(muzhunIRu pUsiya munivar nAyanAr purANam - Periyapuranam as English poetry)

 
 
        "I am a servitor of Muzhu Neeru Poosiya Munivar too" 
         
                            - The Tiru-th-Tonda-th-Tokai 
 
1.     He is the basis of all; He is omneity; He is the merciful One 
    In whose matted hair the Ganga flows and in whose ears 
    Are white and bright and beauteous Kuzhais; 
    Sivaagamas propounded by Him expound Karpa, 
    Anukarpa, Upakarpa and also Akarpa; of these 
    Akarpa stands eliminated; the other three are adorable; 
    They do away with Kaama and the like-- the sextuple sins; 
    We hymn the praise of the Holy Ash that our twyfold karma 
    May stand abolished.                            (4163) 
 
2.     Cows yield Panchakavya used the ritualistic ablutions 
    Of the Lord who joyously dances in the Ambalam 
    For the deliverance of the world; if they are free 
    From disease, having calved but recently, their dung is to be 
    Picked up to the recitation of (Satyojaata) mantra; 
    When in Sivaagni fostered with Siva-mantras adored 
    By the celestials, their dung is laid with thought fixed 
    On our Lord’s feet that are beyond the pale of (human) 
    Consciousness, and taken out, it is hailed 
    As the Holy Ash of the Karpa type.                    (4164) 
 
3.     According to the rules enunciated in the Aagamas 
    Of the Ruby-Dancer who dances in the Ambalam in the presence 
    Of Uma whose breasts are covered by a band, cows’ dried dung 
    Should be gathered from a forest; it should be 
    Finely powdered and then mixed with the liquid pure of cows’ urine; 
    Thereafter it is to be kneaded into balls, 
    To the recitation of Atthira mantra and consigned to the Homa- agni; 
    This is then to be gathered after it is well burnt; 
    This wealth of the Holy Ash is indeed Anukarpam.            (4165) 

 

 

4.     The ashes of burnt trees and shrubs in a jungle 
    (Where cows graze), the ashes when the pens of cows 
    Get burnt, the ashes in other gutted places and the ashes 
    In kilns where bricks are baked: these severally 
    Gathered and without mixing one with the other, 
    Should be mixed with cows’ urine, as ordained 
    By the Sivaagamas, to the recitation of appropriate 
    Mantras, and made into balls; when these are 
    Consigned to the Sivaagni fostered in matams 
    With all the attendant ritual, what is thereby 
    Obtained is known as Upakarpa Holy Ash.                    (4166) 
 
5.     With the Holy Ash thus prepared, purity-- external  
    And internal--, is to be contemplated; then a small 
    Quantity is taken to the recitation of appropriate mantras 
    And worn on the person; the wearer should eschew 
    The adornment of the ash in the aeviternal Siva-Sannidi, 
    Before fire, river, Guru the teacher of Truth, corridors 
    And unholy places; the ash is to be duly worn on the whole 
    Person, or as triple stripes, or as crescent or triangle, 
    Very like the glow of the lustrous lamp or as a circle 
    Bright; thus they wear, the servitors of the Lord.            (4167) 
 
6.     The are the rare munis of hoary tradition 
    Who are righteously established in the conduct 
    Pertaining to their respective caste regulations; 
    They have known the way of the tattwas; they are 
    Firmly poised in their faith and swerve not a bit; 
    They hold the Holy Ash gathered from the fire, 
    Nitya Agni, in fresh vessels; adoring the Lord 
    Clad in tiger-skin, they wear the Holy Ash 
    On their entire person; these indeed are known 
    As “Muzhu Neeru Poosiya Munivar.”                    (4168) 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
Verse No. 
 
    The Holy Ash is among the chiefest insignia of Saivism.  It is the Holy Ash  
    which is celebrated in the very Vedas.  Latter-day innovations are all man-made.  
    The approved  symbol is the holy ash.  “Neerilla netri paazh” (Addle is the forehead  
    that wears not the holy ash) are the words of Mother Avvai.  The holy ash is pure  
    and purificatory. 
 
 
            Here ends the Puranam of Muzhu Neeru Poosiya Munivar 
 
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. muzunIRu pUchiya munivar purANam in English prose 
2. முழுநீறு பூசிய முனிவர் புராணம் (தமிழ் மூலம்) 
3. thiruththoNDar purANam main page
4. 12 shaivite thirumuRais