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Home > Scriptures & Stotras > Prayers in English > Periyapuranam English poetry
The Puranam of Intercession
(Lord’s Intercession (thaduthaatkonda) purANam - Periyapuranam as English poetry)
1. He who was claimed with a deed of servitude by the Lord
Who sports on His crown Ganga, crescent, snake
And Kondrai, is from the land of Tirumunaippadi
Where flourish damsels on whose moon-like visages serene
Are carp-like eyes which reach as far as their ears. (147)
2. In that great land, beauteous and prosperous, is a town
Endowed with the wealth of tapas immense
Meriting the avatar of him who would cause
The flourishing of the Vedic Saivism; it is indeed
Tirunavaloor, the eternal abode of Brahmins
Who would never from the path of truth swerve. (148)
3. In the clan of Siva-Brahmins who serve Ammai-Appar
In unbroken tralatitious sacerdocy, he did divinely
Incarnate, to uplift the world freed of its flaws,
As the son of lofty and noble Sadaiyanar
And his immaculate wife Isaignaniyar. (149)
4. By the grace of the Lord, he was christened Nambi Aroorar,
A name to be hailed even by the great tapaswis;
The child was decked with aimpatai and pretty chutti;
A cord of ruddy gold flashed from his waist;
Thus decked, one day he trundled a toy-car in the street. (150)
5. Him beheld the king of the realm Narasingka Munaiyar;
He felt ineffable love for the child;
Fortified by claims of intimacy, he beseeched
And obtained leave to rear the child in royal splendour;
Thus was he brought up as the king’s abhimana putra. (151)
6. He grew as the beloved son of the glorious king
Firm-rooted in the culture and tradition of his lineage;
In due time he was invested with the sacred thread;
He mastered all the boundless and hoary scriptures
And glowed with learning and wealth.
He now attained the age proper for marriage. (152)
7. Befitting the status of his great family
Sadaiyanar entreated aged and revered men
To approach Sadangkavi of Putthoor,
A noble Siva-Brahmin, seeking the hand of his daughter
-- A virgin, Lakshmi-like --, for his peerless son. (153)
8. When the revered elders of reputed clan and family
Who knew full well of the course and source of Gotra,
Announced the purpose of their errand
To Sadangkavi, he received them well, and his face
Beamed in joy; he discussed with them
All that pertained to marriage and expressed his consent. (154)
9. The elders apprised the parents of Aroorar
Of the consent; great indeed was their joy;
They then wrote to the parents of the bride
To announce the marriage in such a way
As would befit the greatness of the king. (155)
10. The auspicious invitation was carried by gentlemen
And women whose eyes were like carps;
They fared forth to the hoary town, Putthoor
Of flowery groves, and were there received,
Respectfully by its men and lotus-faced women. (156)
11. They returned rejoiced, with the wedding-invitation
From the bride’s house; they engaged themselves
In the great preparation for the grand wedding.
The men erected a pandal decked with
Flawless and fragrant flower-wreaths, and there
Was performed the ritual of Ankurarpana. (157)
12. The parents of the bride performed
Such rituals that they ought to, for the wedding,
On the day prior to the wedding, to the resounding
Of drums and other musical instruments
Aroorar adorned with garlands, was blessed
And decked with the holy kappu of gold
In keeping with the prescribed ritual. (158)
13. The wedding-rites as prescribed by scriptures great
Were that night performed flawlessly at Navaloor
Where is for ever heard the chanting of the Vedas;
Loud resounded the musical instruments.
As if to behold the splendour of the wedding
Of him, the wearer of honied garlands,
The sun rose bright at dawn. (159)
14. Aroorar -- the noble one of subtle learning,
The wearer of the sacred thread on his chest --,
Attended to matutine duties;
Before the hour set by the astrologers would near,
To prepare himself for the wedding ceremony
He went to the bath for ablutions. (160)
15. Perfumed oil was applied to his locks of hair;
The bathing vessels were filled with scented water
Into which were strewn fragrant flowers;
He was then seated on a seat wrought of gold
And was elaborately bathed by the attendants;
This done, they applied on the person of him
Who is dear to the Lord, perfume and powder.
Thus they made him glow with a greater beauty. (161)
16. He was then dressed in silken vestments
Perfumed with the smoke of eagle-wood;
An expert attendant plied a white towel
Through his tuft of hair and gently dried it;
It looked like the passing of the moon into the clouds;
With his clean finger-nails, the attendant
Untangled the twists in his tuft. (162)
17. Gold-dust tinct with odoriferous camphor
Was dissolved in flowery dew; the sandal-paste
Thus concocted and the perfumed powder mixed with musk
Were applied on his frame; he then wore
The sacred thread on his chest and the pavitra
On the annular, ritualistically. (163)
18. Various garlands woven with flawless flowers
He wore; with jewels and chains of gold and gems bright
He was decked; their lustre could chase murk away;
Thus he blazed with splendour for the wedding ceremony. (164)
19. The princely Brahmin-lad, splendorous to behold,
Invoked in his mind the divine feet of the Lord
And wore the sacred ash -- the holy of holies.
The goodly town wore a festive appearance;
Through this he fared forth, mounted
On a stately steed decked in gold. (165)
20. Musical instruments resounded; words of praise
Filled the air; auspicious women showered blessings;
The Vedas were chanted; beholders were struck with wonder;
In delight gathered many; thus, even thus, the kith and kin
Mounted their vehicles and palanquins befitting them. (166)
21. With the assemblages of Brahmins hymning the holy Vedas,
Men -- perfumed, garlanded and decked in gold --,
And women whose swelling kumkum-dyed breasts
That excelled lotus-buds and dice --,
Proceeded in all jubilee. (167)
22. It looked as though the black main was afoot
As, when the wedding-guests marched onward
White bangles of shells jingled,
Fish-like ear-pendants dangled,
Gems from jewels, in effulgence, blazed
And peacock feathers blue waved from crests. (168)
23. Many a musical instrument, one vying with the other,
Was played; chamaras were wafted in serried order;
Parasols were held lifted; many beauteous banners
Wafted in the wind in close rivalry;
Thus the wedding party arrived at Putthoor;
From that day Siva-Brahmins hail it
With the name, “Manam-vanta-Putthoor.” (169)
24. Brahmins and housewives came with
Poorna-Kumbhas, censers breathing incense
And Palikais galore; they strewed honied flowers,
Aruku-grass, gold dust and puffed rice on their way
And sprinkled rose water scented with sandal powder;
Thus they welcomed the wedding party. (170)
25. Beholding the bridegroom a few affirmed:
“One must be blessed with a myriad eyes to behold him.”
Some others said: “Among all damsels, lofty indeed
Is the askesis of Satangkavi’s daughter!”
And some said: “Blessed are we as we witness
The wedding that gladdens the whole earth.”
Melodic lays they lilted and also danced. (171)
26. Some said: “We are borne away on the flood
Of grace that flows from his eyes.”
Some praised the horse that bore him thither;
Some said: “The jeweled bridegroom
Is truly an incarnation of piety.”
Thus spoke the women that gathered there. (172)
27. Aroorar that shone with bridal splendour
Arrived at the bridal pandal whence wafted fragrance.
As he dismounted from his steed,
White conches resounded like thunder-clouds.
I am now to narrate the unique incident of the wedding;
Such narration spells my salvation. (173)
28. At Kailas where the chanting Vedas ever abide,
The Lord in grace assured of His intercession;
The unique one unknowable to the two bewildered
Who flew up and burrowed deep down, thither came. (174)
29. He concealed His third-eye, bright were the stripes
Of His Holy Ash like a pure white garment;
Bound in a knot dangled loose His grey hair
White as the rays of the full-grow moon. (175)
30. His ear-pendants of rudraksha dangled low;
The sacred-thread lay on His beauteous chest bright;
The mantle on His shoulder waved in the wind;
He held aloft an umbrella shielding the sun. (176)
31. Accentuating the ancientness of His loin-cloth low lying
His dhoti covering it beautified it.
Toddling he came holding a bamboo-staff on whose top
Were tied dharba and a cloth of white. (177)
32. “Is it the embodiment of mellowed beauty great?
Or is it the true form of ripe old age?
Or the very form of the genesis of the holy Vedic way?”
The wondering beholders were doubt-tossed! (178)
33. At the pandal where the wedding was about to commence
He arrived and stood fronting Aroorar and the assembly.
“Hearken to these, my words, O ye all!”
