Kambaramayanam – 14
பம்பி மேகம் பரந்தது, ‘பானுவால்
நம்பன் மாதுலன் வெம்மையை நண்ணினான்;
அம்பின் ஆற்றதும்’ என்று அகன்குன்றின்மேல்
இம்பர் வாரி எழுந்தது போன்றதே.
Clouds crowding to spread over the peak
was like seas rising atop the mountain
saying, “our father-in-law suffers from heat
because of the sun; let’s cool him down”.
In the epics the river was considered as wife and the ocean as husband. Since the river is born in the mountains, the mountains became father in law for the ocean. The poet imagines that the clouds spreading over the mountain are but sea water that has come in aid of its father in law.
Old Tamil Poetry 