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Sixth Thirumurai songs of Thirunavukkarasar as English poetry By Sri. T N Ramachandran

(As English Poetry)

 English Translation Sri. T N Ramachandran Thanjavur



1. KOYIL

 
The shrine is called Tillai and the town Chidambaram.  This patikam (decad) was sung by  
St. Appar when he returned to Tillai, after visiting the shrines at Tiruvetkalam and Tiruk- 
kazhippaalai.  In the temple are the shrines of (1) God Tirumoolanaathar and Goddess Uma,  
and(2) Sabhaanaayakar (Nataraja) and Sivakaami. 
 
Periya Tirutthaandakam 
(Tirutthaandakam the great) 
 
1.     He is the rare One; He abides in the chinta 
    Of Tillai-Brahmins; He is the core 
    Of the rare Vedas; He is the Atom; 
    He is the Tattua unknown to any one; 
    He is the Honey, the Milk, the self-luminous Light; 
 
    He is the King of the celestial lords; 
    He is the Dark one, the Four-Faced, 
    The Fire, the Air, the roaring Ocean 
    And the world-supporting Mountain.  
    He, the greatest, is of Perumpatra-p-Puliyur. 
    Unlived indeed are the days unspent in His praise.            1 
 
2.     He is the Omniscient in whose matted crest 
    The Ganga doth rest; 
    He eke favours Valanjuzhi girt by the Cauvery; 
    He deigns to grace the poor and the destitute; 
    He is beyond compare; He is the One 
    Hailed and adored by the celestials. 
    Him we have known who abides at Aaroor also. 
    He is of Perumpatra-p-Puliyur; 
    Unlived indeed are the days unspent in His praise.            2 
 
3.     He is clothed in the flayed hide of the dark tusker; 
    Flexing His shapely and splendorous shoulders, 
    He, holding fire, dances 
    Whilst His sounding anklets chime in concord; 
    He is the Lord that dances 
    Adorned with a crescent in His matted crest; 
    She of the glorious and resplendent visage 
    Beholds His dance, seated 
    Whilst the celestial throngs bow with their heads. 
    He is of Perumpatra-p-Puliyur. 
    Unlived indeed are the days unspent in His praise.            3 
 
4.     He is the Father adorned and hailed 
    By rare tapaswis; 
    He is the Lord of the supernal lords. 
    He is Hara the Sustainer; He graced 
    The celestials with nectar--the cure for ageing. 
    He, the great One is the billowy sea, 
    The earth-supporting mountain, the earth, 
    The sky, the stars of lucent rays, the eight 
    Directions, the moving lights twain and all else also. 
    He is of Perumpatra-p-Puliyur. 
    Unlived indeed are the days unsent in His praise.            4 
 
5.     He is the peerless Support, the Catholicon 
    That solves the troubles of all His servitors 
    Who have inly controlled and quelled the great senses, 
    Who have done away with the help of friends 
    And kinnery that had taken birth in this wide world, 
    Who have given up attachment also 
    And who have forsaken the pleasure 
    Yielded by buxom belles in wondrous beds. 
    To such that are endowed with the valiancy 
    To think wholly, solely and exclusively on Him, 
    He indeed is the supreme Help; 
    He is of Perumpatra-p-Puliyur. 
    Unlived indeed are the days unspent in His praise.            5 
 
6.     He is concorporate with Her whose words 
    Are nectarean like the sugarcane; 
    He is a hill of dazzling diamond; 
    He wears a wreath of konrai flowers; 
    It is He who is the rare Vedas 
    And their sextuple Angas; 
    He is the bright-rayed Flame of southern Aaroor 
    Girt with fragrant groves where bees buzz; 
    He is the unwavering lamp of Light, 
    The Ens Entium; 
    He is of Perumpatra-p-Puliyur. 
    Unlived indeed are the days unspent in His praise.            6 
 
7.     He is the fruit and the melody of the strummed strings; 
    He is the great God that fixed the dart wrought of the celestials 
    To His Bow of Mountain and set ablaze the citadels 
    Of the gruesome and fearsome Asuras; 
    He is the One that ate the venom of the billowy sea; 
    He is the great fruit of the renunciants 
    Who are unaffected by the oeillades 
    Of damsels whose locks are buzzed by bees; 
    He is of Perumpatra-p-Puliyur. 
    Unlived indeed are the days unspent in His praise.            7 
 
8.     He is mantled in the pachyderm a of the dark tusker; 
    He is Ekampan of lovely Kaanchi damasked with flowers; 
    He is easy of access to His servitors—whoever they be; 
    He is the infinite One unknown to the celestials; 
    He is the Light of the Empyrean who enacts the dance 
    Whilst the earth-born and the heaven-dwellers adore Him; 
    His name are legion; 
    He is of Perumpatra-p-Puliyur. 
    Unlived indeed are the days unspent in His praise.            8 
 
9.     He is the One that wears the young, milk-white crescent; 
    He is the primal One who is all the three worlds; 
    He is the Destroyer of the triple, hostile citadels; 
    He is the abiding Light, the Emerald, 
    The Honey and the Milk. 
    He is the beauteous One that presides over Kutraalam; 
    He is the Dancer, the King, the God of Gnosis; 
    He is of Perumpatra-p-Puliyur. 
    Unlived indeed are the days unspent in His praise.            9 
 
10.     He is the hoary an abiding Light 
    That stood a column of glorious flame 
    Beyond the ken of the darkly-bright and red-eyed Maal 
    And the one ensconced on the fragrant Lotus; 
    He is the Light beautiful that sets at nought 
    Bewilderment; He is the Light infinite that abides 
    Beyond the extensive earth, the seven worlds, 
    The ether and the heavens. 
    He is of Perumpatra-p-Puliyur. 
    Unlived indeed are the days unspent in His praise.            10 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Tillai is the shrine par excellence for the Saivites.  So, it is referred to as the  
Koyil.  See pages lx to lxvii of The Tiruvacagam by U.G. Pope, re-printed by the  
University of Madras (1979) 
 
In Saivite cosmogony, Tillai is the exact centre of the universe.  Tillai, in the time  
of St. Appar, was to the Saivites what Jerusalem was to the Jews, of yore.  Writing  
on Tillai, G.U. Pope says: “One is frequently reminded of Jerusalem the Golden, with  
milk and honey blest.” – Ibid. p.264. 
 
TILLAI AND NATARAJA by B. Natarajan (Mudgala Trust, Madras-1994) is by far the greatest  
work on the subject.  Chinta is mind-heart according to David Buck.  Atom: Siva, as the  
smallest of the small is referred to as the Atom.  Tattva means Truth.  The Dark One is  
Vishnu.  The Four-Faced is Brahma.  Siva is the world-supporting Mountain.  Tradition  
holds that there are eight mighty mountains that support the cosmos.  Siva is all these.   
Puliyur is Tillai.  It is called Puliyur (the Tiger-town) as it is associated with St.  
Vyagrapaada (the Tiger-footed).  Perumpatra-p-Puliyur may be interpreted as the polis  
that is the Palladium par excellence for the Tiger-footed (saint). 
 
2. Katraan: It means ‘a learned man’.  It is here translated as the Omniscient.  Him  
we... Aaroor also: In the original, the passage concerned appears in the middle.   
In our translation, it is transposed towards the end to make the meaning clear. 
 
3. Goddess Uma witnesses the dance of Siva, seated.  References galore speak to  
Uma’s standing and witnessing the divine dance.  This reference which speaks of  
Her witnessing the dance, seated, is a rare one. 
 
4. Tapaswis are practitioners of austere and spiritual askesis.  Tapas is  
    “.............. Dreadful abstinence 
    And conquering penance of the mutinous flesh 
    Deep contemplation, and unwearied study 
    In years outstretched beyond the date of man.” 
                    - Shelly. 
 
They indeed are the tapaswis “whose eye could pierce” the present and the past  
and the to-come.”  The two moving lights are the sun and the moon.  The dictum  
of St. Appar is a poetic truth. 
 
5. Help of friends...: Cf. Job’s Comforters.  Truly speaking relatives are inherited  
critics.  Great senses: The five hunters ever alert to down the soul.  The joy...  
beds: This is condemned as it is at once fugitive and fleeting.  To such...  
Supreme Help: 
Cf.    i.    “... for you shall worship no other God, for the LORD, whose  
        name is Jealous is a jealous god.” 
    ii.    “You shall have no other gods before Me.” 
                        - Ibid. 20-3 
    iii.    “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.” 
                            -Deut. 
 
6. Concorporate with Her: The Lord is Ammai-Appar, Ardhanaariswarar.  The feminine aspect  
of the Lord is His Sakti (Power/Energy).  It is supremely glorious.  Commenting on the  
words: “madest in pregnant” (line 22, Book 1, Paradise Lost), Alastair Fowler says: “Not a  
mixed metaphor, but a deliberate allusion to the Hermetic doctrine that God is both masculine  
and feminine.”  Kakti is to Siva what the Holy Spirit is to the Father.  Dazzling diamond:   
This has reference to the argent drift that emanates from the Holy Ash.  Konrai: Cassia  
fistula, cassia, Indian Laburnum.  The Vedas.  The scriptures that contain the secrets of  
ancient civilization.  The reader will do well to consult the work of David Frawley entitled  
“Gods, Sages and Kings” (Motilal Banarsidass ublishers, 1993).  The Angas: These are the  
limbs of the Vedas, six in number.  They are (1) Siksha (Phonetics), (2) Chhandas (Prosody),  
(3) Vyaakarna (Grammar), (4) Nirukta (Etymology), (5) Jyotisha (Astronomy) and (6) Kalpa  
(Ceremonial)  Kalpa is of two types: (i) Srauta-sutra which relates to the Sruti i.e. the  
Vedas and (ii) Smarta-sutra which is founded on the Smriti. 
 
7. During Tripurasamhaara (the destruction of the three magic citadels), Lord Siva bent  
Mount Meru into a bow.  Vishnu became the dart, the Windgod the feather of the dart  
and the Firegod its tip. 
 
Mystically speaking, the three (flying) citadels are but the triple malas which can be  
quelled by Siva alone. 
 
8. He is... celestials: Like Oreb and Sinai, Siva is both inaccessible and easy of access. 
His devotees always avail of His soulabya (easy accessibility). 
 
9. The three worlds are the upper, middle and nether regions of space.  Gnosis is Godly  
Knowledge... Pati Gnaanam. 
 
10. The seven worlds are obviously the seven nether worlds, they being (1) Atala, (2) Vitala,  
(3) Cutala, (4) Mahaatala, (5) Rasaatala, (6) Talaatala and (7) Paataala. 
 
 
2. KOYIL (TILLAI)

 
Pukka Tirutthaandakam: (The Sacred Thaandakam that celebrates the Lords’ Entry.)  This decad  
was sung by St. Appar during his sojourn at Tillai. 
 
1.     He abides at Mayilaappu in  the crest of whose lofty streets 
    The moon sails amidst clouds; He dwells at Marukal; 
    He is of Kodumudi in Kongku, of Kutraalam 
    And Kudamookku; arriving at Kollampoodur 
    He searched for a fit residence; He abode 
    At Dharmapuram for many days; He is of Takkaloor. 
    Adorning Himself with the bright and white Holy Ash 
    And circled by the Bhootha-Hosts 
    He made His entry into Puliyur Chitrambalam only.            11 
 
2.     The Lord whose waist is cinctured with a serpent 
    Abode at Nanipalli, left for and sojourned at Nalloor 
    Whence He came to Paasoor to stay there for half a day. 
    He sojourned at Partiniyamam for twelve days 
    And then at the well-watered Mizhalai-- 
    Inseparable from the Vedas and the smoke of sacrifice--, 
    For a sennight; He who is at once 
    Bliss and aeviternal wealth, has this day,  
    Made His entry into Puliyur Chitrambalam only.                12 
 
3.     He explicated renunciation and (also) the import 
    Of the sacred lore; He is adorned with the pure moon 
    And serpents; by His valour He shot the three citadels (to cinders) 
    He is both Mantra and Tantra. 
    That day, under the Banyan Tree 
    Hara taught the Brahmins Dharma. 
    Having enacted the dance in the fire of the crematory, 
    This day, circled by the Bhootha-Hosts, 
    He made His entry into Puliyur Chitrambalam only.            13 
 
4.     He who is concorporate with Her of lovely breasts 
    That are covered by a breast-band, 
    Holds the bright mazhu in His hand and dances 
    In the crematory; He is of Tiruvaanjiyam girt with 
    Glorious and cool and well-watered fields. 
    He is of Tirunallaaru; He who has a cloudy patch 
    On His neck is the One who has an eye in His forehead 
    That burnt Kaama to death. 
    The Eater of the oceanic venom, riding a martial Bull 
    And circled by the Bhootha-Hosts 
    Made His entry into Puliyur Chitrambalam only.                14 
 
5.     He wears a chaplet of fragrant konrai flowers 
    That bloom during the rainy season; He holds 
    In His hand a skull and goes about receiving alms 
    From the townsfolk, whilst His Bhoothas sing. 
    He is the noble One, the peerless One, the Lord of the Devas 
    Who adore Him; He abides at the hallowed Moolattanam 
    Of Tiruvaaroor. Riding a martial Bull 
    And encircled by the bhootha-Hosts, 
    He made His entry into Puliyur Chitrambalam only.            15 
 
6.     He is ear-ringed; He wields a kattangkam; 
    He is of Kailas--the mountain great, and of Kaaronam, 
    He has aged parents none; 
    He is both the Beginning and the End. 
    That day, to the delight of beauteous women 
    He burnt the body of mighty Manmata. 
    This day, riding a martial Bull 
    And circled by the Bhootha-Hosts 
    He made His entry into Puliyur Chitrambalam only.            16 
 
7.     To the dead ones and to those not dead, 
    To the celestials, to the born and to those that will not 
    Get Born, He is alike the great One. 
    He abides not in the minds of those who are full 
    Of themselves and of those who have forgotten Him. 
    He--the opulent One of Maraikkaadu, is the wielder 
    Of a glowing mazhu. 
    His matted hair a-dangle 
    And circled by the bhootha-Hosts 
    He made His entry into Puliyur Chitrambalam only.            17 
 
8.     He wears a white and bright garland of skulls 
    And bones and a wreath of cool konrai; 
    He is covered by the hide of the fierce tusker; 
    He rides a killer-Bull, holds the fire in His hand 
    And dwells at the crematory. 
    He is the opulent One of Neitthaanam girt with fecund fields 
    And rich in mansions whose tops are laved  
    By the white moonlight. 
    Holding a white skull reeking of flesh 
    And circled by the Bhootha-Hosts 
    He made His entry into Puliyur Chitrambalam only.            18 
 
9.    “Did you behold Sankara whose chest wears 
    White threads and whose waist a Kovanam?” 
    “Yes, we did, this day. 
    Holding something in His skull-bowl 
    And riding a tethered Bull that galloped, 
    He came here and took with Him my white bangles; 
    With them and all else, He stood at beauteous Aaroor, 
    When during dusk, even as His Bhootha-Hosts held 
    The gemmy lamp of golden lustre 
    He made His entry into Puliyur Chitrambalam only.            19 
 
10.     He quells the troubles of devotees who serve Him in love; 
    His feet are hailed by goodly ones; He is our Lord-Ruler 
    In all our births. Holding a peerless veena 
    And reciting the Vedas, he Singer of the Vedic hymns 
    Rode a Bull; clad in tiger-skin 
    And circle    d by the Bhoota-Hosts 
    He made His entry into Puliyur Chitrambalam.                20 
 
11.    Clad in silk, covered with hide, and serpent-cinctured 
    Bhagawan danced encircled by the Bhootha-Hosts. 
    This day, we beheld the lofty One who holds the fire, 
    At Tillaicchitrambalam. The blue-necked Kapaali 
    Holds the effulgent trident and wears the white threads. 
    He but recites the Veda! He has a veena! 
    His hand sports a kattangkam!                        21 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Mayilaapu: Mylapore in Madras.  It was here Uma, in the form of a peahen adored  
Lord Siva.  The word “aappu” means a little stump (peg) to which something can be  
fastened. 
 
Dharmapuram: This place is different from the one at Mayiladuthurai where the famous  
Dharmapuram Aadheenam flourishes.  Dharmapuram referred to in this verse, is situate  
half a mile west of Kaaraikkaal, formerly a Fresh territory. 
 
Takkaloor: A Vaipputthalam, i.e., a shrine which is just referred to in a verse or verses  
of the Tevaaram.  A regular Tevaaram shrine is one which has to its credit one or more  
decades in the Tevaaram. 
 
“Thangkum Idam Ariyaar”: These words meaning: “He was not sure of a place to stay”  
are meant to bring out the greater glory of Tillai were the Lord eventually settled down.   
In Bhakti Literature, anthropomorphic references are exploited to heighten devotion. 
 
2. Nanipalli: The birth-place of St. Tirugnaanasambandhar’s mother. 
Nalloor: It was here our Saint was blessed with Tiruvadi-Diksha. 
This day: This phrase (In naall) refers to the eternal present that knows neither past  
nor future.  This phrase can be linked with the last line of the verse, as is done in  
our translation. 
 
Half-a-day, twelve nights and sennight: It is not given to us to measure the duration  
of our Lord’s stay in anyone of the places which he was pleased to visit.  Suffice it  
for us to know that a second of the Lord’s time, is truly an eternity for us. 
 
3. Mantra and Tantra stand for the Vedas and the Aagamas respectively.  In rituals,  
mantras play a vital role. 
 
4. The phrase “mazhu vaall” is an inversion.  It is “vaall mazhu” (shiny battle-axe). 
 
5. The konrai flower (cassia) which blooms during the rainy season is peculiarly  
sacred to Siva. 
 
Deva Devar (The Lord of the Devas): This indeed is the name of Siva.  He is  
Mahadeva.  The indubitable superiority of Siva is excellently brought out in “Sri  
Mahadeva Smaranam” published by V. Venkataramanan, A4 RBI Kudiyiruppu,  
Kamaraj Road, Madras – 78. 
 
Moolattanam: The adytum, the sanctum sanctorum. 
 
6. Kattangkam: Mazhu/battle-axe.  It also refers to a burning rod. 
 
Kaaronam (Kaaya Aarohanaa-Skt.): Siva, at the Great Dissolution, wears on His  
person the skeletons of Vishnu and Brahma.  For this reason He is called  
Gangakaalan.  Kaaya Aarohanam also means translation (removal to heaven,  
especially without death). 
 
He has aged parents none: Siva was never born.  He always is.  Indeed He is the  
Beginning as well as the End of everything.  The Bible says: “I am the Alpha and  
the Omega, the Beginning and the End.” – Revelation 21-6.  To the delight….  
Manmata: Manmata, the Love-god, teases beyond limit women that are parted  
from their husbands.  So they rejoice at his death. 
 
7. The word ‘iranthaar’ may mean: (1) those that are dead and (2) those that are  
dead to the world.  Those who are full of themselves:  These are braggadocios.   
They admire none but themselves. 
 
9. This verse comprises a question and an answer.  The question is put by the  
woman who is madly in love with Siva, and the answer is given by the beholder  
whose love for Siva is even greater.  This one stands denuded of her bangles  
which were snatched away by Siva--the Lover. 
 
Kovanam: Loin-cloths supported by a cord at the waist. 
 
Sankara: A name of Siva.  It means: “He who confers weal.” 
 
Tethered Bull: It is not as if that Siva rides a bull that stands tethered.  As  
usually a bull is tethered to something , it is so referred to.  In old Tamil, as  
in ancient Greek, the descriptive word, sometimes, overrides the literal meaning. 
A beached up ship was described as swift by Homer. 
 
Holding something: What is this something? je ne sais quoi; perhaps love, Siva’s  
bowl is to be filled with love.  That indeed is the considered opinion of St. Peyaar  
who says: 
 
    “Your spacious begging-bowl--the skull--, was not a whit 
    Filled by all the food that was cooked, using the vast seas 
    As boiling water; yet how came it to be filled, when, unaware 
    Of its greatness, innocent women poured their alms into it?” 
                    Arputatthiruvanthaati – 74. 
 
10. Yezhu pirappum: The word ‘yezhu’ does not here, refer to number.  ‘Yezhu’  
means ‘yezhukindra’ that is, in each manifesting birth. 
 
Veena: A very ancient instrument of music, usually referred to as the Indian  
lute.  “The Aitareya Aaranyaka enumerates it s parts as Siras, ‘head’ (i.e.,  
neck); Udara, ‘cavity’; Ambhana, ‘sounding board’; Tantra, string; and Vaadana;  
‘plectrum.’ 
     - Vedic Index of Names and Subjects, by A.A.Macdonell and A.B. Keith.Vol.II. 
 
The Vedic hymns were sung to the accompaniment of veena (vina).  It is also the  
favourite instrument of Siva.  According to our Saint, Siva plays on the veena after  
the Great Dissolution. 
 
11. Bhagawan: Siva in whom abound Aisvaryam (infinite riches), Viram (valour),  
Pukazh (fame/glory), Tiru (Holiness), Gnaanam (Gnosis) and Vairaagyam (the right  
knowledge of discrimination/steadfast resoluteness).  Paaritam is a single word.   
It means ‘Bhootha-Hosts.” 
 
Kapaali: Kapaalam means skull.  Siva’s begging-bowl is the skull of Brahma.  Siva  
also wears a garland of skulls. 
 
 
3. TIRUVATIKAI VIRATTAANAM

 
(Tiruvatikai, the locale of the Lord’s heroic exploit)
 
 
Yezhaitthirutthaandakam 
(The Thaandakam that bemoans the spiritual indigence of the Saint) 
 
The names of the presiding deity and His consort: Atikai Virattaanatthar (Virattesurar) and  
Tripurasundari. 
 
Giving up Jainism, St. Appar returned to Saivism.  He then abode at Tiruvatikai for some  
years.  During this period, driven by remorse, he bemoaned his former apostasy.  The decad  
that follows is a confessional hymn sung in contrition. 
 
1.     He is decked with a wreath of koovilam; 
    He is of Virattaanam; 
    His mount is a Bull; 
    He wears a speckled serpent; 
    He is the One whose mount is a bird; 
    He is the golden-hued; 
    He is the One that merits praise; 
    He is the glorious Lord, seldom known; 
    He is of Atiaraiyamangkai-upon-Gedilam; 
    He indeed is the Lord-God. 
    Pity it is that I the poor one, did in the past, dispraise Him.        22 
 
2.     The Lord’s mount is a Bull,  
    Which is like a silver hill; 
    He quelled the archery of Manmata, the bowman; 
    He is decked with a speckled and striped serpent; 
    His matted hair is a riot of powdered gold; 
    He is the Lord of bangled Uma--the liana; 
    He is the One who can put and end to transmigration; 
    He is the One who unashamedly receives alms; 
    Pity it is that I, the poor one, did, in the past, dispraise Him.    23 
 
3.    He created the world of yore; 
    He is the First One who never ages; 
    He wears the beauteous crescent-moon; 
    It is He who graces the valiant ones to come by the ways of tapas; 
        the One who annuls karma bred by chinta; 
    He is the honey and the milk. 
    He presides over Virattam upon the uberous Gedilam; 
    He is my Lord and God. 
    Pity it is that I, the poor one, did, in the past, dispraise Him.    24 
 
4.     He is the Mantra and the import of the Vedas; 
    He is moon, sun, air, fire, sky, mountain and sea; 
    He is the One presiding over Atiaraiyamangkai; 
    He is the One hailed by the two in melodic hymns. 
    Folding their hands in adoration, 
        Indra and all the celestials,  
        at down and dusk, 
        hail Him with many a fragrant flower. 
    Pity it is, that I, the poor one, did, in the past, dispraise Him.    25 
 
5.     They would not think of beholding. 
    the feet of Him who is birthless; 
    they would not seek the way  
    of lofty beatitude;  
        unmindful of the oncoming birth, 
    they would besmear themselves with dirt,  
    and live like the purblind and the self-willed;  
    neither would they approach the feet twain  
    of Atikai’s Lord  
    who would snap (the cord of) transmigration.  
    Hearkening to them  
    who were emptied of life here and hereafter,  
    I, the poor one, did in the past, dispraise Him.            26 
     
6.     He is the One valiant to hold the river in His crest;  
        His neck sports the hue of collyrium; 
        He is all things;  
        His valiancy is His abidance in all things;  
        He is concorporate with Her of beauteous bangles; 
    His chest is the Palladium of the Holy Ash;  
        He is without mala and He removes mala; 
        He is the One that rides the Bull. 
    Pity it is that I, the poor one, did, in the past, dispraise Him.    27 
 
7.     They covet food and eat it from their (cupped) hands;  
        They stand unashamed before women of tapering breasts;  
    These are Amanas after whom I went following their words;  
        Truly I roamed like a demon of goondas;  
    He wears a chaplet of konrai buzzed by bees;  
        He is hailed by the celestials;  
        He is the Lord of the eight directions.  
    Pity it is that I, the poor senseless one,  
        did, in the past, dispraise Him.                28 
 
8.     I was a fit associate of the Saman goondas  
        of stinking mouths,  
        who tote in their hands pots set in slings;  
    I ate rice and curry mixed with ghee, from out of my (cupped) palms;  
        I became a repulsive sight to beholders;  
    I, the one of evil karma,  
        would never again think of Him  
        who ate the venom of the billowy sea.  
    Pity it is that I, the poor one, did, in the past, dispraise Him.    29 
 
9.     He is the God, my Father and my Lord,  
    the One who is full of compassion,  
    the One who has an eye in His forehead,  
    the One of the Vedas,  
    the One without a flaw,  
    the One who placed His flower-foot on the celestials,  
    the One whose neck has a dark patch,  
    the One who is ear-ringed,  
    the One who holds in His hand a kattangkam.  
    Pity it is that I, the poor one, did, in the past, dispraise Him.    30 
 
10.    To me, the one that went about proclaiming  
        the results of the old and great karma,  
        and now quietened (by grace),  
        He stood as a light;  
    He is the Lord of the Devas and the Asuras;  
    He quelled my troubles and enslaved me;  
    He is the One whose infinitudes  
        could not be comprehended,  
        alike by the Four-Faced  
        and the piping Neatherd  
        who bent the kuruntu  
        that grows in the garden;  
    He is the true Lord.  
    Pity it is that I, the poor one, did, in the past, dispraise Him.    31 
 
11.     With their breasts duly covered,  
        the unwashed women would touch  
        (the monk) proclaiming: “He is our God”  
        and pluck his hair, one by one;  
        they deemed this base act to be tapas;  
        they knew not that which was right;  
        (I was with those Samanas).  
    Beauteous are His feet which quelled  
        the might of the King of Lanka  
        who durst uproot the mountain.  
    Pity it is, that I, the poor one, did, in the past, dispraise Him  
        that wears the garland of leafy konrai.                32 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Koovilam (Vilvam): 
Bael tree (Aegle Marmelos).  The leaves of this are sacred. 
 
Virattaanam: 
An octad of places where the heroic exploits of Siva, took place.  It was at Atikai  
Virattaanam Siva burnt the triple citadels of the Asuras.  The one… a bird: Vishnu.  
 
The golden-hued: Brahma.  The idea is, it is Siva who is the Trinity of Brahma,  
Vishnu and Rudra.  
 
Atiaraiyamangkai: Atikai.  Atikai is perhaps, short for Atiaraiyamangkai. 
 
2. He is… transmigration: The words “Vaaraa ulaku” refer to “meendum vaaraa  
ulaku”.  The liberated soul suffers embodiment no more.  The idea is this.  Siva  
alone can averruncate souls embodiment.  
 
3. Who never ages: The word ‘moovaa’ (unageing) also means indestructible.   
The Lord for ever is, and His glory fades not a whit. 
 
4. The two: These are two Gandarvas called Aahaa and Oohoo.  Dawn and dusk: 
These refer to the matins and the vespers. 
 
5. This verse is a recordation of the misery that tormented our Saint for his past  
life wasted in the company of unholy Samanas. 
 
6. He is the One…. all things: St. Appar refers to Siva as “kooru yerkka-k-kooru  
amara vallaan.” The Lord’s omnipresence and His abidance in all things as their  
subtle support are referred to in the phrase “Kooru yerkka”.  “Kooru amara” refers  
to the Lord being the content, both within and without, all things. 
 
Neeru yerkaa: At the Great Dissolution, all things are reduced to ash.  He wears  
this on His person and makes it holy.  He is therefore the Palladium of the Holy Ash.  
 
7. A demon of goondas: ‘Kundarakkan’ is thus translated.  If the word be ‘Kundaakkan’,  
then it refers to one whose wealth is but his association with the goondas who are  
unteachably vile. 
 
Unashamed: The Amanas referred to here are a nude fraternity. 
 
8. Never again: Our Saint was a Saivite by birth.  As a Saivite he had always contemplated  
the glory of Siva.  However, when he went  Jain, he would not thereafter adore Him.   
Thinking on this, our Saint felt extremely miserable.  
 
10. Karma is threefold.  A modicum from the mountainous Sanchitha is doled out to be  
experienced in a given life as Praarabda.  While Praarabda is experienced Aagaamiya  
gets accumulated and feeds and augments Sanchita. 
 
To me...... Karma: Our Saint has sung in many a hymn the evil that resulted from his  
karma.  Indeed the very first of his decades has a reference to karma. 
 
Quietened (by grace): The disconcerted Jain became a serene Saiva saint thanks to  
Grace the embodiment of which was the saint’s elder sister. 
 
Kuruntu: Wild-lime (Atlantea racemosa.) According to the Purana when young girls  
sported naked in the Jumna, Balarama happened to pass by that way.  At that time,  
Sri Krishna bent a leafy branch of kuruntu and saved them from exposure.  There  
are many versions of this episode.  In an article entitled: “Kannapiraanai-p-patriya  
Vazhakkukal”, M. Raghava Iyengar had dealt with them at length.  Vide “Aaraaicchi- 
th-thokuthi”, (1938). 
 
11. Unwashed women: The Samanas, in the distant past, adhered to two principles,  
they being (1) non-clothing and (2) non-bathing.  However their women-saints  
practiced non-bathing only.  That they were clothed is indicated by the words: “with  
their breasts duly covered”.  The lay-people did not take to these practices. 
 
One by one: The Samana monk would have his hair plucked out one by one.  During  
the process the following words were uttered: “Ip duk, pir sukh” (Now misery later  
well-being). 
 
 
4. TIRUVATIKAI VIRATTANAM

 
 
Adaiyaala - th - Tirutthaandakam 
(The sacred Thaandakam indicating the marks of identification) 
 
During his stay at Tiruvatikai, our Saint composed many melting hymns, and the one following  
is among them. 
 