Thus He, whose holy lips hymned the hoary Vedas infinite. (179)
34. Him beheld the innumerable Brahmins,
And the bridegroom, verily a lion, spake to Him thus:
“We bid you a warm welcome; your coming here is
The fruition of our tapas; speak what you intend to speak.” (180)
35. The Lord in disguise addressed Aroorar thus:
“You had better resolve first the great dispute
That subsists betwixt us for a long long time
Arising out of an agreement, and then proceed to wed.” (181)
36. When thus the Forehead-eyed spake, the peerless one
Said: “If there be betwixt us a pending lis
I will not wed before it is concluded; state your case
That it may be resolved (betimes).” (182)
37. Then spake the Infinite One; “O Brahmins!
Hearken to this! I affirm that this Arooran is my slave.”
Thus he who had enslaved severally
The celestials, Vishu, Brahma and all other worthies. (183)
38. When they heard Him speak thus, they that stood there
Or sat, thought thus: “What means he, by his words?”
Some neared Him; some grew wroth and some laughed.
“Nobly spoken!” said Aroorar and sneered at Him. (184)
39. At the jeering face of Aroorar, He stared; He trembled
And shook in wrath; He restored the mantle that fell down
To His shoulder, and nearing Aroorar shouted thus:
“Behold this ‘Deed of Servitude’
Executed by your father’s father!
Sirrah! What’s the meaning of your railing and laughter?” (185)
40. The scion of the flawless race faced Him; he grew soft
As hoary love somewhat melted him;
He ceased his laughter, and said:
“Amongst Brahmins, pure and flawless,
Can there be enslavement of a Brahmin by a Brahmin?
Only you could speak thus.
Are you, peradventure, demented? (186)
41. “Maybe I am a demented person or even a demon;
I am not to be abashed by your volley of evil words;
If for all this you cannot construe my nature true,
Indulge not in artful words; you had better
Serve me in truth.” Thus He. (187)
42. “His form doth truly melt my heart in love;
But his maddening words do incense me at once;
He says, he holds a Deed of Servitude;
Let me first find out the truth.”
Thus resolved, the devotee demanded the deed from the diety. (188)
43. When Aroorar said: “Show me the deed”
He replied: “Are you competent to demand it from me:
I will show it to this assembly
(And they will pass the verdict)
That you are only fit to serve me.
When He spake thus, Aroorar began angrily to chase
Him that was inaccessible to both Vishnu and Brahma. (189)
44. When Aroorar tried to wrench the deed from the Brahmin,
He ran athwart the wedding - pandal;
With great speed he chased and caught Him.
Who but Aroorar did ever catch Him,
The One whose bow with its arrow intact,
Smote the triple cities of the sky,
The One who pervades the whole universe,
As perfume the flower. (190)
45. He held him by his hand, whose flower-feet
Are held by the hymning Vedas hoary;
He wrenched from Him the Deed of Servitude,
And saying; “When did it ever come to pass,
-- The enslaving of a Brahmin by a Brahmin?
Tore it to pieces.
The Endless One then began to complain aloud. (191)
46. He who is yet to be apprehended even by the rare Vedas
Which wailed aloud and quested after Him,
Held Aroorar tight and cried; ‘Is this fair?’
The nearby kin interceded and separated them.
They said: “You wrangle on the basis of a strange lis;
O saintly Brahmin, pray tell us where you are from.” (192)
47. Thus questioned He said: “I am only here and my dwelling
Isn’t far away; it is in Vennai Nalloor;
Be that as it may; this lad wrenched from me
Most illegally the deed and tore it
And thus proved conclusively the fact of his slavery.” (193)
48. Looking at Him that wore the concealed ear-rings,
Blemishless Aroorar concluded that He was indeed
A veteran-barrator, and impelled by
Spiralling love that had dawned in him already, said:
“If Vennai Nalloor be your place of residence,
Go with me to prosecute your false case there.” (194)
49. Hearing this the Brahmin said: “Well, if you
Choose the forum of Vennai Nalloor, it but suits me;
There, before the tribunal of holy Brahmins,
I will exhibit the original deed, the primary document,
And prove to the hilt your state of servitude.”
Then he walked ahead supported by his staff. (195)
50. Like iron by magnet drawn, hied in great speed
Aroorar after the Brahmin; him followed
His numberless relations anxious to know the result;
All of them eventually arrived at Vennai Nalloor,
The habitat of Brahmins poised in piety. (196)
51. Appearing before the court of the worthy Brahmins
The Brahmin-Chief preferred his complaint thus:
“Arooran of celebrated Navaloor, tore the deed
Which testified his willing servitude to me.
He is now before you for being adjudged.” (197)
52. The spokesman of the tribunal spake thus: “Sir,
This wide world knows not of a Brahmin’s enslavement!”
Thereto the Brahmin that stood apart, replied thus:
“This case stems from consent; the deed
That he tore, was executed by his father’s father.” (198)
53. Addressing Aroorar, the learned judges said:
“Would it spell success for you, if you violently tore
The deed embodying a voluntary agreement?
The one that is so old that all his flesh
Is shrunk, hath truly presented
The quintessence of his case; how do you counter it?” (199)
54. “O ye learned judges that know me to be an Adi-Saiva,
Should this Brahmin assert that I am his slave,
It is indeed maya that lies beyond the pale of mentation;
What can I say? I canst not con what he means.”
Thus he, sunk in a malebolge of despondency. (200)
55. When Nambi Aroorar replied thus in the Court,
The holy Brahmins addressing the Vedic Muni Said:
“The onus is heavily on you to prove your phenomenal case,
Claiming in this world the lad as your slave.” (201)
56. They added: “For proof, you should cite
One of these three; custom, document or oral evidence.”
Thus addressed, the One well-versed in Maya said:
“The one torn in wrath was but a copy; I have with me
The original to be exhibited before this Hon’ble Court.” (202)
57. The judges said: “Show us then your deed.”
The Brahmin replied: “I will, if you be pleased
To order him not to indulge in destruction as before.”
Thereupon the judges said: “We will permit no evil here.”
The Redeemer then approached the judges with His deed. (203)
58. When He who had concealed His blue throat, showed the deed,
The court-clerk received it in deferential reverence;
As ordered by the judges he retrieved it from its cover,
Found it to be an ancient scroll and read aloud
Its contents that all in the assembly might hear it clearly. (204)
59. “This deed of an Adi Siva Brahmin -- Arooran
Of Navaloor --, witnesseth as follows:
I and all those that come in my line, shall serve
Peru Muni alias Pitthan of Vennai Nalloor,
From generation to generation; this deed is
By me executed willingly and voluntarily;
In witness whereof I have set my signature.” (205)
60. They examined the signatures of the attestors
And found them to be true; addressing Aroorar
The flawless judges said: “Sir, you now examine
The signature said to be your grand-father’s
And find out if it is truly his.” (206)
61. When thus the judges ruled, the voluntary Redeemer
Of souls, said: “Is this fellow competent
To adjudge the genuineness of the signature?
If there be any other of his grand-father’s
You may kindly compare that with this, and pass the verdict.” (207)
62. The court agreed to the course suggested.
To dispel the bewilderment of Arooran
They sent for the document signed by his grand-father,
Kept in safe custody, and compared the signatures.
Both the signatures were identical;
Thereupon the Court declared:
“Nothing now remains for us to do.” (208)
63. The judges addressing Nambi Aroorar said:
“You’ve lost your case against the Brahmin-Muni;
‘Tis your duty to serve him dutifully.”
“If this be the verdict” said Aroorar,
“Decreed by law, can I demur?” (209)
64. Then the learned Assembly of Brahmins
Addressing the saintly Brahmin said: “O rare Brahmin,
The deed that you showed us describes you as one
Native to our glorious town; if it be so,
Show us your house of hoary lineage.” (210)
65. The holy Muni, the winner of the peerless case, said:
“If none of you know me, then follow me.”
Followed by the thronging Brahmins and Aroorar
He walked ahead and entered Tiru-Arul-Turai
And there disappeared abrupt; others stood perplexed. (211)
66. When the Lord entered the Temple, by love impelled
Aroorar followed Him, and wondered:
“Why should this Brahmin enter the Temple of our Lord?”
When alone he pursued Him, and called Him aloud,
The Lord appeared on high, mounted on His Bull
And apprised him of the truth thus: (212)
67. “You were Our servitor formerly; as on women you set
Your mind, you came to be born on earth
By Our fiat;
That life full of misery may not become your lot
We followed you, interceded and claimed you
In the presence of pious Brahmins.” (213)
68. When Aroorar heard these redemptive words
He cried like a calf that heard its mother’s lowing;
In every pore of the limbs in his body, he felt thrilled.
