Nalan 1.03 Swan, The Messenger Poem by Rajaram Ramachandran

The Swan Flew

“Oh King, the people hold
You as a Saviour of this world,
As under the white umbrella of yours
You rule them well always.”

“Vimarasan’s daughter, she is.
Dhamayanthi, her name is.
I’ll now go and see to this
That she matches your shoulders.”

Saying this, up the swan flew,
And disappeared from his view,
Towards her place to meet
The one with a slender waist.

The King Sighed

There flourished well then,
Three kinds of religions,
Under the rule of Nalan,
That ran as a stable one.

His force of killer elephants
Fought well in war fronts,
But such a warrior king,
Like this, started sighing.

“By now, has the swan
To her place gone?
Has it, by now, seen,
Since long, it had been?

“About my fond love,
Has it told her, by now?
By this time, it may,
Perhaps, be on its way.”

(Three religions: Kanna,
Kabola, Beeja)

His Soul Did Melt

The young swan bird,
With its two legs, red,
Spent its time always,
Amidst the lotus flowers.

From the time, it told,
And of her, what he heard,
He fell in love with her,
And could wait no more.

When a female cuckoo bird,
The call of its mate heard,
How it would have felt,
Similarly his soul did melt.

His Heart Faded

Its words, when he heard,
Made his heart really fade
For a woman of his choice,
Having cuckoo-like voice.

He couldn’t even bear that time,
A peacock’s dance before him,
A natural disease for any lover,
To suffer at that lonely hour.

Oh Creepers, Do Come

With his deep thought,
And his broken heart,
He took a deep sigh
Craving for Dhamayanthi.

“Oh creepers, you’re just born
To match her waist, the tender one,
Near me, you all come, ”
With folded arms, he invited them.

Will this heat cool down?

“I’ll drink the tender water,
From the breast of her.
Her lustful speech will taste
Like the sugarcane-sweet.”

“Also I’ll swim in the cool,
Flower-full, beautiful pool,
With no rest, play there,
In the swirling water.”

“Under the garland she wears
And her flower-decked hairs
I’ll stay to cool down this lust
That’ll quench my thirst.”

Like this, he went on saying,
Thus exposing his inner feeling,
His heart that was yearning,
And his love that was burning.

Which one you sought?

The beautiful bird swan,
The messenger of Nalan,
Reached the Vidharba Town,
Near the place of that maiden.

She had charming eyebrows.
She gave up her plays
And to a lonely spot moved,
Where the swan landed.

“Why are you here?
You came what for?
She asked for the reason
From the bird then.

For your sake, the King

The Swan praised Nalan

“He has a cool, kind heart.
Also he’s perfect on his part.
His rule is full of justice.
He’s attractive to young girls.”

“Truth means, it’s Nalan.
He’s a famous person
Both in this world
And the higher world.”

“Among all the men,
He’s the best person,
The only suitable one
For yourself to own.”

Will the Chariot Kings match?

The swan continued

“In his heart stays
All the virtuous paths,
And from his eyes drops
All the grace and kindness.”


“In his strong shoulders
All the bravery rests.
In this vast world
Lies his beautiful land.”

“When the Lord Thirumal even
Cannot match that Nalan,
How can other chariot kings then
Match him? ” - queried, the swan.

Lustreless White face

O’er her long- soft hairs
Swarmed the bee tribes,
And like Goddess Lakshmi
She appeared so pretty.

She heard every word
Uttered by the swan bird.
The Cupid’s flower arrow
Played its lovely part now.

She fell in love with Nalan
Like the waning moon,
Her face lost its lustre,
And whitened in its colour.

On hearing the words of swan,
She also fell in love with Nalan.
Her imagination went so far,
As if she had hugged him before.

With her empty eyes then,
She held her head down.
And gazed at her breasts,
As if leaning on his chest.

Your heartfelt words

Hearing the words of swan
Her heart yearned for Nalan.
With her intense love then
She suffered beyond description.

“Oh swan, the one who lives
Amidst the flower-pools,
Go and tell that Chariot King,
How I am now suffering.”

“My life, you give me,
By doing this for me,
Otherwise, it’ll be lost
In the wild dead past.”

On these words, the swan
Assured her once again,
“I shall see that Nalan
Becomes your man.”

“His shoulders will cover
Your pretty breasts forever
Like an upper garment,
I’ll do what I meant.”

Its few words of love,
Relieved her somehow.
With her message to Nalan,
It flew up the sky then.