 
1.     Has He placed on His crown  
        of matted hair the moon  
        against which billows  
        of the great Ganga dash? 
    Does He desire  
        the musical recitation  
        of the Sama Veda?  
    Does He hold a skull?  
    Is He the true One of golden hue  
        concorporate with Her  
        whose soft fingers sport a ball? 
    Is the supreme Yogi seated on a Bull?  
    Is He cinctured with a five-headed serpent?  
    If it be so, He is, for sure,  
        Atikai Virattan.                        33 
 
2.     Mounted on a Bull, does He  
        roam about the seven worlds? 
    Is He hailed and adored by the celestials? 
    Does He hold an alms-bowl of skull  
        on which is perched an eagle?  
    Does He sport in His broad chest  
        a hooded serpent?  
    Does He resemble a lovely coral hill  
        with stripes of Holy Ash?  
    Does He have an eye in His forehead? 
    Has He placed the crescent  
        on His crest where a river flows?  
    If it be so, He is, for sure,  
        Atikai Virattan.                        34 
 
3.     Does He wear on His dazzling body  
        a garland of skulls? 
    Is He the Beginning, the Middle and the End? 
    Is His neck adorned  
        with a kaarai of albescent tusk? 
    Does He dance, adorned with an angry adder?  
    Is He the activiser of the body’s elements? 
    Becoming vast earth, water, fire and ether,   
        does He abide  
        within and beyond the macrocosm?  
    If it be so, He is, for sure,  
        Atikai Virattan.                        35 
 
4.     Is He ruddy in hue?  
        Is His throat dark? 
        Adorned with a white-fanged snake  
        does He dance?  
    Is He the fierce One who quells Karma?  
    Is His matted hair  
        decked with cool and plaited konrais?  
    Does His hand hold mazhu and soolam?  
    Is He the threefold Time?  
    Is He the great One  
        Who, with fire, gutted the ankleted Kaama  
        that wielded the peerless bow of sweetcane?  
    Is His mount the huge and corpulent Bull?  
    If it be so, He is, for sure,  
    Atikai Virattan.                            36 
 
5.     Does He ceaselessly sing the four Vedas?  
    Does He wear on His spreading matted hair  
        a bright and moist and white moon?  
    Is His bright waist  
        girt with (tiger-)skin and snake?  
    Does red-lipped Uma  
        form part of His person?  
    Does He enact the great dance  
        to the playing of kudamuzhavam,  
        vina and cymbals  
        by the little Bhootas  
        that walk in small steps?  
    If it be so, He is, for sure,  
    Atikai Virattan.                            37 
 
6.     Does He destroy the ingrained malady  
        and also the killer-adversaries  
        of those that think of Him?  
    Does He, with the look of His one eye,  
        burn Kaama to powdery ash?  
    Does He draw onto His hirsutorufous,  
        matted crest, the torrent of Ganga?  
    Does He become the septet of worlds?  
    Does He, with a single dart,  
        annihilate the three mobile citadels?  
    Is He the One poised in the great Primal Tapas?  
    If it be so, He is, for sure,  
    Atikai Virattan.                            38 
 
7.     Does He dance to the singing,  
        to the piping of flute,  
        to the blaring of kokkarai,  
        to the clanging of cymbals  
        and to the beating of montai  
        by the small Bhootas?  
    Does He make movements of dance  
        with comely toes  
        above which He wears anklets,  
        and thus reveals His form in the dream?  
    Does He dance flexing  
        His beauteous shoulders?  
    Does He dance during each midnight  
        in the funeral pyre of the crematory?  
    Is He Ashtamoorti?  
    If it be so, He is, for sure,  
    Atikai Virattan.                            39 
 
8.     Is He the One who destroyed  
        the ichor-abounding and haughty tusker,  
    And who, with His hand stinking of tough flesh,  
        Covered his person, from head to foot,  
        with its hide, so as to become invisible?  
    Has He a throat darkened by His devouring  
        the venom of the noisy ocean  
        whose billows wailed aloud  
        when in great hubbub,  
        it was churned with a mountain  
        around which a snake was wound?  
    If it be so, He is, for sure,  
    Atikai Virattan.                            40 
 
9.     Does the great One’s ruddy, matted hair look  
        as if it were wrought of crimson gold  
        suffused with sheer beauty?  
    Is He the lovely Bridegroom of Uma  
        the fragrance of whose hair is divinely natural,  
        and whose coiffure is adorned  
        with sweet smelling and fresh flowers?  
    Does His right hand hold a mazhu?  
    Is He the One supremely desirable?  
    Is He the One hailed by the four Vedas?  
    Is He the One whose dart caused the quaking  
        and the destruction of the fearless, triple citadels? 
    Is He the One immanent  
        in all the worlds of the cosmos?  
    If it be so, He is, for sure,  
    Atikai Virattan.                            41 
 
10.     Is His abundant matted hair-- 
        bright with the tender light of the moon--,  
        made moist with the spume  
        of the river’s rising waves?  
    Is there in His person comely scars  
        caused by the battling breasts of Kaamakotti  
        whose lips are like coral, and ruddy fruit?  
    Is there in His streaked chest the white thread?  
        Is He the Wearer of the white ash?  
    Is His body – perfect and divine--,  
        coated deep with aromatic unguent  
        and paste of sandalwood?  
    If it be so, He is, for sure,  
    Atikai Virattan.                            42 
 
11.     Is He the One who grew and grew  
        beyond the ken of the Tall one  
        and the Four-Faced, who,  
        in vain, pursued His base and top?  
    Is He the One beyond compare?  
    Does He that is entwined by a liana,  
        have a great and comely neck,  
        dark like a blue gem?  
    Is He clothed in the skin of a killer-tiger?  
    Is He the Wearer of a Kovanam?  
    Does ash cover His body?  
    Does He roam about the earth seeking alms?  
    Is He the Wearer of strands  of thread?  
    Does He confer on His servitors  
        suzerainty over the immortals’ world?  
    If it be so, He is, for sure,  
    Atikai Virattan.                            43 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. The verses in this decad comprise questions and answers.  The ‘ye’ ending  
in the verse indicate interrogations save in the last line where it serves as an  
affirmative answer.  The questions are put by our Saint to those that had beheld  
Lord Siva.  
 
The True One: The importance of truth can never be exaggerated.   
 
Zerubbabel said: “The whole earth calls upon truth and heaven blesses her.... Wine  
is unrighteous, the king is unrighteous, women are unrighteous, all the sons of  
men are unrighteous, all their works are unrighteous, and all such things…. With  
her (truth) there is no partiality or preference…. All men approve her deeds, and  
there is nothing unrighteous in her judgement.  To her belongs the strength and  
the kingship and the power and the majesty of all the ages.  Blessed be the good  
of truth.”Esdras 4:37 - 41. 
 
2. Eagle: Siva’s begging-bowl is a skull to which some flesh is still attached.  This  
then attracts the eagle. 
 
3. The first line of the Tamil verse can be interpreted in more ways than one.  The  
word ‘mundam’ means many things.  It is head, forehead, headless body etc.  It  
also refers to nudity.  The Lord’s head sports many things—the crescent, the river,  
the snake, the flowers etc.  His forehead is bright with the stripes of the Holy Ash. 
He is a naked yogi.  His garland is composed of the skulls of dead Brahma-s. 
 
Kaarai: A jewel made with wires of gold.  The white tusk that adorns the Lord once  
belonged to Vishnu.  Vishnu incarnated as a sweta varaha (the white cosmic boar). 
As he grew proud Siva plucked out his tusk and wore it on His person. 
 
4. Soolam: 1. Spear, 2. Trident. 
 
5. Red-lipped: The Tamil verse describes Uma as having lips ruddy like ‘tondaivaai’  
- the fruit of Kovvai.  According to G.U. Pope, the Kovvai creeper is a kind of Bryonia. 
 
Kudamuzhavam: Also called Kudamuzhaa.  It is  a percussion instrument shaped like a  
pot.  Baana the Asura and Nandi the chamberlain of Siva were the expert players of this  
instrument.  This pancha-mukha vaadya (the five-faced drum) is referred to by St.  
Kaaraikkaal Ammaiyaar in her “Tiruvaalangkaatu Tiruppatikam.”  
 
This instrument is even today played in the shrines of Tiruttharupoondi and Tiruaaroor. 
 
6. The tense employed in this verse by St. Appar is at once present and future, though  
the verse seems to refer to Siva’s acts in the past.  By this significant device our Saint  
covers the past, the present and the to-come.  The tense employed by him is even greater  
than what is known as the historic present.  The exploits of Lord Siva are fraught with  
symbolic significance. 
 
Kaama: Kaamam in Tamil means ‘desire’.  And ‘desire’, according to Tiruvalluvar is truly  
the birth-breeding seed.  True beatitude, indeed is birthlessness.  So the message is,  
Siva quells and helps us to quell desire.  The quelling of Ganga is the overpowering of  
destructive force.  The burning of the Tripura, according to Tirumoolar, is symbolic of  
the conquest of the triple malas.  The Lord becomes the seven worlds.  It means He is  
the eternal animator of every ens.  The Lord is a Yogi, ever poised in the Primal Tapas. 
It is thus He guides the unselfish yogis and also makes for the well-being of the universe. 
 
The ingrained malady: This may refer either to Aanavamala or Moola Kanma. 
 
The killer-adversaries: These are six, they being lust, wrath, miserliness, delusion, pride  
and envy (malice). 
 
Kokkarai: conch, shell. 
 
Ashtamoorti: The Lord of eight forms, they being of earth, water, fire, air, ether, sun,  
moon and soul. 
 
10. Kaamakkotti: The Goddess of Kaamakkottam at Kaanchi. 
 
Varai maarpu: Varai refers to the beautiful streaks found in the maarpu (chest) of a he-man. 
Varai also means ‘mountain’. 
 
 
5. TIRUVATIKAI VIRATTAM

 
 
Potritthirutthaandakam: 
(The Thaandakam that hails the Lord) 
 
This is one of the hymns sung by our Saint during his stay at Tiruvatikai. 
 
1.     You stood as Siva in all, praise be!  
        O  Lord that stood as blazing light, praise be! 
    O Wielder of murderous mazhu, praise be!  
    You kicked the Killer-Death, praise be!  
    You are seldom beheld  
        by the unlearned, praise be!  
    You quell the troubles  
        that beset the learned, praise be!  
    You destroyed the three great walled citadels, praise be!  
    O Vimala that loves dearly Virattam, praise be!                44 
 
2.     O Patron of song and dance, praise be!  
    O Author of many aeons, praise be!  
    O One that seeks alms in a skull, praise be!  
    O Dweller in the hearts of contemplators, praise be!  
    O One that loves to dance in the crematory, praise be!  
    O One whose throat is nimbus-like, praise be!  
    O One that wears the dancing snake, praise be!  
    O Lord-Ruler of Virattam of billowy Gedilam, praise be!         45 
 
3.     O One with a jasmine chaplet, praise be!  
    O Moorti wholly bedaubed with ash, praise be!  
    O One full of excellence, praise be!  
    O Author of the seven-stringed melody, praise be!  
    O Beggar of alms in a round, shaven skull, praise be!  
    O Queller of troubles of those that seek You, praise be!  
    O One that presides over Tillaicchitrambalam, praise be!  
    O our opulent One of Tiruvirattam, praise be!                 46 
 
4.     O Wearer of ash on Your person, praise be!  
    O Fulfiller of the ways of tapas, praise be! 
    O beautiful One that doth reckon the servitorship of those  
        of single-pointed adoration, praise be!  
    O noble One that did away with the hostility  
        of the snake, the moon and the river  
        and keeps them juxtaposed, praise be!  
    O Wearer of lotus flowers, praise be!  
    O Lord-Ruler of Virattam of billowy Gedilam, praise be!            47 
 
5.     O Ash-adorned One, O blue-throated One, praise be!  
    O Wielder of the bright and white mazhu, praise be! 
    O Partner of Uma who is part of You, praise be!  
    O comely One that causes the cruel snake to dance, praise be!  
    O the river-crested One, praise be!  
    O wondrous Nectar of Your servitors, praise be!  
    O One that ever joys to ride the Bull, praise be!  
    O the Father of Virattam of great Gedilam, praise be!             48 
 
6.    O Relisher of the songs of singers, praise be!  
    O Lord of Patticchuram at Pazhaiyaaru, praise be! 
    O Conferrer of moksha to renouncers, praise be!  
    O One mantled in the tusker’s hide--  
        frightening to behold--, praise be! 
    O One that canst not be sought by seekers, praise be!  
    O One that cinctured Your waist with a snake, praise be!  
    O One that joys in the pancha-kavya ablutions, praise be!  
    O Lord-Ruler of Virattam of billowy Gedilam, praise be!            49 
 
7.     You joyed to dance making the earth bright, praise be!  
    You became the vast sea and the vast earth, praise be!  
    The sky trembled as You shot down  
        the triple walled citadels, praise be!  
    O Vikirta mantled in the tusker’s hide, praise be!  
    O Singer whose songs irradiate the ponn-s, praise be!  
    O Supreme One who is the whole cosmos, praise be!  
    O One who burnt, of yore, Kaama with a fiery look, praise be!  
    O Kapaali of the Gedilam stream, praise be!                50 
 
8.     O One whose mount is the white, wrathful Bull, praise be!  
    Your spreading matted hair sports a river, praise be! 
    O Mendicant seeking alms sleeplessly, praise be!  
    O Queller of troubles, the moment one prays, praise be!  
    O Lord, who has a throat that holds the venom, praise be!  
    You are the four Vedas and the six Angas, praise be!  
    O One whose body is shared by Her of sweet words, praise be!  
    O Lord-Ruler of the billowy Gedilam, praise be!                51 
 
9.     O Siva that abides in the chinta, praise be!  
    You do contemplate Sri Sailam, praise be! 
    You abide in the lotus of buddhi, praise be! 
    O Hallowed One, praise be!  
    O Holy One, praise be!  
    O Catura who is the divisions of the day, praise!  
    O One of Truth, praise be!  
    O my Father, praise be!  
    O Hara who is the junction  of day and night, praise be!  
    O Lord-Ruler of the billowy Gedilam, praise be!                52 
 
10.     O One who is trinocular, praise be!  
    O Lord-God, praise be!  
    O Lord of the South, praise be!  
        O Righteous One, praise be!  
    O One of Truth, praise be!  
        O my Father, praise be!  
    Together when the two folding their palms  
        and arms, hailed You as nobly great  
        You stood a steady blaze of fire, praise be!  
    Nowhere have I aught of refuge, my Father, praise be!  
    O Lord of the billowy Gedilam, praise be!                53 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Potri: This word is the Tamil equivalent of Sanskrit ‘nama’ha. 
 
You stood... in all: This refers to the immanence as well as the omnipresence  
of Siva. 
 
Killer-Death: Many were the gods of Death.  Siva killed one of them. 
 
The unlearned: Those that have not learnt, and therefore, do not pursue the ways  
of Siva.  
 
The learned: They that know and practise the ways of Siva.  
 
The three... citadels: The Tripura of the Asuras.  
 
2. The Patron of song and dance: Siva Nataraja is well known the world over.   
However, not many know that He is also the Lord of song and music.  “An  
interesting Icon of Saiva Symbolism” by K.R. Srinivasan, (Ananthachary Indological  
Research Institute--Series No.II Bombay, 1982) brings out the greatness of Siva as  
the musician par excellence.  This article relates to a sculptured stele of Saiva  
sculpture which was excavated in 1931 in Parel, Bombay.  It belongs to c.700 A.D.   
It is Siva as the Saptasvaramayamurthi.  “The Saivite nature of the seven divinities  
incorporated as representative of the same deity by the vertical and horizontal  
schematic arrangement, is attested by the inconography of the forms themselves as  
also by the attributes they carry and the apparent mudras of their hands.” 
 
5. Bright: The word ‘nizhal ’ which means shade/shadow, also refers to light. 
 
6. Seekers: Seekers of wordly objects.  In Saivism, even genuine seeking if it is  
prompted by vanity or pride, is of no avail.  The seeking should be through total  
surrender.  Even here there is a catch.  The surrendering soul must engage itself  
in the service of the Lord and His devotees. 
 
Tenkalai Vaishnavism goes a step further and affirms that neither the path of  
devotion nor that of surrender, is truly a means to moksha (deliverance).  It is  
for the Lord to choose.  His freedom is sovereign.  This, no doubt, is considered  
to be an affront to the Lord’s egalitarian mercy.  Vide(1) Ramayana Exegesis in  
Tenkalai Sri Vaishnavism by Patricia Y. Mumme in ‘Many Ramayanas’ (1992), and  
(2) ‘The Srivaishnava Theological Dispute’ (1988) by Patricia Y. Mumme. 
 
Pancha-Kavya: It is compounded of cow’s milk, curds, clarified butter, urine and  
dung.  Cow’s urine and dung are sacred to the Saivite.  A little of these two is  
added to the other three according to the Aagamic prescription.  The holy ash is  
made out of cow’s dung.  Of the sacredness of cow’s dung, the Tirukkalitruppadiyaar  
says:  
“It is the cow’s dung, that this day, in this world, 
Does away with all abiding malas.” 
 
7. Vikirta (n) : One whose nature differs from the world’s. 
 
Pann : The modern raga is not to be deemed the near equivalent of pann.  Pann is  
that which makes for the ‘singability’ of a song.  It is that which harmonises the  
song with the singer.  St. Sekkizhaar says: “Good music (melody) is the fruit of  
pann.”  (pannin payanam nal isai).  Valluvar says: “Of what avail is pann if it blends  
not with singing?” (Pann yennam paatarku iyaipu indrel?) There are 103 pann-s, it  
is said. 
 
8. Lines 6 and 7 may also be interpreted as follows: “O Queller of the troubles of  
the adoring hands, praise be!” 
 
9. The words: “Puntiyaai-p-Pundarikatthullaai potri” are rendered as “You abide in  
the Lotus of buddhi, praise be!”  The figure employed in the Tamil original is hendyadis. 
The lotus-buddhi is at once the installed deity and its seat. 
 
The three divisions of the day are symbolic of creation, sustenance and resolution. 
 
Catura(n): One who is an adept.  Also called Tattvan--the one of Truth.   
 
The junction of the day and night: The hour sacred to Saivites, it being the hour  
central to the Pradosham service.  At this hour all the gods present themselves  
before Siva who dances. 
 
Le two: Vishnu and Brahma.  
 
 
6. TIRUVATIKAI VIRATTAM

 
 
Tiruvatitthirutthaandakam: 
(The Thaandakam that hails the hallowed Feet) 
 
 
1.    Those are the feet meditated upon and hailed  
        by the one whose bed is the snake; 
    Those are the feet that adorn the heads of Brahma; 
    Those are the feet reached by Saravanatthaan with folded hands;  
    Those are the feet of refuge to them that seek them; 
    Those are the feet that quell the sins of them that hail them;  
    Those are the fee hailed by the eighteen ganas;  
    Those are the feet of Him of the realm  
        of the billowy Gedilam in the South; 
    Those are the feet of our opulent One of Tiruvirattanam.        54 
 
2.     Those are the feet never reached by evil-doers;  
    Those save from sinking the weak that seek them; 
    Those feet confer mastery to the practitioners of muzhavam and Paani;  
    Those feet smote cruel Death that rose up in wrath;  
    His are the ankleted feet whose mount is the mighty and raging Bull;  
    Those are the feet meditated upon by the Fosterer of the sea-girt earth;  
    Those are His who has the great moon for a chaplet;  
    Those are the feet inseparable from  
        Virattam upon Gedilam that flows brimful.            55 
 
3.     Those are the feet that annul not the lust  
        and the falsity of them that slander even as they wake up;  
    Those are the feet--a net unspun by deception;  
    Those feet are visible to us for hailing and adoring with hands;  
    Those are the feet we bathe in ghee and hail adoringly;  
    Those are the feet that abide cutting across the great heavens;  
    Those are of the Lord of Gedilam, the divine river;  
    Those are the feet of our opulent One of Tiruvirattaanam.        56 
 
4.     Those are the feet like the ruddy sun that causes (flowers) to burgeon;  
    Those are the great feet of grace whose beauty defies the brush;  
    Those are the feet circled by bees and chafers;  
    Those are the feet that smote Soma and Yama;  
    Those are the feet prattled about by the God-mad;  
    Those are the mighty feet whence wrong-doers cannot escape;  
    Those are the feet of the Lord of the realm of clear-watered Gedilam;  
    Those are the feet of our opulent One of Tiruvirattaanam.        57 
 
5.     Those are the feet that became one, of yore;  
    Those are the feet that grow lofty during each aeon; 
    Those are the feet adorned with fitting kazhal and grained-silambu;  
    Those are the feet that are beyond the praise of the praisers;  
    Those are the feet sweetly hailed by the men of the vast earth;  
    Those are the feet decked with the flowers of joyous devotees;  
    Those are the feet of the Lord of the realm  
        of southern Gedilam at Tiruvatikai;  
    Those are the feet of our opulent One of Virattaanam.            58 
 
6.     Those feet constitute the red lotus of Lakshmi;  
    For the great (liberated) those feet yield honey; 
    Those feet are the touchstone of the rich;  
    Those feet are beyond the praise of the magnifying celebrants;  
    In form, those feet differ from each other;  
    Those are the feet whose form is beyond reckoning;  
    Those are the feet of the Lord of the realm  
        of Tiruvatikai upon Gedilam in the south;  
    Those are the feet of our opulent One of Tiruvirattaanam.        59 
 
7.     All garlands of verse and prose belong to those feet;  
    Those feet are beyond the ken of words; 
    Those feet keep Uma free from grief;  
    Those are the feet hailed and adored by the celestials;  
    Those feet are contained in half a maatra;  
    Those are the feet of immeasurable extent;  
    Those are the feet of the Lord of the region of Gedilam  
        Whose banks are dotted with mango trees. 
    Those are Kaapaali’s feet of fragrant Virattam.                60 
 
8.     Those are flower-feet fragrant as sweet blossoms;  
    They pervade impartially all the lands of the earth;  
    Those feet abide as dense-rayed sun and moon;  
    Those feet blaze inly as fire-cluster;  
    Those are feet which wash away the stain of the flawed Moon;  
    Those feet are both Mantra and Tantra;  
    Those are the Lord’s feet vouchsafed to the countrymen of Gedilam  
        which flows brimful; 
    Those are the feet of our opulent One of Tiruvirattaanam.        61 
 
9.     Those feet are neither far away nor near;  
    Those are feet nectarean to the servitors;  
    Those are feet that stand by the bowing devotees; 
    Those are coral feet clung to by the unattached;  
    Those are feet of ruby, of gold, of majesty;  
    Those are feet that as remedy, rid the malady;  
    Those are the feet of the Lord of the realm  
        of cool and babbling Gedilam;  
    Those are the feet of the glorious Chief of Virattam.            62 
 
10.     Those feet are like the beautiful, burgeoning lotus;  
    Those are the feet that quelled the Asura’s prowess; 
    It is they that emerged first in the most hoary past;  
    Those are Moorti’s feet that blazed forth endlessly;  
    Those are the feet of Him who is concorporate with  
    Her whose soft fingers sport a ball.  
    Those are His feet who is like a huge coral hill;  
    Those feet are smeared with the ashes of those  
    That were burnt in the crematorium;  
    Those are the feet of Vimalan to whom Virattam is dear.            63 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Saravanatthaan: Murukan.  
 
The eighteen ganas: Amarar, Siddhar, Asurar¸ Daitthiyar, Garudar, Kinnarar,  
Niruthar, Kimpurushar, Gandharvar, Yakshar, Vidyadarar, Bhootar, Paisaasar,  
Antarar, Munivar, Uragar, Aakaayavaasiyar and Bhoga Boomiyar.  - Pingkala  
Nikandu. 
 
2. Muzhavam: A percussion instrument. 
 
Paani: Taalam, the measure of time. 
 
The Fosterer: Vishnu. 
 
3. Kanakku Vazhakku: According to Siva Sri Arunai Vadivel Mudaliar these refer  
to numbers and words.  We beg to differ from this great scholar.  These but refer  
to the ways of the phenomenal world, its weights and measures.  The Tamil Lexicon  
refers to this very pharse of our Saint and says that its meaning is “limit, bound”. 
 
4. Soma: Moon.  The episode hinted in the verse has reference to Daksha-yagna. 
 
Yama: The god of Death.  Siva kicked Death to death to save Maarkkandeya. 
 
Prattled about: The Tamil word is “pithatrum” (will prattle).  Prattling in this  
context means praising.  The line concerned can be translated as: “Those are  
the feet near which greatly-mad foregather and praise.” 
 
5. The feet.... Yore: This refers to the time of creation.  On the day of Creation,  
the Lord stood as Ekapaathar (the single-footed).  As Ekapaathar, Siva created  
Vishnu from His left half and Brahma from his right half. 
 
Kazhal: Anklet worn by man.  Silambu: Anklet worn by woman.  The reference to  
His feet of “fitting kazhal and grained silambu” is a reference to His being  
Ammai-Appar -- the androgynous Lord. 
 
Grained Silambu: Silambu, a hollow anklet, contains grains of precious stones. 
 
6. The red lotus of Lakshmi: Lakshmi is  the Goddess of Wealth.  Her seat, the  
red lotus is symbolic of her infinite riches.  In truth it is the Lord’s feet that  
constitute the infinite riches. 
 
The word ‘Siranthaar’ means those who have gained mukti (deliverance).  
 
Honey: The bliss of release, deliverance. 
 
7. The term Varai maathu (woman of mountain) refers to Uma.  The grief to which  
a wife is put, is the separation from her husband.  As Uma is part of the Lord.   
She is never put to this grief at all. 
 
Those feet..... half a maatra: The Pranava (Om/AUM) comprises A(Akaaram),  
U(Ukaraam), M(Makaaram) and that which is known as half a maatra.  “A” is  
symbolic of Brahma, “U” of Vishnu, “M” of Rudra and half a maatra of pure Siva.   
Siva, the supreme, is beyond the Trinity.  Half a maatra is the subtle form of Naada. 
For details the reader should consult the Tiruvaachaka Vishaiya Soosanam, appended  
to the Panniru-Tirumurai-th-thirattu (1906), edited by Srimad Siva Arunagiri Mudaliar  
and printed by Vidyaa Bhaskara press, Madras. 
 
8. Those... fire-cluster: It is as blazing fire the yogis envision the Lord.  The Practice  
of the yogis is described as “Dagara Vidya”.  Its fruit is the envisioning of Siva, as  
pure fire, in the cave of heart. 
 
9. Those.... malady: The malady is birth.  It is Grace, an alias for Siva’s feet, that  
confers on the soul  the beatitude of birthlessness. 
 
10. It is they… hoary past: In the beginning were the Feet, the abode of Sivatattava.   
(Sakti-tattva stands subsumed in this). 
 
Those... endlessly: This is a reference to Sadaasiva Tattva.  
 
Those... sport a ball: This is the form of Siva.  This is Easwara Tattva and in this  
Suddavidya-tattva stands subsumed.  This verse celebrates the pentad of  
Sudda-tattvas.  
 
Vimalan: He who does away with malam. 
 
 
7. TIRUVATIKAI VIRATTAANAM

 
 
Kaapu-th-Thirutthaandakam 
(The Thaandakam that speaks of holy shrines in the safe-keeping of Siva) 
 
This is one of the patikams sung by our Saint during his stay at Tiruvatikai.  It enumerates  
the holy shrines protected by Lord Siva. 
 
1.     Virattam upon Gedilam rich in waters,  
        Citremam, great and cool Kutraalam,  
    Tillaicchitrambalam, southern Koodal,  
        Aanaikkaavu in the south.  Ciraappalli,  
    Nalloor, Devankudi, Marukal and Naaraiyur  
        Hailed and adored by the goodly,  
        Are in the safe-keeping of the Lord  
        Who bears a kallalaku and a skull with long brows, 
    And who wields a kattangkam.                        64 
 
2.     May you hail Virattam of sacred water,  
    Tirukkoval Virattam, Vennainalloor,  
    Annaamalai rich in its stream  
        Onto which the roaring cataract falls,  
    Araiyaninalloor and Araneri. 
    He is the Lord who blesses you to hail Him;  
    Idaimarutu, Innambar, Yekambam  
        And Kailaas of cloud-capped gardens  
        Are in the safe-keeping of Him  
        Whose forehead sports an eye.                    65 
 
3.     Virattam upon Gedilam  
        With a weir across its waters,  
    Tiruppaatirippuliyur, Tiruvaamaatthoor,  
    Sotrutthurai rich in fords hailed by sylvan munis,  
    Turutthi, neitthaanam, Aiyaaru which is girt by the Cauvery  
        Of flowing stream, Pazhanam, Kaanapper  
        Circled by densely dark groves and Kazhukkunru  
        Are in the safe-keeping of the Nectar of Aiyaaru.        66 
 
4.     Virattam upon Gedilam with flowing water,  
    Tiruvaaroor, Tevoor, Tirunellikkaa,  
    Otriyoor adored by the adoring celebrants,  
    Otthoor, Maalperu, Maanthurai,  
    Maanadi girt with the stream of the hilly cataract,  
    Maakaalam, Kedaaram and Maameru  
        Are in the safe-keeping of the Lord  
        Of Kadampanthurai --  
         skirted by the Cauvery whose stream  
        flows flanked by its banks.                    67 
 
5.     Virattam upon Gedilam rich in fertilizing water,  
    Tirupuraanthakam, southern Devicchaaram,  
    Kottukkaa girt with eddying and flourishing waters  
    Kudamookku, Gokaranam, Kolakkaa,  
    Panangkaattoor ever free from flaw,  
    Panaiyoor, Payatroor, Paraaitthurai  
        And Kaalingkam where burgeon melliferous, blue water-lillies,  
        Are in the safe-keeping of the Lord of Ganapaticcharam.        68 
 
6.     Virattam upon Gedilam of sacred waters,  
    Uberous and cool Pitavoor, Sri Sailam  
        at which clouds arrive, stay and move about,  
    Pariyaloor Virattam, Paavanaasam,  
    Mavvantirai, Manimuttham, Maraikkaadu  
    Vaaimoor and Valanjuzhi 
        Are in the safe-keeping of the Lord  
        of Kazhippaalai where dinsome  
        and streaked chafers hum.                    69 
 
7.     Virattam upon Gedilam of clear waters,  
    Sikaazhi, Vallam, Tiruvetti,  
    Yetakam of inly percolating waters,  
    Ooral, Ambar, Naraiyoor, Arananalloor,  
    Vimalar of the Rider of the ethereal Bull,  
    Venni, Miyaacchur, Veezhimizhalai  
        and Karapuram of the Lord  
    Whose forehead sports a great eye,  
    Are in the safe-keeping of Kaapaali.                    70 
 
8.     Virattam upon Gedilam of clear waters  
    Dindeeccharam, Tiruppukaloor,  
    Idaitthaanam of the Lord of the Bhoota-Hosts,  
    Ye-eacchuram, Nallemam, Koodal, Kodikaa of the Dancer,  
    Kurangkanilmuttam and Kurumpalaa  
    Are in the safe-keeping of the Lord of Kaaronam,  
        Meltingly hailed by them who become sober,  
        Having imbibed toddy.                        71 
 
9.     Virattam upon Gedilam of glorious waters,  
    Tirukkaattuppalli, Tiruvennkaadu,  
    Famous Paigngneeli hailed by the men of earth,  
    Panthanainalloor, Paasoor, Nallam,  
    Ninriyoor girt with fecund and watery fields,  
    Nedungkalam, Nelvennai, Nelvaayil,  
        And Kadavur Virattam  
        Are in the safe-keeping of the Lord  
        Of beautiful and fragrant konrai garlands.            72 
 
10.     Virattam upon Gedilam of splashing waters,  
    Tiruvaanjiyam, Tirunallaaru,  
    Ayokandi girt with beautiful and cool gardens,  
    Aakkoor, Aavoor, Aanpatti,  
    Idaicchuram--the residence of our Lord,  
    Our Father’s Talaicchangkaadu,  
    Karaviram full of fragrance  
    And Karakkoyil at Kadampoor  
        Are in His safe-keeping.                    73 
 
11.     Virattam upon Gedilam of honied waters,  
    Tirucchemponpalli, Tiruppoovanam,  
    Mananjeri hailed by the celestials,  
    Walled Unjaimaakaalam, Vaaranasi,  
    Vekuleeccharam hailed by others too,  
    Sri Sailam, bright and beautiful,  
    And Karumaari of glorious groves  
        full of sylvan peacocks,  
        Are in the safe keeping of the blue-throated Lord.        74 
 
12.     Virattam upon Gedilam of sacred waters,  
    Tiruvalappoor, Siddhavatam in the south,  
    Maanirupam whose uberty is caused  
        By the inflowing stream,  
    Bhiramapuram, Suzhiyal 
        And Pennaakadam fostered by  
        The One of the great matted hair  
        Where flows the great flood,  
        And who is hailed by the dwellers of Mayilaappu,  
    Kaalatthi where hum darkly-blue chafers,  
        And Kailas are in His safe-keeping.                75 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Citremam: Some say this is Citraambur (also known as Citraaimoor) in Tiruttharup- 
poondi taluk.  It is said to be fie miles away from the Railway station of Aalatthampaadi. 
However the inscriptions of this shrine describe it as Tirucchitraaimoor and not as  
Tirucchitremam.  Tirucchitrambalam--a town eight miles from Pattukkotai is indeed  
Tirucchitremam.  This is evidenced from the very temple inscriptions which describe  
the place as Tirucchitremam.  Vide “Tevaaram petra talangkalum cilaa saasana vazhakkum”  
by M. Raghava Iyengar in “Aaraaicchitthokuthi” (1938).  
 
Koodal: The temple at Madurai is called Aalavaai. 
 
Devankudi: This is known as Tiruntudevankudi.  The temple is at present, in ruins.  This  
does not disprove our Saint’s dictum that this shrine is in the safe-keeping of Siva.  It  
will sooner or later, regain its former splendour.  Its present condition only shows how  
indifferent are the modern Saivites.  A la Emerson, we are tempted to ask: “Where is the  
Saivite in the world of Saivism?” 
 
Kallalaku: It is an instrument for keeping time.  It may also refer to a weapon.  
 
2. Araneri: Tiruvaaroor Araneri.  This temple is now part of the complex of Poongkoyil. 
 
3. The Nectar of Aiyaaru: Panchanatiswara who presides over Tiruvaiyaaru. 
 
4. Maanadi, Maakaalam and Kaakaalam (Ujjain) are Vaippu-th-thalangal.  These are holy  
places that are referred to in the Tevaaram hymns.  None of them has a decad in its  
honour. 
 
5. Tiripuraanthakam, Deviccaharam, Kottukkaa and Kaalingkam are Vaippu-th-thalangkal. 
 
6. Pitavoor, mavvantirai and Paavanaasam are Vaippu-th-thalangkal.  
 
Mavvantirai: Perhaps this is a phrase qualifying Manimuttham.  When the term is split  
into “mav vantu iraiyum,” it means “(Manimuttham) where is heard the sound of ‘ma’.   
Ma is one of the seven musical notes. 
 
7. Sikaazhi: The aliter is Sikkaali, a Vaipputthalam.  Tiruvetti, Arananalloor and  
Karapuram are Vaippu-th-thalangkal.  The shrine at Uraiyoor is called Mukkeeccharam. 
 
8. Dindeeccharam, Idaitthaanam, Ye-eacchuram and Nallemam are Vaippu-th-thalangka. 
 
Kurumpalaa (The dwarfish jack tree) is in Kutraalam. 
 
Toddy: The Paasupata yogis of Kaaronam are imbibers of toddy.  Toddy may also mean  
the elixir of devotion to Siva or Sivagnaanam. 
 
10. Idaicchuram: --the residence of the Lord. 
    Cf. “........ he is the Lord who dwells in Jerusalem.” 
                        - Esdras 2:5. 
 
