"maRRai nam kaamangaL maaRRU" - (PART 6)

[Guest guest]

The 4 “pUrUshArthAs” as mirrored in the

TiruppAvai

 

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In the 3rd stanza of the TiruppAvai, we find a veiled

but clear allusion to the 4-fold scheme of

“pUrushArthAs” in 4 different metaphors of AndAl that

must certainly rank as timeless masterpieces in the

annals of Tamil poetry. It is worthwhile to study the

verse by way of word-for-word translation. Here is the

verse:

 

Ongi ulagaLandha uththaman pEr paadi *

naangaL nam paavaikkuc caaRRi neer aadinaal *

theenginRi naadellaam thingaL mum maari peydhu *

Ongu peRuNY sen^n^el oodu kayal ugaLap *

poonguvaLaip pOdhil poRi vandu kaN paduppath *

thEngaadhE pukkirundhu seerththa mulai paRRi

vaangak * kudam niRaikkum vaLLal perum pasukkaL *

neengaadha selvam niRaindhElOr embaavaay

 

(General meaning): “Praise Him who measured the three

worlds in two strides! Our winter vows shall bring us

joy! The monsoons shall not fail this virtuous land

but bring forth copious crops of golden paddy! In the

still waters where seedlings are planted, the swirling

fish will prance and dance! Lotus buds will sway and

cradle-rock the dreamy bees to slumber! The fat udders

of our herds of cows, bursting with milk, can hardly

be held within our milking palms! Inexhaustible wealth

shall be ours, indeed!”

 

(Word for Word meaning):

 

Ongi grown tall

ulagu world(s)

aLandha measured

uththaman best, highest One (Vishnu as

Trivikrama, Vamana)

pEr name

paadi singing

 

naangaL we

nam paavaikku for our paavai vow

caaRRi observing, in the name of (lit.

wearing)

neeraadinaal bathe

 

theengu evil

inRi without

naadu ellaam whole country

thingaL (every) month

mum maari three types of rainfall

peydhu will fall (rain)

 

Ongu tall, overgrown

perum big

cen^n^el high-quality paddy crops

oodu amidst

kayal a type of small fish

ugaLa will playfully swim around

 

poom beautiful

kuvaLai a Tamil poetic landscape (neydhal); a

type of flower

pOdhil in that flower

poRi shining, beautiful

vaNdu bees

kaN paduppa sleeping

 

thEngaadE without moving (without any fear)

pukku go inside

irundhu staying

seerththa bountiful

mulai udders

paRRi grasp

vaanga extracting

 

kudam pots

niRaikkum fill up

vaLLal generous

perum pasukkaL big cows

neengadha unremitting, undecaying

selvam wealth

niRaindhu (the land will be) full of

 

 

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In the above verse, the phrase “theenginRi naadellaam

thingaL mum maari peydhu” immediately evokes in our

imagination the sight of a picturesque landscape lush

with rain-fed greenery everywhere. It is the

proverbial land of “milk and honey” utterly drenched

in the sunshine of pure goodness; there is no want or

misery or disappointment anywhere; it is a land where

neither evil nor injustice (i.e. “adharma”) ever cast

their faintest shadow. Such a haven on earth where

Goodness and Happiness prevail --– “teenginRi naadu”

–-- such a place on earth is AndAl’s superlative

imagery for the first of the 4 Vedantic

“purUshArtha-s” viz.: “dharma”.

 

******************

 

Next, there is the phrase “Ongu peRuN sen^n^el” used

by AndAl to evoke the picture in our minds of fertile

fields sprawled out on the countryside, healthy

paddy-crops standing tall and bounteous, and swaying

majestically in the morning breeze…… It is a glorious

sight of cornucopia, of brimming wealth and

prosperity, and it is AndAl’s fabulous metaphor too

for the second of the 4 Vedantic “purUshArthas” viz.:

“artha” or “porUL”.

 

********************

 

Next, is the interesting expression “poonguvaLaip

pOdhil poRi vandu kaN paduppa” which is AndAl’s

extraordinarily suggestive metaphor to denote the

Pleasure Principle of life i.e. the 3rd of the 4

Vedantic “purUshArthas” viz.: “kaama” or sensual

desire. The phrase immediately evokes the picture of

swarms of glimmering bees flitting about a garden in

full bloom crowded with riotously colorful flowers

like lotus, roses, jasmine etc. The bees {“pori

vandu”) buzz around searching for honey and then

discovering it in plenty inside the flowers, settle

themselves cozily inside the languid and luxurious

chamber of petals …… Carried away upon a tide of

Pleasure (“kaama”) and giving themselves up

completely, so to say, to floral charms and

temptations, to the seductive fragrances of “poom

kuvaLai” the bees simply lose all sense of themselves.

 

 

The metaphor of bees getting inebriated by the smell

of honey, and flitting from one flower to another in

endless quest of satiation, aptly sums up the

universal human condition of innate weakness for

sensual indulgence, the predisposition towards excess

and the human tendency to fall for the many

temptations of Pleasure (“kaama” or “inbam”).

 

*****************

 

Lastly, there is the most unforgettable metaphoric

imagery of all –-- the expression of AndAl that best

sums up the true nature of the 4th and highest of

Vedantic “purUshArthAs” viz.: “mOksha” or “veedu”. The

phrase is:

 

“kudam niRaikkum vaLLal perum pasukkaL *

neengaadha selvam niRaindhu”

 

In this phrase, the poetess evokes the picture of

giant “pots” (“kudam”) brimming over with rich, warm

froth of fresh milk drawn straight from the copious

udders of hefty, healthy cows (“perum passukkaL”).

This word-portrait of “pots of milk” is pretty

commonplace metaphor in Tamil poetry and employed

quite often to denote plenitude of wealth and

prosperity. It is the following phrase of AndAl ---

“neengaadha selvam niraindhu” --- it is that brilliant

phrase however that transforms the commonplace

expression into an absolutely sublime one.

 

All earthly wealth, of whatever nature and however

vast, is always subject to gradual and inevitable

diminution. The grandeur of kings and the glory of

empires past, which once were regarded in history as

mighty, limitless and enduring, did in the end, by

passage of time and circumstance, gradually wither,

decay and collapse, did they not? But is there

anywhere in the world a sort of wealth (“selvam”) that

one can say is plenary and permanent, irreducible and

inexhaustible, for now and forever (“neengaadha”)?

 

Indeed there is such wealth, says AndAl in this verse

of the TiruppAvai! It is “neengaadha selvam niraindu”!

It is “Wealth” that never wanes or withers. It is that

which constitutes the 4th and the most superior of all

“purUshArtha-s” in life

–-- “mOksha” or “veedu”: everlasting communion with

the Almighty in His divine abode.

 

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(to be continued)

 

Regards,

 

dAsan,

Sudarshan

 

 

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