He folded his hands above his head in adoration
And burst out thus: “O the grace! The grace
Of the divine Dancer of compulsive redemption!” (214)
69. At the manifestation of grace divine
All the five celestial Tuntupis resounded;
Gods on high caused showers of flowers to fill the earth;
Rejoiced were dwellers on earth; the Vedas hymned aloud;
Then the Lord that redeemed by a bond, spake thus in grace: (215)
70. “You wrangled with Us and so you have earned the name
‘The Wild Devotee’; true worship in exceeding love
To Us is, hymning; so hail Us on earth
In Tamil hymn and song and solemn strain.”
Thus spake He whose holy lips hymn the Vedas pure. (216)
71. The Lord invisible to searching Vishnu and Brahma
Revealed Himself when they hailed Him with Panchakshara,
He being its true import; when He commanded Aroorar
To hail Him in psalm and number, he invoked
With all his heart, the dancing feet beauteous
Of the Lord and folded his hands in adoraion. (217)
72. “I knew not the gain I would get by Your grace
When You as a Brahmin came to win Your case;
Yet You redeemed me, investing me with awareness;
You are the flawless nectar, a great sea of Virtue.
What do I know? How am I to sing You?” thus he. (218)
73. The Lord eyed His devotee graciously and said:
“You did call me a mad man; call me so
And commence your hymning.” Thus told,
Great Van-tondar began to hail the Lord-Redeemer in verse. (219)
74. The Lord shares in His frame His Consort
Whose locks are decked with bunches of blooms.
Unto His devotees He is sweeter than the mother true.
Him, the Lord of Navaloor great, hailed thus:
“O Mad One, the Wearer of crescent in the crest!”
Thus he opened the great and divine decad
That the whole universe
Inclusive of this world
Might stand redeemed. (220)
75. In Maruda of the hoary tradition is Indala;
In its classification of Mudal poised in flawless purity,
Befitting the harmony at the base of its threefold division
And in keeping with the Time and the Grammar of music,
He, the peerless master of music, sang,
And God was pleased. (221)
76. Listening to the dulcet decad of Tamil
Melodiously rendered by His devotee, the Lord said:
“May you continue to hymn our manifold praise.”
Thus the Lord, the Smiter of the triple skyey cities,
Enshrined in Tiru-Arul-Turai of Vennai Nalloor
Graciously commanded him in compassion true
That all the worlds might be blessed with His redemptive grace. (222)
77. Others would perhaps pursue external paths
Of Askesis; the marital life of the daughters
Of the Putthoor Brahmin ended on the very day of her wedding;
Poised in the meditation of her peerless lord for ever,
And thus oned with him, she easily gained
Sempiternal Sivaloka at the end of her life on earth. (223)
78. After his enslavement by the Lord of Vennai Nalloor
Enshrined at Tiru-Arul-Turai, Nambi Aroorar
Came to Tiru Navaloor dight with vast flowery tanks,
And hailed the Lord of gods in psalms and verse. (224)
79. He then left for Tiru-th-Turaiyoor where Siva bides,
And arriving at His Presence, hymned thus:
“You did prevent me from treading the evil path;
Deign to grant Your slave the righteous path of tapas.”
Thus he sang the decad divine that annuls
The cycle of birth and death for mankind. (225)
80. The Lord granted him in grace the life of tapas
Which prevents the senses from misleading.
Thus blessed, Van-tondar folding his hands
In loving adoration of Siva’s beauteous feet
Hymned and performed Siva Pooja at Tiru-th-Turaiyoor
Girt with flowery gardens fragrant, where the Lord
That sports on His long matted hair
The Ganga and the crescent, is enshrined. (226)
81. He bowed before the Lord of Tiru-th-Turaiyoor,
Took leave of Him and fared forth
To many a shrine where abides in grace Lord Siva,
And hailed Him in adoring love; his thought
Then hovered on the Divine Dance enacted by the Dancer
At golden Puliyoor which he desired to adore.
Impelled by saddening love he set his mind on his journey. (227)
82. When he crossed and reached the southern bank
Of the cool Pennai that flows carrying on its waves
Sandal and agalloch trees swept from the mountain,
And also flowers, feathers of peacock and gems,
The day-star with his steed and mighty car dipped
Into the western main, and Aroorar had by then
Arrived at the outskirts of Tiruvatikai. (228)
83. “Our Lord, Tirunavukkarasar, the wielder
Of uzhavaram hailed by all the world,
Here abode rendering with all his heart manual service
To the Lord, the Rider of the Bull; I dare not
Set foot in the holy town.” Thus he thought
And did not enter the town but put up at the matam
Called Siddhavatam, without the town and beyond the fields. (229)
84. At the matam girt with flowery gardens where hum
Speckled honey-bees, fixing his thought on the feet
Of the Lord enshrined in Veerattanam which is
Washed by the waves of the river Gedilam,
He with his loving devotees slid into sleep. (230)
85. As he invoked His feet, before he closed his eyes in slumber,
The Lord of Veerattanam took the form of an old Brahmin,
Entered the matam unseen, and placing His lotus feet
On the crown of Aroorar, lay as though He slept. (231)
86. Aroorar, woke up and said: “O holy Brahmin!
Your feet are resting on my head.” To this he replied:
“It is my dotage that bewilders my sense of direction.
Satisfied with the reply, Aroorar, the lord of Tamil,
Resting his head elsewhere, began to sleep. (232)
87. Even there He stretched His feet and touched
Again and again, the head of the lord of Navaloor which is
Girt with fecund fields where leap ruddy carp galore.
He then addressed Him thus: “You’ve been pressing
My head repeatedly with your feet; who are you?”
Then the Lord whose matted hair conceals the Ganga, said:
“Don’t you know?” And He vanished on a sudden. (233)
88. “O what have I done in my prideful folly?”
He rued his conduct, and was anon becalmed;
Hailing the feet of the Lord, the One who peeled off
The hide of the tusker and wore it, the Lord
Of Veerattanam enshrined in Tiruvatikai,
Sundarar hymned the decad beginning thus:
“Can there be a race that knows not its leader?” (234)
89. With delight great he bathed in the divine Gedilam
-- The Ganga of the South --, that bears on its waves
Gold, gems, ivory white, pearls flashing like lightning,
Fragrant flowers and sandal of sweet scent,
And with these as offering, adores the shrine of Tiruvatikai. (235)
90. Having hailed the feet of the Lord there, he took leave of Him
And moved on the southern bank of the divine river
And reached Tiru Manikuzhi, where red-eyed Vishnu,
Who, of yore, begged of the martial emperor Maha Bali
In his sacrifice, to gift him with that much of land
Which he could cover by taking three steps;
Here in the shrine Nambi adored the Lord. (236)
91. He hailed there the Supreme Lord and adored his feet;
Then he came to Tirutthinai nakar and there hailed the Lord
Who grants boons to them that worship Him.
Having hailed him in Tamil verse, rich and great,
He left the town and reached the outskirts of Tillai
Which is ever full of the music of stringed yazh,
The beat of muzhavu, the chanting of the Vedas
And the melodic lilt of celestial damsels. (237)
92. The Lord of Tillai does away with the triple malas
Of devotees who hail Him, and grants them Heaven.
Tillai is girt with tanks where red-lotuses wave their heads
As carp-fish dart across them, and bees and waterfowls
That wing nearby, hum and chirp;
From the tank, wave-tossed conches and malanku fish
Pass into fields and fill them.
Sundarar on whose chest dangle gemmy garlands
And garlands of honied lotuses,
Reaching the border of Tillai, stood there, adoring it. (238)
93. They glowed with greater glory than even the celestial realms
-- The fields, the groves and the gardens without Tillai --;
Sundarar crossed these which were thick with
Stately trees: jambolan, mango, makizh, saralam,
Coco-palm, clove, citron, areca, kumkum, plantain cool,
Iluppai and vanchi dense; in the lofty groves
That touched the cloud-mandalas, kuyils warbled. (239)
94. Sundarar of fragrant garland adoringly crossed
The many-flowered and hallowed gardens galore
Flourishing with vanni, konrai sura-punnai,
Shanbhaga, aram, murukku, serunti, mantara, kura,
Punnai fragrant, parijata, patiri and vilwa trees
And dense-growing jati, mallikai and mullai
And nandhyavarta and alari plants. (240)
95. To the beholding of His Consort unique that shares
His frame on the left, and for the redemption
Of lives that abide in all the seven worlds
The Lord dances in this holy shrine, and the sound
Of His anklets is hailed by the four Vedas.
The sea-like moat desiring to hail him, cinctures Tillai;
Over its lofty fortressed walls rest nimbi.
Sundarar beheld these on his way, and was delighted. (241)
96. The Lord is indeed the Dancing Nectar
And the Vedas coveting It resound aloud.