Ayokanti (Asokandi) and Aanpatti are Vaippu-th-thalangkal. 
 
11. Unjaimaakaalam (Ujjain), Vaaranasi, Vekuleeccharam (also called Yekuleeccharam)  
and Karumaari are Vaippu-th-thalangkal. 
 
12. Alappoor, Siddhavatam and Maa-nirupam are Vaippu-th-thalangkal. 
 
 
8. TIRUKKAALATTHI

 
Having adored the Lord of Kaarikarai, our Saint proceeded to the river Ponmukhali.  Here he  
had his sacred bath.  He climbed the mountain of Tirukkaalatthi and had a soul-stirring  
darshan of the Lord.  Then he sang the following decad.  In this decad, he hails the Lord as  
the One “poised in his eyes.” 
 
 
1.     He is the indigent One with wherewithal none to buy His food;  
    He is Kamban of vast Kaanchi;  
    He is the great Adept who eats nought but the food He gets by alms;  
    He is the mighty One of the crematory;  
    He is a flawless pillar of gold;  
    He is like the hill of great ruby;  
    He is the granite pillar that unfailingly supports the seven worlds;  
    He is the Gananaathan beheld at Kaalatthi;  
    He is poised in my eyes.                        76 
 
2.     He will annihilate my Karma;  
        He is Yekamban;  
    His jewels are bones;  
        He is the Ordainer of all things;  
    He became the three worlds;  
        He is Paasupatan who cut off the head of him  
        That duly and inerrantly cultivated the aimpuri;  
    He is of Paraaitthurai,  
        Pazhanam and Paigngneeli;  
    He is the Wearer of the chaplet of fragrant konrai;  
    He is of Kaalatthi;  
        He is poised in my eyes.                    77 
 
3.     He is Naaraayanan; He is Brahma;  
        He is the Author of the four Vedas;  
    He is the perfect One  
        Who is like a ship on the great ocean of wisdom;  
    He is the perfect One, the holy One,  
        The hoary One who received  
        On the strands of His matted hair the flood;  
    He is the Caaranan, the moon, the sun,  
    He is the One beyond compare;  
        To them that are fit and ripe  
        He reveals Himself as the Cause;  
    He is Gananaathan beheld at Kaalatthi;  
        He is poised in my eyes.                    78 
 
4.     He did away with my Karma;  
        He is the Dancer in the fire;  
    He is of Tiruvotriyoor;  
        He is the kin of them that think of Him;  
    He presides over Yekampam;  
        He is the goodly Consort of Uma;  
    He is the Work hailed by the celestials;  
        He abides at Sotrutthurai;  
    He, by His look, reduced to ash  
        the skill of the archer--the fish-bannered lord;  
    He is Gananaathan beheld at Kaalatthi;  
        He is poised in my eyes.                    79 
 
5.     He is the Indweller of manam, head and vaak;  
    He is among the brotherhood of servitors  
        Who hail Him in full-throated ease;  
    He abides in the heads of the celestials;  
        He is beyond the seven planets;  
    He abides here in the ruddy and golden groves;  
        He is housed in the fragrant konrai flower;  
    He abides in mountain, fire and air;  
        He is the soul of Ganam; 
    He dwells at the crest of Kailas;  
        He is of Kaalatthi;  
        He is poised in my eyes.                    80 
 
6.     He self-manifested before all things appeared;  
    He abides at Yekambam;  
        He had (beginninglessly) rid Himself  
        Of the five, cruel senses; (for this) the celestials hail Him; 
    He bears in the strands of His matted hair the leaping Ganga;  
    He is the ochre-robed Kaapaali  
        Who mounts a goodly Bull,  
        Adorns Himself with a snake and bears a cool skull,  
        Without any sense of shame;  
    He is of Kaalatthi; 
        He is poised in my eyes.                    81 
 
7.     He whose neck is coal-like, abides in my eyes;  
        He (willingly) limits Himself, 
    He wears konrai whose honey has been tasted by the chafers;  
    He is of the hue of coral--burning bright;  
        He is Yekamban;  
    He has become all the eight directions;  
        Such is His nature;  
    He is the Dancer in the fire  
        Who burnt the triple citadels;  
    He is the Queller of evil deeds  
        And He abides in my chinta;  
    He is Kaapaali who mantled Himself  
        In the tusker’s hide and joyed at it;  
    He is of Kaalatthi;  
        He is poised in my eyes.                    82 
 
8.     He begs at every door and accepts paltry alms;  
    He is hailed and adored by the celestials;  
    He ran about displaying His archery;  
    His chest is also adorned with white thread;  
    His puissant arm sports a mazhu;  
    He is the Consort of the Daughter of the Mountain;  
    He--Kaapaalai, was, of yore, happily seated under the Banyan tree;  
    He is of Kaalatthi;  
    He is poised in my eyes.                        83 
 
9.     He wears melliferous konrais whose  
        honey had been sipped by chafers;  
    He is of Tiruvekambam;  
    He is concorporate with Gnaanappoongkothai  
        the flowers in whose garlands exude honey;  
    He is the supremely desirable One;  
        He is the Light animating wisdom;  
    He sped across the great heavenly world destroying it,  
        And flexed His limbs in dance;  
    He is of Kaanapperoor girt with groves where bees hum;  
    He is the blue-throated One;  
    He is o Kaalatthi;  
    He is poised in my eyes.                        84 
 
10.     He is God the Omnipresent;  
        He became all the seven words;  
    He deigns to accept the small services of the imperfect;  
    He abides at Keezhkkottam at Kudamookku;  
    He is the Lord of the celestials whose book is the Vedas;  
    He is Manikandan who presides over Maraikkaadu;  
    He is Kaapaali, the blue-necked;  
    He is of Kaalatthi;  
    He is poised in my eyes.                        85 
 
11.     He ate the uneatable and deadly venom;  
    He is like the fire at the end of the aeon;  
    He played melodiously many instruments  
        Witnessed by the delighted;  
    He is the excellence of the four Vedas that manifested;  
    He is of Annaamalai;  
    He confers grace when His feet are hailed  
        And adored by the holy throng of servitors;  
    He is a marvelous sight to beholders;  
    He is of Kaalatthi;  
        He is poised in my eyes.                    86 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Alms: This refers to the devotion of Siva-Bhaktas. 
 
He is... of crematory: He is the only One who thrives deathless. 
 
Gold, ruby, granite: Siva is all. 
 
Gananathan: The Lord of the Hosts. 
 
Poised in my eyes: The lover always abides in the eyes of the belove. 
 
2. Aimpuri: It is called ‘Panchaathi’ in Sanskrit.  This comprises fifty words of the  
Veda .  It is known as the five strands.  It is Brahma who is referred to as the  
cultivator of Panchaathi (the Vedas). 
 
3. He is Naaraayanan: ....Vedas: Compare the dictum of St. Nammaazhwar which says  
that the Almighty is “Ayan (Brahma), Aran (Hara) and Naaraayanan (Vishnu)....” 
 
Caaranan: The one who moves everywhere. 
 
4. The fish-bannered lord: Manmata, the God of Love. 
 
5. If the words “talai melaan” mean “He is above the heads,” then the meaning of  
the passage is: “He is,” according to the yogic parlance, “twelve inches above  
Brahmarantra.” 
 
The ruddy and golden groves: They may refer to kurinji or mullai regions.  By upalakshana  
(ejusdem generis), the other regions are also to be included. 
 
Ganam: (Skt.) A very involved method of reciting the Vedas.  If the word be ‘Kanam’ it  
refers to clouds. 
 
6. Ochre-robe: Kaashaayam, the clothing of a sannyasi. 
 
Kaapaali: The word may also mean: “One who enacts the dance called Kaapaalam. 
 
7. The second line of the translation is based on the word “Kandan”.  This word also  
means (1) warrior and (2) husband. 
 
8. Sil bali: Paltry alms: Food cooked or grains (uncooked). 
 
The Banyan tree: It is called Kallaal which does not have rooting branches (stilt roots). 
 
9. The dance that is referred to in the verse is the one that is enacted when Siva has  
resolved all creation. 
 
10. The delighted: These are the rishi-patnis (respective wives of the righis) of  
Taarukkaavanam. 
 
Beholders: Of these St. Kannappar is one. 
 
 
9. TIRUAAMAATTHOOR

 
When our Saint rejoined his parent-faith, he abode at Tiruvatikai for some years.  Then he  
left Tiruvatikai on a pilgrimage.  He visited Tiruvennainalloor and the came Aamaatthoor, a  
town in Nadu Naadu.  This decad sung here, is in ‘Akam’ genre.The names of the Deity and  
His consort: Abiraamayeesar and Mutthaambikai. 
 
1.    Singing Vannams He came, and forcing me  
        He snatched my bangles; casting dart-like looks on us, 
        He made us give in;  
    His burning words stirred our passion;  
        Bedaubed with gold-dust, clad in skin  
        And adorned with the white thread,  
    Kaapali, the noble One, the handsome One,  
        The Lord of Aamaatthoor moves away;  
        Come and behold Him!                        87 
 
2.     Bedaubed with the burnt ash of the dead,  
    Sporting a white wreath on His spreading matted hair,  
        And holding a vina,  
        He came melodizing gaantaaram;  
    I said: “O One of beautiful and dark-tinted neck!  
        What may Your town be?”  
    Like one fatigued, He looked.  
        He, even He, entered my house  
    And said: “O lass whose waist is lithe and lovely!  
    If you desire to know the name of Our town,  
        Know it to be Aamaatthoor  
        where on comely lotuses sweet beetles carol;  
    This said, the noble One moved away.                    88 
 
3.     Holding in His hand a kattangkam and riding a swift Bull,  
    Kaapaali speaks endearing words, enters the house,  
        But receives not the alms offered; neither does He move away;  
        He but stands articulating atrocious and deceptious words;  
        He is like one who will undo the beholders;  
    He does not accept the cooked food of alms;  
        He is silent. 
    Ha, the handsome One, the Lord of Aamaatthoor.                89 
 
4.     He is accompanied by many a loving Bhootha  
        that sings and dances;      
    His girdle is a hooded snake;  
    He is even prone to beg alms;  
    His body is like a blazing fire;  
    He has three unwinking eyes;  
    He is of the four Vedas;  
    He wears the fine and divine ash;  
    He is Pigngnaka whose Consort knows no parting from His frame;  
        on His divine crest the clear-watered Ganga tosses;  
    He holds the fire in His lovely form;  
    Ha, He is the handsome One, the Lord of Aamaatthoor.            90 
 
5.     He has wheeled cars, horses and tuskers;  
        He lacks nothing; 
    His mount is a white Bull;  
        His neck is dark; 
        His hue is that of ruddy fire;  
    He, the Lord, hailed and adored by the celestials,  
        is endowe    d neither with wealth nor is He without it.  
    On His chest are a lovely kothai and a maalai--wrought of grace;  
    He is clad in tiger-skin;  
        He is surrounded by Bhoothas;  
    Ha, He is the handsome One, the Lord of Aamaatthoor.            91 
 
6.     Adorned with the ash and decked with a white todu, 
    He who is concorporate with His Consort  
        Comes mounted on a puissant Bull,  
        Holding a vina in His left hand;  
        His kuzhai sways;  
    He strikes kodukotti;  
        He holds a skull on which is perched a kestrel;  
    He receives not alms;  
        He but speaks deception.  
    Lo, He is surely our Lord  
        Who sports a river in His matted crest. 
    Ha, He is the handsome One, the Lord of Aamaatthoor.            92 
 
7.     He has a skull in His palm;  
        He is clad in deer-skin;  
    He has a secret intent; with a ruddy and divine body  
        bedaubed, with white ash, sporting the crescent-moon  
        on His right, ruddy, matted hair, 
        Concorporate with Uma, and causing the triple,  
        hostile citadels to burn,  
    He, in the form of a Dancer to the beholders, goes. 
    Come and behold the Lord. 
    Ha, He is the handsome One, the Lord of Aamaatthoor.            93 
 
8.     You lack nothing;  
        Your mount is the white bull; is Your town Otriyoor? 
        Speak that we may know  
        What mean You to do, by abiding here?  
        If You mean to go away, know that You have robbed us  
        of our chastity by the eye in Your forehead. 
    It is thus, even thus,  
        You trouble us for ever;  
        We have now known Your town.  
        Is it not Yekambam?  
    O noble One, You are going away leaving us here. 
    O Lord of Aamaatthoor!  
        You are truly handsome.                        94 
 
9.     Seen by everyone and holding a kallalaku  
    The Lord of Kaalatthi goes mounted on a swift Bull;  
    Entering our house, He said: “Give alms.” 
    When I came to face Him,  
        He was nowhere to be seen.  
    “You say nothing,” but You are leaving us.  
    What may Your town be?   
        Is it Turutthi, Pazhanam  
        Or Neitthaanam?” (Thus I spake.) 
    Ha, He but moves away perpetrating troubles.  
    Handsome indeed is the Lord of Aamaatthoor!                95 
 
10.     His chest is bright with fadeless ash;  
        He is the Bridegroom abiding at gemmy Mizhalai;  
    He is the Lord of Uma who wears  
        A wreath of lustrous blue lilies;  
    He plays on kodukotti and cymbals;  
    He is our opulent One of the Kailas;  
    Atikai Virattam in the south is  
        His (chosen) residence;  
    He is the Queller of troubles of the sorrowing ones.  
    He is the handsome Lord of Aamaatthoor.                    96 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Vannam: Melodic numbers sung to taalam. 
 
2. Gaantaaram: A pann. 
 
4. Pigngnaka: Pignngakam is said to be a head-ornament.  As the Lord wears His matted  
hair in the form of a crown sometime, He is referred to as Pigngnakan. 
 
5. Kothai: It is a garland worn by woman.  The garland worn by man is called ‘thaar’.   
The Lord wears a kothai and a thaar, as He is Ardhanaariswarar.  Maalai is the common  
name for garland worn by man as well as woman. 
 
6. Todu:  
Ear-ring worn by woman.  Usually it is a scroll of palm-leaf inserted into the pendulous  
ear-lobe.  It is also wrought of sea-shell. 
 
Kuzhai: Ear-ring for either sex. 
Kodukotti is a dance; here it refers to the drum which is played during the dance. 
 
8. This is one of the beautiful hymns of the Akam genre.  In Akam poetry, the heroine  
uses the royal ‘we’.  The here (Siva) has had union with the heroine (Niraiyum Kondeer).   
Yet He marries her not.  So, of what avail is His sojourn in the heroine’s town? (Ninru  
thaan yen seiveer?) 
 
However the heroine now knows of the hero’s home-town.  She can therefore join him  
there.  Yet, as things stand, the hero leaves her and goes away (Anritthaan pokindreer).   
The assurance that the heroine feels is that all will be well in God’s time. 
 
 
10. TIRUPPANTHANAINALLOOR

 
Our Saint adored Lord Siva at Tirumayilaaduthurai, Turutthi, Velvikkudi, Yetirkolpaadi  
and other places and eventually arrived at this town which is in Chola Nadu.  The name  
of the Deity and His Consort of this shrine, are Pasupatiswarar and Kaambanatholiammai. 
 
1.     Panthanainalloor’s Lord has not a body 
        of painful limbs; He wears a serpent; He wears  
    A (sacred) thread; Over that He wears a carapace;  
        He dances in the ghoul-haunted crematory  
    And wears on His crescent-adorned matted hair a river too;  
        He is concorporate with Her of lovely looks; He holds, fire;  
        He is of crepulscular hue; cap a pie, He is  
        smeared with ash; He has a bull of beautiful eyes;  
    He is a Receiver of alms.                        97 
 
2.     He would not consider aught but the crematory  
        As His place of residence; He ate the oceanic venom;  
    He mantled Himself in tusker’s hide; He would not  
        Consider aught as His begging-bowl save the skull;  
    He is of Otriyoor; with His single eye (in the forehead)  
        He would enfeeble attaching ills and warring enmity;  
    He is a Singer accompanied on pitavam, monthai,  
        Kudamuzhavam, kotukotti and kuzhal; He is  
    A dancer; His mount is the Bull of beauteous eyes;  
        He is a Receiver of alms; He is of Panthanainalloor.        98 
 
3.     He is the Lord of the Bhootha-Hosts; He wears dazzling threads;  
        He is clothed in tiger’s skin; His mount is a martial Bull;  
    He is the Lord of Vedic sacrifices; He abides in the loving ones;  
        On His spreading matted hair He wears the chaplet  
    Of white crescent; He ate the venom of the billowy, roaring sea;  
        His feet are girt with anklets; He is the Ruler  
    Of the heavenly world of immortals; His is the Bull  
        Of beauteous eyes; He is a Receiver of alms;  
            He is of Panthanainalloor.                99 
 
4.     He wears the crescent on His matted crest where Ganga flows;  
    In His palm He holds the fire; eke He holds rectitude;  
    He receives alms in all towns; He is adorned with serpents;   
    He holds in His neck the venom of the roaring main; 
    He is concorporate with Her whose breasts are covered  
    By a breast-cloth; a mazhu He holds and in  
        His hand, a fawn;  
    His fame pervades the whole world;  
        His Bull has beauteous eyes;  
    He is a Receiver of alms; He is of Panthanainalloor.            100 
 
5.     His is the effulgence hailed and adored by devotees;  
    His is the lovely, untrembling head; 
        He wears the holy ash;  
    Indai adorns His matted hair; He dances in the crematory  
        And the graveyard, during night; He is  
    Beyond Andam; He is the Alpha; as the Sun (of suns)  
        He dances in the raging fire; He snaps the hoary Karma  
    Of servitors; His mount is the Bull of beauteous eyes;  
        He is a Receiver of alms; He is of Panthanainalloor.        101 
 
6.     He shrouded Himself with the hide of the ichorous  
        And deluded tusker; He loves to abide at Kaanapper;  
    He dwells in the manam of innocent devotees that love Him;  
        Over His shoulders lies the flayed skin of deer;  
    He dances witnessed by His Consort; He wears snakes;  
        He is a Reciter of the four Vedas and the sextuple Angas;  
    Over His crest is a hooded snake; His is a Bull of beauteous eyes;  
        He is a Receiver of alms; He is of Panthanainalloor.        102 
 
7.     On His matted crest is an unageing moon; He became 
        The three; He is the First One hailed by the triple worlds; 
    He is the ankleted One praised by the learned; He loves  
        The moon and the Ganga; He is concorporate with Her  
    Whose shoulders are bamboo-like; He is adorned  
        With milk-white ash; by His nature He became  
    The time of Dissolution and the cosmos; He burnt  
        The walled towns of foes; His is a Bull of lovely eyes;  
    He is a Receiver of alms; He is of Panthanainalloor.            103 
 
8.     He sports an eye in His forehead; He lives in the forest  
        And in the country; in one hand He holds  
        The mighty weapon of mazhu; a woman abides  
        In His crown of matted hair; He is nameless;  
    He is without birth or death or maladies;  
        He is praised by melodious hymns;  
    The earth-born, the celestials and others and also Brahmins  
        Come before His presence, to hail and adore Him; His mount 
    Is a Bull of beauteous eyes; He is a Receiver  
        Of alms; He is of Panthanainalloor.                104 
 
9.     On His mount the Bull, He is hailed by the seven worlds;  
    He abides ever adored by the celestials; His body  
    Is adorned with ahs; He ate the blue venom; He ate  
    The havis offered through fire; He holds fire in His palm;  
    In His crest flows the river; He bathes in Pancha-Kavya;  
    He is adorned with the fire-breathing, five-headed Naaga;  
    He holds a white skull on which is perched a falcon; 
    His mount is the Bull of beauteous eyes;  
    He is a Receiver of alms; He is of Panthanainalloor.            105 
 
10.     He shot the three, rocky, walled and well-protected towns;  
    He loves to reside in Kaaronam; Nalloor is dearly 
    Loved by Him; He is the Gnosis of the wise;  
    He recited the four Vedas and the six Angas; Seated  
    Atop the mighty and beautiful mountain, He crushed  
    The head of the King of puissant Raakshasas;  
    He roams for alms in many towns;  
    His is the Bull of beauteous eyes;  
    He is a Receiver of alms; He is of Panthanainalloor.            106 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. The body of Siva is not material substance.  According to Saiva Siddhanta His body  
is GRACE ITSELF. 
 
Carapace: The carapace belonged to Vishnu when he appeared as a Tortoise. 
 
2. The skull of Brahma serves as Siva’s begging-bowl.  Pitavam, monthai, kudamuzhavam  
and kodukotti are percussion instrument.  Kuzhal is flute. 
 
4. The Lord holds fire as well as rectitude in His palms.  This sylleptic reference is  
significant.  It shows that the Lord who is pure is also a purifier. 
 
5. Indai: The chaplet worn by Siva on His head. 
 
Adam: Universe Cosmos. 
 
6. Patam: (Hood) This word refers to a snake that has hood.  The figure is synecdoche. 
 
8. The lady that lives in Siva’s matted crest is Ganga Devi. 
 
9. Havis: It is oblation offered in a sacrifice. 
 
 
11. TIRUPPUNKOOR and TIRUNEEDOOR

 
Our Saint adored with Tirugnaanasambandhar at the shrine of Kolakkaa.  Then taking leave  
of him, he visited such shrines as Tirukkaruppariyalur, Tiruppunkoor and Tiruneedoor.  The  
following decad was composed at Tiruneedoor.  This decad is in praise of both Tiruppunkoor  
and Tiruneedoor.  The names of the Deity and His Consort at Tiruppunkoor and Tiruneedoor  
are respectively 1. Sivalokanaathar and Chokka Naayaki/Soundara Naayaki and 2. Somanaadeswar  
and Aadhitya Abhayaprataambika/Veda Naayaki/Veyurutholi Ammai. 
 
1.     How could I, the base one, fail to think of the Lord  
        Who self-manifested without getting born,  
    Who fosters not them that love Him not,  
        Who is the Light that snapt all bonds without renunciation,  
    Who is the pure Buttress of the pure and holy way  
        Who is all the divisive directions,  
    Who is Sivalokan that presides over Tiruppunkoor  
        And who is Needoor’s Lord--the lovely blaze?            107 
 
2.     How could I, the base one, fail to think of the Lord  
        Who is the Before as well as the After,  
    Who is a Mad Man unto them madly in love with Him,  
        Who is the Lord of them blessed with goodly wisdom,  
    Who is at once the Bestower of good and bad karma,  
        Who grew and spiraled up into the heavens as fire,   
    Who is Sivalokan that presides over Tiruppunkoor  
        And who is the Lord of aeviternal Needoor?            108 
 
3.     How could I, the base one, fail to think of the Lord  
        Who is nowhere as well as everywhere,  
    Who is hostile to them who think not of Him with love,  
        Who graces them that reach Him in all celerity,  
    Who graces not them anywise that reach Him not. 
        Who blesses souls with birthlessness,  
    Who is Sivalokan that presides over Tiruppunkoor  
        And who is the Lord of Needoor girt with paddy-fields?         109 
 
4.     How could I, the base one, fail to think of the Lord  
        Who can teach all wisdom without teaching,  
    Who can save one’s fall into the inferno,  
        Who enduing Himself with very many habits,  
    Becomes at each place the Prop of adorers,  
        Who is the Dancer in fire that burnt with a bow, Tripura,  
    Who is Sivalokan that presides over Tiruppunkoor  
        And who is the Lord of Needoor of ever- 
            during, gemmy mansions?                    110 
 
5.     How could I, the base one, fail to think of the Lord  
        Who fosters all things with no effort at fostering,  
    Who subtly pervades all things taking no effort at pervasion, 
        Who shapes things into existence without creation,  
    Who goes not to them that do not come seeking Him,  
        Who ate the venom of the clear sea without puking,  
    Who is Sivalokan that presides over Tiruppunkoor  
        And who is the Lord of Needoor of fadeless  
            effulgence great?                    111 
 
6.     How could I, the base one, fail to think of the Lord,  
        Who wears the unadornable jewel, 
    Who wears the paste that cannot be daubed,  
        Who eats the uneatable food from the stinking skull,  
    Who is the noble One beheld by none,  
        Who has a body wrought of bright light,  
    Who is like unto a lofty and ruddy coral-hill,  
        Who is Sivalokan that presides over Tiruppunkkoor 
    And Who is the Lord of Needoor  
        Rich in flowery fields stretching for away.            112 
 
7.     How could I, the base one, fail to think of the Lord  
        Who is inexpressible in words,  
    Who is unfailingly of every form,  
        Who though lofty, weighty and immergeable sinks not,  
    Who is One that is at once hoary and novel,  
        Who has a crest where courses a billowy river,  
    Who is Sivalokan that presides over Tiruppunkoor  
        And who is the Lord of Needoor of rows of  
            gemmy mansions?                        113 
 
8.     How could I, the base one, fail to think of the Lord 
        Who is beyond the conjoin quest of him whose bed  
    Is the peerless snake and him that is seated  
        On the Flower of the cool pool?  Glorious are His feet  
    Girt with tinkling anklets and unknowable to the Devas  
        That can con the nature of every one; He is Sivalokan  
    Who presides over Tiruppunkkoor of umbrageous groves;  
        He is the Lord of Needoor rich in cool fields  
            splashed by water.                    114 
 
9.     How could I, the base one, fail to think of the Lord  
        Who is Sivalokan that presides over Tirupunkoor  
    Bounded by fields where red lotuses burgeon,  
        And who is the Lord of Needoor of coastal and watery groves?  
    Ghee e flows down their elbows; their necks bend down 
        To their palms; their legs stand erect: thus they eat.  
    I deemed their falsehood to be truth and embraced  
        Their faith; yet did I escape the gin of the hunters  
    And emerged out to be blessed with redemption.                115 
 
10.     How could I, the base one, fail to think of Sivalokan  
        Who presides over Tiruppunkoor, the Lord of Needoor  
    Whose will for ever prevails? O poor heart, how could I  
        Have dispraised Him that pervades all things in oneness  
    Without ignoring nothing, Him that crushed the weal  
        Out of the King of the Raakshasas that groaned with pain  
    Placed under the immense mountain, and then conferred  
        On him goodly grace?  How could I have dispraised Him  
    Who mantled Himself in the hide of the huge tusker?            116 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Who fosters not them that love Him not: This idea is well brought but by our Saint in  
a hymn beginning with the words: “Salamilan...” St. Umaapati has incorporated the thought  
of our Saint in one of his distichs and it is as follows:  
 
    “He is good to the devout, and not good  
    Unto the undevout; likes or dislikes  
    He has none; for Sankara is His name.” 
 
Who is the light that snapt all bonds without renunciation: The Lord is ever free from  
malas.  He need not undergo the process of renunciation like others to get purified. 
 
2. Who is the Before as well as the After: The Lord is truly the Alpha and the Mega.  
 
3. Sellaatha sennerikke Selvippaan: “Sellaatha senneri” refers to the goodly way which  
does not involve the soul in any transmigration.  It leads to the beatitude of moksha  
which is indicated in the translation as birthlessness. 
 
4. Kalai Gnaanam: Knowledge of Scriptures.  This being all-comprehensive, it is translated  
as “all wisdom.” 
 
Vetam: Habit, Inter alia it means outward appearance. 
 
5. Who shapes into existence without creation: God creates all things without resorting  
to the process of creation.  Vide Adhikarna 2, Sutra 1, Sivagnaanabhotham. 
 
6. The unadornable jewel is the snake; the paste that cannot be daubed (applied on person)  
is the ash and the uneatable food is that which is obtained as alms. 
 
7. The verse, inter alia, speaks about the eating habits of the Samanas. 
 
 
12. TIRUKKAZHIPPAALAI

 
This decad was sung by our Saint during his sojourn at this place now known as Sivapuri,  
which he visited after adoring the Lord at Tiruvetkalam. 
 
The name of the Deity and His Consort are Ucchinaadeswarar and Kanakaambikai. 
 
1.     It is a nine-gated hut draped in flesh; its pillars  
        Are shiny bones; it is woven with hair. 
    (Unto the true devotee) the Lord fares forth to rid him of this. 
        He authored many a light; His hand holds  
    A leaping antelope; He is Kapaalappanaar  
        Of Kazhippaalai rich in gardens where  
    With the spread-out fan-tails, peacocks dance;  
        He paved the way that with ease cuts across the sky;  
        We tread the self-same way that is by Him paved.        117 
 
2.     He reduced to powder the three, well-wrought, walled towns;  
        My father of triple eyes was before the Beginning  
    And will be after the End; on His matted crest He juxtaposed  
        The crescent and the snake and the Ganga setting at nought  
        Their hostility; my Father has caused His comely, blue throat, 
        To contain the immense venom; He is Kapaalappanaar  
    Of Kazhippaalai Who, by His arcane words, has paved  
        The way to end embodiment; we tread  
        The self-same way that is by Him pave.                 118 
 
3.     Let not your thought turn away; daily think of Nirmalan 
        In steadfastness; He is concorporate with Uma,  
    The bejewelled whose dark locks are buzzed by bright  
        chafers; He is Kapaalappanaar meltingly hailed  
    By the servitors of Kazhippaalai fenced by thaazhai  
        That encloses dark groves where bettles whir in joy;  
    He paved the way to end embodiment which is  
        Sustained by the vital air; we tread  
        The self-same way by Him paved.                    119 
 
4.     His body sweetly smells of ash; He has a pouch  
        Of holy ash; He is clad in tiger-skin; He wears  
    A raging snake; He wears the sacred thread; His feet  
        Smell like lotus; He, of Aaroor, is the First One;  
    His ablutions are pancha-kavya; Aadirai is dear to Him;  
        He is Kapaalappanaar of fragrant Kazhippaalai  
    Rich in odoriferous gardens; He paved the way to end  
        The death-bound embodiment;  
        We tread the self-same way by Him paved.            120 
 
5.     He is Kapaalappanaar who abides in Kazhippaalai;  
        The celestials willingly hail Him thus: “You are the heaven; 
    The Vedas, the swelling and spreading music, the numbers,  
        The letters, the seven seas, the Ens Entium, our Lord,  
    The eyes, the clouds and the earth.  “He paved the way  
        To end the limicolous and illusive embodiment;  
    We tread the self-same way by Him paved.                121 
 
6.     He is hailed by the singing Vidyaadharas: He is  
        The many-rayed sun, the burning agni: He is  
    Ether too; He is Creator; He is Pasupati abiding  
        In the manam of devotees; He is Paasupatan:  
    He is the bright One; He felt delighted when Kannappan  
        Fixed his (gouged) eye on His; He is Kapaalappanaar  
    Of Kazhippaalai; He paved the way to end the illusive  
        Embodiment of manifold maladies;  
        We tread the self same way by Him paved.             122 
 
7.     Ye senseless ones who deem the death-bound and leaky  
        Hut as one that will truly endure! The Lord has  
    A flesh-tipped trident; His neck is blue in hue;  
        He is eight-armed; eight are His qualities--  
    Graceful and perfect; He lauded the intent  
        Of Kanampullar; He abides at Kaanchi; He is  
    Kapaalappanaar of Kazhippaalai who paved the way  
        To end the stinking and illusory embodiment;  
        We tread the self-same way by Him paved.             123 
 
8.     Godhead is His nature; He is my father and my father’s father;  
        He abides willingly in my chinta; He is ever at work; 
    He is (many) form(s); He is the pure One, the triple-eyed;  
        He is a Wielder of the trident; He is the smiling One;  
    He is Kapaalappanaar of Kazhippaalai in whose waters  
        Bounded by kandal, kayal-fish leap; He paved  
    The way to end the befuddling and illusive embodiment;  
        We tread the self-same way by Him paved.            124 
 
9.     He will cure the malady of their chinta who have  
        Vanquished the rebellious manam; if they,  
    With all their heart, think of Him and rise up saying:  
        “Sivamoorti!” He, the noble One, will rid them  
    Of their distress and cause the world to praise them;  
        He is the import of the peerless works mastered by others though 
    He Himself has no need to cultivate them; He snapped  
        Paasam; He is Kapaalappanaar of Kazhippaalai;  
    He paved the way to end the illusive embodiment;  
        We tread the self-same way by Him paved.            125 
 
10.     When Pushpaka would not fly over the mountain  
        The martial Raakshasa of victorious garland  
    And lofty crown, durst uproot it causing vast lands  
        To quake; the Lord beholding His bejewelled Consort  
    Getting scared, pressed one of His toes and crushed  
        The demon’s ten bright crowns and twenty arms;  
    He is of Kazhippaalai; He paved the way to end  
        the recurring embodiment;  
    We tread the self-same way by Him paved.                126.  
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. This decad speaks of the Siva-yogic way by treading which salvation is gained.  
The deity is called Kapaalappanaar.  Kapaalam is ‘skull’.  Siva is the Father who  
holds as His begging-bowl a skull. 
 
3. Nirmalan (Ninmalan): The One ever-free from malas.  
Thaazhai is fragrant screwpine. 
 
4. Aadirai is the asterism called the Betelgeuse. 
 
5. This verse tells us that God is all, though all is not God.  
 
6. Pasupati (Siva) is the Lord of all the souls. 
Manam is one of the evolutes of Maya, which constitute the inner sensorium.  It is  
not the same as consciousness which is represented by the word ‘mind’ in the West.  
 
Paasupatam: Saivism of ancient India was only known as Paasupatam.  Paasupatam is  
also the invincible weapon of Siva. 
 
