(mUrthi nAyanAr purANam - Periyapuranam as English poetry)

 
 
        "I am also a servitor of Moorti who ruled the world with a triad." 
 
                        - The Tiru-th-Tonda-th-Tokai. 
 
1.     The Pantiya land flourishes, stablished in the greatness 
    Of its glorious citizens; it is rich in many mansions 
    -- Bright and gemmy --, on whose lofty crests clouds abide; 
    Its city is endowed with hoary glory ever-during on earth 
    Hailed by men of loving-kindness 
    Belonging to various walks of life.                (968) 
 
2.     Pearls are there found in the ruddy mouths of damsels 
    Who articulate tuneful words of melodious music, 
    Whose waists are reclining lianas of tender shoots, 
    Whose eyes are broad and whose shoulders are bamboos; 
    Eke are they found in the sea into which merges 
    The cool river whose waves break against the sandy banks.    (969) 
 
3.     The gentle southerly that blows from the Patiyil 
    Where bees hum in swarms in the gardens 
    Of sandal trees on whose tops crawl clouds, 
    Confers Tamil divine whose loftiness is ubiquitous, 
    And also the fragrant coolth f loving-kindness.            (970) 
 
4.     There dwells Lakshmi, fadless and peerless, 
    As on the petalled lotus-flower; there dwell women     
    Like unto her; in their yazh-like speech and koontals  
    Flourish sweet music and bees that hum; 
    The city goes by the name Maturapuri.                (971) 
 
5.     Academies are there where poetical works are tested 
    Before they are allowed to pass muster; in that city, 
    -- Vast and hoary and beauteous --, where ever abides 
    Tamil threefold of sublime loftiness, are schools 
    For learning; there are also fields toward which  
    Chanks crawl; there are pools, rich in leaping kendai, 
    Into which rush buffaloes from whose udder flows 
    Milk profuse and streams on honied lotuses.             (972) 
 

 
 
6.     Chains of pearls are on the sandal-pasted breasts 
    Borne by the roseate hands of damsels whose pastime 
    Is to play with balls in the pandals of foreyards 
    Where southerly wafts gently; pearls of dewy sweat 
    Are on their lotus-faces bright with dangling ear-rings.    (973) 
 
7.     He would explicate graciously the sublime meaning 
    Of the Tamil works rich in truth; even He who is 
    Enshrined at Tiruvalavai and He who will redeem us 
    From the cycle of transmigration, presided over the Sankam; 
    Such was the hoary city, the greatest in the triple worlds.    (974) 
 
8.    He came to be born as a result of the holy askesis 
    Wrought by a hoary, glorious family, ever to be lauded, 
    Which hailed from the mercantile clan of the golden city; 
    He quelled every type of desire and held fast, 
    In ever-growing love, to the sole desire true of hailing 
    The feet of the Lord whose mount is the Bull.            (975) 
 
9.     Quotidian grew his great love and into passion bloomed; 
    He rated not kith and kin and friends as aught of worth; 
    Neither did he hanker after even flawless beatitudes; 
    His sole concern was the pair of the Lord’s lotus-feet; 
    He was a moorti of love and Moortiar was he called.        (976) 
 
10.     Unto our Father of Alavai, the Lord who wears 
    On His ruddy matted hair the crescent of eventide, 
    He daily and without fail ground sandal-powder 
    For besmearing its paste on Him; he dedicated himself 
    To this sacred service to the delight great of devotees.    (977) 
 
11.     The king of Vaduka-Karnataka girt with forests 
    As fortress, and endowed with a vast army, 
    To annex forcibly this city, marched southwards 
    With elephants, horses, chariots and infantry 
    Comprising strong-shouldered soldiers.                (978) 
 
12.     He caused his army spread and fill every inch 
    Of the city and undid the heroic glory of the Pantiya, 
    The ruler of Tamil Nadu of the Potiyil girt with gardens 
    Of sandal trees, and vanquished him; 
    He made Madurai of fragrant gardens, his capital 
    Whence he wielded his sceptre.                     (979) 
 