From the moat girt with a hill-like and encircling fort
Rise beetles from lotus-flowers, and get
Smeared with the dense pollen from the fragrant screw-pine;
As they wing in the wind and hum, they are
Like unto devotees who wear the holy ash;
Sundarar beheld this in bliss and moved on. (242)
97. Here the Vedas are cultivated and chanted
For the illumination of the whole world;
White flags waft aloft here, and bells resound;
Here meet the directions in opposition;
Of the four golden entrances to the shrine at Tillai
That are like the four visages of garlanded Brahma,
Sundarar came before that one in the north. (243)
98. Who paid obeisance first? Was it the loving devotees
That came to welcome Sundarar? Or Sundarar?
Hard to tell! Plunged in joy were they all.
Impelled by a penchant to adore the Dancing Lord
Sundarar of TiruNavaloor stepped into the street
Dight with immense mansions, auric and bright. (244)
99. In that divine street abides the Lord of gods;
In His crescent-laden crest the Ganga resounds;
The Vedas four are chanted aloud; nearby are
Resounded the five celestial tuntupis when dance
The celestial danseuses; from fragrant garlands
The melodic hum of bees resounds;
Everywhere the hymns of loving devotees
Whose eyes are tear-bedewed, resound. (245)
100. Here are huge mansions cloud-capped as in Alakapuri
These are the homes of manifold joy; their pennants
Waft aloft in the wind; the homa-smoke that issues
From there, where the great yogic Brahmins tend
The religious fire, ascends the clouds
And streams like flashes of lightning. (246)
101. On the figureheads set in lofty towers, dance peacocks;
Fire churned by arani sticks, flashes in sacrifices;
On both sides dangle garlands and chaplets;
Vessels filled with holy water fill all pials;
Dazzling light issues from the thronging cars,
In dharmasalas are seen hills of cooked rice;
Water-booths are full of cool and tasty water;
In other parts of streets are eyed throngs of gods. (247)
102. It looks as though that all the beauties
-- Manifold and endless --, of the innumerable world
Vast and great, have in this world, here congregated;
Such are the multifoliate riches of the interior streets
Which surround the Lord’s beauteous Ambalam
Where the holy and pure devotees stand and hymn.
Sundarar hailed this street, and moved on. (248)
103. Great gods like Vishnu, Brahma and Indra
And other gods throng here; so too munis of great tapas;
Yet as the hour is not propitious for the darshan
They feel the regulating cane of Nandi and stand
Apart in joy, awaiting the auspicious time.
Sundarar folding his hands over his head in adoration
Hailed the divine and beauteous threshold through which
Pass loving devotees and Gana-Nathas
Without let or hindrance, and moved in. (249)
104. He then duly circumambulated and adored the Ponnambalam
Girt with forted walls, and the effulgent Perambalam, the Meru.
In soaring delight he moved into the divine threshold
Of Tiru-Anukkan fronting Tiru-ch-Chitrambalam
Glowing with ever-growing light divine
And enshrined alike in the Vedas and the hearts of devotees. (250)
105. Brahma and Vishnu quested after the Lord;
He dances -- and His anklets of the Vedas resound --,
In the Ambalam that the cosmos may thrive;
With hands folded in worship, eyes shedding
Tears of joy, and inner sensorium all athrill,
Impelled by love, Sundarar, the prince of tapas
Proceeded and came near the divine flight
Of steps yclept Tiru-k-Kalitru-p-Padiyar;
Here he prostrated worshipfully, and rose up. (251)
106. Great senses five merged in the eyes;
Measureless antah-karanas four merged in the Chinta;
The three gunas were now but pure Satwa;
Thus bloomed Sundarar in peerless joy,
Poised in the bliss of the non-pareil dance divine
-- Enacted in the blissful and aeviternal Ether --,
Of Him whose matted hair sports the crescent. (252)
107. “O Lord of matted hair from which glows
The cool crescent! This life on earth is to me
Pure and sweet, as I have been blessed
To behold Your Dance Divine.” Thus he hailed,
Whilst his eyes rained tears, and his flowery hands
Folded over his head in adoration.
Him he hailed in melodious verse,
And prostrated before Him in loving worship. (253)
108. In his presence whom the Lord of the Dance Unique
Redeemed by His intercession, was heard, by His grace,
An unbodied voice which proclaimed in ether thus:
“Come to our Tiruvaroor girt with fecund fields
And enriched by the Cauvery in whose rolling waves
Pearls are borne.” Sundarar heard this, and rose up. (254)
109. Wearing as it were the gracious mandate
Of the Dancing Lord on his crow,
Sundarar folded his hands above his head in worship,
And bowing took leave of the Lord; then he
Went round the sacred Tiru-ch-Chitrambalam
And bowed, and walked through the entrance
Of the (Southern) tower – like unto the Mount of Gold --,
That rose on high, dwarfing the very skyey expanse vast. (255)
110. He tarried without the tower, and fell prostrate
On the ground with his limbs touching the earth;
Then he rose up and reached the inner street
Which also he adored; he walked through
The opulent streets and crossed the southern entrance
And reached the outskirts of the city
Where he paid obeisance to the southern bourne;
With his mind hovering on the grace of the Lord
Who wears konrai blooms on His matted hair
He crossed the sacred river Kollidam. (256)
111. Hailed by His devotees, Sundarar, the wearer of the sacred thread,
Fared forth and reached the outskirts of Kazhumalam,
The city divine, the one most glorious in all the worlds,
Which merited the avatar of him who grew and throve,
Fed by the nectarean milk from the divine breasts
Of Her, the bestower of all dharmas. (257)
112. “Into great Pukali where came to be divinely born
The son divine, I dare not set foot.” Thus resolved,
Standing at its outskirts he hailed the city
And as he circumambulated it, with His consort
Seated on the Bull, the Lord gave him darshan. (258)
113. In soaring love swelling, Van-tondar adored Him.
“In the great deluge that ends all the worlds
Floats Tiru-th-Tonipuram on waves (undamaged);
He abides here even as He is in Kailas enthroned;
Him I beheld.”
Thus he hymned the decad divine, tuneful and melodic. (259)
114. As the Lord hailed by the Rg Veda appeared before him
And anon vanished, Sundarar was struck with awe;
Calm he became ere long, and as Tiruvaroor lovingly
Beckoned him he paid obeisance to sea-girt Puravam
And came to Tiru-k-Kollakka where he hailed Him
With his garlands of hymns wrought of Tamil great. (260)
115. He then came to Tiru-p-Punkoor girt with honied gardens,
Adored its Lord with exceeding love, and hymned Him in Tamil;
He also visited many a shrine where abides willingly
The Lord whose hand displays a fawn, and reached
The bank of the Cauvery bounded by fragrant and flowery pools. (261)
116. In the Cauvery which carrying flowers and gems, shores up
On either bank golden dust, Sundarar plunged and bathed;
Then to Ambar-Makalam of flawless glory, he came,
And adored the feet of the Lord enshrined there. (262)
117. He proceeded to Tiru-p-Pukaloor where the Lord
Of ruddy and bright matted hair, abides in love,
And nailed Him, with his thought set on His grace
The Lord of southern TiruNavaloor, the one decked with
Golden vestments and sacred thread, reached Tiruvaroor. (263)
118. To the devotees of Tiruvaroor who dwell
In its beauteous streets through which cars ply,
The Lord graciously proclaimed thus:
“On Our bidding, Our loving devotee Nambi Arooran
Hither comes; gather ye all, to receive him in joy.”
Thus spake He who sports on His matted hair
The flood and the crescent. (264)
119. When thus graciously commanded, the divine devotees
Met one another and shared the message.
“If the Lord Himself should grace us thus
Surely Aroorar is Tiruvaroorar” they concluded.
Up they rose to receive him, and it looked as though
The heavenly world itself thither thronged. (265)
120. On tops of mantapams and mansions
They fixed many a long and lofty flag-pole;
Festoons were hung; severed areca trees leafy
Were planted; garlands of leaves were dangled;
Severed plaintain trees were fastened to pillars;
Golden pots filled with water were kept on pials
In serried order; lamps glowed beauteously;
Thus shone in splendour each threshold. (266)
121. The bright and beauteous pials were
With sandal-paste of pure fragrance, coated;
Flawless puffed-rice, fragrant gold-dust,
Pure-rayed pearls and gems galore, were
Spread and set in pulchritudinous patterns.