7. Kanampullar: One of the 63 Naayanmaar. 
 
8. Chinta is mind-heart according to David Buck. 
 
He is ever at work:  
This refers to the endless dance of Siva which is called Pancha-kritya.  This Fivefold  
act comprises Creation.  Sustenance, Absorption.  Veiling and Bestowal of Grace.  Even  
when the outward act appears to come to an end, it is continued in its subtle form. 
 
9. Paasam: It is known as Kayiru in Tamil.  This coir is of three strands and they  
symbolize the three malas of Aanavam, Kanmam and Maayei. 
 
10. Pushpaka: The aerial car of Kubera, snatched from him by Raavana. 
 
 
13. TIRUPPURAMPAYAM

 
Our Saint caused the removal, through the King of the realm, of the concealment resorted to  
by the Samanas who screened the shrine known as Pazhayaarai Vatathali.  Then he left the  
place and proceeded on his pilgrimage, adoring Lord Siva in His various shrines.  Eventually  
he came to Tiruppurampayam where he hailed the Lord with the following decad.  The names  
of the Deity and His Consort are; Saakshinaadeswarar / Punnaivananaathar and Karumpanna- 
solli / Ikshuvaani. 
 
1.     Koodal in whose long streets flags wave over mansions,  
        Kottoor, Kodungkoloor, cool Valavi, Kandiyoor  
    And goodly Marukal of (endless) traffic: it is in these,  
        He abode in the past.  As Otriyoor of ever-increasing weal  
    Was fettered with a mortgage, He quit it; He also gave up  
        Pazhanam where chafers buzz and whir in the eve,  
    Paasoor, Pazhaiyaaru and Paalkulam; He whose body  
        Is smeared with ash, accompanied by the Bhoota-Hosts  
    Went away saying: “Now a days, We abide  
        In Purampayam which is Our home-town.”                127 
 
2.     Like a ripe tapaswi wholly smeared with the ash  
        He presented Himself sporting the sprouting crescent  
    And wearing the triple, sacred thread.  
        As I slept the sleep of a spy, He started  
    Counting one after another, my bright bangles. 
        Alas, I have none to help me; to me-- 
    The bewildered one--, struck as though madness,  
        He that was cinctured with a serpent of the ant-hill,  
    Accompanied by the Bhootha-Hosts, spake thus:” It is  
        Purampayam that is Our home-town.”                128 
 
3.     He of the crepuscular hue, the eater of cruel venom,  
        Throwing over His auric shoulders as an upper garment  
    The five-headed snake, came with a bowl and said:  
        “O Tiru, give alms.” I went inside the house.  
    He would receive neither paaku nor food; He looked  
        Into this sinner’s eyne, and abode there.  
    The One whose habit is inseparable from my eyes  
        Accompanied by the Bhootha-Hosts, fared forth  
        Saying: “it is Purampayam that is Our home-town.”        129 
 
4.     Holding a many-toothed white skull in His hand,  
    The sly Lord whose body is like moist nimbus,  
    Quitting Neitthaanam rich in paddy, Sotrutthurai, 
    Niyamam, Turutthi, Needoor, Paacchil,  
    Rocky and lofty Kazhukkundram rich in water  
    And Naakaikkaaronam on the sea, fared forth  
    With His garlanded and beauteous Consort, saying:  
    “Now a days, Purampayam is Our town of residence.”             130 
 
5.     Holding a garland of dead men’s skulls in His hand,  
        Also wearing a garland of skulls and mantling  
    His ruddy body in the hide of the strong-necked tusker,  
        With His Consort and with an antelope held in His hand,  
    The Lord enacting a dance for the sixty celestial tapaswis  
        And also for the six hundred thousand, fared forth,  
    Clad in tiger-skin and carrying a book in His hand  
        Saying: “It is Purampayam that is Our home-town.”        131 
 
6.     He whose throat holds the venom smeared Himself  
        With white ash; on His goodly tiger-skin vestment  
    He had a snake cinctured; He that was concorporate  
        With Her whose fingers are soft as cotton, said:  
    “I am of Paraaitthurai!” The One of the coral-hue, came  
        When I slumbered, and played on His tudi;  
    On a sudden I woke up; what happened thereafter  
        I will not tell you; on His hirsutorufous crown  
    Sporting a river, He fared forth, saying:  
        “It is Purampayam that is Our home-town.”            132 
 
7.     He has a fawn in His hand; holding a mazhu, He said:  
        “I am of Maraikkaadu.” Adorned with ash on His shapely 
    And shining and strong shoulders, and sweetly speaking,  
        He went after them of shining locks whose foreheads  
    Bore the auspicious tilakas and so looked at them  
        That their eyes became tear-bedewed;  
    Decked with snakes of dotted hoods and circled  
        By the Bhootha-Hosts, He fared forth, saying:  
    “Purampayam is Our home-town.”                        133 
 
8.     On He proceeded nonstop, seeking alms in many towns;  
        Alms He received from the many-bangled women,  
    And came by their chastity too; leaving at Kudamookku  
        His murderous Bull, Kokkarai and Kotukotti,  
    And saying that He would not forsake Nalloor  
        Of chill and cool pools as well as goodly men,  
    Avoiding, as it were, even Naraiyoor, He the One  
        Of nefarious habit, circled by the Bhootha-Hosts. 
    Went away saying: “Purampayam is our home-town.”            134 
 
9.     Besmeared with fragrant ash, adorned with a carapace  
        And white todu, holding a vina in the left hand ,  
    Sporting on the crest a billowy river, the moon that  
        Irradiates directions, He who is of the hue of red fire,  
    Concorporate with Her whose waist is adorned with a mekalai, 
        And He-- the Lord that abides in the crematory, rode a lofty Bull  
    Circled by the Bhootha-Hosts and fared forth saying:  
        “It is Purampayam that is Our home-town.”            135 
 
10.     Circled by the celestials inclusive of King Indra,  
        Hailed by Kumaran, Vigna Vinaayakan, Ayan who is  
    Seated on His pedestal of Lotus and the one that measured 
        The earth, He hymned melodious songs and danced;  
    Surrounded by the Bhootha-Hosts He came and made me His own;  
        Even as speckled bess buzzed in His garland  
    Of konrai flowers.  He fared forth, saying:  
        “Purampayam is Our home-town.”                    136 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Koodal is in Madurai.  
Kodungkoloor is in Kerala.  
 
2. ant-hill: It is the deserted ant-hill which is referred to here. 
 
3. Paaku (sauce): This is Kuzhampu in which cooked rice is mixed and taken  
 
4. Niyamam is Paruti Niyamam: Paacchil is Paacchilaacchiraamam. 
 
5. We are unable to say anything about the sixty celestial tapaswis or the six  
hundred thousand who are referred to in this verse. 
 
6. “I will not tell you”: This refers to the union of the Paramaanma (God) with the  
Jivaanma (soul).  This indeed is the ineffable advaitic union. 
 
8. Kokkarai is chank (conch).  Kodukotti is an instrument of music. 
Goodly men: The phrase ‘nallaalai’ is so rendered. 
Nefarious habit: This appearance of the Lord is so ravishing. 
 
9. Mekalai: The waist-ornament (golden girdle) of a woman. 
 
10. This verse brings out the truth that Siva is the true Lord of all the gods.   
Tiruppurampayam is indeed the immaculate heart. 
 
 
14. TIRUNALLOOR

 
This shrine is peculiarly sacred to our Saint.  In fact he was bidden by Lord Siva to come  
to this shrine.  At Satthimutram our Saint beseeched Siva to place His sacred feet on His  
head.  This prayer was answered at Naloor.  The following decad celebrates the event. 
 
The names of the Deity and His Consort are Panchavarneswarar / Kalyaanasundareswarar  
/ Periyaandeswarar and Girisundar / Parvatasundari / Kalyaanasundari. 
 
1.     He made the devotees that melt thinking of Him  
        To melt the more; He caused all evil deeds to flee away  
    From Him; He mantled Himself in the hide of the tusker  
        Of unabated wrath; He wore on His crest  
    The shoot of a glowing crescent; when the thronging  
        Celestials whose gemmy crowns-- decked  
    With rare and choice flowers, bowed at His feet, they became  
        Wet with the honey that flowed out of the blowing blooms;  
    He set on my head such hallowed feet;  
        Good indeed is what our Lord of Nalloor has wrought.        137 
 
2.     He has on His matted hair the fragrant konrai  
        Of golden beauty; He wears a tiger-skin; 
    He also keeps a river; on His shapely and aeviternal shoulder  
        He sports a mazhu; He has a kuzhai on His dangling  
    Ear-lobe; He also keeps a crescent; He is concorporate  
        With Her of fulgurant waist; He mantles Himself  
    In the hide of a tusker; He wears the sacred thread;  
        He placed His hallowed feet on my head;  
    Good indeed is what our Lord of Nalloor has wrought.             138 
 
3.     His matted hair is adorned with petalled konrai blooms;  
        He wears a wreath thick with madar flowers; 
    He sports a river of dinsome waves that spray in the sides 
        Droplets of water; He wears cool mattham; a snake entwines  
    His person; On His beauteous forehead He sports an eye; He keeps  
        A bow; He has a bride--the Daughter of a mountain;  
    He placed His hallowed feet, coveted by all, on my head;  
        Good indeed is what our Lord of Nalloor has wrought.        139 
 
4.     He is concorporate with the peerless Lady whose brow  
        Is bow-like; a stream flows on His spreading matted hair;  
    He, in grace, made a bow of Meru; His town is Mount Kailas;  
        He is the Lord of Kadavoor; through His words of grace  
    He taught dharma to the Four; He wears the ash  
    Of the     burning crematory; He paved the way of renunciation; 
    In goodly grace He placed His hallowed feet on my head;  
        Good indeed is what our Lord of Nalloor has wrought.        140 
 
5.     He burnt the triple towns that caused the heaven to tremble,  
        He did away with the Karma of worshippers;  
    He paved the path of renunciation; He reduced Kaama  
        To powder with His eye of fire; He has for his seat  
    The fragrant Lotus; His is Kailas; He keeps on His person  
        At once the inextinguishable fire and the cool water;  
    He placed on my head His inaccessible and hallowed feet 
        Towards which the celestials turn and pray;  
    Good indeed is what our Lord of Nalloor has wrought.             141 
 
6.     He created the world abounding in illness-ridden  
        Embodiments of seven species; He infused life into them;  
    He designed the paths of salvation; He authored the celestial  
        Groups; He screened the arcane from gods; He caused  
    The diminishing moon to thrive; He paved the way untainted  
        By wrath, ever-increasing delusions, lust and miserliness;  
    He paved the path of renunciation; He placed on my head  
        His hallowed feet gained by the righteous tapaswis;  
        Good indeed is what our Lord of Nalloor has wrought.        142 
 
7.     He burnt the walled cities of warring foes; on His lovely crest  
        He placed a snake; bedaubed with ash, He enacted  
    His aeviternal dance in the fire; He placed an eye  
        In His forehead; shrines He created; He wore on His crest  
    A river of smashing waves; He caused the celestials to hail  
        His feet in loving devotion; He placed on my head  
    His flower-fragrant and hallowed feet;  
    Good indeed is what our Lord of Nalloor has wrought.            143 
 
8.     He placed on earth mountain-ranges and seas; He would  
        Endow His snake with a bright gem; He would design kolam; 
    Would provide the hood for the shapely and spiraling snake;  
        He ate the venom in all grace; he would sport eight arms;  
    He created the earth, the water, the fire and the air; He placed 
        On high, the vaulting sky; in thoughtful implementation  
    He placed on my head His hallowed and weal-conferring feet;  
        Good indeed is what our Lord of Nalloor has wrought.        144 
 
9.     He placed in the heavens the two rolling lights;  
        Well did He mark on the vast earth the ten directions;  
    He gracefully manifested His feet for the adoration of the gods;  
        He caused perfect tapas and occult sense to abide for ever;  
    His foot of tinkling anklet caused the life of cruel Death  
        To flee away terror-stricken; He has a Bull for His mount;  
    He placed on my head His hallowed feet that confer grace;  
        Good indeed is what our Lord or Nalloor has wrought.        145 
 
10.     On His matted hair decked with moist konrai, He keeps 
        A billowy river and a crescent brushed by a snake;  
    For the serving celestials, His guerdon is grace; He is daubed  
        With the ash of the burning crematory; He endowed His  
    Creation with beauty; He cured the malady of Karma--  
        Strong and incurable; He keeps Uma on one side of His body;  
    He placed on my head His hallowed feet hailed by us  
        And the celestials; good indeed is what our  
            Nalloor’s Lord has wrought.                146 
 
11.     He created the mountain ranges and the seven billowy seas;  
        His Kailas is rich in bright gems; He pressed  
    One of His toes and crushed the heads and the shoulders  
        Of him who lifted up the rocky mountain;  
    When he wailed, and then hailed Him as the Lord-God  
        He blessed him with grace and a martial sword;  
    When servitors implored Him endlessly, He revealed to them  
        His glory for their hailing; He placed on my head  
        His hallowed and weal-conferring feet;  
        Good indeed is what our Lord of Nalloor has wrought.        147 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Nalloor: The town where Siva bestowed on our Saint the Tiruvadi-Diksha.  Nalloor  
means “good town.”  This decad ends with the phrase “nalla aare”.  ‘Nalla’ means  
‘good’.  ‘Aaru’ in the context means ‘act, deed’.  In keeping with the name of the  
town, the deed done by the Lord is also indeed good. 
 
3. Erukku is madar. 
Mattham is the deadly nightshade (Datura/Belladonna). 
 
4. Lady whose brow is bow-like: Our Saint says that Mother Uma so graced the bow  
that it could serve as a comparison for Her brow. 
 
Kal: Stone: Here it refers to Mount Meru. 
 
The Four: A quartet of rishis about whom not much is known. 
 
5. The fragrant Lotus is the seat of Siva when He is pleased to favour Brahma with  
valiancy to create.  Vide the Sivapuram Tevaaram of Tirugnaanasambandhar. 
 
6. Seven species: The Devas, the men the animals, the reptiles, the beings that dwell  
in water, the birds and the flora. 
He screened the arcana from god: Cf. “The truth to flesh and sense unknown.” 
                    - Snowbound, J.G. Whittier. 
8. Kolam: Vetam, Habit. 
 
9. The ten directions include the upward and the downward also. 
Occult sense: Great secrets are imported to fit and proper chelas,  
by the Guru. 
 
11. A martial sword: The sword Siva gave to Raavana is called Chandrahaasa. 
 
 
15. TIRUKKARUKAAVOOR

 
For a number of days our Saint abode at Nalloor.  It is from Nalloor he visited this shrine  
and sang the following decad.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Garbhapuriswarar  
/ Mullaivananaathar / Maadavivaneswarar and Garbharakshaambika / Karu-k-Kaatthanaayaki. 
 
1.     My Father of Karukaavoor is a white brilliant;  
        He is asterism, the day of the week, the planet, 
    The nectar unquaffed, the ghee in milk,  
        The essence of fruit and the pann of song;  
    Sometimes He is concorporate with Uma;  
        He is the Indweller-- the subject of tongue’s praise;  
    He is the Source of the cosmos; He, the Eye  
        Of the Universe is its ruling Lord.                 148 
 
2.     My Father of Karukaavoor is the Eye that reveals  
        Things unbeheld; He is the Seed, the Sprout  
    And the Root; He assumes any form at will; He is  
        The Prop of devotees who love Him; He is a Friend;  
    He is also of the hue of milk; He is the empyrean light;  
        He is Totthu; He who would not reveal Himself  
    When Devas gathered and hailed Him, manifested Himself  
        In my, His servitor’s soul; such is His concealment.        149 
 
3.     My Father of Karukaavoor-- the Eye unto me  
        And the world--, burgeons by Himself; He is of the hue  
    Of flower also; He is like the Perfume that ever abides  
        In the bloom; He is the King of the practitioners  
    Of all faiths; He but dispenses woe and trouble to them  
        That hail Him not; He is concorporate with Her  
    Of beauteous bangles; abiding in my heart  
        He saves me from the onslaught of Death.            150 
 
4.     My Father of Karukaavoor who is the Eye, is of the form  
        Of night; He dances in the night; He is the Lord  
    Of the eight directions; He is sempiternal; He is adorned  
        With serpents; He is the Queller of troubles; He is the Lord  
    Of the heavens; He is a Rider of the Bull; He is the Guru;  
        He kicked Death to death; unto them steeped in truculence  
    Who hail Him not, He is never revealed; yet is He  
        The Lord, easy of access (to His devotees).            151 
 
5.     My Father of Karukaavoor who is the Eye, is both  
        The creator and the one who measured the earth;  
    He is the One whose nature is incomprehensible; He smote  
        Simultaneously the hostile towns with blazing fire; He caused  
    The trident and the mazhu to become His weapons;  
        He girt His waist with a peerless snake;  
    He rides a Bull; He would agitate the hearts  
        Of them who practise deception.                    152 
 
6.     My Father of Karukaavoor is the Eye; He is the Primal Ens;  
        He assumes forms; He was before all things were;  
    He is the triple-eyed who never ages; He, the righteous,  
        Is the opulent One who quells the troubles of those  
    That reach Him; He is the flame of the red-rayed sun;  
        He is concorporate with a woman who is Vishnu;  
    He is the Dancer of the manram; He is Time that absorbs  
        All the celestials; He smote Death to death.            153 
 
7.     My Father of Karukaavoor is the Eye; His waist  
        Is girt with a snake; He is seated under  
    The shade of a banyan tree; the Betelgeuse is sacred  
        To him; He is the Lord of the celestials who wears  
    On His beauteous and river-crested crown, the moon;  
        He abides in my chinta, the Queller of evil Karma;  
    He also abides in the bosoms of the men of earth who hail Him  
        With words; Uma is part of Him; He ate the venom  
        Of the roaring sea whose waves dash against the shore.        154 
 
8.     My Father of Karukaavoor is the Eye; He is  
        The tudi and its sound; He puts to test  
    The words of utterers; He is the way; He is the One  
        That quells sin; he is adorned with milk-white ash;  
    He is the supernal flame; He is the One that kicked  
        Cruel Death; to the truculent who hail Him not,  
    He is a Punisher; He is to such, seldom accessible.            155 
 
9.     My Father of Karukaavoor is the Eye; He is  
        The flame that soars up colourfully; His backdrop  
    Is unknowable to the celestials; He excoriated  
        The hide of the tusker as though it were silk-soft;  
    He dances to many rhythms; He is Ashta-Moorti; He is  
        Eight-armed; He abides in my crown; He is my God;  
        He burnt him--the young and handsome Manmata.            156 
 
10.     My Father of Karukaavoor is the Eye; He abides  
        In him who is His mount and whose mount is the Bird;  
    Thus abiding He cures his inly malady; such is  
        His might that He bent His bow, and with fire, burnt  
    The triple, hostile towns; casting his steady look  
        He cut a head of him whose seat is  
    The beauteous Lotus, and held it in His hand;  
        He has a neck dark (with the ocean’s venom).            157 
 
11.     My Father of Karukaavoor is the Eye; with fire  
        He smote the triple, hostile citadels; He crushed  
    At once the ten heads of the thoughtless one  
        And subdued him; He heard his sweet music  
    And was pleased; He had quelled and subdued  
        The five sense; He is the shrine ethereal; He grew  
        Wrathful and kicked Death to death.                158 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. The nectar unquaffed: In Hindu mythology, it is nectar which has the potency to  
confer longevity of life.  Only when it is drunk, longevity is obtained.  However, a  
draught of the Lord who is nectarean, confers immortality itself. 
 
Ghee in milk...: These refer to the beatitude of Saiva Siddhantic union of advaitam. 
 
Pann: Mode of music. 
 
Sometimes... Uma: Siva as the androgynous Lord sustains the cosmos.  At the time  
of the Grand Dissolution, all things and lives and Uma too, are resolved into Him. 
 
2. The Seed: The first cause.  The Sprout: The coming of the cosmos into being. 
The Root:  The sustaining power.  Prop: Patthu is so translated.  Patthu also means  
ten.  This word qualifies atiyaar (devotees) whose characteristics are ten, namely:  
(i) throbbing of throat. (ii) faltering of speech, (iii) smiling in joy, (iv) trembling  
of body, (v) erect standing of hair on the body, (vi) sedating, (vii) loss of words,  
(viii) loss of control, (ix) getting tear-bedewed and (x) summoning aloud.  Totthu,  
inter alia, refers to “long-established intimacy”. 
 
3. The King of ...faiths: It is Siva who is the God of all religions.  Sivagnaana  
Siddhiyaar says: “Whatever deity you invoke, it is the Lord of Uma who appears  
as that deity.” 
 
6. He is... Vishnu: Vishnu is one of the five Saktis of Siva.  He is therefore described  
as Siva’s Devi.  Vedanta Desikan, a famous Vaishnavite poet cum philosopher hails  
Siva as “Ranga Barth” (husband of Ranga/Ranganaatha). 
 
7. He also abides… with words: Sri Arunai Vadivel Mudaliyaar says that this line  
means: “He abides in the worldly-minded people who propagate atheism and the  
like.”  So, the Lord is the Indweller of the good as well as the bad. 
 
9. Katiyaan: This word refers to Manmata the God of Love.  The word Kati, inter alia,  
means ‘wedding’, ‘pleasure’ and ‘merriment’. 
 
10. He abides… the Bird: The reference is to Vishnu who as Rishaba Deva serves  
as Siva’s mount. 
 
11. The shrine ethereal is called the Akaaya Mantiram. 
 
 
16. TIRUVIDAIMARUTHOOR

 
Our Saint sojourned at Tiruvaavaduthurai and hailed Siva.  Then he came to Idaimaruthu, the  
Saivite shrine par excellence.  The following decad was sung during our Saint’s sojourn at  
Idaimaruthu.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Mahaalingeswarar / Maruthavaneswarar  
/ Maruthavaanar and Brahatsundara Kujaambikai / Perunalamulai Ammai. 
 
1.     The Lord that presides over Idaimarutu has the trident  
        For His weapon; His chaplet is the bright crescent;  
    He is happily concorporate with Vishnu; He is at once  
        Mantra and Tantra; He ate the venom  
    Of the billowy main; He is the Ever-Different One  
        That annuls the oncoming Karma; He is  
    The Consort of Her whose naturally-fragrant  
        Locks are treated with unguents.                159 
 
2.     The Lord that presides over Idaimarutu wears  
        A chaplet of fragrant konrai of the rainy season;  
    He mantled Himself in the hide of the dark tusker;  
        He is hailed by the men of earth; He is the Destiny  
    That governs all entia during endless aeons; He is  
        The glorious object of adoration; He is all  
        The directions and all else too;  
    He is the Consort of Her whose naturally-fragrant  
        Locks waft beauty and sweetness.                160 
 
3.     He authored the Vedas and the sacrifices;  
        He became heaven as well as earth;  
    He is the hoary One who became the five elements;  
        He stood a soaring light for (our) hailing;  
    His feet are adored in veneration;  
        He is the Conferrer of joy to devotees;  
    He is the Extirpator of trouble and misery;  
        He is the Lord that presides over Idaimarutu.            161 
 
4.     The Lord that presides over Idaimarutu plants  
        His feet towards which the mighty Deva-throngs  
    Turn and adore; He is the ever-Different One that rode  
        The immense cloud, having shattered the sacrifice  
    Of Indra; He is the supernal One that abides in Parangkunram  
        Inseparable from the song and dance  
    Of master-musicians; eight are His attributes;  
        He is the One that is infinite.                 162 
 
5.     The Lord that presides over Idaimaruthu becomes all;  
        He is the One that dwells at Anna girt with cloud-capped  
    And lofty gardens where monkeys roam; He is the One who is  
        Concorporate with Her of soft words; He is the One that seeks  
    Alms in the dead one’s white skull; He is the One that smote  
        The three walled-towns that winged in the sky;  
    He is the One that dwells at Aaroor girt with lovely groves;  
        He indeed is the One that abides at Yekampam.            163 
 
6.     He is the five times two; the six plus one;  
        He is the six times three and the four times three;  
    He is the deeds done and the good deeds;  
        He fills all the directions; He is the One that wears  
    On His matted hair the beauteous konrai flowers;  
        He is the handsome one valiant in dancing; He burnt  
    Kaama that came to shoot Him with flowery darts. 
        He is the Lord that presides over Idaimarutu.            164 
 
7.     Five plus five are the traits inseparable from souls;  
        Truly speaking, ten plus one are the separable traits;  
    They say that four are numbered as His traits;  
        It is also said that they are six in number;  
    The pentad of well-known properties, the pentad  
        Of Samita, the pentad of Padaa  
    As well as Gati were graced by Him;  
        It is He who abides in the blazing lotus. 
        It is He who presides over Idaimarutu.                165 
 
8.     The Lord that presides over Tiruvidaimarutu is One  
        Who is garmented in bright skin; He is  
    The flame that causes the bright snake to dance;  
        He ate venom enabling the Devas to quaff nectar;  
    He is the nectarean bliss for His devotees;  
        His ankleted foot kicked Death to death;  
    Kailas is His place of residence; He is the One  
        The locks of whose Consort are divinely fragrant.         166 
 
9.     The Lord that presides over Idaimarutu wears  
        A garland of konrai flowers and fresh shoots;  
    He is the Partner of Her whose eyes are javelin-like;  
        He is the handsome One of crepuscular hue;  
    He has a beauteous and blue throat;  
        As oncoming birth and parting death  
    He abode in my soul with change none;  
        He is the One patent to uproot our troubles.            167 
 
10.     The One that is happy to wear on His cool, matted hair  
        The wreath of konrai and vilva, the One--  
    The Nirmalan--, that stood a column of fire  
        Having reduced to ash Manmata by His look,  
    The One that so pressed the beauteous mountain  
        With His foot that the Raakshasa fell down crying aloud,  
    The One that receives and consumes alms  
        Is the Lord that presides over Idaimarutu.            168 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
4. Shattered the sacrifice of Indra.  This translation is based on the notes furnished  
by Sri Arunai Vadivel Mudaliyaar. 
 
Vast cloud: This has reference to Vishnu who bore/carried Siva in the form of a cloud. 
Sri Mudaliyaar says that this was during the Meka Vaakana Kalpa. 
 
5. Anna: This word refers to Annaamalai. 
 
6. The five times two: The ten directions. 
   The six plus one: The seven notes of music. 
   The six times three: The eighteen Vidyas. 
   The four times three: The twelve suns. 
 
7. Five plus five: The ten traits are: (i) Lack of independence, (ii) becoming that to  
which it is attached, (iii) learning if taught (i.e., not by intuition), (iv) possessing  
empirical knowledge only, (v) learning by degrees, (vi) being neither big, (vii) nor  
small, (viii) hating the odius, (ix) loving that which pleases and (x) inconstancy. 
 
Ten plus one: (i) Fondness, (ii) inadequacy of knowledge, (iii) absence of tranquility,  
(iv) wrath, (v) indigence, (vi) the twofold experience of pleasure and (vii) pain,  
(viii) compromising, the inability to fully experience (ix) the god, (x) the bad and  
(xi) the indifferent. 
 
The four attributes of God are: Sat, Chit, Aananda and Grace. 
The Six: Omniscience, Endless Bliss, Intuitive Gnosis, Aeviternal Independence,  
Omnipotence and Ever-Abounding Grace. 
 
The pentad of properties: Sound, touch, form, essence and smell. 
 
The pentad of Samita: Samita is fuel gathered for sacrifice from the banyan,  
peepal, fig, mango and vanni trees. 
 
The pentad of padaa (syllables): The five-lettered name of Siva (Na Ma Si Va Ya). 
 
The pentad of Gati (cycle): These relate to cyclic existences as man and animal,  
life in hell or paradise and the ultimate beatitude of moksha (everlasting bliss). 
 
 
 
17. TIRUVIDAIMARUTHOOR

 
 
1.     He sports a river on His matted hair; He holds fire  
        In His palm: He is the handsome One; He bears on His  
    Auric shoulders weapons; adorned with ash, he rides the Bull 
        And daily receives alms; He is hailed by the Bhootha-Hosts  
    That surround Him; He is clad in Kovanam:  
        He holds in His hand a begging-bowl; truly He is 
    The end, the middle and the beginning;  
        It is He who abides at Tiruvidaimarutu.                169 
 
2.    He wears the skyey crescent; His realm is the empyrean;  
        He holds a fawn in His left hand; He keeps  
    In His own frame His Consort; He wears the milk-white ahs;  
        He is decked with a chain of crystal beads;  
    He is the Annihilator of sin; He rules Saaikkaadu  
        Where conch and chunk roll in the waves;  
    Many are His lilas; He abides in me, never parting;  
        It is He who abides at Idaimarutu.                170 
 
3.     He is seated under the Banyan; He is the ethereal One;  
        He is atop the great mountain; He is man; He is woman;  
    He has witnessed many aeons; He is blue-throated;  
        He remains far away form the thought of the ignorant;  
    Many are His guises; He rides the murderous Bull;  
        He wields the deadly mazhu; He is the Go of Kozhampam;  
    He parts not from Eengkoi fragrant with cardamom plants;  
        It is He who abides at idaimarutu.                171 
 
4.     He is light; He abides in the chinta of those who think  
        Of His grace; He is eve at Tiruvaaroor; the fragrant Flower  
    Is His aeviternal seat; He is clad in the deer’s skin;  
        He is fittingly mantled in the tusker’s hide; He is  
    A deceptive concealer; He is dear to them that have reached Him  
        But cruel to them that have not reached Him; His weapon is  
    Kattangkam; to them that think on Him He is the Lord;  
        He is the one of the Cauvery stream;  
    It is at Idaimarutu He fittingly abides.                 172 
 
5.     Unto the dark-hearted thieves, He is a concealer;  
        He annuls the sins of them that think of Him  
    Without deception; He ate the venom of the sea;  
        Pure are His Vedic words; with fire He reduced to ash  
    The three towns of the ignorant Asuras; long are the strands  
        Of His matted hair; He mounts the galloping Bull  
    And goes a-begging; He rules us; from my soul He parts not;  
        It is He who abides at Idaimarutu.                173 
 
6.     His flag sports the Bull; He is a dancer; He adorns  
        Himself with cool konrai; His is a beauteous body  
    Smeared with ash; He has a pouch of ash; He is clad  
        In tiger-skin; He sports a raging snake; He wears  
    The sacred thread; He dwells in His Servitors; He is a Brahmin;  
        He is hailed by the Mantra-Devas--the receivers of Aakuti;  
    He is mantled in the hide of a tusker of thunder-like  
        Trumpeting; hailed by everyone 
        It is He who abides at Tiruvidaimarutu.                174 
 
7.     He is of green hue; He is young; He is very, very old;  
        He will rule souls removing their flaws;  
    An irate serpent cinctures His waist; His shoulders  
        Are adorned with adders; bearing a bowl in His hand  
    He goes begging from door to door; He is the great One;  
        His are shining strands of matted hair; He knows  
    Very well the wishes of His serving devotees; He is eternal;  
        It is He who abides at Idaimarutu.                175 
 
8.     His matted hair is like a woodland; He is  
        Of Kaaronam; He abides for ever at Kailas; 
    He is the content of sweet and melodious hymns; He is  
        Concorporate with Her of shining eyes; He dwells  
    At Punkoor washed by a flower-laden stream;  
        He smote with bright fire the triple towns with His dart  
    Fixed to His mountain-bow; He is everywhere;  
        It is He who abides at Idaimarutu.                176 
 
9.     He took a liking for dance; He is the Lord of lives;  
        He resides at Aaroor girt with groves, having left  
    His abode (at Kailas); never parting from the wide-mouthed 
        Ghouls, He fosters a liking for the funeral pyre  
    Of the crematory; He abode with them that hail Him  
        As the Omnipresent, with the seven notes of music;  
    He is ever adored by the celestials;  
        It is He who abides at Idaimarutu.                177 
 
10.     He has a flashing and great mazhu; He ate the venom  
        Of the sea; He is Vitangkan; He is of Vennkaadu  
     Girt with the broad expanse of water; on His chest  
        Is a honey-laden garland; He wears the ash; 
    He dwells in Mazhapaadi; He is of Maakaalam; that day  
        With his foot He crushed the mighty heads and twenty  
    Shoulders of the valiant and cruel King of demons;  
        Then relenting, He blessed him with victory;  
        It is He who abides at Idaimarutu.                178 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Kotaala Vetatthar: Koll Thaala Vetatthar: One that holds an eating-bowl in the  
hand; one who has this form.  
 
4. The phrase “endrum ullar” qualifies both Tiruvaaroor and the fragrant Flower. 
The pure and upright heart is indeed the fragrant Flower. 
 
Vanja-k-Kalvar: The deceptive thief.  This refers to the Lord’s concealing grace.  
 
5. The sea: The Saint refers to the sea as “thodu kadal”.  ‘Thodu’ means dug-up. 
According to the Hindu mythology the sea was excavated by Saagaras. 
 
6. Aakuti: The oblation (of victuals) offered in a sacrifice. 
 
7. He is of green hue: This has reference to Paarvati who is concorporate  
with Siva. 
 
10. Vitangkar: The comely one. 
We have translate the phrase ‘cittilangku’ as valiant.  The meaning of this phrase  
is not clear to us. 
 
