(tirumalai chiRappu - Periyapuranam as English poetry)

 
 
1.     HE who is not to be comprehended by any one 
    For ever abides in the divine peak of the great Kailas 
    Which is atop the wide, snowy and awesome mountain 
    That bears on its golden frame white stripes 
    Like unto those of the holy ash.                    (11) 
 
2.    As the Lord is here enthroned 
    The triple worlds and the four Vedas 
    Have come hither to perform endless askesis; 
    So does it look like Piety's own congregation.                (12) 
 
3.    If with all the innumerable regions 
    As bright and shining leaves, the world is 
    Wrought into a lustrous liana 
    The awesome mount will be (like) its white bloom.            (13) 
 
4.     There resound the chanting of the four lofty Vedas 
    The strumming of vinas by celestial musicians, 
    The trumpeting of tuskers as the clouds rumble 
    And the ever-glorious music of the celestial tuntupis.            (14) 
 
5.     Behold here numberless billions of chaplets 
    To adorn the crown of the Lord 
    Worshipfully held by the immortals of cool skyey realms, 
    Garlands of golden blooms from the holy Karpaka 
    And garlands of prayer by saints galore.                (15) 
 
6.     Billions and billions of Bhootas -- small and short --, 
    Here sing and dance in sheer ecstasy; 
    These can, if they so desire, usher into existence 
    The five elements and fill the offices of Gods too.            (16) 
 
7.     Unable to worship the Lord as the hour is not propitious 
    Brahma return and stands baffled. 
    He cannot discern his swan, totally lost 
    In the pure and white luster of the awesome mountain.            (17) 
 
8.     He knows not that Vishnu is abiding his time 
    To adore the feet of Siva decked with white ear-rings; 
    He beholds in the slope of the dazzlingly white Kailas 
    A bandicoot -- the mount of the Tusker-God --, 
    Surface up from a cavern. 
    Deeming that to be the primal boar that this day 
    Is out to bore the earth to reach the foot 
    Of the red column of fire now turned white, 
    Garuda wings his way to it.                        (18) 
 
9.     There dance the heavenly danseuses to the beat 
    Of muzhavu and the roar of cataracts; 
    With palms full of melliferous flowers of the divine tree 
    And with loving minds seeking boons 
    Indra and other gods ascend the ever-crowded steps 
    Of the long and lofty way dight with mantapams and vimanas, 
    Hymning all the while His divine praise.                (19) 
 
10.     Brahma, Vishnu, Indra and other countless gods 
    Come thronging to adore (Him) in boundless love: 
    These stand at the first tower wrought of lustrous gems; 
    There they are restrained by Nandi -- the Chamberlain 
    Of Lord Siva, the Primal God who dances in the Court 
    Adored by Bhootas, Vetalas and Gananatas.                (20) 
 
11.    By the grace of the Lord of matted hair, Nandi 
    Is invested with the office of guarding Kailas; 
    He is the Chief of the great many who are forehead-eyed, 
    Four-shouldered and who wear the holy ash on their bodies, 
    Also the devotees of Lord Siva who rides the Bull 
    Decked with pinggnakam, and all others too; 
    He wields in his flowery hands 
    The sword and the divine cane.                        (21) 
 
12.     The Lord holds an antelope in His (left) hand 
    And a mazhu in His (right) hand. 
    His matted hair where courses Ganga, is decked 
    With the young crescent 
    And a chaplet of (Konrai) flowers. 
    By reason of His enthronement here, 
    The presence of measureless glory 
    And the flourishing of the sheer purity of truth's luster, 
    The wide range of Kailas is like unto the mind divine 
    Of Anapayan of triumphant parasol white --  
    The fearless King that wields a righteous scepter.            (22) 
 
13.     Seated on its divine slope 
    Saint Upamanyu of inconceivable glory 
    For ever meditates in blissful ecstasy 
    On Siva whose nature none can know.                    (23) 
 
14.     This saint placed his feet on the crown 
    Of Yadhava, the king of Dwaraka; 
    Peerless is his service to Siva, the Lord of Bhootas, 
    And it knows neither beginning nor end.                    (24) 
 
15.     The Saint, of yore, was fed by the Ocean of Milk 
    By the grace of Lord Siva, the Father; 
    He grew solely sustained by the milk of Siva's grace; 
    Myriads of holy saints and suddha yogis sat encircling him.        (25) 
 