Pandals cool wrought of budding blooms
Rich in pollen, were raised; scented rose-water
Was sprinkled over the streets to forfend
The floating of dust particles. (267)
122. Auspicious psalms were hymned; loud roared
The drums like rumbling clouds;
Carp-eyed danseuses danced in each dancing-hall;
Thus came the devotees of the Lord of Tiruvaroor
To the forted entrance of Tiruvaroor. (268)
123. It was Van-tondar who first paid obeisance
To the devotees that came there to welcome and hail him;
As they passed in delight great through the streets,
He addressed them thus: “Will our Father who is
At Aroor deem even me a devoted servitor?
I beseech you to prevail with Him.”
Thus in musical chhanda, singing divinely
He reached the entrance-tower of the Lord’s temple. (269)
124. In front of the sky-high tower he prostrated,
And the five limbs of his person touched the earth;
He then devoutly adored the Devasiriyan whence wafts
Fragrance as from honied Karpaka blooms;
This done, in love that melted his life and limb,
He moved to the beauteous mantapam
That girds the adytum of the Lord of Moolattanam,
The Wearer of the pure konrai blossoms. (270)
125. Before the most ancient One of the Ant-Hill,
The Lord enshrined in the Flower-Temple,
The Ens Entium that is the staff of all,
The Lord Consort of Mother Parvati,
The Great One that graced him with the right
To hail His flower-feet in ritual worship,
The bard of goodly Tamil prostrated
And adored in devotion.
Thus did he come to be truly blessed
With the fruition of his embadiment. (271)
126. Love flooded and his heart melting tossed about;
Prone on earth he fell and adored Him,
Duly in five-fold and eight-fold prostration;
Love endless mellowed and welled up in him;
Oned were his goodly senses five;
Plunged and poised in the blissful flood
Gushing from the attainment of the Lord’s divine feet,
He commenced his hymns, surpassingly melodious,
Of ever-during Tamil dulcet. (272)
127. By the great grace of the Lord abiding at the Ant-Hill
Wrought of the Vedas, spake an ethereal voice thus:
“We bless thee with Our companionship, proceed to thrive
For ever in that splendour with which thou wert
Invested in the past at they wedding ritual when we claimed thee;
Play away thy life on earth to thy heart’s content.”
Aroorar hearkened to this unbodied voice. (273)
128. “O Lord of the Gospels, come to enslave me!
O Ruby divine enshrined at Aroor!
O Consort of Her whose bright eyes are carp-like!
It is indeed Your immense mercy that did
This day endow me, -- a senseless cur --,
With Your flower-fresh lotus feet!”
Thus did Van-tandar hail the sempiternal Lord
When he heard the words divine. (274)
129. Thus he hailed Him again and again in ways variform;
His bosom swelled in delight great;
He walked like a triumphant bull
To the shrine of Veedhi Vitanka;
Him he hailed devoutly, the grantor of life eternal;
Then he moved away, circling the sacred shrine.
From that day, all the devotees of Siva
Called him: “The Lord’s Own Companion.” (275)
130. By the grace of the blue-throated Lord,
Sundarar -- the Lord of ever-during Tamil --,
Wore all the comely insignia of Saivism
And decked himself with sandal-paste
And garlands of flowers and gems;
He was indeed robed in true splendour,
And lo, he looked the Prince of Tapaswis great.
He hymned daily the Lord of the Ant-Hill
In song and psalm, and flourished in soaring joy. (276)
131. Long before his coming to the city of limitless holiness
Kamalini of swelling breasts, one of the two
Damsels of perfumed locks - that served Her
Who shares the frame of the Lord of Kailas,
Took birth in Tiruvaroor. (277)
132. She was born as the lustrous gem of her clan
Of Rudra Ganikas - women that never marry.
The ritual of christening was fixed for her
On a holy Adira-day dear to the Wearer of the crescent.
She was decked with jewels and named Paravaiyar
By holy men well-versed in the Sastras. (278)
133. Even from the day of her birth, her kith and kin
Prayed for her welfare, and decked her with a talisman.
Her each parva was celebrated appropriately;
They deemed her as the One enthroned on the Lotus;
To their great joy she reached the parva
When a child gently walks toddling. (279)
134. “Is she a tender fawn? Or a bud of Karpaka?
Or honey sweet? Or a tender coral creeper
Of the billowy sea? Or a young crescent bright?
Or a bow of Manmata which, he as a stripling
Learns to wield?” Thus wondered the beholders. (280)
135. Day by sweet day, grew her excelling beauty;
Her play-things were soft kazhanku and various balls;
She played ammanai and sported on the swing;
As she sang songs befitting her game, listeners
Could divine in those melting psalms, an aching love
For the feet of the Goddess of snow-clad Himavant. (281)
136. From childhood she passed into tender girlhood
And thence she bloomed into a lovely lass;
Her beauteous breasts excelled the konku buds
And were truly the treasure-troves of Manmata.
(While thus she grew in physical splendour)
Her mind flashed to her, now and then,
Her former state, and thus she flourished. (282)
137. As usual one day, to hail in loving devotion
The Supreme One of the Flower-Temple, she set out
With her companions encircling her, and circled
The sacred street which was panoplied in extensive light;
The fragrance from her locks filled all the directions. (283)
138. Her anklets tinkled thus: “These feet have vanquished
The earth. “Her kanchi loud proclaimed:
“This hip hath vanquished the Nether World of Nagas.”
Bees buzzed thus: “These locks like nimbus have
Subdued the heavens.” Thus fared forth Paravaiyar. (284)
139. After adoring the Lord of the Ant-Hill, when Nambi
Encircled by devotees was returning,
-- Lo, it was the work of Providence --, he beheld her
Of fair white teeth and ruddy lips,
And whose forehead was a bow and eyes, spear-like. (285)
140. “Is she a flowery twig of the Karpaka tree?
Is she the great and glorious beatitude of Kama?
Is she the holy of holies? Is she a fragrant liana
Wrought of bow, lily, coral, lotus and moon as flowers,
And decked on top with a lovely dark nimbus?
Is she a sheer marvel? Or ‘Grace of Siva’ embodied?”
Thus he wondered and even thus he mused. (286)
141. “Is she the ruby lamp conceived by Brahma
And by him embosomed to solace himself
As he could not paint a form like hers?
She that stands thither is for sure, the fruit
And fruition of lives in all the three worlds!”
Awe-struck stood the prince of poets; betwixt them
Stood Manmata with all his weaponry. (287)
142. Her eyes that roll like fish and reach her ear-rings
Wrought of pearls serene and gems rare,
Burgeoned in wonder; on the hero dazzling with
Gems and jewels, Paravaiyar cast her look;
-- Even she who knew nought but
The grace of the God of Gods!
She was indeed prompted by Providence to behold him. (288)
143. His beauty and form exceed the ken of eyes
Rays of lustre flooding from his divine body
As light immense extend beyond the heavens;
When his look was met by Paravaiyar’s, the soft one,
Illimitable love – hitherto unfelt --,
Welled up in her smiting her sense of shame,
Gentle folly, dread and repugnance,
-- Her virtues four --, unequalled by women on earth. (289)
144. “Is he -- the one before me --, Lord Muruka?
He is robed in such superb effulgence!
Or is he peerless Manmata?
Or a Vidhyatara decked with ethereal garlands?
Or one blessed with the true grace of the Great One
Whose ruddy matted hair flashes lightnings of gold?
Who may he be -- the one that hath
Subverted my mind?”
Thus she mused. (290)
145. Though by reason of her measureless love for the noble one
Her inly virtues four were a trifle unhinged,
They yet infused her of perfumed locks,
With strength, and prodded her to move on steadfast
Holding firm to the love of adoration
For the Lord who has an eye in His forehead. (291)
146. Nathless the encircling obstruction of darts
Of Manmata who wielded them from all sides,
Paravaiyar from whose melliferous garlands
Bees buzzed, moved into the golden temple
Of the Lord enthroned in the Flower-Temple. (292)
147. Beholding this, Van-tondar queried thus:
“Who is this beauty -- a bird of Paradise,
Red-lipped and liana-like --, that hath my mind captivated?”
To him they that were there replied thus:
“She is called Nangkai Paravaiyar who is
Not to be attained even by the celestials.” (293)
148. “Ha, her name is Paravai! If her womanliness
Be contemplated, even celestial danseuses
Coveted by the immortals, should hail her
As their deity; her rows of teeth – mullai-buds --,
Excel even the pearls of her nose-ring;
Her beauty is such as is even to be praised by Lakshmi;
My love for her, caught and tossed and drawn
By her soft mien and divine bearing
Is immense as the seven ocean-streams.” (294)
149. Thus he thought of her in manifold ways;
Bound in love with her by hoary Providence
And by the grace of the Lord, he mused thus:
“I’ll anon go to my Lord who rules me
As His good servitor.” With a joyous heart, Nambi
Hied and entered the temple of the God of gods. (295)
150. Even before he entered the temple, Paravaiyar
As was her wont, had completed her sacred round;
She hailed and adored the Lord, and departed
Through a different way; he bowed at the feet
Of Him who wears snakes for garlands;
Driven by love, great and compelling, he prayed
Unto the Lord to gift her to him. (296)
151. Having thus prayed before Him, Aroorar
Returned from the Shrine of the blue-throated Lord
That abides at the Ant-Hill.