 
 
18. TIRUPPOOVANAM

 
From the shrine of Tiru Aalavaai at Madurai, our Saint proceeded to this town.  As he entered  
the shrine the Lord gave him darshan at which our Saint grew ecstatic and sang the following  
decad.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Pushpavaneswarar / Poovananaathar and  
Soundarya Naayaki / Minnanaiyaal. 
 
1.     Behold His sharp trident! Behold the young moon  
        On His well-grown matted hair!  
    Behold the fresh-blown and fragrant konrai-chaplet!  
        Behold the white kuzhai and the todu in His ears on either side! 
    Behold the shroud of the hide of the tusker  
        That did trumpet like thunder!  
    Behold the comely crown dazzling bright!  
        Behold His body radiant with ash!  
    Thus is He, even thus is He-- our Lord  
        Of Poovanam which is girt with gardens.                179 
 
2.     Behold His androgynous form! Behold His form  
        Which is nectar unto His servitors!  
    Behold His mendicant’s form that seeks alms 
        Wandering through the towns!  
    Behold the single crescent! Behold the gutting with fire  
        Of the three hostile citadels by means of His  
    Mountain-bow that has for its string a long serpent!  
        Behold His waist-cord and garlands closely set  
    With the bones of the dead! Thus is He, even thus  
        Is He, the Lord of Poovanam girt with gardens.            180 
 
3.     He preached the ways (of salvation) in the past  
        To the four great Brahmins, seated under  
    The Banyan tree; behold this even now!  
        Behold the cincturing serpent and the fawn!  
    Behold His quelling of Death, the nescient one! 
        Behold Him abiding in them that think on Him  
    As the Author of the Panchakritya!  
        Behold His jewels which are  
    Made of repulsive bones; thus is He,  
        The Holy One of Poovanam girt with gardens.            181 
 
4.     Behold His weapon, the bright mazhu, the fawn,  
        The twelve-handed child, the flag sporting 
    The Bull of wondrous gait, the sound of the four Vedas, 
        The eye, the garment of Kovanam attached to a cord,  
    The white garland of smiling (toothed) skulls  
        And the Bhootha-Hosts at His sides; such is He,  
        The Holy One of Poovanam girt with gardens.            182 
 
5.     Behold His Grace for His loving servitors!  
        Behold the moon on His flawless hirsutorufous crest! 
    Behold His receiving of alms, so natural to Him!  
        Behold His neck dark with the oceanic venom!  
    Behold the flow of Ganga-- the river of a thousand fords  
        That falls from the heaven like a downpour  
    Into His widely-spread matted hair  
        With all its abundant and rolling kayal fish!  
    Such is He, the holy One of Poovanam girt with gardens.            183 
 
6.     Behold the spreading smoke of incense and flowers  
        With which the men of sea-girt earth hail Him!  
    Behold His salvific and roseate feet that are like  
        The Lotus-flower--a(little) sea of beauty!  
    Behold the excellence of His gift, in the past, of the martial  
        Disc to him that smote the body of Lanka’s King 
    Endowed with a peerless chariot, and curing him  
        Of the sin of killing him; such is He,  
        The Holy One of Poovanam girt with gardens.            184 
 
7.     Behold His valiancy of conferring grace on His devotees!  
        Behold His severing the head of the Four-faced!  
    Behold His frame where abides His Consort of fulgurant  
        Waist! Behold His joyous mantling in the tusker’s hide!  
    Behold on His bright, ruddy, matted hair the river,  
        The snake and the pure and great crescent! Behold  
        His glowing, divine and auric body! Such is He,  
        The Holy One of Poovanam girt with gardens.            185 
 
8.     Behold His sacred feet set with anklets!  
        Behold the bow that set ablaze the triple towns!  
    Behold the justness of His explication of the ways!  
        Behold the eye in His forehead! behold the Bull!  
    Behold His mode of graceful annulment of re-birth  
        Behold the Daughter of the Mountain and the Damsel-River!  
    Behold the speckled serpent and the young crescent glowing!  
        Such is He, the Holy One of Poovanam girt with gardens.        186 
 
9.     Behold Her-- whose breasts put to shame the buds--,  
        Abiding in His person! Behold  
    The chain of beauteously blazing brilliants that conceal  
        The tusk of the hog (which when alive) could smite  
    Like a thunderbolt! Behold His auspicious dance!  
        Behold Him majestically standing on the bank  
    Of the lucid Vaikai! Behold His bright and strong shoulders  
        That put to shame the mountain  
        Bathed in the ruddy rays of the setting sun!  
    Such is He, the holy One of Poovanam girt with gardens!         187 
 
10.     Behold His graceful bestowal of the wreaths  
        That He wore on His head to Chandi! Behold  
    His grace that annuls the many, repetitive births  
        Of those that serve Him in close proximity! Behold  
    The beauty of His crest decked with a lovely wreath  
        Of kongku, koovilam and maddening madar! Behold  
    The valiancy of His destruction of Vell with flowery darts!  
        Such is He, the holy One of Poovanam girt with gardens.        188 
 
11.     Behold His standing as the very form in the mind  
        Of the devotee who meltingly contemplates the Lord’s form! 
    Behold His joyous form concorporate with Her that wears  
        A breast-band on Her jeweled breasts!  
    Behold His noisy crushing of the Raakshasa King  
        Of Lanka girt with the watery main! Behold His  
    Potent kicking of martial Death! Such is He,  
        The holy One of Poovanam girt with gardens.            189 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
3. The Author of the Panchakritya: Siva is the Lord who by His fivefold acts proves  
that He alone is the supreme One.  These acts are (1) Creation, (2) Sustenance,  
(3) Absorption, (4) Concealment and (5) Bestowal of grace. 
 
4. The eye: This is the vertical eye of Siva in His forehead.  It is described as  
“Urdhva retam Viroopaaksham” in the Upanishad.  
 
9. His auspicious dance: The Tamil word Manam is taken as referring to a wedding.   
Perhaps Siva-- the son-in-law of a Pandyan monarch, enacted here, a dance with His  
Bride. 
 
10. I have not translated the words “Aangku anaintha’ which qualify Chandi.  Anaithal  
refers to the beatitude of moksha (eternal bliss).  
 
Kongku: Hopea parviflora: Iron-wood of Malabar. 
 
Koovilam: Vilva / Bilva.  Mattham: Dhatura. 
 
11. The very form: The Lord can be adored (mentally) in any one of the forms ascribed  
to Him by the Aagamas, though He is without any form.  In whatever form He is  
contemplated by the devotee, that form manifests and blesses the devotee. 
 
 
19. TIRUAALAVAAI

 
Our Saint arrived at Madurai in which the shrine known as Aalavaai is situate, from  
Tirupputthoor.  The following decad was sung by our Saint during His sojourn at Madurai.   
The names of the Deity and His consort are Somasundarar / Chokkalinganaathar / Chokkesar  
/ Aalavaai Annal / Chokkanaathar and Meenakshi / Angkayarkkanni. 
 
1.     He self-manifested before all entia came into being;  
        He decked His well-grown matted hair with the burgeoning   
    White crescent; with Meru for His bow and great Vaasuki  
        For the long cord, He pierced with a burning dart  
    The triple towns of the mighty Asuras; He so dallied  
        With Uma whose white teeth are pearls serene,  
        That She bore the impress of His ash on Her person  
        And grew forfoughten; blessed am I  
    Who am given to think on the feet of Siva abiding  
        At Koodal’s Tiru Aalavaai in the south.             190 
 
2.     He is above the Devas of the celestial world;  
        He reduced to ash the three skyey towns;  
    He is of Pazhanam girt with melodious gardens; He is  
        Of the hue of fresh gold; He wears the milk-white ash;  
    He concealed the damsel Ganga who moved within His  
        Clustered, matted hair, and abode with Uma;  
    Blessed am I who am given to think on the feet  
        Of Siva abiding in Tiru Aalavaai   
        Of Southern Koodal of aeviternal wisdom.             191 
 
3.     He held on His long matted hair the massed water;  
        He caused (that) water to (fall and) run on earth;  
    He caused Himself to be bathed in abundant milk;  
        He smote cruel Death that rose up in enmity;  
    He abides in the cloud as packed wind, and thunders  
        In harsh voice; He is the One that has in his forehead  
    The fiery eye; blessed am I who am given to think on the feet  
        Of Siva abiding at Koodal’s Tiru Aalavaai in the south.        192 
 
4.     He owns the heavens and all else too; He is cinctured  
        By a streaked serpent; He is the One who is valiant to dance  
    Surrounded by the mighty ghouls, in the crematory;  
        By His sidelong looks He eyed His Consort and me;  
    He totally cured me of my flaws; He is the nectarean Honey  
        Who as consciousness abides in me;  
    Blessed am I who am given to think on the feet  
        Of Siva abiding at Koodal’s Tiru Aalavaai in the south.        193 
 
5.     He abides in all towns and in the seven worlds;  
        He wears a white crescent; He is for ever inseparable  
    From Uma; He is extremely difficult of access for others;  
        His dance with ghouls at the crematory is never ending;  
    He gifted to the celestials nectar; He is the glorious One  
        Hailed with the great Vedic hymns by Brahma and Vishnu;  
    Blessed am I who am given to think on the feet  
        Of Siva abiding at Koodal’s Tiru Aalavaai in the south.     194 
 
6.     He is the aged; He has a form; His body never ages;  
        He pervades the three worlds; He is the an nuller of sins;  
    In love He abides with Her whose beauty defies the brush;  
        Beholding the quaking of the celestials, He, the Deva,  
    Ate the venom of the ocean and blessed them with nectar;  
        Blessed am I who am given to think on the feet  
    Of Siva abiding at Koodal’s Tiru Aalavaai in the south.            195 
 
7.     He is the pure Way of the renunciants; He is the One  
        Who can wipe out sorrow and rule (us); He but wears  
    The bones of the dead; He is the One potent to dance  
        In the night; He destroyed the triple, walled towns  
    Of those who ceased to think on Him; He is the Chief  
        Who sustains me--the servitor who is unattached;  
    Blessed am I who am given to think on the feet  
        Of Siva abiding at Koodal’s Tiru Aalavaai in the south.        196 
 
8.     He is the animator of lips as well as manam; 
        He is the inner thought; He is the fulfiller of thought;  
    He is the pure One; His mount is a white Bull;  
        His matted crest sports a bright crescent; He is  
    My mother who ever abides in me; It is He who is tapas;  
        He is far, far away from the chief Devaati Devas;  
    Blessed am I who am given to think on the feet  
        Of Siva abiding at Koodal’s Tiru Aalavaai in the south        197 
 
9.     As Foe to Darkness, He the bright One, annuls sins;  
        The blameless One ate poison and gifted away nectar;  
    As spiraling fire He smote the towns of the mighty Asuras;  
        As the impartial One, He graced all; as the supernal light  
    He is the Beyond far above the celestials; He is  
        The beacon-light to the chief Devaati Devas;  
    Blessed am I who am given to think on the feet  
        Of Siva abiding in Koodal’s Tiru Aalavaai in the south.        198 
 
10.     He is a mountain; He abides at great Meru; His well-grown  
        Matted hair is ruddy; He is the Lord of the celestials;  
    He is ever firmly poised in my crown; He is the One   
        Beyond compare; He is the One who smote the three 
    Walled towns of the hostile ones and reduced them to dust;  
        Blessed am I who am given to think on the feet  
        Of Siva abiding in Koodal’s Tiru Aalavaai in the south.        199 
 
11.     He crushed the ten heads and the shoulders  
        Of the debauchee; hearkening to the melody  
    Of his hoary strings, He blessed him; He loved  
        Arjuna for his servitorship; in love He blessed him  
    With Paasupatam; He is the One to the trusted; He is dear to me;  
        He is the Pure One, the Witness of the endless  
    Blessed am I who am given to think on the feet  
        Of Siva abiding at Koodal’s Tiru Aalavaai in the south.        200 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
6. Moovan: The one who is old.  The word ‘Moovan’ may also mean: “He who is three,”  
Siva is Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra--all rolled into one.  Though he is the Three.  He is  
also the cause of the Three and is above the Three. 
 
8. Chief Devaati Devas: These are the guards of the directions (cardinal points), Brahma,  
Vishnu and others. 
 
11. Paasupatam: The invincible weapon of Lord Siva.  
He is the One to be trusted: The idea is that He alone is to be trusted.  The Witness of  
endless aeons: Siva is beyond tome. 
 
 
20. TIRUNALLAARU

 
For some days our Saint sojourned at Tiruppukaloor, as the guest of Muruka Naayanaar.  It is  
from Tiruppukaloor he visited Tirucchengkaattangkudi whence he arrived at Tirunallaaru.  The  
following decad was sung at this shrine.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Darbhaa- 
ranyeswarar / Bhogamaarttha Poonmulaiyaall.  
 
1.     In the hoary past, when one of Brahma’s heads uttered  
        Words it should not have uttered,  
    He, of the sacred feet, clipped it with His nail;  
        Later He showed him the goodly way leading to Siva-loka;  
    He is concorporate with the comely Daughter of Himavant;  
        He is the Lord that cannot be beheld by Brahma  
    Throned on the great Flower and Vishnu; He is the Chief;  
        He is of Nallaaru; it is really great that I, His servitor,  
        Am given to think on Him and gain salvation!            201 
 
2.     His armies are legion; He sports the guise, hailed  
        By the faith of Paasupatam; of yore, His look  
    Destroyed Manmata; averruncating sins, He fosters all;  
        He is the rare remedy unto His devotees; He grants grace  
    In mercy; His hair is matted; He wears the crescent;  
        He is the Rider of the Bull, white like the oyster’s pearl;  
    It is really great that I, His servitor, am given  
        To think on Him and gain salvation!                 202 
 
3.     Paraaparan’s waist is cinctured by a hooded snake;  
        He abides at Paigngneeli; He ate the venom of the sea  
    Churned with the help of a mighty serpent, as though  
        It were nectar; He is the Genesis; He wears konrai flowers  
    Over whose petals bees whir and hum; He is the great Ruby;  
        He kicked Death with His foot decked with a resounding anklet  
    For the sake of the Brahmachaari;  
        He is of Nallaaru; it is really great that, I, His servitor,  
    Am given to think on Him and gain salvation.                 203 
 
4.     He holds a battle-axe in His hand; He wears Kangkann;  
        In His ear dangles a todu; He is daubed   
    With the ash of the burnt bodies; spear-handed He is  
        Handsome to behold; He wears a garland  
    Full of dead bones; He and His Bhootha-Hosts  
        Dance in the spacious crematory; He is of Nallaaru;  
    It is really great that I, His servitor, am given  
        To think on Him and gain salvation.                204 
 
5.     He traverses the whole world, adorned with the bones  
        Of the dead, in one second; He is the Lord of the Devas;  
    He conferred on the Spider ceaseless wealth; He is  
        Our Sivalokan abiding at Tirucchiraappalli;  
    He is dear to them who enjoy at-one-ment with Him;  
        He is Kacchi Yekampan; He is the Chief adorned  
    With fragrant konrai flowers; He is of Nallaaru;  
        It is really great that I, His servitor, am given  
        To think on Him and gain salvation.                205 
 
6.     He could bestow on one, birth in a good clan  
        And annul one’s misery; His left half is  
    The bashful Daughter of the lofty Mountain;  
        He is the Brahmin that rid my mala, cleansing me  
    In the great waters (of his grace); on His crest of ruddy  
        Matted hair floats the crescent; curing falsity,  
    He, the Lord, conferred weal on them that bow low,  
        Poising them in the tattva called Dayaa Moola Dhanmam;  
    He is of Nallaaru; it is truly great that I, His servitor,  
        Am given to think on His and gain salvation.             206 
 
7.     His matted hair is decked with burgeoning konrai-blooms;  
        He is our Lord of Purampayam; He is of Pukaloor; He flayed  
    The tusker from which other animals would flee in terror;  
        He ever abides at Maraikkaadu and Valivalam; He destroyed  
    Dhaksha’s sacrifice from which the gods fled away in fear;  
        He kicked him and clipped his head; He is the Reciter  
    Of the Vedas; He is of Nallaaru; it is truly great  
        That I, His servitor, am given  
        To think on Him and gain salvation!                207 
 
8.     He is the Word; He is the bright coral flame;  
        He burnt with His bow the triple towns  
    Of the hoary Asuras; He is the lofty One who is above all;  
        His Consort is of soft mien; He explicated  
    The four Vedas and Dharma, seated under the shade  
        Of the Banyan tree; He is of Kaalatthi; He is the good One  
    Of Kailas; He is the Chief; He is of Nallaaru;  
        It is truly great that I, His servitor, am given  
        To think on Him and gain salvation.                208 
 
9.     He, the King, quelled Death with His ankleted foot  
        And cured the curse of the great muni of endless bhakti;  
    He shot the fiery dart and burnt the triple citadels  
        Of the hostile Asuras; He grants the boon-seeker  
    Whatever he prays for; He is ever the goodly Chief  
        Unto them who are poised in the conviction that Siva alone  
    Is the Lord-God; He is of Nallaaru; it is truly great  
        That I, His servitor, am given to think  
        On Him and gain salvation.                     209 
 
10.     He crushed with His foot the twenty shoulders of Raavana  
        Who prided in his boon of deathlessness;  
    Then hearkening to his sweet music, He relented  
        And kin-like relieved him of his pain; He ever  
    Abides in them that forget Him not; His ruddy matted hair  
        Is decked with the great moon, honey-laden konrai flowers,  
    Vanni and mattham; He is of Nallaaru, it is truly great  
        That I, His servitor, am given to think  
        On Him and gain salvation!                     210 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. In the hoary past… His nail: This episode is variously told.  The version according  
to the Kaanchi Puraanam is as follows: “In the hoary past, Brahma was endowed with  
five heads.  He grew puffed up.  He quarreled with Vishnu, claiming himself to be the  
supreme deity.  Lord Siva deputed Bhairava to apprise him of the truth.  When Bhairava  
arrived, Brahma in his pride addressed the former as his son.  At this, Bhairava clipped  
the presumptuous head that so addressed him.  Later when he grew contrite, Siva  
blessed him. 
Nail: In the verse we meet with the word “Vaall” (sword). 
 
3. Paraaparan: The One who is above as well as below. 
Brahmachaari: His name is Maarkandeyan. 
 
4. Kangkann: Bracelet. 
 
5. The Spider: The Spider, by the grace of Siva, came to be born as a Chola monarch  
called Ko-Chengkat Chola. 
 
6. Dayaa Moola Dhanmam: The meaning of this doctrine is: “Mercy is at the root of  
Dharma.” 
   Cf. “... mercy is above the sceptred sway  
   .......................... 
   It is an attribute to God himself,  
   And earthly power doth then show likest God’s  
   When mercy season justice.” 
        - The Merchant of Venice, IV - 1:188. 
 
9. The great muni: Maarkandeyan.  
 
 
21. TIRU AAKKOOR

 
Our Saint adored Siva in His shrines at Tirukkadavur Veerattam and Tirukkadavur Mayaanam  
whence he came to Aakkoor.  It is here the following decad was composed.  The names of the  
Deity and His Consort are Thaantondri Appanaar / Swayampu Naathar and Kataka Nethri / Vaal  
Nedungkanni. 
 
1.     He is the Lord who on his crown wears the lotus; 
        He became all the three worlds; His eyes are like  
    The fragrant lotus; He plays on kallalaku and paani;  
        He is the charming One who is happy with the lovely service  
    Of the devotees who seek a forest of stalked lotuses  
        To adore Him (therewith);  
    He placed His foot on the devotee’s lotus-heart;  
        He is Thaan-Tondri-Appanaar of Aakkoor.                211 
 
2.     He has not studied a single work; there is  
        Nought that He does not know; He has decked His ear  
    With a bright kuzhai; He forfends misery caused by  
        Worry; He recited the four Vedas and the six Angaas;  
    His throat is dark, tinged with venom; He is the Bourne  
        Of the Beginning; He is Thaan-Tondri- 
            Appanaar of Aakkoor.                    212 
 
3.     Thaan-Tondri-Appanaar of Aakkoor is concorporate  
        With her whose flower-eyes are touched with kohl;  
    His throat is beauteously blue; He holds in His hand  
        A well-oiled trident; eight are His arms glowing  
    With the holy ash; He has a sharp and shining mazhu;  
        He dazzles like the sun of increasing splendour;  
        He is bedecked with a five-headed serpent.            213 
 
4.     He is a Wielder of the well-forged and sharp mazhu;  
        He ate the (cool and) cruel venom of the sea; over His  
    Ash-bedaubed chest is the threefold sacred thread;  
        On His matted hair flows the flower-laden Ganga;  
    He wears fragrant and bright konrai-flowers;  
        His hand holds a kattangkam; bright anklets  
    Of ruddy gold adorn His feet; such is He,  
        Our Thaan-Tondri-Appanaar of Aakkoor.                214 
 
5.     A snake winds over His vestments of tiger-skin;  
        Daily He goes about with a skull for His begging-bowl;  
    On His crest of matted hair where flows a river, He wears  
        A white garland that excels the lightning;  
    Water that is very bright and white, fire, moon,  
        Sky where floats the moon, earth and ether;  
    All these He became, our Thaan-Tondri-Appanaar of Aakkoor.        215 
 
6.     He hugged close to His chest the Daughter of the Mountain:  
        The One of bright, long and lovely eyes, ruddy lips 
    And soft shoulders; He became the ancient earth and the sea  
        Of hoary waves; He is without beginning or end;  
    He abides as the goodly deed that vanquishes evil;  
        He is the opulent One who is all the directions;  
    He chose Aadirai as the day dear to Him; such is He,  
        Our Thaan-Tondri-Appanaar of Aakkoor.                216 
 
7.     He tore open the head of the huge tusker; He is  
        Happy to be clad in deer-skin; He burnt him  
    Of (flower) darts with the fire of His eye; He placed  
        On His matted hair the young moon; He vanquished  
    Death, with His foot; He has Kailas for His place; He is  
        Happy to have His ablutions in abundant pancha-kavya; 
        Such is He, our Thaan-Tondri-Appanaar of Aakkoor.         217 
 
8.     His forehead sports an eye; He burnt Kaama  
        With the fire of His eye; He ate the uneatable poison;  
    He coruscates like the fire at the end of the aeon;  
        His names are legion; He is the Lord-God that rides a Bull;  
        He abides at Annamalai and Aaroor;  
    Such is He, our Thaan-Tondri-Appanaar of Aakkoor.            218 
 
9.     He wears the garland of fresh konrai leaves and flowers  
        Laden with pollen; eke He wears its chaplet;  
    He is the blue-throated, goodly Lord who is beyond  
        The quest of the Tall one and the Four-faced;  
    His body is of the hue of fire and ruddy gold;  
        Eke is He of the hue of sapphire;  
    He is the Palladium of His devotees; such is He---  
        Our Thaan-Tondri-Appanaar of Aakkoor.                219 
 
10.     They--the one of the billowy main and the one  
        Of the red lotus--, quested after Him and failed;  
    They were abashed; such is He, the One called the lofty One;  
        He goes riding a martial Bull, having for His bow  
    The inflexible mountain and the serpent as its string;  
        He blazed like the fire at the end of aeon;  
    With His dart He smote the hostile, walled-towns;  
        Such is He, our Thaan-Tondri-Appanaar of Aakkoor.        220 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Thaan-Thondri-Appanaar: The Father who self-manifests.  
 
2. Aadikku alavaaki nindraar: The Lord is the Bourne of the Beginning.  In other words,  
He is the Genesis of all.  
 
The six Angas: (1) Siksha, (2) Vyaakarana, (3) Nirukta, (4) Jyotisha, (5) Kalpa and  
(6) Chhandoviciti.  
Siksha deals with intonation, Vyaakarana with grammar, Nirukta with etymology and  
meaning, Jyotisha with astronomy and astrology, Kalpa with rituals and Chhandoviciti  
with musical incantation.  
 
3. A well-oiled trident: Weapons when not in use, are kept clean and oiled. 
 
6. Aadirai: The Betelgeuse.  
 
8. The end of the aeon: The Day of the Dissolution of the cosmos.  
 
9. The Tall one: Vishnu. 
 
 
22. TIRUNAAKAIKKAARONAM

 
Our Saint sojourned at Tirumaraikkaadu at which place St. Tirugnaanasambandhar too was  
staying.  When the latter left for Madurai, our Saint longed to visit once again Tiruveezhimi- 
zhalai.  En route he arrived at Naakaikkaaronam (now known as Naakappattinam).  It is in this  
place the following decad was sung by our Saint.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are  
Kaayaarokaneswarar / Aadipuraanar and Neelaayadaakshi / Karunthadangkanni. 
 
 
1.     At the cool and beauteous Naakaikkaronam girt  
        With the dark sea, you can always behold  
    Him of Pazhanam hailed by the world;  
        He is of Sri Sailam and of Paigngneeli;  
    He is like a ruddy coral hill; on His bright  
        And beauteous crest He sports the moon;  
    He has a thousand names; He is One  
        Who is not to be beheld by others.                 221 
 
2.     At the cool and beauteous Naakaikkaaronam girt  
        With a lovely sea, you can always behold 
    The Lord of the celestials who is Veerattan;  
        He daubs His body with the white ash;  
    He is woman, man and neither of either;  
        He abides at the serene Perumpatrappuliyoor;  
    He is of Annaamalai; He bathes in Pancha-kavya;  
        He is the Lord that presides over Aaroor, the beautiful.    222 
 
3.     At the cool and beauteous Naakaikkaaronam girt   
        With the dark sea, you can always behold  
    Sivalokan--my Father of Tirumaraikkaadu where  
        The winged and streaked bees sing mellifluousy;  
    He ever resides at Vaaimoor where the Vedas are recited,  
        Keezhvelur, Valivalam and Tevoor;  
    He is the noble One that presides over Otriyoor;  
        He is the One of the empyrean.                     223 
 
4.     At the cool and beauteous Naakaikkaaronam girt  
        With groves of ever-during punnai, you can always behold  
    Him of Ambar which is dight with tanks where swans teem;  
        He is already enshrined at Paacchilaacchiraamam  
    And Aanaikkaa; He is Himself the three worlds;  
        He wears beginninglessly manifold flowers  
    That mark Him; on His hirsutorufous matted hair  
        He sports the white crescent.                     224 
 
5.     At Naakaikkaaronam rich in lofty mansions 
        Endowed with vestibules, you can always behold  
    Him who rides a goodly Bull of stately gait;  
        He is a vast sea of Wisdom; He is of Nalloor; 
    He holds the weapon-- a bright mazhu;   
        He, the Deceiver, speaks polyphiloprogenitively;  
    He is of Marukal dight with tanks in whose sluices  
        Vaalai roll; He is Manikantan, the Flame.            225 
 
6.     At the cool and beauteous Naakaikkaaronam girt  
        With a sea of ruffled waters, you can always behold  
    The King of Pukali whose fields are rich in melliferous blooms;  
        He is the Karpaka of Poompukaar; He is of Punkoor  
    In whose fields ears of corn wave; He is the Lord who sports  
        In His spreading matted hair the beauteous river Ganga;  
    On His bright garland of skulls, He the Lord,  
        Wears the snake like an upper vestment.                226 
 
7.     At the cool and beauteous Naakaikkaaronam girt   
        With a sea of white billows and precious stones,  
    You can always behold Him that wears the konrai blooms  
        Like gems of gold; He is the holy One; He is adorned  
    With the white ash; He wields a three-leaved spear  
        To which are tied tintinnabula; He is Sivalokan  
    Of Tirucchiraappalli in the south; He is the Ruby  
        Par excellence; He resides at the vast crematory;  
        He rides a puissant Bull; He is the Author of the Vedas.    227 
 
8.     At the cool and beauteous Naakaikkaaronam girt  
        With the bushes of kandal, you can always behold  
    Him that holds the white skull and the sharp mazhu; He wears  
        A broad Kovanam and is bedaubed with white ash;  
    He is mantled in the hide of the huge tusker  
        Wounded in its head; He is the holy One;  
    He is bedecked with the white ash; He is the One  
        Who is valiant to dance in fire in all the eight directions;  
        He is of Yekampam; he is the Lord-God.                228 
 
9.     At Naakaikkaaronam girt with creeks, you can always  
        Behold Him of renowned Sotrutthurai; He destroys 
    The hoary inferno through His goodly guidance; He is  
        A bowman; he is of Meeyacchoor; He taught the Vedas  
    To the Four; decked with a speckle snake on His chest, He fare 
        Forth to smite the triple, walled towns of the cruel ones;  
        He is the One seated under the Banyan tree.             229 
 
10.    Unless you quit the falsehood of the strong,  
        Renunciant-Samanas, the falsehood of those  
    Householder-goondas who admire them and the falsehood  
        Of the ochre-robed, and march ahead with love  
    Of Him as your sole prop, can you behold Him, my Father,  
        Who mantled Himself in the hide of the tusker whose trunk  
    Was like a palmyra tree? (By His grace alone)   
        O enlightened heart!  
        You can behold Him at Naakaikkaaronam girt  
    With the clear-watered creeks of the soaring sea.             230 
 
11.     At the cool and beauteous Naakaikkaaronam girt  
        With fragrant and flowery groves, you can always behold  
    Him whose form could not be beheld by the Tall one  
        And the one on the Flower, though they searched for it;  
    Paampuram is dear to Him; He is the deceptious One  
        Whose waist is cinctured with a serpent;  
    He goes begging with a white and shining skull  
        For His alms-bowl; He abides at Ninriyoor.            231 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES  
 
1. Pazhanam: Tiruppazhanam.  
 
2. Veerattan: The Lord of heroic exploits.  
 
4. Punnai: Alexandrian laurel. 
 
5. Vaalai: Scabbard-fish.  
 
9. The one seated under the Banyan tree: Siva in His form of Guru Dakshinamoorti.  
 
10. The ochre-robed: “Sivaratthar” is thus translated.  According to Sri Arunai Vadivel  
Mudaliyaar, these are Buddhists.  We, however, feel that Sivaratthar are Aajivikas.  
 
 
23. TIRUMARAIKKAADU

 
Both St. Tirugnaanasambandhar and our Saint sojourned at Tirumaraikkaadu.  It was to this  
place the Pandyan Queen sent messengers to apprise St. Sambandhar of the miserable plight  
of the Pandya realm.  When the divine child proceeded to Madurai to set things straight,  
our Saint remained for a few more days at Tirumaraikkaadu.  The following decad was compo- 
sed at this place during this time.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Vedavanesar  
/ Vedaaranya Naathar / Vedaaranyaesuvarar / Maraikkaatteesuvarar and VeenavaadanaVidooshani  
/ Yaazhaippazhittha Mozhiammai.  
 
1.     He is the Bridegroom that abides at Maraikkaadu;  
        He is like the bright-rayed flame; He is the Choolaamani  
    Of the hoary celestials; He is the Lord-God, rare and hard  
        To behold; He is easy of access to them that meditate on Him;  
    He grants to them the very boons that the seekers desire;  
        He is the true Way; He abides in the manam  
        Of those whose manams are ennobled by vratas.            232 
 
2.     He is the Bridegroom that abides at Maraikkaadu;  
        He is a Master of the Vina strummed by fingers;  
    He is Kaapaali; His body wafts radiance; He is the Lamp 
        Of Wisdom; He is the Seed (that sprouts) in the soul  
    Of the true devotee; He causes the snake of poisonous sacs,  
        To dance; He is the Lord-God; He is of Paasoor;  
        He has a very sharp weapon which is mazhu.            233 
 
3.     He is the Bridegroom that abides at Maraikkaadu;  
        Of yore, He conferred grace on the Spider; 
        He burnt the triple towns; He is earth, and water  
        Covering earth as well as air and fire; He stands  
    With and without form; His matted hair conceals water;  
        He is the one on the Lotus and the red-eyed Vishnu;  
        His mount is a huge and flawless Bull.                234 
 
4.     He is the Bridegroom abiding at Maraikkaadu;  
        He dances in the hoary crematory thick with cacti;  
    He, with His foot, vanquished the God of death;  
        He is clad in the skin of the dotted deer;  
    He is the holy One whose vestment is the tiger-skin;  
        On His crest He wears an argent and bright crescent;  
    He is daubed with the white ash; He is the Father  
        Of Valli’s Consort who presides over our Sentil.         235 
 
5.     He is the Bridegroom abiding at Maraikkaadu;  
        He is the water that swells and roars; He is  
    The first One whose body shines like the blazing fire;  
        He is the opulent One like a lake that is brimful;  
    He confers joy on His servitors dear to Him, He is Arya;  
        He is Tamil; He is the noble One abiding at Annamalai;  
        He is like a tusker that exudes a flood of ichor.        236 
 
6.     He flayed the skin of the huge and victorious tusker;  
        He abides at Akatthiyaanpalli; He is of Kodi;  
    He is the handsome One; He has for His shrine  
        The cool Aaroor; He became the sought-after goodly things;  
    By His goodness He would avert all kinds of wilting misery  
        In this birth and in the births to come.            237 
 
7.     His throat holds the poison of the main;  
        His mountain is flowery Kailas that brushes the sky;  
    He smote the beautiful sacrifice;  
        He is the noble One hailed by the celestials;  
    He bathes in Pancha-kavya compounded of milk and ghee;  
        He is of Sri Sailam; He, the great One, has as part  
    Of His body, Vishnu whose hue is that of the sea.             238 
 
8.     He is the Bridegroom abiding at Maraikkaadu;  
        He is the Nectar that confers moksha;  
    He is Honey, pure and clear; He is the God who confers  
        An embodied life of opulence; O my heart,  
    Truly considered, He is the sweet One; He is Truth;  
        He is the Lamp of Wisdom; He is of Vennkaadu;  
    To chase Karma away He indeed is  
        The medicine that eke snaps delusion.                 239 
 
9.     He is the Bridegroom abiding at Maraikkaadu;  
        He is the threefold Tamil and the fourfold Veda;  
    Under the Banyan tree, He taught Dharma to the Four;  
        He is the Alpha and the Omega;  
    He is both an infant and an old man; He is like a huge hill  
        Of coral; He glows with the garland of konrai. 
    He is the First One who does away with the Original malady.         240 
 
10.     He is the Bridegroom abiding at Maraikkaadu;  
        He is the noble One who so joyously stretched Himself  
    As a blazing column of fire that neither Ayan nor Maal  
        Could know Him; He pressed His radiant toe  
    And caused the King of Lanka to tremble; later  
        He blessed him with great grace; He gave him  
    A name and great weaponry; He will cure the malady  
        Of cruel Karma that causes delusion.                 241 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Thoondu Sudar: The ray that is induced.  God is described by the Scriptures as  
Flame.  He is the Light of all lights.  It is He who activises the sun, the moon, the  
stars and all other lights.  
The Choolaamani: The celestial wish-yielding Stone. 
Manaalan: The bridegroom. 
 