16.     Before them all, gushed forth a growing light 
    With the great brilliance of a thousand suns; 
    The great tapaswis pure and others 
    Who sat encircling the Saint 
    Marvelling said: "What wonder is this!"                    (26) 
 
17.     Thereupon the Saint invoked in thought the feet 
    Of the Lord -- the wearer of the crepuscular crescent --, 
    And said: "By the grace of our Father, 
    He who incarnated in the South as the Lord of Navaloor 
    -- Gloried Van-tondan --, doth now return."                (27) 
 
18.     As the great Saint of matted hair -- long and ruddy --, 
    Folding his hands in adoration rose up and walked 
    Toward the direction whence gushed forth the great light, 
    All athrill, as if immersed in a sea of joy, 
    The holy ones, to have their doubt resolved, 
    Implored him thus:                            (28) 
 
19.     "You, Our Lord, never adore aught but the lotus-feet 
    Of Sambhu; what may this be?" 
    Thus questioned, he said; "Nambi Arooran 
    Hath enshrined in his bosom the great Lord; 
    He is verily worthy of our adoration."                    (29) 
 
20.     Hearing this they worshipfully beseeched him; 
    "Great is our desire to hear of the gloried tapas 
    Of him who blazes forth in triumphal luster great! 
    May you, in grace, be pleased to narrate it."                (30) 
 
21.     Then the Saint began his true narration thus: 
    "Unto the True Ens, the Lord of Munificence 
    In whose crest courses the flood of Ganga, 
    His service was to gather honey-laden blooms 
    And weave them into garlands; 
    He was also the bearer of His Holy Ash.                    (31) 
 
22.     "His name was Alala Sundarar. 
    One day, of yore, to gather fresh flowers 
    Wherewith to deck the Primordial Lord 
    He fared forth to the flower-garden.                    (32) 
 
23.     "Thither came a pair of women, passing beautiful, 
    With visages like unto the full-moon bright, 
    To gather flowers, rich in pollen, 
    For the Lord's Consort whom they served.                (33) 
 
24.     "When Anintitai of boundless glory and Kamalini 
    Of dark and dense hair adorned with a fragrant wreath, 
    Were gathering choice flowers from the bunches, 
    It happened like the grace of the Lord of Gods.                (34) 
 
25.     "For the great thriving of the South 
    That indeed had wrought immense tapas, 
    He who was to incarnate thither and hymn 
    The flawless Tiru-th-tonda-th-Tokai, 
    Did set his mind on them both; 
    The loving lasses also reveled in the joy 
    Of beholding him.                            (35) 
 
26.     "He gathered many many flowers -- fit for the Lord, 
    That were about to bloom and sought by bees, 
    And went away; like him the pen-like lasses 
    Also gathered cool flowers and hied away.                (36) 
 
27.     "The Primal Lord beheld him and said: 
    "You set your mind on the damsel-pair; 
    Be born in the southern realm; 
    Be linked with them in loving joy, and then return."            (37) 
 
28.     "Hearing this he was dism_yed; 
    Folding his hands in worship, he addressed Him thus: 
    "O Lord, if in my confounding human state 
    I stand bewildered, do redeem me 
    By Your gracious intercession."                        (38) 
 
29.     The Lord of great compassion said: "Let it be so." 
    Then he hand the damsel-pair, as gracious mortals 
    Took birth in the South and lived in connubial joy. 
    They have now hither returned." 
    To his holy audience Upamanyu fully narrated their lives.        (39) 
 
30.     The saints of loving kindness, 
    Who were listening to him said: 
    "All the eight directions are realms where souls 
    Get embodied befitting their karma; what especial piety 
    Has indeed been wrought by the South 
    To merit in its realm, his incarnation?"                (40) 
 
31.    The great tapaswi then replied thus: 
    "Perumpatra-p-Puliyur is here situate, adored by 
    My father Vyagrapada, the great saint of peerless tapas; 
    It flourishes as the treasure of those 
    Who adore the Lord with single-minded devotion.                (41) 
 
32.     "In that holy realm, the eternal Lord dances willingly 
    In the great Ambalam, for ever, in the presence 
    Of our Mother, the divine liana of true tapas. 
    Which other direction can rival the South in its glory?            (42) 
 