“O whither did she go
The swan, dear as my life?”
He wondered and commenced his quest
After the liana-like damsel
Of ruddy lips and bright and white teeth. (297)
152. “To snap the bond of Karma, swells in me a love
To serve the Lord; but now I am afire with a new desire
Which in sooth subdues even that love;
It hath eke bewildered my steadfast mind;
She is sure the grace of God; whither has she gone? (298)
153. “I knew not, and trusted not, aught
But the feet of the Lord of gods;
I stand awe-struck by her
Who hath forcibly confounded me;
She swayed like a creeper and moved away;
Which way did she – my Lord’s grace --, wend her way? (299)
154. “His ankleted feet control bondage and release;
My chinta for ever contemplates His feet;
Her fawn-like looks have my senses unhinged;
Which way did she -- my Father’s grace --, go?” (300)
155. Thus he spake unable to contain himself;
“Where is she, my life?” said he.
He came to the Devasiriyan in search of her,
The one who was liana-like, the one whose jewels
That adorned her breasts were with pearls inlaid,
The one whose locks were decked with flowers. (301)
156. He who was after her whose eyes were like blue lilies
Spoke with none, but muttered to himself:
“The Lord of Aroor will surely bless me with
My life -- the damsel like the one on the lotus throned.” (302)
157. “She is a sea of nectar, the lightning-waisted lass,
So passionately desired by Navaloorar of great renown;
Behold this, I can surely pass beyond this sea.”
It looked as though the sun whose car was drawn
By the seven steeds, spake thus
As he plunged into the sea. (303)
158. All the birds that spent their day on the pools
With their soft mates joyously eating their prey
Repaired to their nests and were slunk.
Thus came the dreadful evening to grieve the parted. (304)
159. Like the hearts of bawds whose feet are cotton-soft,
Like the deeds of them that practise deception,
Like the hearts of the nescient that knew not
The true import of Siva’s Panchakshara
The great heavens did darken dense. (305)
160. “Should even Nambi of flawless mind grieve thus,
Who can indeed withstand the onslaught
Of lasses of lithesome hips?” Perhaps thinking so,
And flashing a smile of bright rays, the moon
Appeared before Dame Night decked with flowers. (306)
161. Feeling pity for the deeds of the base, women of noble family
Bloom athrill when they are by their beloved, touched;
Even so, Ambals which wilted smitten by the sun’s rays
Burgeoned sweet when touched by the moon’s cool rays. (307)
162. They confer on lives purity and joy and serenity;
Their lustre spreads to other worlds and abides;
Thus are they the Holy Ashes -- of the Supreme One;
The moon shone with the lustre great of the Holy Ashes. (308)
163. In the even when the water-fowls had ceased to chirp
Navaloorar was companied with love that swelled in him,
-- A gift from Nangkai Paravai, the lovely doll --,
And a loneliness enfolded his very life. (309)
164. “Manmata who was gutted with the fire
The sputtered from the divine eye of the Lord,
Now resurrecting shoots his darts at me;
Is the grace of my Father even so?” Thus he mused. (310)
165. “O moon serene! You aren’t like the white moon
Worn by my Redeemer on His long matted hair
Along with the billowy Ganga great; you know
My agony and yet on me you pour fiery rays. (311)
166. “O sea, your waves again and again rise aloft!
Did you not, of yore, with your wavy hands present
To my Lord-Redeemer the dreaded venom?
What’ll you not do unto me this day? (312)
167. “O southerly, ambrosial like Tamil,
You took birth in our Lord’s Potiyil Mount;
You grew glorious passing through the pools
Of the Chola realms; where did you learn this savagery
To rage with fire and brimstone?” (313)
168. These words, and words as these, he spake;
Now let us narrate the doings of the swan-like damsel
Whose precious heart went after him,
Her lover eternal and prince of munificence. (314)
169. She hailed the feet of the Lord whose throat
Is dark like a cloud, as though she would, for her,
Through His grace secure a spouse, and returned
Circled by her friends knit to her in sweet company.
Vast love swelled in her and her hips languished
Unable to bear the weight of her breasts;
Parted from her friends, Paravaiyar left for her mansion, alone,
With her mind full of love for Van-tondar. (315)
170. The anklets worn on her pretty feet softly murmured
As if they were aware of the happenings;
Without addressing a word to anyone, she gently
Plied her steps to the terrace and there sat
On her golden bed strewn with fresh flowers
In a pavilion supported by jasper pillars
And bathed in the rays of the moon serene. (316)
171. Then it was she addressed her friend who stood nearby:
“As we went forth to adore the blue-throated Lord
He came fronting us; who is he?” She replied:
“He is Nambi (Aroorar), the Lord’s own companion,
The beauteous Saiva serviteur par excellence,
Claimed and enslaved by the Lord in person
Who was inaccessible to even Vishnu and Brahma. (317)
172. As she hearkened to her friend, she exclaimed:
“Is he our Lord’s servitor?” Even ere she could
These words complete, her love for Van-tondar
Began to flood and gush forth immeasurably;
She stood denuded of her virtues four which were
Firm rooted in her in the past; all that she now bore
Was her life only; heaving deep sighs, down she fell
On her bed -- the lightning-waisted Paravaiyar. (318)
173. When they smeared her person with sandal-paste
Compounded with rare fragrance and sprinkled
As in a slight shower of drizzle, rose-water on her
And covered her body with cool and tender shoots
And indulged in such acts to secure for her coolth,
Those but acted as ghee poured into fire which but raged
The more; Manmata too bent his powerful bow
And plied her with flowery darts; lo, they were truly
Samita thrown into the sacrificial pit. (319)
174. She could get no sleep on her flowery bed;
She could not endure the wafting of the southerly;
Neither could she stand the fiery rays
Of the moon from the clouded sky,
Nor uphold her steadfastness poised in patience;
She, a pretty bird, could not bear the weight of her coiffure;
Her ruddy lips like eriodendron oped and articulated thus: (320)
175. “O ye of soft and scented locks! What may this be?
The ambrosial rays of the moon scorch me sore;
You smear me with sandal-paste and rose water;
O ye cruel ones, cease and desist; the fragrant southerly
That blows here doth rage like fire hot;
He that is blessed with the grace of the Lord
Whose matted hair sports the cool flood, the snake and the moon,
Will not deign to rescue me from this plight. (321)
176. “Methinks the night’ll not end; gone are
My powers of endurance and sustenance;
My mind and bosom have gone dry; say if I should
Become the object of such glorious happenings;
Should so many join to grieve me sorely thus?
Manmata is busy with his weaponry;
He who is endowed with the grace of Him
From whose matted hair bloom the cassia and the moon,
Knows not aught of my misery. (322)
177. “O Lord-God of Tiruvaroor through whose streets
Studded with flags, chariots ply gloriously!
Who but you can know of my misery?
Great indeed is my unrelieved grief!
Ganga and moon, rows of snakes and wreaths
Of white skulls bedeck Your matted hair!
You come riding the Bull! Should I grieve
Like one unendowed with Your grace?” (323)
178. Such words she spake and words as these;
Who can ever gauge the grace of the Lord-God
Who commanded Van-tondar and the damsel
Of dark and dazzling locks, to get born on earth?
The Lord of opulent Tiruvaroor unto whose shrine
Celestials come down to pay humble obeisance
Announced thus to His devotees (in their dream):
“I bid you perform their wedding.” (324)
179. Appearing in the dream of ever-glorious Navaloorar
The Lord said: “We gift to you Paravai as your spouse;
This We have proclaimed to Our devotees too.”
Then the Lord whose matted hair is like
Fine threads of gold -- the Rider of the Bull
And wearer of the tusker’s hide --,
Materialised in the dream of the damsel
Whose gait was swan-like, and said in grace:
“Your wedding with Arooran ‘ll anon take place.” (325)
180. The endless darkness that pervaded the hearts
Of the lovers who grieved sore smitten with love
And the murk that abode at the watches of night
Vanished as the day broke; the Lord’s devotees
Gathered together and hailed Him, the unfailing source of help.
