(kAri nAyanAr purANam - Periyapuranam as English poetry)

 
 
        "I am a servitor of Kaari who had for his sole 
        Protection the ankleted feet of the blue-throated Lord" 
         
                        - The Tiru-th-Tonda-th-Tokai 
 
1.     He was born in Tirukkatavoor where thrived 
    Brahmins versed in the Vedas; he mastered the turais 
    Of bountiful Tamil and comprehended the fruit 
    Thereof; he complied a Kovai in Tamil which 
    Came to be called after his name; in this work 
    The rich import lay hid under known words; 
    He cultivated the friendship of the three kings.        (4064) 
 
2.     He pleased them with his words married to rich 
    Meaning; with the heaps of riches he received 
    From the kings who wore garlands of burgeoning flowers, 
    He built many a hallowed shrine for Lord Sankara 
    In whose crest, the cruel-eyed serpent and the young 
    Crescent flourish (in amity).                    (4065) 
 

 

                                                  

 
 
3.     He always spoke truthful words that delighted all ears; 
    He gave lavishly great wealth to the glorious devotees 
    Of the Lord of gods; his thought ever rested 
    On the divine Mount Kailaas girt with gardens 
    Where abides the Lord whose mount is the Bull.            (4066) 
 
4.     He established his fame in all the quarters 
    Of this sea-girt earth; he was poised in ceaseless love 
    Engendered by a consciousness clarified by spiritual 
    Investigation; by the continuous grace 
    Of the Lord in whose long, matted hair flows 
    The beauteous Ganga, even as his mind was 
    Ever linked to the Mount Kailaas in the north, 
    His body too came to abide thither everlastingly.        (4067) 
 
5.     Adoring the ankleted feet of Kaariyaar who ever 
    Served the feet of the Lord that wears melliferous 
    Konrai flowers, and blessed with his grace,  
    We proceed to narrate the servitorship of glorious 
    Netu Maarar who hailed from the lunar dynasty 
    Of the Paandyas endowed with musty elephantry.            (4068) 
 
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NOTES 
 
Verse No. 
 
   1.    This Naayanaar was a poet par excellence.  He was honoured by the  
    Tamil monarchs. The Kovai indited by him is not extant. 
 
   2.    This Naayanaar built many a shrine.  However we are not able to  
    identify any one of them to-day. 
 
   4.    His body too..... everlastingly: This is an instance of translation. 
 
            Here ends the Puranam of Kaari Naayanaar 
 
Sincere thanks to Sri. T N Ramachandran of thanjavur, for permitting his English rendering of the holy text periyapurANam be published here.

See Also: 
1. kAri nAyanAr purANam in English prose 
2. காரி நாயனார் புராணம் (தமிழ் மூலம்) 
3. thiruththoNDar purANam main page
4. 12 shaivite thirumuRais