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 >>