The River Speaks

by Elizabeth Rani Segran

  ‘trough’—Coma. follows Pari. and says,

  a trough which befits those who seek only sensual gratification; that is, those lustful ones who are possessed of animal passion and do not know love (Coma. 20:48–54)

  Lines 113–14

  ‘to plough the land’—the text uses the word mutucati; mutu means old, and in this context it means ‘well worn’ or ‘well used’; cati or cal is the word for the furrow or the track made by the farmer while sowing grain. Leaving nothing to the reader’s imagination, Pari. writes,

  since it has been ploughed many times, he [the poet] calls it mutucati (Pari. 20:54)

  Line 120

  ‘for those who come to you’; the text uses the word ittar, which Pari. glosses as ‘those who bestow gifts on you’ (Pari. 20:55–58).

  Line 121

  ‘our ornaments’—in caṉkam poetry, the heroine’s female companions often use the personal possessive pronouns while referring to the heroine’s lover, her possessions, etc.

  Lines 124–39

  Looking everywhere for the ox we lost [and finding it here], we bring it here for all these women to see, to

  the cattle-stall which is the Vaiyai, to threaten and strike it, to whip it with our garlands. We pursued you to this gathering where our case will be argued, for everyone to know that this is indeed our ox (Pari. 20:58–63)

  Line 136

  ‘gathering’; see, for a comparison, line 148.

  Lines 143–46

  The heroine’s companion implies that merely by wearing the heroine’s necklace the other woman cannot pretend to be as virtuous as the heroine or cannot claim the hero’s affections rightfully.

  Lines 151–53

  Do not anger the one who, by her chastity, can eliminate sins by her mere thoughts (Pari. 20:64–70)

  Lines 165–66

  ‘Your Excellence’—‘The implication is “you are of noble character. So, you are not likely to know this”’ (Pari. 20:70–73).

  Lines 170–72

  The original text is unavailable. We used Pari.’s commentary to reconstruct these lines.

  Lines 176–77

  The implication here is, ‘I know who you are. So, don’t talk too much.’

  Lines 182–84

  We followed Pari. in our translation. An alternative reading would be,

  If you told the truth

  about who gave them to you

  you may then argue with us.

  Lines 196–220

  These lines are spoken by the women who witness this altercation.

  Lines 195–201

  These lines are addressed to the other woman.

  Lines 202–20

  These are addressed to the heroine.

  Lines 218–20

  In saying ‘contained in one place’, she [the speaker] says, ‘is it possible for men’s passions to be directed only towards their chaste wives? No, it is not’ (Coma. 20:86–95)

  Lines 228–31

  Lily buds that are closed like hands … clusters of lilies that look like the cobra with its hood raised in anger (Pari. 20:98–107)

  Lines 237–43

  The poem compares the walls of the city to an elephant and the channels to the elephant’s trunk.

  Lines 244–47

  The text reads namamar utalu natpun tanappum. Following Coma., we read nam as accam, fear. However, he construes ‘fear’ only with tanappu, separation:

  Mixing liquor and love which is union, quarrel and separation which we fear (Coma. 20:108–11)

  Paripāṭal XXII

  This is the last poem in the Paripāṭal manuscript that was made available to Swaminatha Aiyar. The poem is incomplete, as is the commentary. Consequently, we do not know the names of the poet and the music composer. In translating this poem, in addition to the available text, we also used Swaminatha Aiyar’s summary of the (available parts of the) poem, and Coma.’s reconstruction.

  Line 4

  ‘lord of the mountains’—the text uses the word poruppan, which means king of the hills. Most scholars understand the word poruppu (hills) in this poem as referring to the Potikai hills in the southern part of the Western Ghats, a place under the sovereignty of the Pāṇṭiyaṉ kings.

  Lines 39–42

  In the Tamil literary tradition, men are often described as powerful as the god Murukan and as beautiful as Matanan (the god of love).

  Lines 54–60

  Coma. reorders the text and reads these lines as,

  the beautiful sight of the men and women

  where the Vaiyai meets its banks

  do they adorn the lovely Vaiyai

  or does the Vaiyai adorn them?

  Those

  watching

  and pondering

  cannot tell. (Coma. 22:26–35)

  We preferred to maintain the order of the lines in our translation. The reference to the river meeting its banks can also be read as an allusion to the union between lovers.

  Line 64

  ‘the yal with its sultry notes’—Pari. glosses this phrase as ‘the sounds of the popular PāLaippaṇ melody played on the yal’ (Pari. 22:38). It is likely that this poem was set to music in this melody.

