Paasuram 4745

Sundara Kandam → கடல் தாவு படலம் (Kaḍal Tāvu Paḍalam — The Ocean-Crossing) → Paasuram 4745

Word by word

மொய்யுறு செவிகள் தாவி = their dense ears flapping and leaping; முதுகு உற = backs arching; முறை கால் தள்ள = legs giving way in sequence; மை அறு விசும்பினூடு நிமிர்ந்த வால் = tails rising into the spotless sky; அதிய மஞ்சின் மெய் உற தழீஇய = embracing (the sky) like a great thundercloud; மெல்லென் பிடியொடும் வெருவலோடும் = with terror, clutching their gentle she-elephants; கை உற மரங்கள் சுற்றி = wrapping their trunks around the trees; பிளிறின களி நல் யானை = the great lordly war elephants trumpeted wildly

Meaning

Their swarming ears flapping, backs arching, legs giving way in sequence — the lordly war elephants reared up, their tails rising into the spotless sky like thunderclouds. Clutching the gentle she-elephants in their terror, wrapping their trunks around the trees, they trumpeted wildly.

Insights

Literary: Kamban closes this sequence of devastation with a scene of unexpected tenderness — the terror-stricken war elephant clutching its she-elephant companion. The contrast between the elephant's power (the symbol of royal strength in Tamil poetics) and its helpless panic captures the totality of Hanuman's impact: even the mightiest creatures of Lanka's realm are undone.