AKAM 252

Tiṇai:

Kuṟiñci

Author:

nakkaṇṇaiyār (variant reading : tiṇporkōḻikkāviti makaṉ Kannaṉar, nakkaṇaṉ)

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V. M. Subramanya Ayyar (1975) [IFP, unpublished]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)

Date of last revision:

2004/10/24

Table of contents (by lines):

1-4) The lion killing an elephant and extracting its tusk

5-6) talaivaṉ not afraid of coming in the mountainous path

7-8) talaivi spending sleepless nights shedding tears.

10-12) The description of a rainy night

13-14) The mother is also awake like the watchman who keeps guard over a big tank with a small bund.

Colophon(s):

Talaimakaḷ spoke to her friend as to be heard by talaimakaṉ who was standing by the fence.

Syntactical link:

see below

Difficult words:

see below

Variant readings:

see below

Notes:

see below

• Friend ! (9)
• The talaivaṉ is also not afraid of coming alone (6)
• holding a single lance in his hand (5)
• in the slopes of the big mountain which has a cool and fragrant grove (6)
• where the āḷi desirous of its prey (2)
• springs upon the dotted face of the elephant with a high forehead (3)
• to make the tiger which has stripes like sickle (2)
• and which, in its successful hunt for its prey, never knows its kill falling on its left side (1)
• to tremble (2)
• and extracts its white tusk. I too am not able to put up with the separation, remaining alone in the house (8)
• shedding tears (7)
• and being attacked by distemper (7)
• Our mother too who keeps a strict guard over us has completely forgotten sleep (14)
• like the watchman who guards the big tank (13)
• with a small bund (2)
• from which drops of water from the waves are wafted by the wind (12),
• at midnight when the clouds had discharged their duty of pouring water, in order to scatter the cool blossomed flowers of īnkai(9)
• having fibrous soft parts, which have unfolded (10).
• What can we do ? (9)

தோழி(9)! பெருவரை அடுக்கத்து(5) அவனும் தனியன் வருதல் அஞ்சான்(6); யானும்(8) நோய் அட(7) எமியேன் இருத்தலை ஆற்றேன்(8); அருங்கடி அன்னையும் பெருங்குளம் காவலன் போலத்(13) துயில் மறந்தனள்(14); யாங்குச் செய்வாம்(9)?

• .6. தனியயன்.
• .8. எளியேன்.
• .11. தெழிமழை

துய்

- a soft fibrous part in the petal of flowers.

ஆர்க்கு

- stem of a compound leaf.

வேட்டம்

- hunting.

ஒற்றி

- attacking.

புய்க்கும்

- extracting, pulling out.

திவலை

- drops of water

That the tiger will not eat its prey if it happens to fall on its left side by accident is found in akam, stanza 29, ll 1-3, in puṟam stanza 190, ll.6-9, nālatiyār, stanza 300.

The adjectival participe புய்க்கும் will go with அடுக்கம் in line 5.

That the talaivi fears being alone suggests that she is desirous of the company of talaivaṉ but at the same time she fears his coming alone in the mountainous path infested with elephants, tigers, lions and other wild beasts.

தொழில் மழை may also be taken to mean rain which is helpful to ploughing and cultivation.

The variant reading தெழி மழை will mean rain which is pouring with a loud noise,

That the rain scattered the flowers of iṅkai drop down is found in Kuṟuntokai stanza 110, ll.5-7 and 380 ll.5-7;

iṅkai has thorns; naṟṟiṇai, 205-9; Kuṟuntokai 110-5 akam, stanza 306-3, 357-1.

īṅkai and iṇṭai are two different things. iṇṭai is a thorny plant which grows in pālai; ""இண்டிவர் ஈங்கைய சுரனே'' (நற்றிணை,2-6) it is also called iṇṭu.

At midnight it rained heavily. Therefore the tank was filled up waves were dashing against the weak bund. The man who kept watch over the tank at night would be very careful without any sleep so as to see that there was no breach in the bund. He would go round it many times; just like him the mother was sleepless even at midnight looking at talaivi's movements. That is the point of comparison.

The big tank with a weak bund on which drops of water dash against, suggests talaivvi's increased sexual desire and her sense of bashfulness having become diminished on account of kali