சொல்லும் பொருளும் - WORDS AND THEIR MEANING

I was reading the Kamba Ramayanam, and suddenly something interesting struck me. I was drawn to a parallel, immediately, in Kalidasa's Sanskrit classic Raghu Vamsam. This article is about how two of the greatest masters of metaphors - Kamban and Kalidasa, have used the same metaphors, to completely different effect, in two of the greatest works - The Raghuvamsam and the Kamba Ramayanam.

The invocation shlokha of Raghuvamsam , goes below

वागर्थाविव संपृक्तौ वागर्थप्रतिपत्तये।
जगतः पितरौ वन्दे पार्वतीपरमेश्वरौ॥ १-१

vāgarthāviva saṁpṛktau vāgarthapratipattaye |
jagataḥ pitarau vande pārvatīparameśvarau || 1-1

vAk= shabda= sound - what is or may be heard; artha= its meaning, import; iva= like; sa.mpR^iktau= nitya sambandha= indissolubly cleaved together, ever embodied two-in-one entity pArvatI-parameshvara; vAk= of speech, idiom; artha= its meaning - import, the process of forming and relating ideas from listened sound; pratipattaye= samyak j~nAna artham= to derive pertinent idiom and ideation, language and paralanguage; jagataH= of universe; pitarau= parents; vande= I adore; pArvatI= pArvati; parama Ishvarau= supreme, lord - shiva.

"For the right understanding (or the proper knowledge) of words, and their meanings, I bow down to pArvati and parameshvara, the greatest of the gods, who are the parents of the universe ( or creation ) and the perpetual relation ( or constant union) between whom is as close as the one subsisting between words and their meanings."      (Translation, courtesy - sanskritdocs.org)

The great poet starts off by praying to Shiva and Parvati, and how inseparable they are, and to illustrate that, he uses THE WORD AND ITS MEANING, as the metaphor. He says, Shiva and Parvati are as inseparable as the word and it's meaning. Every word HAS to have  a meaning. That is what languages are: a medium of communication; a way to denote something through the use of word(s).

Now, Kamban uses the same metaphor of the word and it's meaning- but in an entirely different context.  This appears in the Thaataka vatham part, where Vishwamitra takes away Rama and Lakshmana to kill Thaataka who had been distrubing him.  Let us look at the verses below:

சொல்லொக்கும் கடிய வேகச் சுடுசரம் கரிய செம்மல்
அல்லொக்கும் நிறத்தி னாள்மேல் விடுத்தலும் வயிரக் குன்றக்
கல்லொக்கும் நெஞ்சில் தாங்காது அப்புறம் கழன்று கல்லாப்
புல்லர்க்கு நல்லோர் சொன்ன பொருளெனப் போயிற் றன்றே

ஒக்கும்- போன்ற; கடிய- கூர்மையான ; சரம்-அம்பு ; அல் -இருள்; புல்லர்- கெட்டவர்

In this verse, Kamban, the great Kavi Chakravarthi that he is, uses " word and it's meaning" in a very different Upama ( metaphor). The scene is set for Rama to kill Thaataka, the demoness. Kamban wants to imply that Rama's arrow went really so fast and furious, hit the target, and came out, even faster. Generally, the mind is usually taken as one of the top metephors for speed, since the mind usually travels faster than perhaps anything else. As an example, look at the Isaavaasya Upanishad below, where , clearly, the mind is shown as the fastest possible, and the All-Pervading is faster than the mind.

anejad ekaṁ manaso javīyo nainad devā āpnuvan pūrvamarṣat |

tad dhāvato’nyān-atyeti tiṣṭhat tasminn apo mātariśvā dadhāti ||4||

It is unmoving, one, and faster than the mind. The senses could not overtake It, since It ran ahead. Remaining stationary, It outruns all other runners. It being there, Matarisva allots (or supports) all activities.

But sometimes, there is one thing which is even faster than the mind. WORDS. Quite often, we, in a fit of rage or emotion, say words without thinking ( and then repent later). Kamban uses the word, as the perfect example here.

But then, he does not stop here. He wants wants the exit of the arrow to be portrayed as being even faster than it's entry. So what does he do? "கல்லாப்
புல்லர்க்கு நல்லோர் சொன்ன பொருளெனப் போயிற் றன்றே". His metaphor here is even more beautiful. He says, that the arrow went so fast, pierced her heart, and came out even faster, much like good and advising words given to an uneducated and unfit person  (கல்லாப் புல்லர்) , enters his one ear fast, and the meaning of those words leaves through his other ear even faster ( ie, nothing is retained)!

This is the beauty of our literature. Same metaphor - WORDS AND THEIR MEANING. See how differently ( and equally beautifully) these two great poets have used, in different context!!