To the great delight of the Prince of Tirunavaloor
They fittingly celebrated his wedding with Paravaiyar
Whose coiffure was decked with flower chaplets. (326)
181. Pillowed on the twin-crests of her hill-like breasts golden
For full many a day, the Prince of southern Navaloor,
By the grace of the God of gods, was, in yogic union,
Oned with the soft one, the liana-like Paravaiyar
Whose waist was a flash of auric lightning. (327)
182. He caused the burgeoning of the lotus-feet
Of the Lord -- his Ruler, in his crown and heart;
He wove many a garland of Tamil hymns;
With the lightning-waisted he sported in joy;
Thus he lived, and the days rolled on. (328)
183. Such was his life with her with whom he dallied
In mansion and garden, and on the banks
Of flowery tanks and man-made monticles,
Pavilions, shady Pandals wrought of cool pearls
And golden divans; yet the one great desire to hail
The Lord of the Flower-Temple (ever) dominated him. (329)
184. He wore vestments, lustrous and beauteous,
Hailed by even the celestials,
Smeared his person with the paste of sandal and soft saffron,
Decked himself with comely sutti and jewels
Of dazzling gems and blazed in rich splendour
That excelled even that of Indra’s. (330)
185. A wand of gold was held by him; his ear-lobes
Were decked with ear-rings; the sacred thread
Was worn over his chest; stripes of the holy ash
Shone from his forehead; him women beheld
And said: “These do become him, aye, very well!”
Thus he passed the street divine in Saivite splendour. (331)
186. Him followed devotees -- men and women, on both sides
And hailed him thus: “O tapaswi great
That hails from Navaloor! O devotee of Him,
The Rider of the Bull who burnt the three skyey cities!
O chief of the Brahmins of glorious and flawless Aroor!” (332)
187. With rams, monkeys, chanticleers, partridges and quails
Held in leash, their trainers walked in front
And also on the sides of the street addressing them
With trained words; some carried baskets
Filled with fresh flowers on their heads;
Carriers of scented nut and betel-leaves also fared forth
Through the long street along which he plied his steps,
And women that eyed him were struck by his beauty. (333)
188. Dancers who plied “pseudo-horses” decked with jewels
Ambled ahead of Aroorar from whose shoulders
Dangled garlands; lustre issued from his bahu-valayas;
Woven peacock-feathers worn on his shoulders
Yielded goodly shade; Veda Munis accompanied him.
Thus did he fare forth to the temple of the supreme One. (334)
189. In the Devasiriyan-Mantapam of the brow-eyed Lord
Had gathered, apart from the celestials, innumerable devotees;
When he eyed them, he fervently thought thus:
“O for the day when I’ll their servitor become!”
He then hailed the feet of the Lord and moved in. (335)
190. “I’ll sure become a servitor to the servitors!”
As thus love did impel him, he bowed before
The huge and triumphant inner tower decked with
Many a flag, and moved in, with hands folded over his head;
He was then blessed with a vision of the Lord
Who wears fragrant Konrai-flowers beauteous.
He bowed low and as it were, wore His feet on his crown. (336)
191. “Ha, they manifest even before me, the undeserving!
The superb honey of supreme ananda, vast and great,
Gushes from the lotus-hearts of devotees true,
And is for ever buzzed over by bees which are
The Vedas great that can confer eternal life. (337)
192. “They danced for the redemption of the world;
They frowned to death, Death;
When they were gently pressed by the roseate hands
Of Himavant’s Daughter of garlanded coiffure
They turned red and rubicund. (338)
193. “They blaze in the hearts of tapaswis poised in piety;
They set even the nescient straight;
They soar as light and are the inner light of light;
They are beyond the ken of Vishnu, the primal boar,
And Brahma too. (339)
194. “They are enthroned on the tusker, the Vedas;
They forgive my sins -- a fool --, and rule me;
They promise to forgive my sins in future too,
Your lotus feet, my Lord and God of Bhootas!” (340)
195. To Aroorar who hailed Him thus, the Rider of the Bull
Desiring to confer on Him that which he sought,
Blessed him with the knowledge to comprehend
The traditional servitorship of the immortal devotees;
Eke did He in grace explain to him their glory. (341)
196. “As for glory, they alone are their equals; by their servitorship
They own Me; being one with Me they have won the world;
Absolutely flawless are they; they are uniquely poised;
By reason of their love, they are immersed in bliss;
They’ve beyonded duality; I bid you join them.” (342)
197. Thus instructed by the Lord, Aroorar said:
“I have attained the flawless way” and stood
Adoring in front of the Lord; then the Lord spake;
“Poised in piety, pay obeisance to them and hail them
In verse-garlands wrought of Truth unflawed. (343)
198. When thus his Ruler, the Lord-God commanded him in grace,
He that hailed from the land of Tirumunai-p-padi
Bowed low his head, and meekly said:
“Wherefore can I hymn and in what way?
Who am I my Lord? Do deign to grant in grace
The valiancy to hail them in hymn and psalm.” (344)
199. When thus he spake, the Consort of Her,
The holy Daughter of the most hoary mountain,
To rid the world of its misery and redeem it,
Spake with that Tongue that gave birth to the Gospels;
“Sing thus: ‘I am the servitor of the servitors
Of the Brahmins who dwell at Tillai’.
Thus, even thus, should you hail them of endless glory.” (345)
200. When Van-tondar prostrated before the God
Of eternally glorious Aroor girt with fields,
His crown touching His holy feet, and rose up
To ply himself in the task graciously set by Him,
The first One, ever unknown to Vishnu and Brahma,
Grew invisible; sensing this, Aroorar
Moved toward the assembly of devotees. (346)
201. As he beheld the holy company even from at a distance
He adored them again and again; excessive love
Drove him to bow low and then rise up;
He went near them and thither stood;
He hailed the devotees of deathless heroism
And owned himself as a servitor of each one of them
And also as a servitor of the various groups of devotees.
Thus, he hymned the ‘Tiru-th-Tonda-th-Tokai’ in sheer love. (347)
202. With the words articulated by his Lord
He commenced his garland of Tamil
-- Tiru-th-Tonda-th-Tokai --, the import of which
Is Siva Himself; the divine decad was sung
With that consciousness with which the God of gods
Blessed him; thus hailed by the world entire,
Our deity Van-tondar sand and bowed before them. (348)
203. To the great delight of the devotees of the Lord,
Nambi Aroorar moved into their midst.
In keeping with the exposition in Tamil
By the Lord’s Own Companion, I humbly indite
The annals of the devotees dear to our Lord. (349)
----------------
Stanza Line
1 The anacoluthia of the Tamil original is perforce maintained
in the translation too.
4 3 Aimpatai : An ornament of gold inlaid with conch,
sword, disc, mace and bow -- the
weaponry of Vishnu -- the protector --,
worn on the chest, as a mascot.
Chutti : A medal-like ornament worn on
the forehead.
5 5 Abhimana putra : A son reared in love and not one’s
own. The person who rears the
child is not to be deemed the
adoptive father.
6 2 Lineage : Ancestry.
6 The age proper
for marriage : For a lad it is 16 years and for
a lass, 12 years.
8 2 Gotra : It is named after one of the ancient
sages who is either a descendant of
or himself one of the eight accredited
progenitors of the human race, namely,
Agastya, Atri, Bharadwaja, Gautama,
Jamadagni, Kasyapa, Vasishtra and
Viswamitra. Every twice-born (Brahmin)
or person belonging to any of the first
three castes owns one of these rishis
as the original founder of his family.
11 6 Ankurarpana : A ritual performed seven days before
the wedding. Nine types Nine types of
grains soaked in milk are ritualistically
sprinkled into small earthen pots half
filled with mud for the grains to
germinate by the time the wedding
takes place. Germination is symbolic
of prosperous life.
12 6 Kappu : Holy thread tied on the right hand of
the bridegroom. It is a mascot. A
similar thread is worn on the left
hand by the bride.
14 6 Bath : A house for bathing.
17 1 Odariferous
Camphor : It is Pasungkarpooram, a substance, as
yet not identified.
Pavitra : Ring.
Annular : The ring-finger.
19 1 Sundarar was endowed alike with kingly splendour and Brahma-
tejas by reason of his upbringing and birth.
The epithet of St. Sekkizhar applied to the horse is ‘Yogic’.
We are told by the enlightened that the very life of Nambi
Aroorar is a symbol of Yoga. Again, Tirumoolar refers to
Yoga as Vasi (horse), Pari (stallion) and Puravi (steed).
22 The column of moving guests is likened to the sea. The
points of comparison are as follows:
1. The sea abounds in shells. The women-guests wore
bangles of shells. 2. The sea is full of fishes. Men
wore makarakundalas (fish-shaped eat-pen-dants). 3.
