Old Tamil Poetry

Kurunthokai – 136 & 204

He says to his friend:
Love, love, people say;
love’s neither a misery nor a malady;
it doesn’t gradually increase or subside;
like musth appearing on a foliage chewing elephant,
it surfaces suddenly at the sight of my beloved.

His friend says to him:
My lord with broad shoulders!
Love, love, people say;
love’s neither a misery nor a malady;
like the delight of an old cow
licking fresh grass in ancient hilly meadows,
love’s nothing but a feast of one’s fancy.

தலைமகன் பாங்கற்கு உரைத்தது
காமங் காம மென்ப காமம்
அணங்கும் பிணியு மன்றே நுணங்கிக்
கடுத்தலுந் தணிதலு மின்றே யானை
குளகுமென் றாண்மதம் போலப்
பாணியு முடைத்தது காணுநர்ப் பெறினே.

தலைமகற்குப் பாங்கன் உரைத்தது
காமங் காம மென்ப காமம்
அணங்கும் பிணியு மன்றே நினைப்பின்
முதைச்சுவற் கலித்த முற்றா விளம்புல்
மூதா தைவந் தாங்கு
விருந்தே காமம் பெருந்தோ ளோயே.

Kurunthokai is an anthology (தொகை) of short(குறு) love poems, dated between 2nd century BCE and 2nd century CE. These poems are rich in metaphors. These are written by various poets. Above poems are poem no. 136 and 204 written by the same poet Milai Perung-Kandhan. Though they appear apart in the anthology they are like a dialogue between the hero and his friend. The first two lines of the poems are same.

Poem 136 – His friend chides him for losing his reserve over his love for a woman. He responds with “People talk a lot about love. It is not a pain I suffer due to others nor a new disease that has afflicted me. It doesn’t gradually increase or decrease. There is no way for me to control it. It strikes suddenly. An elephant chewing foliage is suddenly driven to musth when it eats a particular type of herb. Similarly, when I see her, I lose my self control and my love for her surfaces.”

Poem 204 – His friend responds to him “People talk a lot about love (You say I am mocking your love). It is neither a pain nor a disease. It is something that surfaces only when we think of it. Like an old cow licking fresh grass. Since it is old, it cannot chew the grass, but remembers the taste from when it was young. So what delights the cow is not the grass itself, but the thought of it. Similarly, this love you talk about is in your thoughts only. If you don’t think of it, it won’t affect you.”  ‘Broad shouldered lord’ and ‘old cow’ imply “You were strong before you saw her. Now you are like an old cow, living in your fancy world with her.”

Kurunthokai – 399

My love sickness is like moss that gathers
around the town’s water well –
as long as he is caressing me, it keeps away;
as soon as he leaves me , it spreads back.

ஊர் உண் கேணி உண்துறைத் தொக்க
பாசி அற்றே பசலை-காதலர்
தொடுவுழித் தொடுவுழி நீங்கி,
விடுவுழி விடுவுழிப் பரத்தலானே.

This is one of the popular poems in Kurunthokai. She pines for him and is wasting away. She tells her friend that the only cure for this sickness is to be with him forever. She likens her sickness to the moss that spreads near the drinking water well. When one touches the surface, the moss moves away. As soon as the hand is removed, the moss comes back. தொடுவுழித் தொடுவுழி – தொட்டுக் கொண்டிருக்கும் தோறும் – as long as he touches. விடுவுழி விடுவுழி – விட்டுப் பிரியும் தோறும் – every time he leaves. Their relationship is secret. So they keep meeting and parting often. As long as he is with her she is fine. The moment he leaves her she falls sick.

Most translators take கேணி  as water tank or pond. However U Ve Saa in his commentary clearly says it is கிணறு – well. In my ancestral village,  we still use the word கேணி  for well. So decided to go with that.