AKAM 249
- Tiṇai:
- pālai
- Author:
- nakkīraṉār
- Translation:
- V. M. Subramanya Ayyar (1975) [IFP, unpublished]
- Original MS location:
- IFP Library [TA LIT-CL 180 (1)(2)(3)]
- Original data entry (VYAPTI format):
- Ramya (1999-2000, IFP)
- HTML conversion, text revising & editing:
- jlc
- Date of last revision:
- 2006/04/01
- Table of contents (by lines):
- 1-2) talaivi mentioning to her friend about the calumny in the village.
- 3-9) The munificent gift of mucunṭai of vēmpi
- 10) The unkindness of talaivaṉ
- 11-14) The cruel deed of maḻavar
- 15-18) The deer being afraid of the noise produced by the western wind and fleeing helter-skelter
- 19) talaivaṉ crossing the mountain hidden by bamboos.
- Colophon(s):
- The talaimakaḷ spoke to her friend who could not bear the change that came over talaimakaḷ during the parting of talaimakaṉ.
- Syntactical link:
- see below
- Difficult words:
- see below
- Variant readings:
- see below
- Notes:
- see below
TRANSLATION
- One who crossed the mountain with imposing appearance hidden by bamboos (19)
- where the herd of female deer which are in the company of stags, flee (18)
- crying aloud with grief in the mountain paths which have many different branching ways (170,
- having mistaken the sound of the western mind which carries dust with it and sweeps over the place from which issues a bad smell of flesh (14)
- which is caused by the maḻavar who wear garlands knitted with the feathers in the peacock's tail (12)
- and having stayed in the long shade of the forest of many flowers (11),
- who slaughtered a young cow and ate its flesh, (13),
- to be the sound of the deer that has been caught by a tiger with stripes resetmbling the sickle (16),
- which started desirous of its prey in the mountain where bamboos grow to a very great height (15),
- does not bestow his grace upon me though my beautiful and youthful charm (10)
- which is comparable to vēmpi belonging to mucuṇṭai gets spoiled (9).
- He adorns himself with bending jewels (8)
- and possesses an army of soldiers holding lances (9).
- If bards who come as supplicants and praise him holding a drum which produces a sweet sound if beaten forcefully with a stick
and which is tied tightly with strong leather straps (3-4) (5)
- gives them daily (4)
- with pleasure (8)
- eminent bulls (7)
- of moving and beautiful hump adorning their horns
with gold and their neck with lace garlands (5)
- smearing their bodies with sandal paste, (6)
- and placing them in front with heaps of large quantities of rice (7)
- in addition to tall chariots and male elephants (8).
- Friend ! Let you live long. Please listen to what I say (1)
- what is the reason for the calumny of the inhabitants of this village (2),
- going on for many days (1) ?
SYNTACTICAL LINK
தோழி! வாழி(1)! மலை இநற்தோர்(19) முசுண்டை என்பானது வேம்பி அன்ன என்(9) நலம் தொலையினும் நல்கார்(10); (அவ்வள வாகவும் , ப்னனாள்(!) இவ்வூர் அம்பல் எவனோ(2)?
VARIANT READINGS
- .6. ஏந்து துளங்கிமிலெழில்.
- .14. துகள் வாய்க் கொண்டை.
DIFFICULT WORDS
- அம்பல்
- - calumny.
- வள் வார்
- - strong strap of leather.
- விசி பிணித்து யாத்த
- - tied very strongly.
- அரிகோல் தெண் கிணை
- - a kind of drum beaten forcefully with a stick and producing a clear sound.
- பொலந் தார்
- - golden lace garland.
- கொடும் பூண்
- - bending ornament.
- ஏந்து துளங்கு எழில் இமில்
- raised, moving and beautiful hump
- முந்துறுத்து
- - placing it first
- சால் பதம்
- - a great quantity of food.
- குவைஇ
- -having heaped.
- இள நலம்
- - youthful charm.
- அல்கு நிழல்
- - lengthening shadow.
- தோகைத் தூவித் தொடைத் தார் மழவர்
- - maḻavar, a class of warrior who adorn themselves with a garland knitted with the feathers of peacock.
- அசைஇ
- having stayed
- நாகு ஆ
- young cow
- - having stayed
- வீழ்த்து
- - having slaughtered.
- திற்றி தின்ற
- - having eaten its flesh
- புலவுக் களம்
- - the place from where the bad odour of flesh issues.
- துழைஇய
- - sweeping over.
- துகள் வாய்க் கோடை
- - the noise of the western wind carrying dust.
- இரை
- - prey.
- வாள் வரி வயப்புலி
- - the strong tiger with lines resembling sickle.
- தீண்டிய விளி செத்து
- - mistaking it to be the cry of the deer that had been caught
- பரிந்து
- - with sorrow.
- அலறி
- - having roared
- கழைமாய்
- - hidden by the bamboos.
NOTES
அரிகோல்: a stick that produces sound intermittently,
பொன் in line 5 refers to an ornament fixed to the sharp end of the horn, it is called `koppi'.
The inner meaning of this stanza is this; the western wind sweeps over the place where the bad smell of flesh is offensive
and it takes with it dust, is that the women folk who indulge in calumny take only bad things about other people.
The herd of deer is afraid of the noise produced by the western wind mistaking it to be the crying sound
of the deer caught by the tiger for its prey means, the mother thinks mistakenly the change that came over talaimakal is due to some deity, instead of understanding it to be caused by talaimakaṉ