3. The Spider: See notes for stanza 205. 
 
4. Valli’s Consort: Lord Murukan. 
Sentil: A coastal town (Tirucchentil) dear to Murukan. 
 
5. He is Arya; He is Tamil: The words Arya and Tamil are not racial terms.  The  
word Arya stands for rectitude, uprightness, integrity and nobility.  The word  
Tamil stands for sweetness, genteel deportment and auspiciousness.  
 
6. Victorious tusker: The tusker was flayed by Siva.  Yet the epithet ‘Victorious’  
clings to it as Siva chose to mantle Himself in its hide. 
 
7. The beautiful sacrifice: Daksha-yagna.  It began beautifully and ended miserably.  
 
9. An infant and an old man: This episode is celebrated by the Tiruvilayaadal  
Puranam. 
Original Malady: Either Aanava mala or Moola Karma. 
 
 
24. TIRUVAAROOR

 
After adoring Siva in His shrines at Tiruvaanjiyam, Peruveloor and Tiruvilamar our Saint  
arrived at Tiruvaaroor.  He abode at this holy place for a number of days.  The following  
decad was composed at Tiruvaaroor where our Saint willingly abode, rendering manual service  
to the Lord.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Vanmeeka Naathar / Putridam-Kondaar  
and Kamalaambikai / Alliyankothai / Neelothpalaambaal. 
 
1.     He is of Tiruvaaroor; He abides in my chinta; He has  
        Mantled Himself in the hide of the ichorous tusker  
    With a large trunk; He is blue-throated; He has an eye  
        In His forehead; He is the Chief; He causes a snake  
    To dance; He dances in the fire; He has a sharp trident;  
        He is our Chief; He becomes the seven worlds;  
    He is a bright-rayed lamp; He wields a radiant mazhu;   
        His hue is like that of the crimson sky.            242 
 
2.     He is of Tiruvaaroor; He abides in my chinta;  
        A fleshy, severed head is His alms-bowl; 
    He is the Om; He is the Author of the Aeon; He is Ayyaaran 
        Who roams about riding a Bull;  
    He is the macrocosm; He is beyond the macrocosm;  
        He is our Manikantan whose hand sports a deer;  
    He is a great tapaswi; he is the fruit of great tapas;  
        He wears a melliferous chaplet of konrai flowers.        243 
 
3.     He is of Tiruvaaroor; He abides in my chinta;  
        With the dart still in the bow, He burnt the triple towns;  
    He is Go; He is Brahmin; He is Deity; He wields  
        The trident of pure, dazzling rays;  
    He has for His three eyes the three fires;  
        He rules me-- His bonded slave; He bathes in the fire;  
    He is nectar to his servitors; in His divine body blazing  
        Like fire, He has a patch that is coal-black.             244 
 
4.     He is of Tiruvaaroor; He abides in my chinta;  
        He is of Kutraalam who wears a melliferous chaplet  
    Of flowers; He wields a ferocious mazhu; His is  
        A murderous Bull; He is our Lord who annuls our misery;  
    He became the seven seas and the seven mountains;  
        He ate the venom of the vast and dark and bubbling sea;  
    He is an auric pillar; He is like a heap of ruddy coral;  
        He juxtaposed the bright, red-eyed snake and the crescent.    245 
 
5.     He is of Tiruvaaroor; He abides in my chinta;  
        He is of Kailas whose tall peak is cloud-capped; 
    He is blue-throated; He sports an eye in His forehead;  
        His tall flag bears (the emblem of) a martial Bull;  
    He is the holy One; numerous and multifoliate are His  
        Goodly qualities; He wields a fiery trident; He is Nirmalan;  
    He is beyond compare; He has as part of His body  
        Tirumaal of spiraling glory.                    246 
 
6.     He is of Tiruvaaroor; He abides in my chinta;  
        He wears on His matted hair a little chaplet  
    Woven of the moon and the snake; He is birthless;  
        He became woman as well as man; He is daubed  
    With the white ash and His beauteous throat is blue-hued;  
        He is Kaapaali who annuls the birth of those that hail  
    His ankleted feet; on His left is She in whose hands  
        Dangle beautiful and round bangles;  
    He is the vast earth and its nature; His half is  
        Hers over whose hair joyous and winged bees whir.         247 
 
7.     He is of Tiruvaaroor; He abides in my chinta;   
        His garland is threaded with skull; in a skull--  
    His alms-bowl--, He receives alms, in this world of His kin;  
        He forged a bright and destructive Disc; He blessed  
    The tall Vishnu with that Disc; He kicked Yama whose form  
        Is death; He became the abundant fire, water,  
        Earth and air; He let fly a dart from His bow.            248 
 
8.      He is of Tiruvaaroor; He abides in my chinta; He is  
        Aiyan, the elder brother, Kumaran, the younger brother  
    And Aadi, their Father; His hand holds above His shoulder  
        A martial weapon, the mazhu; His Bhootha-Hosts are vast  
    Like a sea; with the fire from His eye He burnt the body  
        Of him that wielded a pentad of darts;  
    He is the hot-tempered One; His ruddy matted hair is  
        Pervaded by a cool flood; He is daubed with white ash;  
        He graced Arjuna; He is red, black as well as white.        249 
 
9.     He is of Tiruvaaroor; He abides in my chinta; He is  
        Concorporate with the bashful Woman who was fostered  
    By the Mountain; He is of the crematory; He wears a crescent;  
        He wears a wreath of konrai blooms and leaves;  
    He is the Lord-God; He ate the venom of the billowy  
        Watery sea; He is a Wielder of the murderous  
    Three-leaved spear; He is of Kodungkundram; His mount is  
        The deadly Bull; He is a Shooter of the dart from His bow.    250 
 
10.     He is of Tiruvaaroor; He abides in my chinta;  
        He wears konrai laden with golden pollen;  
    He wears the sacred thread; His body is bedaubed with ash;  
        He is One who has equals none; He is a Reciter  
    Of the Veda; He ate the venom of the billowy main;  
        He lacks nothing; He is God; He is a Brahmin; He is  
        Deity; He smote the triple, hostile, walled towns.         251 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Analaadi: It may mean: (1) He dances in the fire and (2) He bathes in the fire.  
 
3. Bonded slave: Our Saint is a bonded slave of Siva.  Mercifully no manumission  
is contemplated in this type of slavery. 
 
5. Fiery trident: The Tamil original qualifies the trident with the phrase: “Neer  
yeru Sudar”.  It means: “Fire which causes water to vaporize.”  
 
7. He let fly a dart from His bow: The Maha Bharata tells us that Lord Siva, in the  
guise of a forester, let fly a dart from His bow and killed a boar to save Arjuna. 
 
8. Aiyan: (Elder brother) Ganapati. 
 
 
25. TIRUVAAROOR

 
 
1.     Meditating with breathless concentration, they draw  
        Your picture in their souls canvas; they then  
    Entrust into Your hands the bonds which affirm their  
        Life-long slavery to you; when this is done, You permit them  
        To dwell with You with at-one-ment; You ride not  
        Ayiraavanam but a Bull; You rule not the celestial world,  
    But Aaroor; O Vanmikanaatha! Our Chief! Truly indigent  
        Are they who are unblessed by Your looks of grace.        252 
 
2.     O sinner-heart! Ere the soft-shouldered young damsels  
        Of liana-like waists whose pictures are drawn  
    By their lovers, rail at us (for our old age),  
        Cease your profitless thinking.  Is there enmity  
    Betwixt us as of yore? Behold Him in whose court the world over,  
        The celestials gathering in their full strength, fall  
    Fall prostrate, bow with their heads and in tears perform  
        Pooja unto His sacred feet! Aaroor indeed is His town.         253 
 
3.     The people of Teroor, Maavoor and Tingaloor as well as  
        Those of each town girt with beautiful, watery fields  
    And rich in enchanting and huge mansions, gather together  
        The world over and hail You whose hir-sutorufous  
    Crown of matted hair sports the crescent, thus: “O Lord  
        Of Aaroor! O Lord of Aaroor! O Consort of Uma!”  
        (Alas!) Where are You, O Lord of the celestials!        254 
 
4.     Does it become Him to lead the life of the unfit? He is sure  
        The Chief; on His fire-like and ruddy matted hair  
    He wears a crescent; He is of ruddy hue who is hailed  
        In all the four directions; should He be clad  
    In kovanam, in skin? Should He ride a murderous Bull,  
        A tusker? Is His town Poovanam or Purampayam? 
    If not, is it Aaroor? Does He own it absolutely?  
        Or, is it under a mortgage? I know not.                255 
 
5.     He holds a mazhu; He is of Innambar; His hue is  
        Of the blazing, coralline fire; He is of Kudamookku;  
    Concorporate with Her of choice bangles, He of spreading 
        Matte hair, came to Valanjuzhi; the great One  
    Left for Purampayam; riding a Bull He proceeded   
        To Pukaloor; all the while He was contemplating   
    A town for His residence; (eventually) He came to Aaroor;  
        Behold the gramarye of the great One!                256 
 
6.     Gamete, jelly and gradual growth: then a form  
        Wrought of brains, fresh veins and white bones.  
    Thus embodied it comes out and is fostered by a woman;  
        Yet life abides not (embodied); bound to Your feet  
    I will not forget You, O Chief! O Bridegroom of Tiruvaaroor!  
        O Lord of Tengkoor! O auric Yekampan!  
    Should I be born again, would I forget You?  
        Ha, I stand(utterly) bewildered.                257 
 
7.     To begin with, she heard of His name;  
        She heard of Moorti’s way of life;  
    Then she heard of His Aaroor;  
        Yet she became mad after Him;  
    She quit her mother and father that very day;  
        She forsook the mores of the worldly;  
    She became oblivious of herself; she became nameless;  
        The woman was oned with the feet of her Lover.            258 
 
8.     You dance; the great and rare Brahmins offer You havis  
        In right measure; I have come to know You; 
    Tumburu, Naarada and others hail You with music;  
        The King of the Devas and the Devas too hail You;  
    Tirumaal and the Four-faced go in search of You;  
        Ganga and the Daughter of the Mountain feel You;  
    Will my petty service -- that of a cur’s--, please You?  
        Yet is there lack for You -- O the Resident of Tiruvaaroor?     259 
 
9.     O Lord in whose ruddy, matted hair flows a flood!  
        O Lord who sports an eye in the forehead!  
    O Lord that wears a slice of the moon! In quest of You  
        Tirumaal and the Four-faced roam over the world  
    Everywhere, omitting no one town; to behold You, they stand 
        On the long street where chariots ply, and unable to eye You,  
    Cry: “O Lord of Aaroor! O Lord of Aaroor!”  
        Thou art the Lord of the celestials, O Lord of Aaroor!        260 
 
10.     He danced well in Nalloor; He leaped  
        On the old Bull at Pazhaiyaaru; He went  
    Abegging in many towns; many beheld Him  
        At Setroor; He lay concealed in Talayaalangkaadu;  
    He abode sweetly in His shrine of Peruvelur of many houses;  
        He crossed during night Pattecchaaram and entered  
    Manakkaal; He was seen by all at Talicchaatthangkudi;  
        In a trice he barged into Tiruvaaroor.                261 
 
11.     He holds in His hand a black and wrathful snake 
        Whose hood is speckled; He flayed a tusker, 
    Which was huge like a dark hill and which wailed aloud;  
        He fittingly mantled Himself with its hide, covering  
    The ruddy skin of His dazzling body, and putting Uma  
        To fright; He, our Father, is the opulent One of Tirutthurutthi,  
    Tiruppazhanam, Tiruneitthaanam and Tiruvaiyaaru;  
        This day, He valiantly mounted the white Bull 
    Whose neck is marked by flaps of flesh,  
        To abide at Aaroor during this Aeon.                262 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Dhyaanam (meditation), Samaadi (at-one-moment in a trance/entasy) 
Aanma-Samarppanam (self-surrender) and Siva-yoga constitute the content  
of this verse. 
Ayiraavanam is Siva’s own tusker which is endowed with two thousand tusks.  
Ayir is soft sand.  Ayiraavanam is the Linga wrought of soft sand, and it is  
Vanmekanaatha in Sanskrit. 
 
2. The word ezhuthi (drawing has reference to the helpless lover who draws  
his beloved’s picture as a preliminary step towards riding the palm-horse.   
This part of the process is called Madal Yeruthal.  Se notes to stanza 73,  
pages 81 and 82, Tirukkovaiyaar, translated by T.N. Ramachandran - Tamil  
University Publication number 119, (1989). 
 
Old age: It is laughing matter for young women. 
In tears: It is with tears true pooja is performed.  
 
4. The word Otri is here translated as mortgage.  Actually it refers to the  
town called Otri (Otriyoor). 
 
7. This peerless hymn is a recordation of the stages leading to the beatitude  
of Jivan-Mukti (being liberated while yet alive). Siva repels the undevout and  
draws to Him the intensely devout.  Name... life... Aaroor: Siva’s names are  
Sudalai Aandi (The Beggar of the crematory), Perum Pitthan (The exceedingly  
mad One) and the like.  Some of His names cited by St. Manickavaachakar are:  
“Vengkariyin Urippicchan” (The mad One mantled in the hide of the cruel tusker),  
“Nanjoonn Picchan” (The mad Eater of poison) and “Oor Sudukaattu Yerippicchan”  
(The mad One of the funeral pyre of the village crematory).  His way of life too is  
abominable.  He lives in the crematory, bedaubs Himself with the ash of the dead,  
wears bones and serpents, dances in the funeral pyre and is companied with ghouls  
and goblins.  Aaroor is supposedly His town.  This word means: “What/whose town?”  
It belongs to none.  Siva is therefore homeless.  Yet she is drawn to Him, for she  
herself is now a Picchi (a mad woman).  Unto the God-mad, Siva alone is.   
“Sivaathparam kimapi tattvam aham na jaane.”  (I know no truth save Siva.) 
 
11. At the time when the Lord chose to flay the tusker, He assumed an exceedingly  
dazzling form.  For a while the Devas went blind.  To help them regain their vision.   
He covered His entire person with the tusker’s hide.  
 
 
26. TIRUVAAROOR

 
 
1.     In the (left) half of His body, He has a Woman;  
        Of yore, He caused the ten-faced to cry;  
    Causing him pain, He clipped the head of Him  
        Of the immense Flower; He burnt the body  
    Of Kaama, the wielder of a mighty, sugarcane-bow;  
        He caused the body of the Moon-god to get mashed;  
    He had the hand of Agni-Deva cut off; He had  
        The teeth of Aadityan knocked out; I beheld Him,  
    The Chief of Aaroor and became (absolutely)  
        Oblivious of all else.                         263 
 
2.     With His foot that pressed the mountain  
        He killed Yama; He is the One whose  
    Divine body is like the flame of lamp,  
        Lightning and pearl; He conned the Vedas  
        Without ever cultivating them; He ate the venom 
        Of the watery ocean; He dies not even 
    If the quaffers  of nectar die; He is the fire,  
        In the abundant, watery expanse; I beheld Him  
    At Aaroor and became absolutely oblivious of all else.            264 
 
3.     Of yore, He had the eye of a Deva plucked out;  
        He grew loftier and loftier during each aeon; 
    He is time future and time past; He burnt the body  
        Of Kaama, the wielder of a mighty sugarcane-bow;  
    He mantled Himself with the hide of the warring tusker;  
        He took the wind out of the sail of the King of birds;  
    Destroying the sacrifice, He severed the head of Yecchan;  
        I beheld Him at Aaroor and became absolutely  
            oblivious of all else.                    265 
 
4.     His body is bedaubed with white ash; He is the Flame  
        Inlaid in the white crystal; He abides equally in all;  
    He is beyond compare; He is the noble One, the Pearl;  
        He creates all the worlds, resolves and recreates them;  
    He is the One who ever abides in my -- the cruel one’s manam;  
        He abides transcendent beyond the Beyond; I beheld Him  
    At Aaroor and became absolutely oblivious of all else.             266 
 
5.     He is the Ens abiding in embodiment; He is  
        The creator of embodiment;  
    He is the message of the great metrical Vedas;  
        He is the burning fire; the whirling wind,  
    The water and the earth; He holds the cruel venom 
        In His throat as though it were nectar;  
    He is triple-eyed; He is a sweetcane; He is milk; He is  
        The Seed of those who are beyond the earth; I beheld Him  
    At Aaroor and became absolutely oblivious of all else.             267 
 
6.     He is Niti, earth, fire, water and pervading air;  
        He is the order that informs these;  
    He is half, one, two and three, He is paramaanu;  
        He is ripe and sweet pans; He is light; He is darkness;  
    He is taste; He is the sweet Beyond; He is moksha;  
        He is Gnaanam leading to moksha; He is Gnaanaanantam;  
    I beheld Him at Aaroor and became absolutely  
        Oblivious of all else.                        268 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. The ten-face: Raavana.  The immense Flower: Lotus, the seat of Brahma. 
The mashing of the Moongod, the cutting of Agni’s hand, the knocking out  
of Aadityan’s (sun’s) teeth: These took place in Daksha-yagna.  Absolutely  
oblivious: Our Saint says: “The moment I beheld Lord Siva, I became dead  
to all else.”  
 
2. He is the fire... expanse.  Siva is the Vatavaagni that maintains the  
water-level of the seas. 
 
3. Of yore.... out: This refers to the loss of the eye, suffered by Bhagan during  
Daksha-yagna. 
The King of birds is Garuda.  He was punished for his pride by Rishaba Deva  
whose breathing buffeted him and broke his wings.  Vide Kaanchi Puranam. 
Yecchan: Yajamaan (the head of the yagna). 
 
4. He is the Flame...: The white crystal is the human soul.  Its indwelling Flame  
is Siva.  
 
5. Sivam is Brahmam: Hence the verb “Padaitthathu” which indicates the  
neutral gender.  
Thundam: (part).  This has reference to Vedic prosody. 
The Seed: The all-providing abundance; the very source. 
Those who are beyond the earth: Those who have transcended the  
phenomenal world.  The Jivan-muktas as also the Vidheha Muktas. 
 
6. Niti: The righteous way of life. 
Paathi: According to Sri Arunai Vadivel Mudaliyaar,  
Paathi means: “The prop of everything.”  If we take the words “Paathiya ondru”  
together, it means: “The one unaffected by aught.”  Paathi (half) has reference  
to Uma’s being His left half. 
One: The one and only God, namely Siva.  
Two: Sivam and Sakti. 
Three: Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra. 
Gnaanam: The word “Aadi” is so translated.  Aadi is the Genesis of Gnosis. 
Gnaanaanantam: The end/fruit/ peak of Gnosis. 
 
 
27. TIRUVAAROOR

 
 
1.     O ye who are good and bad Karma--- mere bubbles  
        That fret, rising from the false, illusive and vast sea! 
    Are you to be deemed wealth? This body--a vast sea  
        Of illusion, is not for nibbling and eating away by you. 
    I ply myself in the work of serving the feet of our Chief--  
        The Lord of souls, the First One, the Vast Sea (of mercy)  
    Of goodly and cool Aaroor and the One who offers  
        To His followers, abidance in His grace, Trouble me not;  
        O fulgurant ones, disturb me not lest you should perish.    269 
 
2.     O Ye five great elements! What is desired by one of you  
        Is not desired by any other of you; you are capable  
    Of holding all the world in your control and possession;  
        I derive from you bogha none; I, for my part, ever  
    Behold Hara who is the empyrean, the aeon, the seven worlds,  
        The cool nectar of bright Aaroor the Patron, and the God  
    Of the celestials; do not pridefully think  
        That you can hold me circumscribed.                 270 
 
3.     It is not fair that you should cast your looks  
        From your outwardly beauteous eyes; desiring daily  
    The beauty of some perishable forms, O ye five  
        Elemental falsities that function in forms manifold!  
    The world is not yours; I will reach the feet of Siva who is,  
        Truly speaking, the triple fire, the triple form, the One  
    With the three, pure eyes and who in His goodly forms rules Aaroor. 
        I will not be wasted by you; bear with me; walk away.        271 
 
4.     O ye who are the fivefold senses of taste, light, touch,  
        Sound and smell and the five sense-organs  
    Of the body! By your nature, ye five  
        Will infuse illusion into the ever-abiding forms, alas!  
    The whole universe is insufficient for you! I, on my part,  
        Will be oned with my Father, the One who, invading my chinta,  
    Imaged Himself therein, the One of auric form,  
        The ever-during hill of Aaroor in the south, the One  
    Who is Sivakkozhuntu -- the Pulchritude of the cosmos. 
        Think not in your pride to snare me.                 272 
 
5.     O ye skilled in strengthening the attachment  
        To worldly experience! O ye of cunning who wilder  
    And weaken others! O ye of the form of (false) pleasure!  
        Is it hard for you who with your winsome makeup, roam  
    Over this world, to achieve your object? I will, for sure,  
        Reach the Father of the celestials who is my Treasure,  
    The Ruby of Aaroor, the Bridegroom of Vaikal  
        And our God.  You cannot cause me dance to your tune;  
        Cease your wearisome roaming.                    273 
 
6.     O ye that are swelling pride, dishonour, passion, enmity,  
        Wrath, miserliness and pain! Is it hard for you who can  
    Roam at will over the bournes of your vast empire  
        To achieve your object? I, for my part, will reach  
    The opulent One of Aaroor, the One who is Brahma  
        Of the beauteous Lotus, and Vishnu, the One that stands  
    Transcending them as the only One, the unknowable, unique  
        Hill of ruddy gold, the Lord Siva.  I will not be  
            by you, directed.                    274 
 
7.     O ye who are trouble, sin, abundant misery,  
        Desire and hatred! Is the world not sufficient  
    For you who run about the world over, agitating it?  
        I, on my part, will reach in all celerity  
    The Lord of Aaroor, the One that burnt the three,  
        Hostile, skyey citadels, the Lord of the celestials.  
        I’ll not dance to your tune; cease your wearisome roaming.    275 
 
8.     O swift-possessing indigence, opulence, cruel anger  
        Joy and hatred! You run and full the great world,  
    To nibble and eat it away; I derive from you bhoga none;  
        I, for my part, will surely behold the supernal Light  
    At Tiruvaaroor, the One who devoured the venom as though  
        It were nectar when the celestials fled away in fright,  
    The Karpaka, the supreme Ens.  I will not fall into  
        Your gin; cease your clinquant and gaudy show.            276 
 
9.     O ye cruel gorcrows -- senses five ever at work!  
        Quotidian you roam over the entire earth and enforce 
    Your reign of bewilderment; (but) the world beyond is not yours;  
        I, for my part, will reach in all clerity the Ruler of Aaroor,  
    The tall column that sustains the immense vault of heaven,  
        The base of the Paataala; I’ll not dance  
        To your tune; cease your wearisome roaming.            277 
 
10.     All of you scatter daily decrease as well as increase;  
        You rule the world ruthlessly in pride; you perform  
    Your acts every day; yet the world beyond is not yours;  
        I, for my part, hail without let or hindrance,  
    The feet of my Lord, the One that pressed His foot  
        To enervate the body of the Raakshasa who pridefully  
    Lifted the mountain, and then grace him in mercy 
        After hearkening to his song.  Trouble me not  
            lest you should perish.                 278 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Good and bad Karma: So are the celestial dames addressed by our  
Saint.  
 
2. Bhoga: Experience good and bad. 
 
3. Bear with me: This is uttered by our Saint in derision.  
 
4. Sivakkozhuntu: Kozhuntu is tender shoot. 
 
9. Paataala: The nethermost world. 
 
 
28. TIRUVAAROOR

 
 
1.     He daubed His forehead with the ash;  
        He adorned Himself inseparably with the white bones;  
    He caused the wind to blow fast; He has an eye  
        Above His eyes; He kicked Yama with His tinkling  
    Ankleted foot; He is the handsome One clad in the skin  
        Of the murderous tiger; He placed the river  
    On His hirsutorufous, matted crest; thus is He,  
        The Lord Tirumoolattananaar of lovely Aaroor.             279 
 
2.     He has a huge snake cinctured round His waist;  
        He gifted Paasupatam to Paartthan;  
    He mantled Himself in the hide of the dark tusker;  
        He bears a skull; His flag sports a kattangkam;   
    He shot with His bow-- a huge mountain;  
        Nandi is the name by which He is known;  
    He burnt the walled towns of rare splendour; thus is He,  
        The Lord Tirumoolattaananaar of lovely Aaroor.            280 
 
3.     He is clad in minimum clothing and skin;  
        He is the opulent One of pure and divine frame;  
    He will cure the fettering malady of His servitors;  
        He is beyond the words articulated by speakers;  
    He causes the great snake with a gem to dance;  
        He had Vaasuki for the string of His bow;  
    He would peregrinate the ornate street; thus is He,  
        The Lord Tirumoolattaananaar of lovely Aaroor.            281 
 
4.     He relished the food received by the begging bowl;  
        As a form he manifested and grew lofty;  
    He devised many a path in the land;  
        He is the Lord of the vast sea of Wisdom;  
    He danced in the crematorium;  
        He goes about melodizing; for His ablutions  
    He prefers the Pancha-kavya; thus is He,  
        The Lord Tirumoolattaananaar of lovely Aaroor.            282 
 
5.     He adorned Himself with the young tusk of the boar;  
        He abides hailed by the celestials;  
    He is seated in the shade of the sylvan Banyan tree;  
        He swallowed the sea’s venom with which His throat is dark;  
    His matted hair sports the young moon of the heaven;  
        He reside happily in the ethereal Mount Kailas;  
    His mount is a Bull; He is the First Letter; such is He,  
        The Lord Tirumoolattaananaar of lovely Aaroor.            283 
 
6.     He burnt Kaama into coal; He devoured the sea’s venom  
        With which His throat is dark;  
    He keeps Soma on His red matted hair;  
        He is the Word and the import of the Word;  
    He is hailed by the Vedas recited by the tongue; He is  
        The supremely desirable One who is joyously concorporate  
    With His consort; on His holy crest runs a river; such is He,  
        The Lord Tirumoolattaananaar of lovely Aaroor.            284 
 
7.     On His crest He placed an aatthi wreath, moon and snake;  
        He Himself stands as the triple worlds;  
    He goes abegging with a stinking skull for His all-bowl;  
        He devised the way for the godly; His throat is  
    Dark with the deadly venom of the sea; He is the Chief  
        Who sports the guise of Gangkaala; He is happy  
    In the servitorship of His devotees; such is He,  
        The Lord Tirumoolattaananaar of lovely Aaroor.            285 
 
8.     He sweetly conferred captaincy; He is the God  
        Unto whom the celestials come, to hail Him;  
    He daubed Himself with the beauteous ash;  
        His is the divine body, absolutely pure;  
    He placed the mantra in the manam (of devotees);  
        Fixing the great snake as its string  
    He bent the great mountain into a bow;  
        He ate the poison as though it were a beautiful thing  
    And keeps it as a jewel in His throat; such is He,  
        The Lord Tirumoolattaananaar of lovely Aaroor.            286 
 
9.    He is the Lord who fosters embodiments;  
        He is without birth and death; He has  
    In His head three eyes; He, the First One, is  
        Wholly bedaubed with the holy ash;  
    His throat has a small, dark patch;  
        He is of Kaalatthi and of Kaaronam;   
    He abides beyond the universe; such is He  
        The Lord Tirumoolattaananaar of lovely Aaroor.            287 
 
10.     Of yore, He stood as the One and only One;  
        He had witnessed many, many aeons;  
    He caused the flood to contain itself without swelling;  
        Birth, trouble and death: He has none of these;  
    He abides not in the bosoms of the unmelting; He parts not  
        From the manam of those who hail Him in joy;  
    He came close to me and said: “Fear not,” Such is He  
        The Lord Tirumoolattaananaar of lovely Aaroor.            288 
 
11.     Well did He explicate the manifold codes of conduct;  
        He is the Chief of the vast sea of Wisdom; 
    He is of the form of killing and he ate what was killed;  
        He crushed the heads of the King of cruel demons;  
    He shot the triple towns that flew in the sky;  
        He is all directions and all things therein;  
    Though He is nameless, His names are legion; such is He,  
        The Lord Tirumoolattaananaar of lovely Aaroor.             289 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
2. Paartthan: Arjuna.  
 
3. The fettering malady: Embodiment.  
Vaasuki: The King of snakes.  
 
5. He is the First Letter: He is the first letter of the alphabet, AKARAM.   
Aanatthu mun yezhutthu may also refer to the letter  
A (short) which precedes the letter A (long). 
 
6. Soma: Moon. 
 
7. Gangkaala: Skeleton.  At the Grand Dissolution, the Lord wears on His  
person the skeletons of Brahma and Vishnu.  
 
8. The meaning of the first line is not clear.  It is said that a Grammar known  
as Indram (Aintiram) was in vogue in Tamil Nadu, in the dim distant past.  
 
10. He came close to me and said: “Fear not.”: This is a rapturous acknowledgement  
of the grace granted to our Saint by Siva.  Suffering from unendurable gripes, our  
Saint addressed Siva and said: “You don’t grace me with the words: “Fear not”  
(Anjelum enneer).”  We meet with this request of our Saint to Siva, in the very first  
decad sung by him.  We find in this decad how the prayer of our Saint was answered  
by Siva.  Siva came close to him and said: “Fear not.”  So, none else could have  
known of this.  Mercifully our Saint shares the secret with the devout reader of his  
hymns. 
 
 
29. TIRUVAAROOR

 
 
1.     The Lord is the beauteous gem, the sweet honey,  
        The milk, the sweet taste of the sweetcane,  
    The clear juice; He is the shining gem; He is  
        The melody and the rhythm of kuzhal, montai,  
    Taalam, vina, kokkarai, sacchari and paani;  
        He is the immense ruby, the coral, the fresh gold 
        And the pearl; He is the rare jewel of Sri Sailam;  
        He is the rare gem; He is the Lord of Aaroor; unwittingly  
        Alas, alas! I, the base cur, was forgetful of Him.        290 
 
2.     He has a beauteous body very like gold; He wears  
        The dazzling white thread; He is the holy One;  
    He is lightning; He is concorporate with Her  
        Of fulgurant waist; He willingly mantled Himself  
    In the hide of the tusker; He is the independent One;  
        He is beyond compare; He is truth; He is the noble One;  
    His body blazes like fire; He is the Lord of Aaroor; unwittingly  
        Alas, alas! I, the base cur, was forgetful of Him.        291 
 
3.     His mount is the Bull; He became the seven worlds;  
        He became the seven seas and the seven mountains;  
    He is Death; He kicked Yama; He holds in His hand  
        A mighty mazhu; He became wind, fire and water;  
    On His fragrant, ruddy, matted hair, He sports the flood  
        Of river Ganga; He is the Lord of Aaroor; unwittingly  
    Alas, alas! I, the base cur, was forgetful of Him.             292 
 
4.     He will annul the past cruel karma; He is the triple-eyed  
        Whose body never ages; He became the moon  
    And the fierce-rayed sun; He is Sankara; He wears  
        A kuzhai wrought of sea-shell; He is mantra and the import  
    Of the Vedas; He is life here and hereafter; He is the handsome One;  
        He is the Lord of Aaroor; unwittingly,  
        Alas, alas! I, the base cur, was forgetful of Him.         293 
 
5.     He is the way of birth; He is glory; He is Pigngnakan;  
        He is a mad man; He is the strong path carved  
    In the manam of devotees; He is homa; He dances  
        In the crematory even as the jackals flee away (in terror);  
    He is the path of renunciation; He dwells in the goodly flower  
        (Of the devotee’s heart); He is the righteous way;  
    He is the Lord of Aaroor; unwittingly, alas, alas!  
        I, the base cur, was forgetful of Him.                294 
 
6.     He will annul the evil deeds of the performance  
        To which man is accustomed; He is Pasupati;  
    He is Agni; He is the comely One who cures one of sin;  
        He causes the cruel snake to dance; His hand holds  
    Kotukotti; He is the Lord of festivals; He is of Veerattam;  
        The celestials hail Him and love Him; He is  
    The handsome One; He is the Lord of Aaroor; unwittingly  
        Alas, alas! I, the base cur, was forgetful of Him.        295 
 
7.     His crown is decked with a crest-jewel; He is the bright One  
        Bedaubed with the fragrant white ash;  
    He wears a serpent of poisonous sacs; He, the handsome One,  
        Is clad in the skin of the murderous tiger;  
    He is daily hailed in the manam of devotees; He is  
        The supremely desirable One; He is the nude One;  
    He is the triple-eyed; He is the Ruler; He is the Lord of Aaroor;  
        Unwittingly, alas, alas! I, the base cur, was  
            forgetful of Him.                    296 
 
8.     He is the pearl; He is the gem; He is the ruby; He is  
        The shoot of unaging Karpaka; He is a chain  
    Of many precious stones; He is a diamond; His mount is  
        A murderous Bull; He is the handsome One  
    Who cause the deadly serpent to dance;  
        He is the loving One; He abides in the manam  
    Of His devotees; His beauteous body is like the sun;  
        He is the Father; He is the Lord of Aaroor; unwittingly  
        Alas, alas! I, the base cur, was forgetful of Him:        297 
 
9.     He holds in His hand a snake of poisonous sacs;  
        His beauteous body is like the sun; He is bright  
    With milk-white ash; He is Nirmalan whose divine body  
        Is bathed in ghee; He has an eye in His forehead;  
    He is like a heap of ruddy coral;  
        On His ruddy matted hair He has placed the white moon;  
    He is of Aiyaaru; He is the Lord of Aaroor; unwittingly  
        Alas, Alas! I, the base cur, was forgetful of Him.        298 
 
10.     He so crushed with his divine toe, Him of ten  
        Glorious heads that his lustre faded away;  
    Then He blessed him with renown and glory; He stood  
        As women twain and man; He is the holy One  
    Who smote the martial towns to smithereens;  
        He is the One adorned with the white ash;  
    He is the sweet One; He is the Lord of Aaroor; unwittingly  
        Alas, alas! The base cure, was forgetful of Him.         299 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
5. Pigngnakan: Pigngnakam is said to be a head-ornament, Siva’ a crown of  
matted hair, i.e., matted hair so arranged as to look like a crown, is His ornament.  
 
