Old Tamil Poetry

Kambaramayanam – 44

Pink legged swans roam around like fish eyed women,
leaving their swanlings on blessed lotus flowers in the fields;
mud legged buffaloes think of their calves and secrete milk,
feeding swanlings which then sleep to the lullaby of green toads.

சேல் உண்ட ஒண் கணாரில் திரிகின்ற செங்கால் அன்னம்
மால் உண்ட நளினப் பள்ளி வளர்த்திய மழலைப் பிள்ளை
கால் உண்ட சேற்று மேதி கன்று உள்ளிக், கனைப்பச் சோர்ந்த
பால் உண்டு துயிலப் பச்சைத் தேரை தாலாட்டும் பண்ணை.

In this poem Kamban describes the bounty and beauty of farm lands of Kosala country. Pink legged swans place their young ones on lotus flowers and roam around like fish eyed women imitating their walk. The buffalos in the fields think of the calves they left behind in the cow shed and start secreting milk spontaneously. This overflowing milk feeds the young swanlings which then sleep to the lullaby of toads. The fields of the country are so fertile and their cattle so well fed, that they spontaneously secrete milk.

1. Lotus flowers are blessed because Goddess Lakshmi resides in them.
2. In Indian tradition fish shaped eyes mean beautiful long eyes. The western equivalent is ‘almond eyes’