Koperuncholan, the friend of Pisiranthaiyar

As William Shakespere famously said, “Words are easy like a wind, faithful friends are hard to find”

Friendship as a word is used fairly frivolously by everyone. Of all stories that stuck with me over years, there were three from the tamil literature that influenced how I viewed friendship.

1. Koperunchōlan and Pisirānthaiyār
2. Adiyamaan and avvayar
3. Paari and Kabilan

While each of these are worthy of an epic in its own right, I want to bring out the one between Koperunchōlan and Pisirānthaiyār.

Koperunchōlan and Pisirānthaiyār

The story of Koperunchōlan is a fascinating one of duty, affection and friendship. He was a patron of arts and loved my numerous poets of his time. Of all the stories of friendship that surround him, the one between him and Pisiranthaiyar impacted me the most. There was an element of poetic purity in it, as with everything pure, and it had an ending that was tragically beautiful. I will first share the story as I understood it and then reasons and my learning.

Koperunchōlan as the name suggests was the King of the Chola Dynasty. His fame and patronage spread far beyond the borders of his kingdom. In those times, Madurai, the capital of his rival Pandya kingdom was the home for the Tamil Literary Sangams. Pandya Kingdom was ruled by another famous king Arivudai Nambi, who greatly supported Pisiranthaiyar.

One day, a Chola Poet presented his work in the Tamil Sangam. He showered great praise on his king Koperunchōlan. Listening to this, Pisiranthaiyar spoke to him to learn more about the king. He continued to do this over time. Finally, he was impressed so much that he wrote a letter praising the king and asked the poet to hand it over to King Koperunchōlan. The letter impressed the king a lot. He was moved by a poet in his rival country, demonstrating the courage to praise him. He learned more about Pisiranthaiyar from his poets. He was mightily impressed, so he wrote a letter back to Pisiranthaiyar. The friendship blossomed through mutual respect as they corresponded through letters.

Time flew by, and the sons of Koperunchōlan wanted to wage a war against their father to gain control of the kingdom. While he initially thought of waging a war to keep his pride alive, Koperuncholan was advised against it by his friend Pullarrur Eyiŗŗiyaņar. He resorted to a traditional Jain form of suicide by penance called vadakiruttal. In this form, the person sits facing north without moving, water, or food until the body dries to death. As part of his dying wish, he sent out to Pisiranthaiyar to join him in the rock next to him. Even though people told him that Pisiranthaiyar won’t come the King refused to believe. As the news reached Pisiranthaiyar, he rushed to his side but by then Koperunchōlan had already died. He sat next to his friend and ended his life through the same vadakiruttal process.

Their life has been immortalised in a few purananooru verses.

Verse-215

கவைக் கதிர் வரகின் அவைப்புறு வாக்கல்
தாதொரு மறுகின் போதொடு பொதுளிய
வேளை வெண்பூ வெண்தயிர்க் கொளீஇ,
ஆய்மகள் அட்ட அம்புளி மிதவை
அவரை கொய்யுநர் ஆர மாந்தும்
தென்னம் பொருப்பன் நன்னாட்டு உள்ளும்
பிசிரோன் என்ப, என் உயிர்ஓம் புநனே;
செல்வ்க் காலை நிற்பினும்,
அல்லற் காலை நில்லலன் மன்னே.

Translation

They say Ānthai lives in Pisir town in the
southern king’s fine country with Pothikai
Mountain, where a herder woman cooks a
meal with fork-eared pounded millet,
pours on it white curds and white velai
flowers that grow in profusion on the streets
with cow dung dust, and serves with gravy
with lovely tamarind, for avarai bean pickers
to eat to their full.

He is one who nurtures my life!  Even though
he stayed away from me when I was wealthy,
he will not stay away in my time of pain!

The beauty of the relationship

The poetic beauty of the relationship isn’t in the death but the life of the two friends. They understood each other through actions. Their understanding went deeper than what the words could communicate. Their affection wasn’t about benefit but about respect. Above all, it wasn’t about what they received but what they gave. They gave each other status.

For me, the story wasn’t about what I received. It brought me a sense of respect for friendship, which I should admit I haven’t fulfilled till this very day. I have met people who supported me without expecting anything. I have met people who respected me when I didn’t deserve. As far as what I have done, it is for them to judge, but from where I stand, I have only received.