13.     By force of arms he conquered the bounteous land 
    Of the Tamils, but would not duly foster it; 
    By lack of knowledge he would not be established 
    In the devotee’s way of the holy as of the Lord 
    Who bent the Mount Meru into a bow; he chose to 
    Get sunk in the way of the Samanas.                (980) 
 
14.     He took to the (pseudo-) tapaswic way of the Samanas as true; 
    Not content with that (downfall), the cruel one started 
    Oppressing the servitors of the Lord whose matted hair 
    Sports the crescent; sure it was the working of dreadful Fate.    (981) 
 
15.     The dark-minded and flint-hearted cruel king, 
    To subject Moortiyar, the great devotee 
    Of the ruddy-haired Lord -- the Rider of the Bull, 
    The triple-eyed who is enshrined in Tiruvalavai --, 
    Began to indulge in shameful acts.                (982) 
 
16.     Nathless the endless cruelties caused by the king, 
    The servitor, as was this wont, pursued his service, without fail, 
    To the Lord; who can prevent the doings of the great 
    Who are firm-poised in their own gloried palladium?        (983) 
 
17.     Even when the king indulged in act to shame him endlessly 
    The servitor swerved not from his path of service; 
    Then the misruler saw to it that he could in no way 
    Secure sandalwood for the service of the Lord on whose crest 
    The Ganga rests; sore grew his heart.                (984) 
 
18.     “O for the day when the sinner, the exceedingly cruel one 
    Who companying with the Samana evil-doers fritteres away 
    His time, would perish and the world would come to be  
    Ruled by a sovereign who would uphold the goodly way 
    Of the holy ash which yields the weal, 
    As assured by the true Vedas!” Thus he mused.            (985) 
 
19.     As the evil on whose wrath was fired by hatred 
    Had blocked all the ways whence sandal could be had, 
    Even when he went in search of it till sun-set 
    He could not come by goodly sandalwood anywhere; 
    With a wilted mind, he hied to the Lord’s temple.        (986) 
 
20.     “Unto the service of grinding sandal with the sweet paste 
    Of which the Lord is to be smeared, an end hath 
    Alas, come! But nothing can stop my grinding hand.” 
    Thus he resolved and on the rotund stone whereon 
    Sandalwood is ground, he rested his elbow, and ha, 
    Ground it so vigorously that the outer skin, nerves 
    And bones were clean ground away.                (987) 
 
21.     Blood gushed out from the forearm thus ground 
    On the stone; the bones opened and spilled out marrow; 
    The Lord could no longer endure this; His ethereal words 
    In that dark hour proclaimed thus:                (988) 
 
22.     “Dear one, do not do this impelled by resolute love; 
    You will rule all the land, forcibly annexed by the one 
    Who made you suffer in violent cruelty; total rid 
    Of all the former evils may you rule benignly the realm, 
    Pursue your wonted service, and in the end 
    Join Us in Our great and grand world.”                (989) 
 
23.     He heard the unbodied voice and stood up in dread; 
    He stopped what he did; his wounds total healed; 
    His hand regained all its formal glory to which 
    Was added a sweet aroma; Moortiyar glowed 
    With a lustre rare which was a splendour of wonder.        (990) 
 
24.     “Lightning flashes and anon vanishes; even so 
    Is embodiment; to those whose refuge is not Sankara, 
    It does not even last that much!” In proof 
    Of this dictum, that night, ended the life 
    Of the warring Vaduka-karnataka king 
    Who took to the way of the Samanas.                (991) 
 
25.     In this world when lofty and sublime devotees pass away 
    They pass quick into the World of Truth; 
    But the evil on that tormented the servitors 
    Perished only to fall into the horrendous inferno.        (992) 
 