10. He stood as women twain and man.  Siva is the one who bears in His frame  
both Uma and Ganga. 
 
 
30. TIRUVAAROOR

 
 
1.     He cured our fettering, cruel malady of karma;  
        He became the seven worlds and the seven seas;  
    He wears a garland of konrai whence wafts fragrance;  
        His chaplet is woven with the crescent; in answer to the prayer  
    Of the celestials, He smote with a dart, the three walled towns;  
        He bathes in fire; He also bathes in Pancha-kavya;  
    He is the opulent One of Tirumoolattaanam at Tiruvaaroor--  
        Rich in gemmy mansions decked with ruddy gold.            300 
 
2.     His waist is cinctured with bones; He is of Aiyaaru;  
        He is nectar--sweet unto His devotees;  
    His matted hair sports the feathers of crane and peacock,  
        Konrai-wreath, cool moon, cruel snake and water;  
    He is the pure way whereon His devotees tread;  
        He is the opulent One of Tirumoolattaanam  
    At Tiruvaaroor which is hailed by the celestials  
        The fame of which fills all the directions.            301 
 
3.     He is Nirmalan in whose matted hair the river flows;  
        In His forehead He has an eye; He is concorporate 
    With Her whose beauteous breasts are covered  
        By a breast-band; on His matted crest  
        Doth rest the crescent; He is Mahadevan;  
    His throat is dark like a rain-cloud;  
        Seated under the Banyan tree He preached dharma;  
    He is the opulent One of Tirumoolattaanam at Tiruvaaroor--  
        Rich in glorious and gemmy mansions.                302 
 
4.     He is mantled in the hide of the jungle tusker;  
        He is Karpaka; of yore, He kicked Yama; He receives alms  
    In the stinking skull to which flesh is still attached;  
        He is the noble One; He presides over Otriyoor;  
    He is the merciful One whose mount is the Bull;  
        He is Aadi who knocked out the teeth of Aadityan;  
    He is the opulent One of Tirumoolattaanam at Tiruvaaroor--  
        Girt with melliferous and flowery groves.             303 
 
5.     He is without birth or death; He became of the form  
        Of both woman and man; He cleared the murk  
    Of my chinta involved in sin; (then to me)  
        He showed a way unknown to the celestials;  
    He is the opulent One of Tirumoolattaanam at Tiruvaaroor  
        Which the celestials, in great splendour, adore daily  
    With melliferous flowers, smoke of frankincense,  
        Lamps and fragrant unguents.                    304 
 
6.     He is Sankara; He blessed Maal with a Disc;  
        He is wearing in His crest the young crescent;  
    He is the Chief; He clipped one of the five heads of Ayan  
        Of the beauteous Lotus; He is of Aiyaaru  
    Girt with lovely groves; He is our Deity; He is the Lord  
        Who, by His grace, chases away my troubles; He  
    The opulent One of Tirumoolattaanam at Tiruvaaroor  
        Hailed by the celestials and girt with fields  
            teeming in lotuses.                    305 
 
7.     He is our God who confers good and annuls evil; 
        He became the four Vedas and the six Angas;  
    He is bright like lightning; He is the Alpha;  
        His flag sports a statant, white Bull;  
    He is Yekampan of Kacchi girt with groves;  
        He is of Sotrutthurai; He is the opulent One  
    Of Tirumoolattaanam at Tiruvaaroor girt with gardens  
        Where the southerly blows wafting fragrance.            306 
 
8.     His matted hair is decked with auric and fragrant konrai;  
        He abides at Pukaloor and Poovanam; He is  
    Concorporate with Her whose slender waist is lightning-like;  
        He is a Brahmin; over His chest dangle strands  
    Of white thread; He wields a murderous trident;  
        His beauteous body is bedaubed with glorious  
    And beautiful ash; He is the opulent One  
        Of Tirumoolattaanam at Tiruvaaroor  
        Surrounded by fields of ruddy and fecund soil.            307 
 
9.     He burnt the three towns of the adversaries;  
        His throat is dark with the oceanic venom  
    That He ate; He glows on earth with growing lustre;  
        He abides at Vaaimoor and Maraikkaadu;  
    He is the hoary One not to be beheld by him  
        Of lotus-eyes and the god on the Lotus flower;  
    He is the opulent One of Tirumoolattaanam at Tiruvaaroor  
        Girt with fields rich in lucid water.                308 
 
10.    He rides the martial Bull which is red-eyed Maal;  
        He is of Aanaikkaa in the south; He smote  
    And burnt the three, hostile, walled towns;  
        He is the great One who comes not near the deceptive;  
    That day, with His beauteous toe, He so crushed  
        The ten heads and the twenty shoulders  
    Of the lifter of the irremovable mountain, that he wailed;  
        He is the opulent One of Tirumoolattanam at Tiruvaaroor.    309 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
4. Aadi: The Lord who is the Beginning.  
Aadityan: The sun.  The Sungod lost his teeth in Daksha-yagna.  
 
6. Sankara: He who confers weal.  
Ayan: Brahma. 
 
 
31. TIRUVAAROOR

 
 
1.     O heart, come here! If you seek to put an end to troubles  
        May you in fervour cry aloud thus, even thus: 
    “O Lord on whose matted hair Ganga flows!  
        O inner light that shines bright!  
    O One whose shoulders dazzle with the pure ash!  
        O One whose throat is dark with the oceanic venom  
    That You ate! O One whose hand holds an antlered fawn!  
        O One whose mount is the martial Bull!  
    O Nectar! O Lord of Aaroor!”                        310 
 
2.     O Heart, resolve to end evil karma, and for that,  
        Cry in faith and with fervour, thus, even thus: 
    “O One of beauteous body bedaubed with the ash!  
        O holy One that cut the shoulder of Purantaran!  
    O One that has me as your servitor! O Chief!  
        O our King of Aaroor! O yekampan of Kacchi  
        Girt with fragrant groves! O Karpaka!”                311 
 
3.     O heart, come here! If you seek life eternal, do these:  
        Wake up before daybreak every day; enter the premises  
    Of our Lord’s shrine; sweep the precincts (with a broom):  
        Coat them with cow-dung; weave garlands adoringly;  
    Sing His glory; bow with your head and enact a dance;  
        Cry aloud in fervour thus: “Hail Sankara!  
    All hail Sankara! O Aadi in whose matted hair flows  
        The river of billowy water! O Lord of Aaroor!”            312 
 
4.     O heart, know this to constitute punya and righteous path!  
        Listen with care! Thus, even thus, should you hail Him:  
    “O One that wears on Your chest the subtle and white  
        Strands of thread! O Lamp that needs no inducement!  
    Daily, the celestial Devas, the Vedas four, the Four-faced  
        Of the fragrant Flower and Maal hail You as One  
    Whose hallowed names are legion!  
        O Lord of beauteous Aaroor!”                     313 
 
5.     It is impossible to live beyond the ordained day;  
        Hail and praise Him during night and broad day;  
    Say thus: “O great One! Forgive our sins and bless us!  
        O Pigngnaka! O Blue-throated!” Cry with fervour thus:  
    “I seek Your refuge, O handsome One that dwells  
        At beauteous Aaroor! O King whose tresses are matted!”  
    O heart, even thus you proclaim; your flaws  
        Will cease; I swear this on me.”                 314 
 
6.     O heart! I have been contemplating to end the onset  
        Of manifold transmigration, well-nigh impossible  
    To forfend; behold this! Think on Him thus, even thus:  
        “O Lord whose victorious flag is inseparable  
    From the signum of the Bull! O Siva who showed the way  
        Leading of Sivaloka! O Lord who stood as a column  
    Of flame to the hailing of the Four-faced ever throned  
        On the Flower and the lotus-eyed whose mount is the bird!  
        O Lord f wealth-abounding Aaroor!”                 315 
 
7.     O heart, if you seek to annul attaching sins,  
        To gain the path leading to eternal life,  
    And vanquish the circumscribing karma,  
        Listen to what I say! Praise Him thus, even thus:  
    “You are my kin and help sure! I will not think  
        Of any God other than You! O holy One whose waist  
    Is cinctured with a serpent of the ant-hill!  
        O Lord of Aaroor girt with groves!”                316 
 
8.     O heart, let me enlighten you; this is the way  
        For redemption; cry with fervour thus: “O Overlord  
    Of the celestials! O Nectar! O Alpha! O Chief!  
        O Sire of Aaroor!” Scattering fresh flowers  
    Hail and adore Him; circumambulate His shrine;  
        Render service; sing and praise Him thus: “O Lord  
    In whose crest shines the bright-rayed moon!  
        O Kaalakaalaa! O Karpaka!”                     317 
 
9.     O heart, you can snap the shackling bondage!  
        Hail Him thus: “O Paranjoti! O Pandarangka!  
    O Queller of sins! O bright Light of the land!  
        O God of gods! O Tirumoolattaana of Tiruvaaroor!” 
    Thus, even thus, should you hail Him in increasing love,  
        Melting in His presence; proceed to His shrine daily,  
    Fall at His feet, stand up freed of worry, and praise  
        Him thus: “O Chief of the celestials! O Lord, O Lord!”        318 
 
10.     O heart, come here! Dance not to the tune of the five senses;  
        Do not roam abroad futilely; daily adore Him thus:  
    “O Chief in whose matted hair the river flows!  
        O Destroyer of the sacrifice of Daksha!  
    O God that crushed the head of Lanka’s king!  
        O my Father that abides at beauteous Aaroor!  
    Ha, You did place your goodly feet on my head!”  
        Do this and be blessed with weal.                319 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
2. Purantaran: Indra.  
 
5. Ordained day: The day ordained for death.  
 
6. Flower: Lotus.  Bird: Garuda. 
 
7. Ant-hill: The ant-hill deserted by the white ants.  
 
8. Kaalakaalaa: The death of Death; the One that has transcended Time. 
 
9. Paranjoti: Supernal Light.  
 
10. You did place your goodly feet on my head: Our Saint was blessed with  
the Tiruvadi-Diksha at Nalloor. 
 
 
32. TIRUVAAROOR 

 
 
POTRITTHIRUTTHAANDAKAM 
(The Magnification-Thaandakam) 
 
1.     O the fruit that is eaten by the learned, praise be!  
        O the Way trodden by them that have reached  
    Thy feet, praise be! O the Nectar of the destitute, praise be!  
        Annulling my woe, You rule med--Your servitor praise be!  
    O the great One beyond compare, praise be!  
        O the Catholicon hailed by the celestials, praise be!  
    O Siva that burnt the hostile towns, praise be!  
        O Tirumoolattaana, praise be! praise be!             320 
 
2.     O the Eater of the venom of sea where sail ships, praise be!  
        O the One that mantled Yourself  
    With the hide of the ichorous tusker, praise be!  
        O the One that wears the wreath of melliferous,  
    Fragrant and burgeoning konrai, praise be!   
        O Handsome One clad in the skin of the killer-tiger, praise be!  
    O the merciful One, the Lord of the celestials, praise be!  
        O the One that explicated dharma seated in the shade  
    Of the Banyan tree, praise be! O the unique Hill  
        Of ruddy gold, O Siva, praise be!  
    O Tirumoolattaana, praise be, praise be!                 321 
 
3.     O the Consort of the Mountain’s Daughter, praise be!  
        O the Rider of the young Bull, praise be! Your  
                feet divine, praise be!  
    O the One that firmly abides in my bosom, praise be!  
        O the One that has an eye in the forehead, praise be!  
    O the Wielder of the triple-bladed trident, praise be!  
        You became the seven seas and the seven worlds, praise be!  
    O Siva that, of yore, shot with a bow the three walled towns, praise be!  
        O Tirumoolattana, praise be, praise be!             322 
 
4.     O Lord of auric body, praise be, praise be!  
        O Lord of Bhootha-Hosts, praise be, praise be!  
    You became the aeviternal Vedas four, praise be!  
        O Lord that holds a fawn in Your hand, praise be, praise be!  
    O Truth unto those that contemplate You, praise be, praise be!  
        O the Primal Ens of the world, praise be, praise be!  
    O One with a crescent on Your crest, praise be, praise be! 
        O Tirumoolattaana, praise be, praise be!             323 
 
5.     O One that holds poison in Your throat, praise be, praise be!  
        Your feet, O One of great tapas, praise be, praise be!  
    O King who knocked out the teeth of the fierce sun, praise be!  
        O the One supremely different, that wears the white moon.  
    O Flame that bedaubs Your person with pure ash, praise be! praise be!  
        O the One that delights to dance in darkness  
                when sleep prevails, praise be!  
    O the One of hirsutorufous hair, praise be, praise be!  
        O Tirumoolattaana, praise be, praise be!             324 
 
6.     Your feet, O Sankara, praise be, praise be!  
        Your feet O Sadaasiva, praise be, praise be!  
    Your feet, O Wearer of many serpents, praise be, praise be!  
        Your feet, O righteous One praise be, praise be!  
    Your feet, O Lord of the form of fire unbeheld by Ayan  
        Of beauteous Lotus and maal, praise be, praise be!  
    Your divine feet like unto red lotus, praise be, praise be!  
        O Tirumoolattaana, praise be, praise be!             325 
 
7.     O One whose matted hair is decked with fragrant konrai, praise be!  
        O One who sports the skiey crescent and the  
                bright snake, praise be!  
    O One concorporate with the willowy-waisted, praise be!  
        O King who with Your ankleted foot kicked Death, praise be!  
    O Ens great unto the loving devotees, praise be! praise be!  
        You became the four Vedas and the six Angas, praise be!  
    O Ruddy gold, O Emerald, O Ruby, praise be!  
        O Tirumoolattaana, praise be, praise be!             326 
 
8.     O Soul that abides ensouling the soul, praise be!  
        O One that parts not from the manam of loving ones, praise be!  
    O Patron, praise be! O Bridegroom, praise be! O Great One  
        That cut the shoulder of the King of the celestials, praise be!  
    O the supremely different One that rides the white Bull, praise be!  
        O the loftiest One, greatest among the great, praise be!  
    O the One sporting the clear-watered Ganga  
        In Your matted hair, praise be!  
    O Tirumoolattaana, praise be, praise be!                 327 
 
9.     O Holy One whose crest is flower-laden, praise be!  
        O Ens hailed by the god, praise be! O Lord of gods,  
    Praise be! O Giver of the Disc to Tirumaal, praise be!  
        O One that saved me from Death and rules me, praise be!  
    O the Adept who is bedaubed with the ash that is white  
        Like conch, praise be! O the One whose victorious flag  
    Displays the Bull, praise be, praise be!  
        O Tirumoolattaana, praise be, praise be!             328 
 
10.     O the great One that clipped Brahma’s head, praise be!  
        O the One that stands in the androgynous form, praise be! 
    O triple-eyed and four-handed Lord, praise be!  
        O One easy of access to the loving ones, praise be!  
    O King of the nectar-possessing celestials, praise be!  
        Your roseate feet, O Lord, of yore, crushed the shoulders  
    Five times four, the feet and the heads of the Demon,  
        Praise be, praise be!  
    O Tirumoolattaana! Praise be, praise be!                329 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. The Fruit: Gnosis  
The learned: The learning is spiritual and divine, not mundane and  
phenomenal.  
 
3. The Mountain’s Daughter: Paarvati.  
The seven seas: These are of (i) Salt, (ii) Milk, (iii) Curds, (iv) Ghee (clarified butter)  
(v) Sugarcane juice, (vi) Wine and (vii) Lucid Water. 
The seven worlds: These are islands called (i) Jambu, (ii) Saaka, (iii) Kusa,  
(iv) Crowncha, (v) Jaanmali, (vi) Gometaka and (vii) Pushkara. 
 
6. Sadasiva: In Saiva Siddhantam Sadaasiva stands for the formless form of Lord  
Siva.  The linga is Sadaasiva. 
 
7. The willowy-waisted: Uma. 
 
 
33. TIRUVAAROOR ARANERI

 
Our Saint sojourned at Tiruvaaroor for a number of days.  He adored regularly the Lord at His  
shrine Poongkoyil.  The shrine known as Tiruvaaroor Araneri is close to the Poongkoyil. To- 
day, both these temples are in the same complex.  The following decad is in praise of the  
Lord of Araneri.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Akileswarar and Vandaarkuzhali /  
Bhuvaneswari. 
 
1.     He is mantled in the hide of the ichorous tusker  
        That battled with its trunk; He abides in Poovanam  
    And Valanjuzhi; He is the candy of sugarcane, the sweet 
        Nectar and honey; He is the ruddy Flame rare to behold,  
    The hill of gold; He abides at Moolattaanam of the great  
        Golden walled-Aaroor; He is the rare tapaswi who is hailed  
    By the celestials; He is the Father of Araneri!  
        It is indeed great that I, the servitor, could reach Him  
    And do away with my malady of incurable Karma!                 330 
 
2.     He became the Karpaka and the two great lights; He abides  
        At the mountains of Kaalatthi and Kailas; by His look  
    He burnt Manmata -- the wielder of the bow; He confronted  
        Arjuna in the form of a hunter; He is our Lord who  
    Majestically abides at Moolattaanam of Aaroor girt with groves;  
        He is the Void unto them that ensouls Him not; He is the Father  
    Of Araneri; it is great that I, the servitor, reached Him  
        And did away with my malady of incurable Karma.            331 
 
3.     His (left) half is a woman; on His crest Ganga rests;  
        He presides over Paasoor and Parangkunram; He is  
    The Lord of the Vedas; He is easy of access to His devotees;  
        He is the Lamp of true Wisdom; He abides at the Ant-Hill  
    Of Moolattaanam at Aaroor fragrant with flowers;  
        He is ever hailed (by all); He is the Beginning;  
    He is the Father of Araneri; it is great that I  
        The servitor, reached Him and did away  
        With my malady of incurable Karma.                332 
 
4.     He is the supremely desirable One whom Nandi serves;  
        He keeps Naakeccharam as His shrine; He is the Tattvan  
    Who is adored with flowers by the celestials during the divisions  
        Of the day; He gifted the Disc to Maal; He is the Lord-God  
    At Moolattaanam of Aaroor girt with groves through which  
        The moon penetrates; He is the Brahmin hailed by the celestials;  
    He is the Father of Araneri; it is great that I, the servitor,  
        Reached Him and did away with my malady of  
                incurable Karma.                333 
 
5.     His divine body is of the hue of bright-rayed coral;  
        He is daubed with the white ash; He is the Jyoti-linga  
    Of Toongkaanaimaatam; He abides at the graveyard  
        Abounding in flesh; He burnt the mighty walled towns;  
    He is our Moolattaanam’s Lord of Aaroor girt with groves  
        Rich in petalled flowers; He spoilt the sacrifice of them  
    That disregarded Him; He is the Father of Araneri; 
        It is great that I, the servitor, reached Him and did away  
        With my malady of incurable Karma.                334 
 
6.     He is the Mother unto every life; He is beyond compare;  
        He is the Chief that dances at great Tillai;  
    Hailed by Maayavan, Ayan of the Lotus-flower and the celestials,  
        He, the great One, ate the poison of the great billowy sea  
    And grew lofty; He is our Lord-God who is pleased to abide  
        At Moolattaanam of Aaroor girt with groves;  
    He became all the things even ere they came into being;  
        He is the Father of Araneri; it is great that I,  
    The servitor reached Him and did away  
        With my malady of incurable Karma.                335 
 
7.     He is the goodly spoken word and its subtle phases;  
        He presides over Paasoor and Purampayam; He is the remedy  
    For them whose chintas are dark with befuddlement;  
        He abides at Maraikkaadu and Saaikkaadu; He is the Lord  
    That sweetly abides at Moolattaanam of Aaroor  
        Girt with groves imbrowned with shady bowers;  
    He grants grace when the celestials hail Him; He is the Father  
        Of Araneri, - it is great that I, the servitor, reached Him  
    And did away with my malady of incurable Karma.                336 
 
8.     He is the God that smote Death with His foot; He presides  
        Over Kaaronam and Kazhippaalai; of yore, He gave  
    To the infant the sea of milk; He is sweet to the devotees  
        Who delight in His servitorship; He, the Lord, abides  
    At Moolattaanam of Aaroor girt with fields where sale fish  
        Roll; He whose body radiates like coral, has a crest  
    Of matted hair like unto banyan roots; He is the Father of Araneri;  
        It is great that I, the servitor, reached Him and did away  
    With my malady of incurable Karma.                    337 
 
9.     He is the One beyond compare; He presides over Otthoor  
        And Uraiyoor; He is the treasure at hand at the hour  
    Of need; He is the Ruby, the Flame; He became the wind,  
        The fire, the ether, the water and the earth;  
    ............................................                338 
 
10.     He is the deceptive One that knocked out the teeth of the Sun;  
        He holds Paraaitthurai and Paigngneeli as His residence;  
    He caused trouble to hostile Raavana; He is the murk  
        Within the manam of those that hail Him not; He is our God 
    Abiding at Moolattaanam of renowned Aaroor girt with groves;  
        He abides not in the chinta of those that adore Him not;  
    He is the Father of Araneri; it is great that I, the servitor,  
        Reached Him and did away with my malady of  
                incurable Karma.                339 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES  
 
1. Araner: This term means: “The way of Siva”.  
 
2. The Void: The Tamil word: ‘Arputam’ is so rendered. 
That ‘Arputam’ means ‘Sunya’ is made clear by St. Meykantaar.  Vide Sutra 9.   
Adikarana 2. of the Sivagnaanabhotham: “Arputam pol aana arivaai….”  
 
4. The divisions of the day: Morning, noon and evening. 
 
6. Maayavan: Vishnu. 
He became... into being: The idea is that it is God Siva who is the Author of  
all things.  
 
7. This verse speaks of the fourfold Vaak (types of speech). 
 
8. Sale fish: carp, cyprinus.  
 
9. This verse is not available in its complete form. 
 
 
34. TIRUVAAROOR

 
 
1.     When did You hold as Your shrine Tiruvaarroor?  
        Was it during, before or after the time, You stood  
    As the one and only One hailed by the world  
        Or when Your single form became the triune form?  
    Or when as the wrathful One You smote Death?  
        Or when with the fire of Your eye, You burnt Kaama?  
    Or when, remaining immanent, You caused the earth  
        And the heavens to manifest? Or when You, holding  
    In Your hand the antelope and the mazhu became  
        Concorporate with Your beautiful Consort?            340 
 
2.     When did You hold as Your shrine Tiruvaaroor?  
        Was it during, before or after the time when You  
    Enjoyed Yourself with the golden Damsel of the Mountain?  
        Or when with nectar You fed the celestial and conferred  
    On them immoratality? Or When You stood a column  
        Of inconceivable flame? Or with ado none  
    When You ate the poison of the billowy main?  
        Or when You stood surrounded by the celestial throngs?  
    Or when with a bow, You burnt the triple towns?             341 
 
3.     When did You hold as Your shrine ornate Aaroor?  
        Was it during, before or after the time when You, 
    As a hunter, and the Damsel to whose soft feet are fastened  
        Paatakam, went forth to test the puissance of Arjuna,  
    And shot arrows bending the bow? Or when You stood  
        As the (guiding) eye of the celestials? Or to abide aeviternally  
    And enact the dance, when You entered the rubied Ambalam  
        Of Tillai rich in storeyed houses and mansions?         342 
 
4.     When did You hold as Your shrine ever-during Aaroor?  
        Was it during, before or after when You soared aloft  
    And stood erect? Or when You enacted You lila  
        In one yuga following it up in the seven yugas?  
    Or when You smote the mighty sacrifice of the glorious  
        Celestials and Daksha? Or when the one seated  
    On the Lotus not born of water and the tall Maal invoked  
        You thus: “O our God, please abide in our buddhi?”        343 
 
5.     O the One who never had an infancy to grow from!  
        O the Prop of the worshippers manifesting then and there!  
    O the eight-shouldered whose beauteous throat is blue!  
        O Greatness that as yesterday becomes to-day and tomorrow!  
    O One of lilas! O the Glory of the way leading to Sivaloka!  
        O Keenness! O goodly Principle! When did You hold  
    As Your shrine the cool Aaroor? Was it during, before or after  
        The time when You chose to assume the beauteous forms?         344 
 
6.     When did You hold as Your shrine ornate Aaroor?  
        Was it during, before or after the time when You  
    Revealed the way of manifold attainment and the means  
        Therefore? Or when You stood as the Small and Great One?  
    Or When You abode granting grace to the Great munis  
        Curing their bewilderment caused by their indulgence  
    In disagreeable Karma? Or when You went forth holding  
        The skull of the illustrious and glorious Brahma, begging alms  
    And eating it, and roamed about? Or when You inculcated  
        The multifoliate dharma?                     345 
 
7.     When did You hold as Your shrine serene Aaroor?  
        Was it during, before or after the time when You stood  
    Straight, transcending the earth and the heavens?  
        Or when You stood animating the mobile and the immobile  
    To grant them their whish, like Karpaka, when hailed?  
        Or when, of yore, for the reason that the celestials should  
    Flourish and the Asuras should perish, You created Naaraayana,  
        And enfeebled the Asuras, and the ate the poison  
                which Vaasuki disgorged?  
    Or was it when You killed Jalandara?                     346 
 
8.     When did You hold as Your shrine festive Aaroor?  
        Was it during before or after the time when You protected  
    Muyalakan with Your foot? Or when You on earth, stood  
        As the supernal flame? Or when You blessed the servitors  
    Who abundantly hymned Your praise with the imperishable,  
        Ethereal word? Or when You--the God of the Bhootha-Hosts,  
    Concorporate with the blue Woman-Your Equal-, explicated  
        The Vedas to the four Brahmins that never uttered  
    A falsehood, and the celestials?                     347 
 
9.     When did You hold as Your shrine Tiruvaaroor?  
        Was it during, before or after the time You created  
    The octet of Life’s cycles, the eight blemishes,  
        The eight senses, the eight worlds, the eight islands,  
    The eight oceans, the eight fortress-like mountains,  
        The eightfold sights (envisioning), the eight gains  
    Secured by them that have reached the ankleted  
        And roseate feet, the eight lights,  
    The eightfold time, the eightfold good,  
        The eightfold weal, the eight mental flowers  
    Of those that are poised in righteousness,  
        And the eight directions?                     348 
 
10.     When did You hold as Your shrine Tiruvaaroor?  
        Was it during, before or after the time, when You,  
    As the ruling God, became the seven worlds and the Mountain?  
        Or when You quelled the puissance of Raavana?  
    Or when you became the fragrant flowers and the southerly?  
        Or when You joyously mantled Yourself in the hide  
    Of the ichorous tusker? Or when You gave to Chandi  
        The pollen-laden flower-wreath? Or when You redeemed  
    The Sakaras from hell? Or when the world came to know of You?         349 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES  
 
1. The ancientness of Tiruvaaroor is the theme of this decad.  
 
3. Paatakam: A woman’s foot-ornament, anklet.  
 
4. When You soared aloft and stood erect: This has reference to Siva’s rising as  
a column of fire (Lingotbhava Moorti).  
Lila: Sport.  Play.  
 
5. The beauteous forms: All these are forms of Grace.  
They are called Bhoga.  Yoga and Vega.  
 
6. The Small and great One: Siva is the smallest of the small and the greatest of  
the great.  
Munis: These were the atheistic munis who abode at Taarukaavanam practicing  
the Karma Kaanda of the Vedas.  
 
8. Muyalakan was actually immobilised by Siva. Muyalakan is the symbol of  
Aanava mala--the fore of which can be neutralized only by Siva.  The word  
‘protected’ is use in a pejorative sense.  
The passage following line 6 is also capable of a different interpretation.  
The Chief of the Bhootha-hosts: Nandi.  
The blue Woman: Uma.  The holy One: Brahma. 
To all these, the Lord explicated the Vedas at various times. 
 
 
35. TIRUVENNKAADU

 
It is said that our Saint adored at Tiruvennkaadu after his visit to Nanipalli.  The names of  
the Deity and His Consort are Swetaaranyeswarar / Vennkaattunaathar and Brahma Vidyaa Naayaki  
/ Brahma Vidyaampikai. 
 
1.     Bedaubing His glowing and bright body with the holy ash,  
        Holding in His hand a trident, wearing a serpent  
    That for ever thrusts and twists its tongue, bedecking  
        His ear-lobe with a speckled snake, wearing a lovely  
    And long-extending crescent, whilst His golden, matted  
        Strands of hair dangling sway, He of the white,  
    Sacred thread came through the long street, made a conquest  
        Of my heart and code on the white Bull that walks  
    As He wills; He is the supremely different One  
        That presides over Vennkaadu.                    350 
 
2.     He places His feet on them that are blessed to receive them;  
        His feet penetrate beyond the seven, nether worlds;  
    He feet so rest that they forfend misery; He is the one-food  
        That stands as the seven worlds; when the deluge swallowing  
    All places, soars aloft, becoming an all-pervading sheet of water  
        And remains still at the time of the Dissolution of the cosmos,  
    He plays the Vedas on the Vina and listens to it; He is  
        The supremely different One that presides over Vennkaadu.    351 
 
3.     Yesterday He came with a begging-bowl seeking alms;  
        I told Him that I would be back anon and went inside  
    My house: He stood there where He was; He would not receive alms;  
        He looked at me as though he would come near me.  
    “What is Your station? What may Your town be?” I asked.  
        He would not give me any specific answer; it is He,  
    The supremely different One of Vennkaadu where,  
        Companied with each other, the soft-breasted damsels  
    Joyously gambol and sport.                        352 
 
4.     Containing Uma in His body, sporting a river (on His head),  
        Girdled with a five-headed snake, riding a Bull  
    And surrounded by the Bhoota-Hosts blessed with manifold  
        Felicity, He barged in, clad in tiger-skin; I came  
    Near Him to offer Him food; He bewitched me by His look,  
        Violated me--the sinner, and relieved me of my bangles;  
    He is the supremely different One that presides  
        Over Vennkaadu girt with cloud-capped groves.            353 
 
5.     As the pot-bellied Bhootas whose ears are decked  
        With dazzling kuzhai, beat kotukotti, dance and sing.  
    He roams about as One who is out to purloin  
        The heart and then move away; I was unaware of His guile;  
    I but returned; He caste on me furtive looks; He eyes me  
        Though He makes it appear that He does not;  
    It looks as though He can be seen, when in truth he becomes  
        Invisible; His matted hair sports the river; His tongue  
    Chants the Vedas; He is the supremely different One  
        That presides over Vennkaadu.                     354 
 
6.     He is the Wielder of the trident; holding a bright mazhu.  
        Wearing a wreath of dazzling konrai, mouthing  
    Sweet things and riding a Bull of the manger, He goes,  
        Not accepting alms; He looks like one that will undo  
    The nature of his beholders; He is daubed with the indelible  
        White ash; He spake in heat; He undid the thought  
    Of His beholders: He robbed us of our bangles;  
        His matted hair is radiant during day as well as night;  
    His lips chant the Vedas; He is the Vikirtan of Vennkaadu.         355 
 
7.     On one side of His person, He has a Woman; He leads  
        A repulsive life; curving snakes are what He wears; 
    He speaks words that cause blushing; His acts agree not  
        With the worldly life of eating and slumbering;  
    O woman, if He eats, it is poison; otherwise He eats nothing;  
        He has beauteous and spreading matted hair; He speaks  
    Annulling differences; He wears the skiey crescent; He recites  
        The Vedas; He is the Vikirtan of Vennkaadu.            356 
 
8.     With women He articulates submissive words;  
        The celestials, Mall and Ayan foregather  
    And hail Him with mantras; they bathe Him  
        In holy water, adore Him with many a hymn,  
    Wave incense before Him and think thus:  
        “Will our Lord accept our servitorship?” To them,  
    He grants the boons desired; He acts differently;  
        He the Vikirtan of Vennkaadu, rides a white Bull.        357 
 
9.     He of the Bird and the Four-faced bored into the earth  
        And flew up; yet they could not behold Him who stood  
    As a column of crackling fire; He is the immanent One;  
        His guises are more than one; He abides as the Light  
    Of the world; scattering melliferous konrai, the white tusker  
        Adored Him during the three divisions of the day  
    And unfailingly performed askesis; He granted it the desired boons;  
        He is the Vikirtan that presides over Vennkaadu.        358 
 
10.     He, the son of him that lifted up the great hill,  
        Has the long sweetcane for his bow; even as  
    The celestials that came with him as his help, stood  
        Helpless, He stared at him, and in a trice gutted him  
    With fire; He so crushed the bright head of the ruling  
        King of Lanka upon the sea, that his eyes popped out;  
    Then He cured him of his swelling pride;  
        He is the Vikirtan that presides over Vennkaadu.        359 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. The white Bull: The mount of Siva which makes its movement as desired  
by Him.  
 