  Paripāṭal Compilation [Tirattu]

  This poem is from Ilampuranar’s commentary on the Tolkappiyam. Details about the poet, music composer, etc., are not known. Both the structure and content of the poem make it evident that it belongs to the Vaiyai songs in the Paripāṭal, and Swaminatha Aiyar included this poem under the section on Paripatarrirattu, which includes poems culled from examples found in various commentaries and the Purattirattu. Swaminatha Aiyar published eleven such Paripāṭal poems in the Paripatarrirattu, of which four are Vaiyai poems. Of these, three are incomplete with less than four lines available. Only one poem is available in full, which we have translated here.

  The structure of this poem is similar to the other Vaiyai poems. The poem begins with a description of the river’s advent, following which there is a detailed description of the people of Maturai making their way towards the river.

  Line 13

  ‘happy foot soldiers’—see, for a comparison, Paripāṭal VI: 75–76.

  this should be understood to mean ‘having the enthusiasm of the rank and file of an army’; that is, each desiring to be the first [to reach the river]. Note that in the sixth Vaiyai poem, the learned commentator Parimelalakar says, ‘crowds of people behaving like the troops of an army’ and glosses the phrase tucittanmai as ‘marching forward’ (Coma. 5–10)

  Lines 14–15

  market, that is, a market where bathing accessories are sold. Such accessories include weapons made of pith, golden fish, crabs, etc., garlands and perfumes. That such a market existed can also be inferred from a reference in Perunkatai 18 (Coma. 5–10)

  Lines 16–31

  Wearing garlands and flowers, exquisite clothes and perfumes, with their curls and braids, men and women decorate themselves; of these, the women ride elephants and the men ride alongside them on their horses; some ride chariots and covered carts, and others gather their families so that they do not get lost [in the crowd] (Coma. 11–18)

  Line 45

  chaste women who do not transgress their husbands’ words (Coma. 19–27)

  Line 47

  ‘rider of the golden chariot’—this is a reference to the Pāṇṭiyaṉ king. This poem is unique in that it mentions the Pāṇṭiyaṉ king bathing in the river along with his subjects (see also, lines 173–77).

  Lines 1–49

  These words are said to the hero by the heroine’s female companion who describes the advent of the Vaiyai and the people approaching the river. In the following, she indicates that the heroine is aware that the hero bathed in the river with his mistress, and by way of referring to others’ conversations, she refuses entry to the hero (Coma. 19–27)

  Lines 54–56

  ‘other women bathing in secluded places’—Coma. understands this as an allusion to the hero’s mi
stresses.

  Having heard that the hero bathed in the Vaiyai with his mistresses, the heroine’s friend imputes this [that is, this act of infidelity] to the river. By saying that husbands bathed in the river with their wives, she points out that he did not do so … In the following, she alludes to another incident which happened when the hero bathed with his mistresses (Coma. 28–33)

  Lines 63–67

  A man places his garland in the river and the flowing waters carry it to a woman who picks it up and wears it. The poem does not identify the principal characters.

  Bathing in the river with his mistress, a man sees his concubine there and places his garland surreptitiously in the river, as his gift to her [the concubine]. The concubine takes the garland and places it on her head, which the mistress sees (Coma. 34–40)

  Lines 74–80

  These words are spoken by the mistress. In the following lines, she rebukes the hero thus (Coma. 34–40)

  Line 83

  ‘for lovemaking alone’:

  this phrase indicates that the woman who took the garland was the concubine (Coma. 41–45)

  Lines 84–86

  According to the poem, the man desires the other woman’s breasts and places his garland on the waters which carry it to her. So, the speaker says that the other woman’s breasts, the man and the waters were all responsible for the woman getting the garland.

  Line 90

  ‘Pañcavan’—Pāṇṭiyaṉ king; Swaminatha Aiyar says,

  according to some, he [the Pāṇṭiyaṉ king] is called thus because he rules over all five types of land [pañca—five]

  The five different kinds of landscapes that are invoked in caṉkam poetry are: a) kuriñci—mountainous; b) pālai—barren or wasteland; c) mullai—forest or pastoral; d) marutam—agricultural or riverine; and e) neytal—littoral.

  Lines 103–10

  Coma. assigns these words to the heroine’s companion who speaks to the hero.

