Medley of Madals
The “madal” in other literature
• March 28, 1996
I have really enjoyed the conversations and have learned so much from them. I would only like to add that there is a marvellous example of madal in kuruntOkai 17 — the following is a translation by A.K. Ramanujan:
When love is ripe beyond bearing
and goes to seed,
men will ride even palmyra stems
like horses; will wear on their heads the reeking cones of the erukkam bud
like flowers; will draw to themslves
the gossip of the streets;
and will do worse.
There are some beautiful verses on madal in thiruvaaymozhi (5.3.9 and 5.3.10).
naaNum niRaiyum kavarndhennai
nannencham koovikkondu,
sENuyar vaanath thirukkum
dhEva piraan_dhannai,
aaNaiyen thOzhee! ulagu
thORalar thooRRi,aam
kONaigaL seythu
kudhiriyaay madaloordhumE. 5.3.9
yaamada loorndhum emmaazhiyangaip piraanudai,
thoomadal thaNNam thuzhaaymalar kondu sooduvOm,
yaamada minRith theruvu thORayal thaiyalaar,
naamadaNG kappazhi thooRRi naadum iraikkavE. 5.3.10
A very loose (partial) translation follows:
Overwhelming my modesty, my chastity,
stealing my heart,
the Lord of the divine ones is in the high heavens.
My friend, this I swear:
I shall shock all earth,
I shall do weird (kONaikaL) deeds,
and ride the palmyra stem [like a horse].
With no sense of shame, I shall ride
that palmyra stem through every street in town
….
And I shall get from my Lord,
who holds the discus in his splendid hand,
a cool blossom from the tuzhai plant
and adorn myself with it….
The alvars do recognize that while it is not gender-correct (according to traditional Tamil culture) for them to adopt a madal and be vociferous about their divine passion for Visnu, there are other examples of women from northern India who were very articulate in expressing their love. These women — Vasavadatta, Sita, Vegaathi, Usha and Uma — become the role models for the alvar (Periya Tirumadal, lines 39–70 something?). It is my understanding that the madal was an extreme step and generally even threatening it brought about results — the town people would prevail upon the girl’s family to allow the marriage to take place.
Thanking you once again for your discussions,
Vasudha Narayanan
« Riding the Palymra Stem: Madal Oorvan / மடல் ஊர்வன் | Tirumangai Alvar’s Madal Poems | Periya Tirumadal of Tirumangai: Overview »