Kalithogai 89 – Pleading and conceding

Sangam Lit

In this episode, we perceive sparks fly in a domestic quarrel, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kalithogai 89, penned by Maruthan Ilanaakanaar. The verse is situated in the ‘Marutham’ or ‘Farmlands landscape’ and relates a heated exchange between a couple.

தலைவி
யார் இவன்? எம் கூந்தல் கொள்வான்? இதுவும் ஓர்
ஊராண்மைக்கு ஒத்த படிறு உடைத்து; எம் மனை
வாரல்; நீ வந்தாங்கே மாறு

தலைவன்
என் இவை, ஓர் உயிர்ப் புள்ளின் இரு தலையுள் ஒன்று
போர் எதிர்ந்தற்றாப் புலவல்? நீ கூறின், என்
ஆர் உயிர் நிற்கும் ஆறு யாது?

தலைவி
ஏஎ! தெளிந்தேம் யாம் காயாதி, எல்லாம் வல் எல்லா
பெருங் காட்டுக் கொற்றிக்குப் பேய் நொடித்தாங்கு,
வருந்தல் நின் வஞ்சம் உரைத்து

தலைவன்
மருந்து இன்று மன்னவன் சீறின், தவறு உண்டோ? நீ நயந்த,
இன்னகை! தீதோ இலேன்

தலைவி
மாண மறந்து உள்ளா நாணிலிக்கு இப் போர்
புறம் சாய்ந்து காண்டைப்பாய் நெஞ்சே! உறழ்ந்து இவனைப்
பொய்ப்ப விடேஎம் என நெருங்கின், தப்பினேன்
என்று அடி சேர்தலும் உண்டு!

We continue hearing the same comic-book style ‘Wham-bham’ within a home! The words can be translated as follows:

“Lady:

Who is he? Why does he touch my tresses? It has the deceit of a great performance! Come not to my house! Return the way you came from!

Man:

What is this? Akin to how, in a bird with two heads, when one head fights with the other, you quarrel with me? If you speak so, there can be no way for my precious life to remain!

Lady:

Hey! I know everything! Do not make me angry! Akin to how a ghost maiden puts forth riddles to the all-knowing Goddess Kottri in the huge forest, do not tire yourself, speaking lies to me!

Man:

Can you blame anyone, if a king gets furious for no reason? O maiden with a sweet smile, I have done no wrong you accuse me of!

Lady:

O heart, if we corner him with more rebuke, wanting to pierce through all his lies, he might fall at the feet saying, ‘I have done a mistake’! So, please consider forgetting everything and surrendering to this thoughtless and shameless man in this fight!”

Let’s delve into the details. The verse is situated in the context of a love quarrel between a man and a lady, owing to the man’s seeking of courtesans. These words are an exchange between the man and the lady. The lady starts by exclaiming who could be this person, who was touching her tresses, and she declares that this seems like a big performance, full of deceit on the part of the man and asks him to leave to where he came from, meaning the courtesan’s house. The man asks her how is it even possible for her to fight with him, with an interesting example of a two-headed bird, in which one head fights with the other. He adds that if she continues speaking so, he can’t go on. To this, the lady replies angrily that she knows everything and the man needn’t play with words the way a ghost maiden would try to put riddles to the omniscient forest goddess! The man sighs at this point and says who is at fault if the king flares up for no reason and continues to insist that he has done nothing wrong. The lady then talks to her heart and tells it that if they were to keep pressing the man and pushing him to a corner, to reveal his lies, he might fall at the feet and own that he made a mistake, and concludes saying, that it’s better to forgive and accept this man, thoughtless and shameless though he is! The final line indicates some aversion in the lady to see the man in the state, where he falls at her feet. Rather than seeing him so bent and broken, the lady feels it’s better to forgive him! Not the best of reasoning, however these past verses reveal how the man and the lady come to a point of closure at the end of their quarrelling!