The sea is full of gems. The guests were richly decked
with gems. 4. Waves waft from the sea; peacock feathers
tucked in locks and tresses waved in the wind.
23 2 Chamara : Chowry.
7 Manam-Vanta-
Putthoor : Putthoor to which came the
wedding (party).
24 2 Poorna-kumbha : A vessel filled with holy water.
3 Palikai : See stanza 157. Palikai is the
small earthen pot where germinate
the nine types of grains.
4 Aruku : Agrostis linearis according to
Winslow.
28 1-2 See stanzas 38 and 39.
3 The two
bewildered : Brahma and Vishnu.
48 1 The concealed
ear-ring :Two glendoveers prayed to the Lord
that He should be ever pleased to
listen to their music. The Lord
thereupon turned them into a pair
of ear-rings and wore them.
65 4 Tiru-Arul-Turai : The name of the temple at
Vennai Nalloor.
(The Ford of
Divine Grace)
74 4 The Lord of
Navaloor :There is a pun in the original.
The term (Navalar) also means:
“The Lord of the Fluent Tongue”.
75 Maruda : One of the four major pans,
the other being Palai, Kurinji,
and Sevvazhi. Maruda rendering
is done in the morn.
Indalam : One in the fourfold division of
Maruda yazh, the others being
Navir, Vanji and Seitiram. Indala
is also called Vatuku. It is one
of the ten ragas rendered during
the day-time.
Mudal : One of the elevenfold musical
division.
Mummai-p-padi : They are known as Hard, Soft and
Neutral. (Valivu,
(Threefold division) Melivu and Samam).
77 4 Her peerless lord :Nambi Aroorar. We will call her
yoga, Sundara Yoga.
81 Saddening love : Love that is saddened by reason
of the postponement or dalay in
fulfilment.
82 5-6 cf. “And the gilded car of day
His glowing axle doth allay
In the steep Atlantic stream”.
- Milton, Comus, Lines 95-97.
83 2 Uzhavaram : A little spade with which grass
and thorny shrubs growing within
and without holy shrines are removed.
To denote uzhavaram , Stella Kramrisch
uses the word ‘spud’.
92 3 Malanku : Eel.
97 The four entrance and their crests are compared to Brahma.
The points of comparison are these: 1. The four entrances
are likened to his four countenances. 2. Here at Tillai Vedas
are chanted. Brahma too for ever chants them. 3. White flags
waft aloft at Tillai. White garmented Saraswati is with Brahma.
104 The Ponnambalam:
This shrine is the adytum and is roofed of gold. This is
known as Chitrambalam (Chith + Ambalam). Chith is Godly
knowledge or Wisdom and its near equivalent is Gnosis.
The Ambalam is the Temple, the House of the Lord.
Perambalam, also called Meru, is the Shrine where Utsava
Moorthis like Somaskanda are housed.
The Tiru-Anukkan-:
It is near the shrine where the Lord dances His
cosmic dance. Tiruvayil The cosmic dance is
enacted in Chith-Sabha (Chitrambalam).
Chitrambalam is hailed as Tiru-c-chitrambalam.
St. Sekkizhar says that Tiru-c-chitrambalam
constitutes the letter as well as the spirit of the
Vedas. He says it is this which is hailed in the
beginning, the middle and the end of the Vedas.
Chinta is the seat of affection. It is referred to
as the heart, though this is non-physical.
106 This is a hymn of anubhuti. Verbal explication even at
its highest is bound to leave much to be desired. That
is no reason for shirking from an honest attempt at true
explication.
Intellect is but one, though the gateways thereto are
five. In this sense, intellect too is described as fivefold.
Its pervasion which is also fivefold was here totally
concentrated in the eyes - their vision. Sundarar but
beheld the Lord-Dancer. His ears did not heat; his
nose did not smell; his lips did not articulate and his
skin was bereft of the sense of touch.
Likewise his fourfold antah-karans (inner sensorium
comprising chittham, manam, buddhi and ahangkaram)
were all Chitthan and nought else. The other inner
instruments became as it were, functus officio. Again
the differentiated gunas of satwam, rajas and tamas
became one uniform satwam.
Sastras inform us that the three gunas activise the
four antah-karanas and they in turn get knit to the
senses and thus are bred multitudinous activities.
Here all other activities ceased; that which was
experienced was vision alone. In this divinely
unique stillness, the dance of bliss is witnessed.
This dance indeed is the dance of dances (Aadum
Kootthu), the dance of bliss (Ananda-k-Kootthu),
the aeviternal dance, (Ellayil Koothu), the unique
dance (Thani-k-Kootthu), and the great and grand
dance (Perum Kootthu). This is the dance that
the Seers of Silence are blessed to envision. It
is to this, verse 38 of Unmai Vilakkam refers:
“The great Munis of Silence destroying the threefold bond
Are poised where their egoes are done away with;
They witness the hallowed dance and are filled with bliss;
This is the dance of the Ambalam’s Lord whose
From is MERCY.”
Translating the central thought of the conception
of Siva’s dance from plastic to verbal expression,
Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy observes: “Now to
summarize the whole interpretation we find that
The Essential Significance of Shiva’s Dance is
threefold: First, it is the image of his Rhythmic
Play as the Source of All Movement within the
Cosmos, which is Represented by the Arch. The
purpose of his Dance is to Release the Countless
souls of men from The Snare of Illusion. Thirdly,
the place of the Dance, Chidambaram, the Centre
of the Universe, is within the Heart.”
112 1 Pukali : Sirkazhi.
2 The son divine : Tirugnanasambandhar.
4 cf.
113 3 Tonipuram : Sirkazhi.
114 Puravam : Sirkazhi.
119 Aroorar : Sundarar
Tiruvaroorar : The presiding deity of
Tiruvaroor.
124 Tirumoolattanam is the sanctum sanctorum where
the Lord of the Ant-Hill is enshrined. The shrine
of Lord Thyagaraja is situate elsewhere.
133 3 Parva : Season, stage, Several
parvas, beginning from
the third month and
ending with the twenty
first mark the child’s
progress. These form
the theme of that genre
of Tamil Poesy, called
Pillai-th-Tamizh.
135 2 Kazhanku : A nut-producing shrub:
Gulandina bonduce; its
nut(s); (molucca beans).
136 7 Her former state: The state of servitorship in
Mt. Kailas.
138 This a description from toe to crown. The three
parts of the her body, it is said, have conquered
the triple words (viz) Swarga, Madhya, and Patala.
The suggestion is that there is none her equal in
all the three worlds.
Kanchi : Golden girdle or zone
worn round the waist.
147 6 This line contains a beautiful hint. Sundarar as
Alala Sundarar, an inhabitant of the celestial
realms, could not attain her. He is to attain
her only as a man i.e., as Nambi Aroorar.
148 Paravai : Sea. In this poem
the word Paravai is
employed seven times
by St. Sekkizhar. This
poem cannot be easily
explicated. This stanza
bears eloquent testimony
to the greatness of our
seer-poet, as the lord of
the Tamil tongue.
V. Mahadeva Mudaliyar
argues that the term
“Penmaiyinil perm Paravai”
means that she is Rati,
the supremely beauteous
Consort of the God of
Love.
169 8 St. Sekkizhar says that her mind which went after
Van-tondar, came back to her loaded with his love.
173 Samita : Dried peepal twigs ritualistically
thrown into the fire-pit in a sacrifice.
181 Physical joy is only a symbol of divine bliss to the wise
and the enlightened. Yoga is the process by which
“at-one-ment” is achieved.
cf.
(Sexual joy is indeed bliss divine here;
This is consummation true;
Maya shall cease to be, henceforth.)
- Tiruvunthiyar.
186 St. Sekkizhar’s phrase “Nal Tava-k-Kaliru” means “The
Tusker of great askesis”.
188 Bahu-Valaya : An ornament worn on the shoulder.
Bahu : (Skt.) Shoulder.
191 1 They : The feet of the Lord.
198 5 ct. “And Moses said unto God, “Who am I that I should
go unto Pharaoh and that I should bring forth the children
of Israel out of Egypt?”.
- Exodus, 3:11.
203 2 Speaks of a beatitude, longed for by
St. Manickavachakar, thus:
“Your consort dwells in midmost of Yourself;
In midmost of Your Consort You dwell;
If you Both abide in midmost of myself;
Pray, grant me the boon to dwell
In midmost of Your servitors.”
- The Tiruvachakam.
Sincere thanks to Sri. T N Ramachandran of thanjavur, for permitting his English rendering of the holy text periyapurANam be published here.
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