1119. A Reward To the Lover

"Our court poet always thinks differently. Usually, poets will compare the face of a woman to the moon. But our poet has broken from this tradition and has written that the moon resembles his lover's face!" said the minister

"Bard! Do you really have a lover? Or, is your having a lover also an imagination like your poetry?" asked the king, smiling.

"No, Your Majesty. I do have a lover. Since it appears to me that the beauty of her face surpasses the beauty of the moon, I wrote that way" said the poet.

"What you have written may be right in your view. But, I will never compare the moon to my lover's face" said the king.

"Why, Your Majesty?"

"Think and find the answer. If you come out with the right answer by tomorrow, I will double the reward for your poem" said the king.

The entire night, the poet thought about what the king had said. But he couldn't decipher the reason for the king's conclusion.

The next morning, the poet went to meet his lover. He narrated what happened in the king's court to his lover and told her that he was unable to find the reason for the king's conclusion.

"Why are you telling this to me?" asked her lover.

"I wanted to find out whether you can think of an answer."

"How can I, a girl learning Tamil literature, think of an answer to a question, when you, a scholar in Tamil literature, couldn't find it?"

"You have been learning Tamil literature. Can you recall an idea like this, in any of the literary works studied by you?"

"Does it mean that you think the king's statement was based on something he had read somewhere?" asked the lover, laughing.

"Your laughter appears mischievous. So, you should be knowing the answer to this question!"

"If I have read something the king had read, then, you, being an erudite scholar, should have read that too!"

Struck by a thought, the poet snapped his fingers and told his lover, "My talking to you about this has not been futile. You have shown me the way."

He immediately took leave of her.

"Have you found the answer to my question, Bard?" asked the king.

"Yes, Your Majesty. My comparing the moon to my lover's face was inappropriate. The moon wanders on the sky, showing its face to every one. But only I can see my lover's face. I could compare the moon to my lover's face, only if the moon was not visible to every one."

"Rightly said, Bard! As promised by me, I will double my reward for your poem" said the king and took out a purse containing gold coins.

"No, Your Majesty. I don't deserve the reward. I didn't find the answer myself. This point has been made by Thiruvalluvar, in his Thirukkural, already.  And it was my lover who had led me to read Thirukkural and find the answer" said the poet.

"It is fine. Whatever idea we arrive at by thinking would have already been stated by Thiruvalluvar! You can pass on the reward to your lover, who helped you to find the answer" said the king, handing over the purse of gold coins to the poet. 

Thirukkural
Section 3

Love

Chapter 112
In Praise of Her Charms

Verse 1119 (in Tamil):
malaranna kaNNAL mugam oththi Ayin
palar kANath thOnRal madhi.

Meaning:

O moon, if you wish to be compared to the face of my lover who has eyes like flowers, then, do not appear so as to be seen by all.

(This is the English version of the Tamil story 'kAdhalikkuk kidaiththa parisu' by the same author.)

Verse 1120
Verse 1118