33.     "In every embodied soul, the heart burgeons 
    Even as a bud blossoms; from the lotus-heart 
    Of the lovely Mother-Earth 
    Whence effloresces the seed of the Vedas 
    Aroor of Ardhanariswara has blossomed.                    (43) 
 
34.     "My Deity -- the Mother of the seven worlds --, 
    Attained here, the Lord by Her unique tapas 
    And adored Him on the banks of the river Kampai 
    At Kanchi hailed by all the celestials.                    (44) 
 
35.     "It is here in the South, our Lord -- Guru Nandi --, 
    Performed tapas, and came by ever-growing grace eternal; 
    The Lord who sports the flood in His matted hair 
    And wields the fire in His hand, 
    Abides here in Aiyaru.                            (45) 
 
36.     "It is in the South, the Lord's hallowed Tonipuram 
    That illumines all realm, and holy shrines galore 
    Fit for the adoration of Siva, are situate. 
    Truly no direction can match the South in its glory."            (46) 
 
37.     Thus spake the Saint, of the glorious history 
    Of Van-tondar; in union with his explication 
    And in accordance with the Tiru-th-tonda-th-Tokai 
    Which historicises the gloried lives of the devotees 
    We now elaborately indite this work in love.                (47) 
 
38.     The truly divine decad of Van-tondar's Tiru-th-tonda-th-Tokai 
    Wrought with the grace of the Ancient One 
    Enshrined in the Ant-Hill, 
    Is the base and source of this work; 
    We humbly hail it and commence our work.                (48) 
 
39.     Our Lord Nambi-Andar-Nambi, with all his heart 
    Adored in verse the devotees hailed by 
    That divinely true decad; with his work too 
    As our guide we compose this work -- unflawed.                (49) 
 
40.     For the world to flourish and Saivism 
    To soar aloft and thrive, Nambi - Aroorar  
    Of infinite glory hymned the holy company 
    Of devotees, and we now proceed to hail 
    Their great country, watered by the cool Cauvery.            (50) 
 
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Stanza     Line 
 
   1        The mountain referred to is the Himalayas.  The golden peak is  
        suggestive of Siva, and the snow, the stripes of the holy ash on  
        His divine frame. 
 
   3        The world, its demesnes and the Kailas are respectively the creeper,  
        its leaves and the white bloom. 
 
   4     4    Tuntupi        :     A musical instrument. 
 
   5     4    Karpaka        :    The wish-yielding celestial tree. 
 
     5    Garlands of prayer are Gitanjali. 
 
   6     1    Bhootas        :    They form a section of Siva's host  
                    and are almost omnipotent. 
 
    3-4    cf. "...... the least of whom could wield 
             These elements........." 
                    - Paradise Lost, Book Vi, II. 221 - 22. 
 
   7     3    Swan        :     The mount of Brahma. 
 
   8     1    He        :     Garuda:  "A Hindu demigod, part  
                    man, part bird." 
 
                        - Chamber's Twentieth Century Dictionary. 
 
                    He is the vehicle of Vishnu.  It is said that when  
                    Brahma, the Creator and Vishnu, the Sustainer  
                    quarreled with each other, each claiming to be the  
                    Supreme One, Siva appeared before them as a Column  
                    of ruddy flame.  Confronted thus by the fiery pillar,  
                    they cried a halt to their quarrel and wanted to f_nd  
                    out what the pillar was.  Brahma took the form of a  
                    swan and flew up to behold the top of the column.   
                    Vishnu assumed the form of a white boar (sveta-varaha)  
                    and burrowed the bowels of earth to reach its foot.   
                    Both failed. 
 
   9     2    Muzhavu    :     A percussion instrument. 
 
     6    Vimana        :     The crown of a mantapam. 
 
        Mantapam    :     Temple-porch. 
 
  10        Vetalas        :    A division of Siva's host. 
 
        Gananatas    :     The captains of Siva's hosts. 
 
  11     6    Piggnakam    :     An ornament of the head.  Some scholars opine that  
                    as Siva wears His matted hair as a crown, He is  
                    called Pinggnakan. 
 
     3-4    The forehead-eyed and four-shouldered are the holy ones who have attained  
        Siva-Saroopya (Siva's form). 
 