26.     When died the irretrievably evil one that only did 
    Deeds of evil, his women who were like painted lianas 
    And his sorrowing kin wailed and totally wilted; 
    The dark night like unto him also ended; 
    The sun rose up in red-rayed splendour.                (993) 
 
27.     Thither gathered the ministers and duty bund 
    Performed the obsequies befitting their differing religion; 
    The spear-wielding king had no son; so they deliberated 
    On the ways and means to fill the throne.            (994) 
 
28.     “The country must have a king; it brooks not delay; 
    Though a country be blessed with land, people 
    And the like, without a strong-shouldered king 
    Who knows well to reign endowed with a mighty army 
    It cannot thrive.” Thus they spake.                (995) 
 
29.     They added: “In ways manifold he protects all lives; 
    Under his spreading parasol he makes them all 
    Pursue their respective walks of life; so does he reign, 
    The sovereign; if you conceive of a world 
    Without a monarch, verily it’ll be like unto 
    A body bereft of its life.”                    (996) 
 
30.     Pondering over many things they concluded thus: 
    “The king is no more; we should do that only 
    Which is meet in the context.” Solaced and clarified 
    They said: “Let us blindfold the tusker which is like 
    A dark hill; whosoever is secured by its hill-like trunk, 
    Shall be invested with the right to rule this world.”        (997) 
 
31.     They performed pooja in union with the sublime rites 
    Prescribed  in the sastras; they hoodwinked 
    The tusker with a clean band; it was decked with 
    A plate of gold on its forehead; from it poured 
    Like rain, ichor; they charged him thus: 
    “To bear on his strong shoulders the reign 
    Of this vast land, bear on your hand a worthy man.”        (998) 
 
32.     The blindfolded tusker moved away in joy and roamed 
    Through the hoary fortressed city; it passed through 
    The streets ad reached the sky-high tower 
    Of Tiruvalavai girt with forted walls, 
    Great and strong and beauteous.                    (999) 
 
33.     The servitor who was blessed the night before, 
    Thought thus: “If it be the grace of our Lord, 
    I’ll sure take on myself the kingship of this land.” 
    Freed of his mental depression he came out and stood 
    Without the temple of the Lord, the wearer of konrai blooms.    (1000) 
 
34.     The royal tusker walked swift thither and bowed 
    Before the great patron who came to be born on earth 
    By reason of the cumulative tapas of the cosmos, 
    And, so bending that its lustrous gems serene 
    Inlaid on its plate of gold, touched the earth, 
    Lifted him and had him seated on its neck.            (1001) 
 
35.     The ministers who had firm resolved to do way with evil, 
    Beholding him seated by the tusker on its neck 
    Fell at his feet and rose up; the whole city then 
    Roared like an ocean rich in breakers.                (1002) 
 
36.     By his side who would rule the whole world, 
    By the grace of the Lord concorporate with His Consort, 
    -- Bejewelled and liana-like --, shells and tarais blared; 
    With drums resounded everywhere every type 
    Of musical organ; from all place issued benedictions.        (1003) 
 
37.     They humbly caused him descend from the tusker 
    Of loving eyes; they led him through the mantapam 
    Decked with honied wreaths and garlands of gems, 
    Where the king is crowned and had him enthroned  
    Under the moon-like parasol, and commenced 
    The rites relating to the coronation.                (1004) 
 
38.     Priests well-versed in mantras and yoga 
    Fixed vetikais in the ever-abiding directions 
    And reared blazing fire in the auspicious homa-pit; 
    Golden vessels were strung with threefold threads 
    And pots were filled with holy water.                (1005) 
 
39.     Moortiyar who was blessed with clarity of intellect 
    By reason of his constant contemplation of Lord Siva 
    Spoke to them of auspicious deeds, that came 
    And hailed him, thus: “If Samanism 
    Of recent origin would vanish and Saivism 
    -- Whole and absolute --, would rise aloft, 
    I would bear the world and sweetly reign.”            (1006) 
 