  The heroine’s companion says, ‘The lady is aware of what you did [in the Vaiyai] and is angry with you. So, I will not consent to being your messenger.’ By referring again to the man described previously [who placed his garland in the waters of the Vaiyai], the heroine’s companion refuses entry to the hero (Coma. 51–57)

  Lines 106–07

  this terrible deed causes the heroine to quarrel [with her husband]. Merely thinking about it leads to great sorrow (Coma. 51–57)

  Lines 111–20

  ‘These three stanzas elaborate the same theme’ (Coma. 57–63). Since the river has become dirty and polluted because of the people bathing in it, Brahmins no longer perform their austerities there; see, for a comparison, Paripāṭal VI:95–101.

  Line 137

  ‘the warring one’—the reference is to the Pāṇṭiyaṉ king.

  Lines 153–60

  Coma. interprets ‘lovers’ and ‘their men’ as ‘husbands’.

  Lines 163–67

  The original reads,

  paste, fragrant garlands, … but for the hues of these things, the river shows none of its waters’ colour

  Line 173

  ‘Maran’—a generic name for the Pāṇṭiyaṉ kings.

  Lines 183–87

  The Pāṇṭiyaṉ king and his subjects are compared to Intiran (the king of celestial beings) who bathes in the celestial river with other heavenly beings.

  Glossary

  acōku

  Indian mast tree

  akaru

  eaglewood tree

  akil

  an aromatic substance extracted from

  the bark of the eaglewood tree

  alli

  white water lily

  āmpal

  a kind of water lily

  āram

  sandalwood tree

  aravintam

  lotus

  Ātirai

  name of a star in the Orion constellation

  atiral

  wild jasmine

  caṇpakam

  a kind of laurel; campaka tree

  curam

  wasteland, wilderness, forest

  curapuṉṉai

  a kind of mastwood, popularly known as puṉṉai.

  Intiraṉ

  the overlord of the celestials (Indra)

  kallakāram

  an aquatic plant, also called kuliri

  kaḻunīr

  purple water lily

  kaṇaviri

  a kind of flower, popularly known as arali (red oleander)

  Kankai

  the river Ganges

  kantal

  a kind of water lily

  Korravai

  a goddess

  kullai

  wild basil, a shrub

  kurukkatti

  a kind of flower

  Kutal

  another name for the city of Maturai

  kuvalai

  purple lily

  mallika

  popularly known as malli (jasmine)

  manai

  clearing-nut tree, also called terramaram

  Maran

  a name given to the Pāṇṭiyaṉ kings

  marutam

  In caṉkam poetry, the name very often refers to the agricultural tract. It is also the name of a specific melodic structure (paṇ) associated with this landscape.

  mattari

  a kind of drum

  Maturai

  capital city of the Pāṇṭiyaṉ kingdom

  mauval

  a kind of jasmine

  mulavu

  a kind of drum

  Murukan

  a god. The Paripāṭal often refers to Parankunru, a hill near Maturai, as his abode.

  Naka

  a class of celestial beings

  nakam

  a kind of tree; the word can also mean ‘cobra’

  ñalal

  a kind of tree

  ñemai

  a kind of tree

  naravam

  a creeper

  neytal

  a kind of lily

  ocanai

  a unit of distance, approximately thirteen kilometres

  pālai

  In caṉkam poetry, this word usually refers to wasteland. It is also the name of a specific melodic structure (paṇ) associated with this landscape.

  paṇ

  Melodic structure. Contemporary musicologists opine that the paṇ is conceptually equivalent to raga

  panai

  a kind of drum

  paṇ

  a musician; the word likely derives from paṇ (see corresponding entry)

  Pañcavan

  a name given to the Pāṇṭiyaṉ kings

  Pāṇṭiyaṉ

  one of the triumvirate of kings in early Tamil country (the two others being Cera and Cola)

  parai

  a kind of drum

  patiri

  trumpet flower

  Pirkulam

  the ninth month in the lunar calendar

  Potikai

  a mountain range in the Western Ghats of India

  punnakam

  a kind of mastwood

  Tai

  the tenth month in the lunar calendar

  takaram

  a kind of tree

  tannumai

  a kind of drum

  taram

  a kind of tree

  tatari

  a kind of drum

  Tirumarutamunturai

  the shallow waters (bathing area) of the Vaiyai on the banks of Maturai

  tuti

  a kind of drum

  vakulam

  a kind of flower, popularly known as makilam

  valai

  mastwood tree

  valai

  a kind of fish

  valviram

  a kind of tree, popularly known as vilvam (bael)

  vel

  a kind of spear

  venkai

  Indian kino

  vetci

  a kind of tree


  yal

  a stringed musical instrument