THE Patigruppattu semantically signifying a collection of ten poems of ten stanzas each, is among the eight anthologies forming one of the three libraries of the Tamil cankam Age. The poems are frankly panegyrical: ten poets sing the praise of ten Ceri kings and as the modes of verification have mostly been stylised in the cankam Era, these poems are very much cast in the type seen commonly and to better advantage in the stanzas in another of the eight anthologies, the Puranaguru. The greatest value of this work consists in its being a historical document on the early Ceras, incidentally throwing considerable light on the poets and their epoch through which by synchronism a wealth of inference can be drawn about the other poets of this Golden Era of Tamil Letters. A note on Patirruppattu as a historical document has therefore been appended to this introduction.
Notwithstanding all this, the poems constituting the work are good literary pieces having all the qualities of the poetry of the cankam Age. It is, of course, true that they are wholly panegyrical and lack the high calibre of many of the pieces in the other Puram work, Puranapuru. Whatever the qualities of the king, the fact that it is in praise of an individual, places a certain inartistic restraint on the poet; and the poems of the Patirruppattu consequently rank below those treating of Akam and below too the poems in Puranapuru that were not composed in praise of reigning kings.
But it has to be stated in defence of these panegyrists that within the framework of praise they have sought to introduce matter that is of universal interest, that makes the poem of significance to the modern reader. The praise of the king as a great military commander leads on naturally to a description of the battles and of the alliance that stood up against him, of the glorious victory and the tumultuous victory celebration during the course of which quantities of fragrant liquor get consumed and of the very orgy of munificence in which the king in an expansive mood gives away the booty of war to the destitutes who throng his court in supplication. The poet then turns his attention to the achievements of the king in peace which are no less impressive. The wisdom, the kindness coupled with firmness required of an administrator, the thoughtful consideration for even the subject people of the vanquished enemy kingdoms all come in for adulatory comment.
There is much else that is of interest to the student of history and of sociology in the poems. There are references to contemporary kings and events which may one day help historians to fix the dates of these Cera kings and therefore of these Sangam poets. There are clear references to ancient rituals which were performed by these kings: the poets praise the great learning of these rulers in ancient lore and the great deference in which their rajagurus were held. References to the habits and customs prevalent among the people and to the beliefs relating to the heavenly bodies and their influence on earthly institutions occurring in these poems throw considerable light on the society of the carnkam Age. We find numerous references to the food habits of the people: we notice how food on festive occasions invariably included meat which appears to have been consumed by all without distinction of caste. The carnkam Tamils imbibed liquor but perhaps to moderation: for while we find frequent mention of drinks circulating, we never hear of a man acting under the influence of excessive drink. Liquor was probably consumed by happy men to set an edge on their enjoyment of an occasion, usually a victory over a powerful adversary: men did not drink to drown cares and anxieties and frustrations as in our own neurotic times.
It would be a delightful experience if we accompany these poets of the Patirruppatti on a tour of the Cera country. There have been rains recently, the copious showers of the south-west monsoon, and there is lush verdure everywhere. We see the farmers ploughing the land, joyful at the prospect of a bounteous harvest, joyful just at being alive: indeed the merrier among them have plucked the first flowers from the plants growing wild in the water channels and having wreathed them, have wound the multi-coloured garlands round their heads! The countryside is filled with the cheerful noises of pulsating life. Youth is at play at water games and archers at their archery practice: on the road a pair of bulls have got the wheels of a gigantic cart into the mire and the countryside fills with the shouts of the cartmen urging the bulls to pull them out of the mud. Men fill in the time in the long afternoons by lying in the shade of leafy trees and singing songs of joy. The village trees are bursting with bird life: the little winged things, excited at the quickened current of life that has been set in motion by the torrents of monsoon rain, fill the air with piercing liquid notes.
While the fields are prepared for the paddy crop, we see some fields with a standing crop of sugar-cane: in a corner we also see the crusher and the huge oven and the boiling vat where the sugar-heavy juice shall be processed to yield golden nuggets of jaggery. The cutting of the cane and the boiling of the rich juice are occasions for general celebration where everyone decks himself with the flowers picked from the sugar-cane fields and joy reigns supreme.
We pick our way carefully through the pebbly rising ground taking in the grand view of the mountains behind which a crimson sun is setting. The diligent peasant has raised a crop of millet in the hard unyielding soil of the mountain slope. His hut is thatched with millet hay over which the mountain jasmine spreads its tendrils: its white blossom just opening out perfumes the air of the mountain night with a delicate scent that soothes the senses and calms the mind. The peasant is a hospitable fellow and offers a delicious dish of pounded millet and mountain honey to anyone that crosses his threshold. He variegates his simple diet with venison brought by the huntsman who takes an equal measure of millet in exchange: he also consumes the rich milk of the mountain cow and on joyous occasions turns out a piece de resistance by boiling grains with milk and jaggery which is eaten by all the members of the hill community sitting together in festive groups.
We have crossed the mountains and entered the city a glimpse of which we could see from the top of the range we have left behind. The city bustles with activity and the bazaar presents an animated spectacle. Besides articles of food and clothes from kalinka we see gold and precious stones offered for sale. Few coins are exchanged and transactions are by barter where the value of a commodity to its owner at the moment of exchange is the determining factor and not a general valuation that is rigid and inflexible as in our own commercial world. For instance, behold the warrior who carries aloft a triumphant piece of ivory which he has plucked from the elephant of an enemy king! The battle has ended in a triumph for his side and what he yearns for most of all is the cup that cheers and inebriates. So he hastens to the liquor shop indicated by the flag it flies and the terms of the barter soon concluded, he quaffs the foaming Hippocrene oblivious of his commercial bloomer in bartering away a precious tusk for a lowly pot of drink!
We see warriors everywhere and when there is a war about, the whole town lives in a state of martial frenzy. We walk on and come to a piece of level ground outside the limits of the city where obviously there has been a fierce skirmish yesterday. It is a fearful sight to see, for headless trunks get up and dance a fearful dance of death: blood has flowed down to the depressions on the battle field and the current has carried the severed limbs of the fighters fallen to the sword and the javelin and the final touch of the macabre is provided by flocks of hawks which gorge on the moving pieces of flesh carried by the current of blood.
But grievous though the battle has been, it is as nothing when compared to the holocaust that a siege of a famed fort like Ahappa can occasion. For this fort of legendary fame is equipped with protective forests and a wide yawning moat teeming with crocodiles to keep away ambitious armies: but if they cross them and lay siege to the fort there are catapults and gears that can throw heavy showers of arrows at them. If elephants try to ram the battlemented doors, there are devices by which the elephants can be brained and the rams riven. Behind the walls stands the army of the fort ready to hurl everything they have at the hapless invaders. Impregnable indeed is Ahappa.
The tour of discovery ends in the king's court. We have heard how mighty is the king in battle, how ruthless, how ferocious. But to the poets and even the talentless destitute he is kindness itself and he gives them all a royal welcome. They are treated to a bath and jewels are presented to the women guests and good silken clothes to everyone. And then a truly royal feast is spread before them, good rice so well cooked with meat that the diner cannot tell them apart. Sumptuous side dishes are set before them and pots of fragrant liquor. After dinner the guests sit surrounding the hospitable king who seems to derive great pleasure from their company, while the inevitable pots of filtered liquor freely circulate. The king, who is mighty in war, is a great patron of the arts in peace and is too the best friend of the tramp and the vagrant. To him and his graceful queen, the highest joy is to give and to give ceaselessly. Often it is found that the rich booty the king had won in the bloody battle of yesterday is all given away by sunset of this day in an orgy of munificence where none that comes is turned away.
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