressing the Vaiyai, she refuses entry to the hero (Pari. 16:48–49)

  So that the men and women who bathe in you wearing garlands and fragrant flowers enjoy the fruits of their acts of benevolence; so that their offerings to you such as golden fish, the pastes they smear on their bodies, their garlands, the thick smoke that dries wet clothes and the food they offer you, never diminish—may the rains never fail. May the waters from the rains never recede (Pari. 16:50–55)

  Paripāṭal XX

  Poet: Aciriyan Nallantuvanar 17

  Music: Nallacutanar

  Melody: Kantaram

  According to the colophon, the poem is to be understood as the words of a bard. The hero is away from his lover and she is distressed. Unable to withstand it, she sends the bard as her messenger. The bard describes the advent of the rainy season, the coming of the river and the festivities at Vaiyai.

  Line 9

  ‘speckled forehead’—the text reads punutal and the adjective pu can either mean ‘spot’ or ‘lustrous’ in this context. We follow Pari. who glosses pu as pukar, meaning ‘spot’ (Pari. 20:1–5). Spots on the forehead are taken to be indicative of an elephant in rut.

  Line 12

  To indicate the fury of the rain, he [the poet] says it washed the bloodstains away (Pari. 20:1–5)

  Lines 26–29

  These lines describe the smells of the river; see, for a comparison, Paripāṭal VII:47–51.

  Lines 33–36

  The people love the smell of the warm waters that mingles with the natural smells of the lush gardens on the banks of the river, and the parai drums were sounded in each and every town (Pari. 20:12–19)

  Line 36

  The coming of waters and the sounding of the parai drums—see, for a comparison, Paripāṭal VI:57, X:13.

  Lines 37–41

  The text does not refer to channels on the walls of the city and only says ‘the sound of water flowing on the walls’. We followed Pari. who writes,

  people wake up to the sound of the water flowing along the channels on the walls (Pari. 20:12–19)

  The poem mentions channels explicitly later; see lines 237–38.

  Lines 55–59

  Reaching the waters at the high neck of the sandy hills, on the banks decorated by sand houses built by little girls, and where bees hum (Pari. 20:12–19)

  Lines 60–63

  Those who did not leave their homes in haste could not reach the banks of the Vaiyai, as the way to the river was too crowded. So, they stand on the streets feeling sorry for themselves.

  Lines 78–81

  The poem does not specify who thinks ‘Surely, she must be the other woman’. Pari. attributes the words to the heroine’s friends (Pari. 20:27–36). Similarly, in line 80, the poem does not mention who speaks. Coma. reads this line as the heroine’s friends saying,

  Loo
k at this thief’s face burning in shame. Surely, they must be his wife’s jewels (Coma. 20:27–36)

  Pari.’s commentary on lines 80–81 is not available.

  We used the word ‘thief’ which translates kalvan. Calling the hero a kalvan is unusual in caṉkam poetry.

  Lines 101–46

  These lines are spoken by the heroine’s companion who answers the question ‘Why this pursuit?’ (line 97).