40.     When ministers and wise men well-versed in works 
    Which confer true life on man, heard him speak thus, 
    Falling at his feet they said: “O great one! we will 
    Abide by what you are pleased to tell us; 
    Who will dare disobey you?”                    (1007) 
 
41.     Then he said: “Were I to rule the world, the holy ash 
    Shall be my royal anointment; rudraksha beads, 
    The insignia of the Lord, shall be my royal jewels; 
    The regal crown that I wear shall be but the crown 
    Of my dense and matted hair.”                    (1008) 
 
42.     When they of limitless learning, and the ministers 
    Of firm intellect, sound scholarship and trustfulness 
    Ever-growing, heard him speak thus, they said: 
    “The King’s message is great and grand indeed.” 
    They performed all the rites which pleased his heart 
    To invest the king of tapas with sceptre and crown.        (1009) 
 
43.     On all sides resounded auspicious blessings and organs; 
    The monarch whose crown was that of matted hair 
    Proceeded to Tiruvalavai where is enshrined 
    The Lord whose feet were unknown to the Boar, 
    And hailed Him, thence he rode in procession 
    On the back of the royal tusker through the long streets.    (1010) 
 
44.     He descended from the tusker at the threshold 
    Of the gemmy mansion, moved into the durbar 
    And ascended the throne of gold; to the waving 
    Of beauteous chamaras and under the white parasol 
    He abode, and bore the reign of the world.            (1011) 
 
45.     The just ministers of manifold portfolios 
    Shrewdly divined his wishes and implemented them; 
    The bewildering fetters of Samanism stood broken; 
    The ever-during way of the holy ash began to thrive 
    For ever; ubiquitous Saivism soared aloft and flourished.    (1012) 
 
46.     For the spreading and flourishing of the true 
    And subtle message of the brow-eyed Lord’s scriptures 
    Moortiyar ruled the world with the triad, 
    -- The means par excellence that confer salvation --, 
    Namely, the holy ash that ends embodiment, 
    The sublime garland sacred of rudraksha beads 
    And the crown of matted hair.                    (1013) 
 
47.     Poised in piety he cut away for ever all nexus 
    With dames of perfumed locks; he quelled the five 
    Hostile senses as well as all his foes; unique was his 
    Sceptre’s reign; he fostered all good that would 
    Endure till the end of the world, and protected lives 
    From ills and troubles that would beset them.            (1014) 
 
48.     Many a monarch flocked round his feet 
    And hailed him; he ruled this world, extirpating 
    All ills; he also was blessed to reign, never swerving 
    From his servitorship, the spiritual empire. 
    Thus in the end, the great one reached the feet 
    Of the Lord of heroic anklet.                    (1015) 
 
49.     Having hailed the great servitor who on the huge stone 
    Ground his elbow, and rode on the warring tusker, 
    We proceed to historicise Murukanar, 
    The great Brahmin of Pukaloor of vast, bright streets, 
    Girt with fragrant gardens cloud-capped.            (1016) 
 
---------------- 
 
Stanza     Line 
 
   2     6    The cool river.  The Tampraparani. 
 
   5     6    Kendai        :     A type of fish; Cyprinus fimbriatus.  The poem ends  
                    with a pun.  Ceyyul mikku Eru Sangam: Ceyyul means  
                    poem; it also means “into the field(s).”  Sangam  
                    means academy; it also means chank(s). 
 
   9     5    Moorti        :     An embodiment; an idol. 
 
  20    6-7    The servitor ground the outer skin, nerves, veins, olecranon, ulna and  
        ulnare into pulp. 
 

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. mUrthi nAyanAr purANam in English prose 

2. மூர்த்தி நாயனார் புராணம் (தமிழ் மூலம்) 

3. thiruththoNDar purANam main page

4. 12 shaivite thirumuRais