Kalithogai 96 – On riding a horse

Sangam Lit

In this episode, we listen to an imaginative response to a dishonest explanation, as portrayed in Sangam Literary work, Kalithogai 96, penned by Maruthan Ilanaakanaar. The verse is situated in the ‘Marutham’ or ‘Farmlands landscape’ and renders a comparative study of women and horses.

தலைவி
‘ஏந்து எழில் மார்ப! எதிர் அல்ல, நின் வாய்ச் சொல்;
பாய்ந்து ஆய்ந்த தானைப் பரிந்து ஆனா மைந்தினை;
சாந்து அழி வேரை; சுவல் தாழ்ந்த கண்ணியை;
யாங்குச் சென்று, ஈங்கு வந்தீத்தந்தாய்?’

தலைவன்
‘கேள் இனி:
ஏந்தி எதிர் இதழ் நீலம் பிணைந்தன்ன கண்ணாய்!
குதிரை வழங்கி வருவல்’

தலைவி
அறிந்தேன், குதிரைதான்;
பால் பிரியா ஐங்கூந்தற் பல் மயிர்க் கொய் சுவல்,
மேல் விரித்து யாத்த சிகழிகைச் செவ் உளை,
நீல மணிக் கடிகை வல்லிகை யாப்பின் கீழ்
ஞால் இயல் மென் காதின் புல்லிகைச் சாமரை,
மத்திகைக் கண்ணுறையாகக் கவின் பெற்ற
உத்தி ஒரு காழ், நூல் உத்தரியத் திண் பிடி,
நேர் மணி நேர் முக்காழ்ப் பல்பல கண்டிகை,
தார் மணி பூண்ட தமனிய மேகலை,
நூபுரப் புட்டில், அடியொடு அமைத்து யாத்த
வார் பொலம் கிண்கிணி ஆர்ப்ப இயற்றி, நீ
காதலித்து ஊர்ந்த நின் காமக் குதிரையை,
ஆய் சுதை மாடத்து அணி நிலா முற்றத்துள்
ஆதிக் கொளீஇ, அசையினை ஆகுவை,
வாதுவன்; வாழிய, நீ!

சேகா! கதிர் விரி வைகலில், கை வாரூஉக் கொண்ட
மதுரைப் பெரு முற்றம் போல, நின் மெய்க்கண்
குதிரையோ வீறியது?
கூர் உகிர் மாண்ட குளம்பினது; நன்றே
கோரமே வாழி! குதிரை

வெதிர் உழக்கு நாழியால் சேதிகைக் குத்திக்
குதிரை உடல் அணி போல, நின் மெய்க்கண்
குதிரையோ கவ்வியது?
சீத்தை! பயம் இன்றி ஈங்குக் கடித்தது; நன்றே
வியமமே வாழி! குதிரை

மிக நன்று, இனி அறிந்தேன், இன்று நீ ஊர்ந்த குதிரை;
பெரு மணம் பண்ணி, அறத்தினில் கொண்ட
பருமக் குதிரையோ அன்று; பெரும! நின்
ஏதில் பெரும் பாணன் தூது ஆட, ஆங்கே ஓர்
வாதத்தான் வந்த வளிக் குதிரை; ஆதி
உரு அழிக்கும், அக் குதிரை; ஊரல், நீ; ஊரின், பரத்தை
பரியாக, வாதுவனாய் என்றும் மற்று அச் சார்த்
திரி; குதிரை ஏறிய செல்.

The ire and fire of the lady continues! The words can be translated as follows:

“Lady:
O man with an upraised handsome chest! Your words don’t seem to fit the situation; O man with unceasing strength, your clothes are crumpled and torn, your sandalwood is smudged by your sweat, your head garland is hanging low by your shoulders. Where did you go, before coming here?

Man:
Listen to me now. O maiden with eyes, akin to two perfectly similar blue-lilies woven together, I was out riding a horse.

Lady:
I know well about that horse! It has unseparated, five layered braids of thick tresses falling low on the neck’s nape, and these are gathered in a tight bun upon its red mane, a necklace of blue sapphires as its halter, swaying below, ear ornaments as tassels around its gentle ears, and it wears a beautiful ornament as its eye-protector, a cloth with a sturdy grip above, perfect gems stitched together in a three strand garland around its neck, and around its hooves, a golden tinkling anklet, well-fitted. Making these many jewels resound, you rode that desirable horse of yours with love, in that well-plastered mansion on the night of the beautiful moon, making it trot in the ‘Aadhi’ horse routine. Such a talented horseman, you are! May you live long!

O warrior! In the early morning, when the sun spreads its rays, akin to how the great streets of Madurai are cleaned with hand brooms, did the horse leave these lines on your form? Its hooves seem to have sharp nails. What a fine horse! May it live long!

Akin to the colourful adornments made on the horse’s form with a bamboo measure, did the horse bite you and leave these marks on your form? Deplorable one! How could it bite in all those places without any fear? Unbelievable! Long may that horse live!

Excellent this is! Now, I know the horse that you rode! It’s not the one you married with great celebration and the one hold rightfully, O lord! As the bard who fulfils your every command went as a messenger, believing your words, akin to the wind, came that horse! It’s one that will ruin your old handsome form! So, ride it not! If you want to ride it still, then leave from here and let that courtesan be your horse and you, as the horse-rider, and may you carry on with this horse-riding of yours forever and ever!”

Let’s explore the details. The verse is situated in the context of a love quarrel between the man and the lady, owing to the man’s seeking of courtesans. This is a conversation between the lady and the man, with the lady’s words and emotion in the spotlight. The lady starts by remarking on the torn clothes and the low-hanging garland of the man and asks him where he has been. In response, the man says he had been out, riding a horse.

The lady retorts that she sure knows the horse he’s talking about and goes on to list all the jewels worn by a courtesan as the adornments and accessories on a horse, talking about the woman’s tresses as the horse’s mane, a necklace of blue sapphires as the halter, ear ornaments as tassels around the horse’s ear, a beautiful ornament as the eye protector, a well-stitched attire as its saddle and so on. She talks about how the man rode the horse not out in the open, but at night, in a mansion, making it perform a horse-taming routine that they refer to as ‘Aadhi’. She mockingly lauds the man as a great horseman, and asks him, if the lines on his handsome body were made by that horse, wondering if the horse had nails on its hooves, and then she asks him, if the bite marks all over his body, were left by the horse too. The lady adds that this is no rightful horse belonging to the man, the one he married, but rather one lured by the words of the bard, who went to her as the man’s messenger. She advises the man not to ride and if he insisted that he must, then she asks him to carry on with riding with the courtesan all he wants, but make sure to leave her and go away!

Another verse which reveals the creativity of Sangam poets in connecting the qualities of disparate things. The perfectly stitched stack of similes for the horse and a woman is incredible to behold. In a tangent, this verse reminded me of a quote I had read, attributed to the motorcycle racer, Valentino Rossi: “The most important thing is to have a good relationship with the bike… you have to understand what she wants. I think of a motorcycle as a woman, and I know that sounds silly, but it’s true.” Vehicles that one rides may change, but in this verse, we smile to see how this Tamil Sangam poet and that Italian racer nod in agreement, across the centuries!