  12     2    Mazhu        :     A burning rod.  It also refers to a battle-axe. 
 
     4    Konrai        :    Cassia fistula.  It has long, bright yellow leaves. 
 
     7    Purity of truth's luster refers to the holy ash according to Siva-k-kavi  
        C.K. Subramania Mudaliyar. 
 
    8-9    Like unto the mind divine of Anapayan 
 
        The Big temple at Thanjavur bears eloquent testimony to the immensity  
        as well as greatness of  the mind of Raja Raja, the ancestor of  
        Anapayan. 
 
Stanzas 8 to 12, it is said, are not by St. Sekkizhar.  The authorship of stanza 18 is  
erroneously attributed to Velli Ambala Tampiran. 
 
  13     3    Blissful ecstasy    :    This is born of Siva-yogic comprehension. 
 
  14     2    refers to Vishnu.  When he incarnated as Krishna, he was initiated in  
        Siddhanta Saivam by St. Upamanyu. 
 
     3    Bhootas        :     This word comprehends all lives. 
 
     4    None can say when St. Upamanyu's service to the Lord began and when it  
        would end.  It goes on for ever and ever. 
 
  15    1-2    Upamanyu's father is St. Vyagrapada.  When Upamanyu was a tender child,  
        he once cried, smitten by hunger.  At the request of his father, Siva  
        directed the Ocean of Milk to flow gently towards the child and feed him. 
 
       4    Suddha yogis    :     Yogis of the Suddha Marga.  According to  
                    Dr. V.V. Ramana Sastrin, Appar, Tirugnanasambandhar,  
                    Sundarar and Manickavachakar are apostolic Siddhas of  
                    the Suddha Marga. 
 
  17        Stanza 13 says that St. Upamanyu for ever meditates in blissful ecstasy on  
        Siva.  "How is this", one may ask, "compatible with his present invocation?"  
        The answer is that the saint invokes Siva, for leave, to narrate to the holy  
        company, what he already knows. 
 
     4    Van-tondan    :     Wild devotee.  Siva named St. Sundarar thus.  
                    Service to the Lord is of two types, mild and  
                    wild: (van-tondu and men-tondu).  The mild  
                    devotee serves the Lord, never once transgressing  
                    the bournes set by the Sastras.  The wild devotee  
                    sometimes goes beyond the limits prescribed. 
 
  19     2    Sambhu        :    Siva. 
 
     3    Nambi Arooran    :    St. Sundarar. 
 
  21     4    His        :     St. Sundarar's. 
 
  23     1    Passing beautiful    :    Surpassingly beautiful. 
 
  25     4    Tiru-th-tonda-th- 
        Tokai        :    The garland of hymns composed by St. Sundarar in  
                    praise of Nayanmar. 
 
     5    The act of St. Sundarar was divinely purposive.  His action was willed by  
        Siva for the benefit of mankind. 
 
  30     4    Karma        :    "noun, the conception of the quality of actions,  
                    including both merit and demerit, determining the  
                    future condition of all sentient beings; the theory  
                    of inevitable consequence generally; the result of  
                    the actions of a life." 
                        - Chamber's Twentieth Century Dictionary. 
 
  31     2    Perumpatra-p- 
        Puliyur        :    Chidambaram; also know as Tillai. 
 
  32     3    Liana        :    The comparison of a woman to a slender creeper is  
                    common in Tamil and Sanskrit literature. 
 
  33        The seed of the  
        Vedas        :    Om. 
 
     4    Ardhanariswara    :    The androgynic form shared by Siva and His Consort. 
 
  24     2    Here        :    Here in the South. 
 
  35     4    Aiyaru        :    Thiruvaiyaru, the shrine of the five streams, they  
                    being Siva-Pada Ganga, Devi Ganga, Rishabha  
                    Ganga, the Cauvery and the Stream of Bliss that  
                    issues from Nandi. 
 
  36     1    Tonipuram    :    Sirkazhi, the birth place of St. Tirugnanasambandhar. 
 
 
Sincere thanks to Sri. T N Ramachandran of thanjavur, for permitting his En_lish rendering of the holy text periyapurANam be published here.

1. பெரிய புராணம் திருமலைச் சிறப்பு (தமிழ் மூலம்) 

2. thiruththoNDar purANam main page

3. 12 shaivite thirumuRais