Eminent English philosopher Francis
Bacon's popular quote differentiating kinds of books as 'Some
books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be
chewed and digested' can hardly include one book in Tamil for its
exceptional quality, as heard from its definition by famed modern
Tamil writer Jeyamohan. And the book is none other than Thirukural.“
Readers
cannot get the essence of a couplet in Thirukural
just by reading it as a mere group of words. Rather, they should 'train'
themselves in its every letter, word and contemplate it to obtain the
wisdom, which the great poet and philosopher Thiruvalluvar conveyed
through the seven- worded Kural Venba - a
short verse form, whose composition requires strict prosodic rules “
averred Jeyamohan.
Addressing the
three-day programme 'Kuralinuthu' ( sweet is Thirukural) on the
immortal Tamil classic, which was organised by Sri Krishna Sweets in the city,
the modern writer said:
“Kural Venba is
a 'sutra' - a concise form, which expresses what is needed, but
strictly in a very few words. And the couplets in Thirukural were
primarily meant for learning and saying by heart. Nevertheless, in
the modern age, the method has been changed from 'payiluthal'
(knowing by practice) to 'vasithal' ( mere reading) ”
Describing such
serious methods of 'exercising' or 'practising' the Thirukural
couplets, he informed:
“ One of the
disciples of the social reformer Sree Narayana Guru practised
Thirukural
in such a way. Because, the classic, which should be called 'a book
of meditation' is to be learned deeply throughout one's life, as the
work is incomparably wise to provide answers for all questions in
human life”
Quoting
T.S.Eliot, a famous 20th
century British poet, essayist and literary critic, Jeyamohan said
that Eliot defines a classic as a literary piece that has the
capability of producing more such works in the days to come.
“ And
Thirukural,
being one such classic, stood as an inspiration for the birth of similar didactic pieces
of literature like Cilapathikaram,
Manimekalai and
Naladiyar , which
appeared later and
preached the virtues for mankind ”
Paying his
tribute to the recent demise of Vanavan Mahadevi, a 36 year-old
muscular dystrophy patient and founder of Aadhav Trust for the
development of similar patients of her kind, Jeyamohan explained how a
couplet in Thirukural defines life and death philosophically thus:
Death is like a slumber deep
And birth like waking from that sleep
Describing a
classic being the supreme creation of a culture, Jeyamohan admired
Thiruvalluvar for his love and concern to mankind that he curses
even the creator of the world 'to wander and perish', if human beings
were destined to survive by begging and living. The 1062nd
couplet reads thus:
If he that shaped the world desires that men
should begging go,
Through life's long course, let him a wanderer
be and perish so.
Sharing his visit
to Shravanabelagola, a pilgrimage destination of
the Jains, Jeyamohan said:
“The Jain
ascetic Bhadrabahu migrated with thousands of his disciples
including Chandragupta Maurya, the king-turned monk, to
Shravanabelagola, a pilgrimage destination in
Karnataka for Jains today.
Thiruvalluvar, who was also a Jain scholar, is believed to have
breathed his last at Shravanabelagola, which was once called as
'Saravana Vellai Kulam' in Tamil. In the bygone era, it
was a practice there to outline a Jain scholar's feet and engrave
them on rocks. And I walked amidst such plenty of engravings on the
mountain”
The audience were
moved to tears, as Jeyamohan closed his speech thus:
“ Of the large
number of foot prints engraved at Shravanabelagola, one could
be Thiruvalluvar's. At this point, I touch and make obeisance to it ”