2. Yekappaathar: The Deity with a single foot.  The foot of the Deity is  
symbolic of His universal Grace.  
 
Yekapaathar is one of twentyfive iconic forms of Siva.  
 
6. Vikirtan: One who is different. 
 
8. He acts differently: The acts of Siva are unique.  They can neither be  
emulated nor imitated by others.  
 
9. The white tusker: Airaavatam, the mount of Indra.  According to Amarar  
Sirai pukku Patalam(Kanda Puranam), Airaavatam worshipped Siva at  
Vennkaadu and became blessed.  
 
10. The great Hill: Govardan. 
This verse celebrates the two destructive deeds of Siva, which are, in  
truth, fraught with grace. 
 
 
36. TIRUPPAZHANAM

 
It was at Nalloor, our Saint was blessed with the Tiruvadi-Diksha.  He stayed in this place  
for a number of days and adored the Lord of Nalloor.  From here he would proceed to various  
places to adore Siva enshrined there.  However, He would come back to Nalloor after his  
visits.  It was during this period our Saint visited Tiruppazhanam.  The names of the Deity  
and His Consort are Aapathsakaayar and Periya Naayaki.  
 
1.     He is the eater of the poison bred by the billowy main;  
        He is the Aadi that graces the celestials;  
    He kicked the murderous Yama; He is clad in the skin  
        Of the killer-tiger; with His mountain-bow He burnt  
    The triple towns; He cured me of the evil malady  
        And rules me; beauteously does He go about, abegging;  
        He is our Lord of Pazhanam town.                360 
 
2.     He received the flood on His matted crest; He is  
        Far, far superior to the greatest of the great;  
    He cured my deceptive mind and rules me;  
        He is the Lord of the vigilant Bhoota-Hosts;  
    To the (upright) heart He grants joyance;  
        He would cure chronic diseases and petty (illness;)  
    He ate the poison of the deep ocean;  
        He is our Lord of Pazhanam town.                 361 
 
3.     He stands both as day and night;  
        He for ever abides in my bosom;  
    His waist is cinctured with a snake; He bathes  
        In fire; His hand offers refuge; He is  
    Of Kutraalam fragrant with Kuraa; He delights  
        More and more to assume manifold guises;  
    He is the friend of the adoring serviteurs;  
        He is our Lord of Pazhanam town.                362 
 
4.     He smote the three, indestructible, walled towns;  
        He wears as His waist-band the speckled snake;  
    He is the pure One bedaubed with the ash;  
        He has an eye of fire in His forehead;  
    His hand holds a cruel weapon, the trident;  
        He wears as His jewels bones; He goes seeking  
    Alms with a skull on which is perched a kestrel;  
        He is our Lord of Pazhanam town.                 363 
 
5.     He is hailed with glory; He is the God  
        That abides in all the directions;  
    He is indeed the insatiable nectar;  
        He is of endless glory; His mode of life is  
    Lucid as water; He bent the extensive mountain  
        Into a bow; He is adored by the earth-born;  
    He is our Lord of Pazhanam town.                     364 
 
6.     He is the One valiant to snatch the life of Death;  
        His mount is a Bull that runs very fast;  
    He delights to assume manifold guises; He wears  
        The curving and coiling snake as His waist-cord;  
    His throat is bright with the blue venom;  
        He abides atop the lofty mountain;  
    He is an infant and a grand old man;  
        He is our Lord of Pazhanam town.                365 
 
7.     He is concorporate with Uma -- His fitting match;  
        He abides transcending the seven aeons;  
    He is poised for adoration with choice-flowers;  
        He is of boundless glory;  
    He keeps on His matted crest the waning crescent;  
        He is cinctured with a fire-breathing serpent;  
    He received on His crown, Ganga of forceful descent;  
    He is our Lara of Pazhanam town.                    366 
 
8.     He abides not in the bosoms of those that think not of Him;  
        He abides in the devotees whose minds melt in love;  
    He is for ever poised in my chinta; He is seldom beheld  
        By others; He abides in the three worlds abounding  
    In many a town; He guards the cosmos and keeps it  
        Freed of tremor; He dwells in the sea that roars  
    Like a muzhavam; He is our Lord of Pazhanam town.             367 
 
9.     For the tall one, He assumed the form of fire;  
        He has on one side of His person the bejewelled  
    He has a snake cinctured on His tiger-skin vestment;  
        He sports a river on His golden-hued matted hair;  
    He holds all the seven worlds under his suzerainty;  
        He abides in all places and blesses as Siva;  
    Among the Paandavas, He was compassionate to Arjuna;  
        He is our Lord of Pazhanam town.                 368 
 
10.     Riding His Bull, He abides at the shrines of His choice;  
        He is of Sotrutthurai hailed by the ray-diffusing Day-Star;  
    He is encircled by the Deva-throngs; He presides  
        Over Poonthurutthi and Neitthanam;  
    He is of Aiyaaru girt with water;  
        He quelled the puissance of the demon;  
    He has for his army many, many Bhootas;  
        He is our Lord of Pazhanam town.                 369 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. The evil malady: The cycle of transmigration.  
3. Kuraa: Common bottle-flower.  
6. He is an infant and a grand old man: God is ageless.  
8. Muzhavam: A percussion instrument.  
9. He abides…. As Siva: The world stands blessed by the omnipresence  
of Siva. 
 
 
37. TIRUVAIYAARU

 
As bidden by Siva, our Saint plunged into a pool of the Himalayas, and rose out of a pond in  
Tiruvaiyaaru.  In this holy place, he beheld all entia as Siva and Sakti.  He abode at a  
nearby place called Poonthurutthi and visited Tiruvaiyaaru.  It was during this time the  
following decad was sung by him.  
 
The names of the Deity and His Consort are Panchanatheswarar / Pranathaartthiharar / Ayyaaran  
/ Sempoorjoti Easwarar / Jalpesar and Dharmasamvardhani / AramValarttha Naayaki. 
 
1.     I hailed Him thus: “O Bather in fire who by Your look  
        Reduced to cinders the triple hostile towns, O Nectar!”  
    Even thus I hailed Him: “O Lord of the pyknic Bhoota-Hosts!  
        Who wields a sharp and bright mazhu!”  
    Again I hailed Him thus: “O One whose name are legion!  
        O Pigngnaka that wears a crescent” 
    “O insatiable Nectar, O Lord of Aiyaaru!” It is thus,  
        Even thus, I hailed Him, crying and melting.             370 
 
2.     I hailed Him thus: “O ancient One,  
        O pure One who reduced to ash the three  
    Citadels by an incandescent look of Yours!”  
        Eke did I hail Him thus: “O the First One! O One  
    Of triple eyes! O One in whose bow a dart  
        Stands ready fixed!” Again I hailed Him thus:  
    “O Aiyaaraa, retrieve me by Your mercy  
        From the sea of troubles and bless me!” Thus,  
    Even thus, I cry and thaw in love.                     371 
 
3.     I hailed Him thus: “O One of the hue of gold-dust!  
        O Nectar of the devotees! O One whose throat  
    Is dark with the poison! O the Vedas four of exegetes!”  
        I hailed Him even thus: “When I consciously  
    Felt Your indwelling I came to be filled with nectar!”  
        “O Aiyaaran who freed me from fear, and rules me!”  
    Thus, even thus, I hailed Him, crying and melting.            372 
 
4.     I hailed Him thus: “O sea excavated of yore!  
        O One decked with a bright crescent!  
    O One that overflows the directions! O the Melody  
        Of the seven strings!” I hailed Him even thus:  
    “O One that retrieved and graced me that lay  
        Immersed in the main of misery!”  
    “O Lord of Aiyaaru!” It is thus, even thus,  
        I hailed Him, crying and melting.                373 
 
5.     I hailed Him thus: “O Lord that wears  
        On Your matted crest the chaplet! O the Empyrean  
    O Lights twain! O the Adored of the devotees!”  
        I hailed Him even thus: “O Lord of Turutthi  
    And Neitthaanam! O the Dark-throated!  
        O the One that hath an eye of fire!”  
    “O Aiyaaran beyonding the cosmos!” It is thus,  
        Even thus, I hailed Him, crying and melting.             374 
 
6.     I hailed Him thus: “O One that burnt the hostile  
        Towns! O Pasupati! O Pandarangka!” I hailed  
    Him even thus: “O One that abides in the lips of the learned!  
        O One whose mount is the swift-footed Bull!  
    O One that swells in the bosoms of loving ones!  
        O One that graced Paartthan!”  
    “O Aiyaaran that blesses the helpless!” It is thus,  
        Even thus, I hailed Him, crying and melting.             375 
 
7.    I hailed Him thus: “O Lord of gods! O Wearer  
        Of the bright crescent! O One that burnt  
    The walled towns of foes!” I hailed Him even thus:  
        “O Lord of Yekampam! O the Singer of melodic Vedas!  
    O Pasupati! O One daubed with the milk-white ash!”  
        “O the unapproachable Lord of Aiyaaru!” Thus, even thus,  
    I hailed Him, crying and melting.                    376 
 
8.     I hailed Him thus: “I, the worthless, did not fear You;  
        Yet You annulled my misery!” I hailed Him  
    Even thus: ‘When I hail Your manifold glory,  
        Calling You Siva, You confer on me riches!  
    Abiding as Bhava in me, You did away  
        With my ancient Karma!”  
    “It is He, the Aadi, the One of Aiyaaru!” It is thus,  
        Even thus, I hailed Him, crying and melting.             377 
 
9.     I hailed Him thus: “O Kacchi Yekampa!  
        O One of Kailas and Kaaronam!” 
    I hailed Him even thus: “O the sempiternal Bridegroom!  
        You abide in the manams of those that think  
    On You! O Rider of the Bull!  
        O the Indweller of the melting ones!”  
    “O Aiyaaran that quells dread and disease!”  
        Thus, even thus, I hailed Him, crying and melting.        378 
 
10.     I hailed Him thus: “O Forester that wields a bow!  
        O One that is bedaubed with the white ash!  
    O One surrounded by words of praise! O wide-extending  
        And hoary and good Way!  
    I hailed Him even thus: “You are all! You are  
        My sweet life! You crushed the shoulders of Lanka’s King!”  
    “O Aiyaaran who fees one from one’s Karma!”  
        Thus, even thus, I hailed Him, crying and melting.        379 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
2. The bow of Siva bears the name Pinaakam.  
3. O the Vedas four of exegetes: The Vedas can be properly interpreted only  
by such scholars who are well acquainted with the tools of interpretation, namely,  
the Angas.  It is Siva who informs the Angas with the right of hermeneutics. 
 
 
38. TIRUVAIYAARU

 
 
1.     You are indeed sonance and sound;  
        You abide as the peerless One in the cosmos;  
    You are indeed all the odoriferous blossoms;  
        You are the son-in-low of the Mountain;  
    You are exceedingly sweet to speak about;  
        As Lord-God, You placed Your foot on me;  
    You are indeed all the lights; You are the ruddy  
        And auric flame that parts not from Tiruvaiyaaru.        380 
 
2.     You have a divine body invisible to mortal eyes;  
        You deign to cast Your soothing looks of grace;  
    You quelled the unsubduable senses five;  
        You burnt Kaama with the fire of Your eye; You have  
    Girt Yourself with the mighty untamable adder;  
        You placed Your foot on me -- Your serviteur;  
    You will cure the incurable malady of cruel Karma;  
        You are the ruddy and auric Flame  
    That parts not from Tiruvaiyaaru.                     381 
 
3.     You are the incandescent light of the clouds;  
        You became sea, mountain, sky and space;  
    The skull is Your rich begging-bowl; You intercede  
        On behalf of those that depend on You, and rule them;  
    You divine the thought of manam and fulfil it;  
        You placed Your flower foot on me; You are Tirunilakanta,  
    The wrathful; You are indeed the ruddy and auric Flame  
        That pats not from Tiruvaiyaaru.                382 
 
4.    You became the sky-high mountains; You abide 
        For ever at Kailas in the north; Your weapon is  
    The flesh-cleaving, bright mazhu; You sport  
        On Your person the bright crescent, the snake  
    And the river; You bathe in Pancha-kavya; You placed  
        Your foot on me -- Your serviteur; You are the Consort  
    Of the bashful Damsel of mellifluous words; You are the ruddy  
        And Auric Flame that parts not from Tiruvaiyaaru.         383 
 
5.     You never get born as woman or man; You are  
        Greater than the greatest; You are the poison  
    Impossible to eat; You are the Lord of Time; You are  
        The eye of the world which You foster; You placed  
        The ankleted and roseate feet on me; You wield  
    The mighty weapon of mazhu; You are the ruddy  
    And auric Flame that parts not from Tiruvaiyaaru.            384 
 
6.     You are indeed the consciousness perceiving all things;  
        You are the kin of those devoted to you; You are  
    The Wisdom of the sastras carefully cultivated;  
        You are the Karpaka unto the learned; Your compassion  
    Is greater than that of a mother’s; as Lord-GOD  
        Your placed Your foot on me; You are Tirunilakanta,  
    The Queller; You are  the ruddy and auric Flame  
        That parts not from Tiruvaiyaaru.                 385 
 
7.     It is You indeed who became all the worlds;  
        It is You who preside over Yekampam;  
    You, in sooth, know the worth of the goodly ones;  
        You glow as the bright Lamp of Gnosis; You will  
    Annul all evil Karma; You placed Your glorious foot on me;  
        You only are the conferrer of true wealth;  
    You are the ruddy and auric Flame  
        That parts not from Tiruvaiyaaru.                386 
 
8.     You are the Bather in Pancha-kavya;  
        You are of boundless renown;  
    You are the fragrance of the flowers; donning  
        The martial outfit, You smote the walled towns;  
    You are the impartiality of the just words;  
        In love did You place Your foot on me; You are  
    The God unknown to gods; You are the ruddy and auric  
        Flame that parts not from Tiruvaiyaaru.                387 
 
9.     You are the Flame radiating in the eight directions;  
        You are the Lord that presides over Yekampam; You are  
    The wearer of fragrant konrai garlands buzzed by bees;  
        You alone can confer moksha; granting servitorship  
    To Your devotees, You blessed them to hail Your feet; You placed  
        On me Your pure, flowery and roseate foot; You are valiant  
    To fix the dart on Your mighty bow; You are the ruddy  
        And auric Flame that parts not from Tiruvaiyaaru.        388 
 
10.     You shot the triple towns of Adversaries;  
        You stand far above the celestials; you ate  
    The poison, the very sight of which kills; You stood  
        As ages and aeons; You rule me as Your servitor;  
    You placed on me your pure, flowery, roseate feet;  
        Throwing up Your shoulders You dance in joy in the fire;  
    You are the ruddy and auric Flame  
        That parts not from Tiruvaiyaaru.                389 
 
11.     None knows of Your abode at all;  
        The heavens are the chariot for Your riding.  
    Great was his name; he was the King of Lanka;  
        You crushed his ten hue heads; You burnt  
    The triple mobile towns; You placed on me the foot  
        That was quested after by him of the bright Flower  
    And Maal; You are the ruddy and auric Flame  
        That parts not from Tiruvaiyaaru.                390 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES  
6. Tirunilakantan, the Queller: Tirunilakantam means: “blue throat / neck.”  It is  
symbolic of the Lord’s love for all things and entia.  He indeed is the true leader  
who takes upon himself the troubles that confront his followers.  The Lord by  
consuming the venom of the ocean, blued His throat which is symbolic of the  
quelling of the evil -- here personified by the poison.  
 
11. The heavens are the chariot for your riding:  
    Cf. “The heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool” 
                    - O.T., Isaiah, lxvi-l. 
Tiruvaiyaaru akalaatha sempor sothi: These words are repeated in every one  
of the hymns in this decad.  The Lord Siva enshrined in Aiyaaru is hailed as  
‘The ruddy and auric Flame that parts not from Tiruvaiyaaru.”  Mythology has  
it that Tillai is the greatest of Siva’s shrines in the South and that after “artha- 
jaama pooja” (the last to be done during night) the glorious essence of each  
shrine gets absorbed in Tillai till day-break.  Tiruvaiyaaru is the one shrine  
which is exempt from this. 
 
 
39. TIRUMAZHAPAADI

 
After his visit to Tiruneitthaanam, our Saint came to this shrine where he sang the following  
decad.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Vaidhyanaathar / MazhapaadiEaswarar /  
Vaira-th-thoonNaathar / Vajrastambeswarar and Sundaraambikai Azhakammai. 
 
1.     Behold Him! the One whose divine body is bedaubed  
        With ash; He sports an eye in His forehead;  
    Behold Him! the One concorporate with Uma; His throat is  
        Dark with the cruel venom that He ate;  
    Behold Him roam everywhere on His Bull! He became  
        The seven seas and the seven mountains;  
    Behold Him! the One that burnt the fortresses of the foes!  
        He is the lordly One of Mazhapaadi.                 391 
 
2.     He wears the herons feather on His crest; He is  
        The Dancer whose mount is the Bull of the mullai region;  
    His waist is cinctured with a wreath of bones;  
        He is the Aadi that holds the fire in His hand;  
    He wears shells and serpents;  
        He is the nectar unto His devotees;  
    On His matted crest rests Ganga;  
        He is the lordly One of Mazhapaadi.                 392 
 
3.     He has a non-pareil eye on His forehead;  
        He is concorporate with the bejewelled;  
    He is the deceptious One that causes the snake to dance;  
        He is the supreme One that goes abegging through many towns;  
    He destroyed the triple towns of the foes;  
        He placed the lovely and great crescent on His crest;  
    He is the One with flaws none;  
        He is the lordly One of Mazhapaadi.                 393 
 
4.     On His matted crest He sports the billowy Ganga;  
        He abides beyond the universe;  
    He did away with the murderous Death;  
        He is clad in the skin of the killer-tiger;  
    He smote with His bow the triple towns;  
        He placed the lovely and great moon on His head;  
    He is the Consort of the Daughter of the Mountain;  
        He is the lordly One of Mazhapaadi.                394 
 
5.     He wore the skeletons of the dead;  
        In joy did He enact many an act of grace;  
    He is a wearer of the beauteous konrai wreaths;  
        He became the four Vedas and the six Angas;  
    He holds as his alms-bowl the skull of the dead one;  
        He is the God of the celestials; He is the lordly One  
    Of Mazhapaadi who placed on my head  
        His flowery, sacred and all-pervading foot.            395 
 
6.     He clipped the head of him whose seat is the Lotus  
        He abides in the bosoms of those who are endowed  
    With divine consciousness; He is the holy One hailed  
        By the one throned on the Flower; He abides as the Ens  
    To be attained; He is a Wielder of the bow to which  
        Is fixed a dart; He is the lord whose neck is dark;  
    He holds an animal -- an antlered antelope--,  
        In His hand; He is the lordly One of Mazhapaadi.         396 
 
7.     He became the water and the tall mountain too;  
        He became the light and the extensive sky too;  
    He became the earth and the seven oceans;  
        He abides as the Day-Star and the clouds;  
    He is dear to His devotees whoever they be;  
        He abides as atom; He is the Aadi; He is concorporate  
    With Her of lovely and covered breasts;  
        He is the lordly One of Mazhapaadi.                397 
 
8.     His is a divine body that is golden; He wears  
        A wreath of konrai flowers; matted and fulgurant  
    Are the strands of His hair; He willingly mantled  
        Himself in the hide of the tusker; He has none 
    To match Him; He abides as Sivam whom none  
        Can contain; He is concorporate with the aeviternal Woman;  
        He is the lordly One of Mazhapaadi.                398 
 
9.     He is the Aadi that ate the Aalaalam;  
        He shot the triple towns of the adversaries;  
    He, with His foot, kicked Death to death;  
        He is the Bull that graced Kannappar; He is  
    Concorporate with Her whose words are sweet like milk;  
        He, the noble One, would ride a Bull when He goes abegging;  
    He, the Great One, is unknown even to Maal:  
        He is the lordly One of Mazhapaadi.                399 
 
10.     As peerless light He became the seven worlds;  
        He is the inner meaning of AUM;  
    He stood as spreading light and as bright luculence;  
        He became the festive sound and the sound of yaaga;  
    He crushed the twenty shoulders and quelled  
        The puissance of the King of Lanka over which move not  
    The two lights; He is a hill of coruscating ruby;  
        He is the lordly one of Mazhapaadi.                 400 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES  
 
1. The word Manaalan may mean (1) a bridegroom, (2) a leader, (3) a lord and  
(4) a handsome person.  
 
2. Mullai region: Woodland, pasture-land.  
 
8. Sivam: The greatness of Godhead is such that save Uma, none can bear  
Him.   Pure Sivam is unbearable puissance.  It is Uma who softens it for the  
devotee which is why She shares His body.  
 
9. Aalaalam: Haalahaala poison. 
 
10. Lanka over which move not the two lights: The King of Lanka was so powerful  
that his fiats were obeyed by the very gods.  He forbade the entry of the sun and  
the moon into Lanka. 
 
 
40. TIRUMAZHAPAADI

 
 
1.     He is the great One who quaffed as nectar the poison  
        Of the billowy sea and saved the lives of the celestials;  
    He is the opulent One who shot the arrow of Agni from His bow  
        Mount Meru wrought of ruddy gold--, that had  
    For its string the many-headed serpent, and gutted  
        With fire the triple towns; it is thus, even thus, I cry  
    And cry in melting love: “O hill-like Diamond-pillar  
        Of Mazhapaadi wrought of plentiful, ever-during  
    And ever-fresh gold, pearls and planks of blazing brilliants!”         401 
 
2.     You blessed the adoring, celestial Gandharvas  
        With the rulership of the ethereal world as they hailed  
    You in the heaven with the sound of kuzhal, montai, vina  
        And yaazh and also with Vedic mantras and holy water;  
    It is thus, even thus, I cry and cry and melt in love:  
        “O puissant Pillar of diamond abiding at Kacchikkampam 
    Girt with cloud-capped groves! O Diamond-pillar of Mazhapaadi 
        Rich in mansions where the Vedas are ever chanted!”         402 
 
3.     It is thus, even thus, I cry and cry and melt in love:  
        “They are the able-bodied and dark ones; they are  
    Cruel and untamable; they--the Samanas—are of stinking mouths;  
        I was friends with these; even then You smote  
    My weighty sins and ruled me as Your servitor,  
        O mighty Pillar of Coral! O Pearl inlaid in fresh gold!  
    You smote Tripura; by Your look You reduced to cinders  
        The body of nefarious Kaama; for ever You grant boons  
    To the earth-born; O the Diamond-pillar of Mazhapaadi!”            403 
 
4.     They abjure flesh-eating and carry their food in a sling;  
        They are Jains, cruel and untamable; their mouths stink;  
    I was friends with these; He is the King that sports in grace  
        The river--rich in fishes--; He rules me, even me -- the cur,  
    As though I am of some worth, though I did not go near Him,  
        The Diamond of wisdom; It is thus, even thus, I cry and cry  
    And melt in love: “O the Diamond-pillar of Mazhapaadi  
        The tops of whose mansions reach the clouded heavens!”        404 
 
5.     It is thus, even thus, I cry and cry and melt in love;  
        “O supreme One that cut off the great head  
    Of the Four-faced and the lovely head of Tirumaal!  
        You knocked out the teeth of the mighty Sun!  
    With Your foot You crushed and rubbed the digits  
        Out of the Moon! Then You granted them their lives!  
    Adorned with serpents You mounted the white Bull!  
        O the Diamond-pillar of Mazhapaadi hailed aloud  
    By the Vedas--the recipients of Your boons!”                405 
 
6.     “I fell a prey to the evil deeds of the wicked-brained;  
        They were cruel and unteachable; they were great  
    In their smallness; they claimed to be free from wrath;  
        I fostered love for the evil Asoka planted after clearing  
    The woody growth; I was senseless; yet You ruled me  
        As though I were of some worth; You retrieved me  
    From them of buxom breasts; You blessed me  
        With the way of Dayaa Moola Dhanmam; You cured  
    My manam, O the Diamond-Pillar of Mazhapaadi!  
        It is thus, even thus, I cry and cry and melt in love.        406 
 
7.     It is thus, even thus, I cry and cry and melt in love;  
        “O Our Lord of curly matted hair that sports  
    The pure and lucid river! O Lord that annuls the misery  
        Of the helpless cycle of transmigration! O Help  
    That does away with the unbearable embodiment  
        With which the soul is shackled! O Our God!  
    O Lord of lives! O Sun unbeheld by blameless Tirumaal  
        And Ayan! O Soul’s Help in its travel! O Crest-Jewel  
    Of the Vedas! O Diamond-pillar of Mazhapaadi”                 407 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
4. He is the King .... fishes: The Lord sports the river Ganga in His matted hair.   
Ganga is described as rich in fishes.  
 
5. One that cut off … Tirumaal: This passage contains a rare reference to the  
decapitation of Tirumaal (Vishnu) by Siva. 
 
6. Asoka: Saraca Indica.  Aruka--the adored of the Jains, is seated under this  
tree.  He is not God.  Yet the Samanas adore him in love.  Jainism began as a  
godless faith.  
Dayaa Moola Dhanmam: This article of faith affirms that compassion is the root  
of Dharma. 
 
 
41. TIRUNEITTHAANAM

 
Our Saint had a darshan of Kailas at Tiruvaiyaaru.  He founded a matam at Tiruppoonthurutthi  
and abode there, regularly visiting the shrine at Tiruvaiyaaru.  It was during this period  
our Saint visited the shrines nearby.  Tiruneitthaanam is just one mile west of Tiruvaiyaaru. 
The following decad was composed by our Saint at Tiruneitthaanam.  The names of the Deity and  
His Consort are Grithapuriswarar / Neiyaadi Appar and Baalaambikai. 
 
1.     You own all the ways of salvation! You abide  
        At the ethereal Kailas! You are supremely great  
    In Your exceeding excellence! You preside  
        Over Vennkaadu! Quelling my foes, You rule me!  
    You abide at Paasoor! You fare forth in all directions  
        Where You are hailed! Such are You, O Lord  
    Of Neitthaanam that for ever dwells in my heart!             408 
 
2.     You are the dear One to me who is bound to You  
        As Your servitor! You abide at Kailas--the Genesis  
    Of all! You are the Dancer that enacts it in all  
        Its subtle, artistic forms! You, the handsome One,  
    Preside over Kodikaa! You graced Arjuna! You are  
        Of Pazhaiyanoor! You are the pure One! You are  
    The Lord of Sivaloka! Such are You O Lord  
        Of Neitthaanam that for ever dwells in my heart!         409 
 
3.     You are night as well as day! You abide at Kailas--  
        The Genesis of all! You were seated under  
    The Banyan tree! Your are the Karpaka of Kaalatthi!  
        You are the Word and its meaning! You are  
    Of Sotrutthurai! You are the wealth that conducts  
        All things! Such are You! O Lord of Neitthaanam  
        That for ever dwells in my heart!                 410 
 
4.    You are concorporate with the fulgurant-waisted!  
        You abide at the white-hued Kailas! Yours is  
    The auric, matted crests! You are the Lord  
        Of Bhoota-Hosts! You are the sweet taste  
    Of my tongue! You are my Lord of Yekampam!  
        You abide at the shrine of Tennoor!  
    Such are You, O Lord of neitthaanam  
        That for ever dwells in my heart!                 411 
 
5.     It is You who were before the Beginning!  
        You abide at Kailas--the Genesis of All! 
    It is You who graced Nandi! You, the Dancer,  
        Preside over Nallaaru! You are the One  
    That is never shackled! You preside  
        Over Paigngneeli! You are inconceivable!  
    Such are You, O Lord of Neitthaanam  
        That for ever dwells in my heart!                412 
 
6.     You are (the Prop) of true devotees! You are  
        The Lord of Kailas, the Chief of all! You are  
    Adorned with a garland of bones! You are  
        The Self-manifester of Aakkoor! You are  
    The seven worlds where lives abide and flourish!  
        You are of Pullirukkuvelur! You abide at southern  
    Maakonam! Such are You, O Lord of Neitthaanam  
        That for ever dwells in my heart!                 413 
 
7.     Praise and glory belong to Yu only!  
        You abide at flowery Kailas!  
    You hold the despicable skull in Your hand!  
        You are the sweet One of Rameswaram!  
    You abide at Aalavaai where moated walls  
        Surround You! You wear the bright crescent!  
    Such are You, O Lord of Neitthaanam  
        That for ever dwells in my heart!                 414 
 
8.     You are older and younger than the celestials!  
        You are of the ethereal Kailas!  
    You are the Dancer of crematorium!  
        You are the Virattan of Kadavoor!  
    You clipped the heads of the celestials!  
        You abide at Otriyoor and Aaroor!  
    You are Honey as well as Nectar! Such are You,  
        O Lord of Neitthaanam that for ever  
        Dwells in my heart!                         415 
 
9.     You have no father, no mother!  
        You are of Kailas, the Chief of all! 
    You are my mother as well as father!  
        You are the Lord of Yekampam! You are  
    The Primal One, the triple-eyed! You abide  
        At Moovaloor! You are of my chinta who is also  
    Of Tenoor! Such are You, O Lord of Neitthaanam  
        That for ever abides in my heart!                 416 
 
10.     You are the Queller of the might of the uprooter!  
        You abide at ethereal Kailas! You annul  
    The births of those that renounce!  
        You are of Veezhimizhalai! You are Dharma!  
    You ate the poison that none can bear, and graced  
        The celestials with nectar! You are indeed  
    The five senses! Such are You, O Lord of Neitthaanam  
        That for ever dwells in my heart!                417 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
4. The reading to the effect: “Vennkaadu mevinai” in the second half of the  
first line is erroneous.  The word Kailas occurs in the first line throughout  
this decad.  The darshan of Kailas which our Saint had, was obviously fresh  
in his mind, when he celebrated the Lord of Neitthaanam through this decad. 
Kailas is hailed as the Genesis of all.  
 
5. Inconceivable (Cinthippariyaay): “Chinthippariyana” is the phrase we meet  
with in a hymn on Tiruvaiyaaru by our Saint.  
 
6. Maakonam is a Vaippu-th-thalam.  
 
7. Praise and glory ... You only: Cf. “All glory belongs to Allah.” - Koran.  
 
8. Older and younger: No one or thing can be either older or younger than  
Siva.  
 
9. Moovaloor-- a Vaippu-th-thalam, is the birth-place of the founder of the  
Tiruvaavaduthurai Aadhinam.  
 
10. The five senses: It is Siva who is the activiser of all the evolutes of Maya.  
 
 
42. TIRUNEITTHAANAM

 
 
1.     O poor heart, jettison the thought, that abiding  
        In the karmic nest of a body, you can fulfil  
    Your desires and flourish though the five senses  
        That inhabit the physical apparatus! Listen:  
    “You can indeed gain salvation, If in all propriety,  
        You think of the good town Neitthaanam and hail  
    Its Lord who is concorporate with Her of long eyes tinct 
        With collyrium, and whose (Lord’s) throat holds the venom  
    Of the billowy sea rich in the traffic of flotillas.”            418 
 
2.     You can free yourself of the (subtle) body to which are  
        Attached embodiments in quick succession; it is  
    Needless to say that there is a way of life for this; O heart,  
        Listen: “He is the Lord of the celestials; He redeemed me  
    Here, on this earth; He is the Lord who, of yore, smote  
        With His bow the triple towns; He so extended Himself  
    That neither Hari nor Ayan could eye Him; He resides  
        At Neitthaanam rich in fords; think on this,  
    In all propriety and stand redeemed.”                    419 
 
3.     Questing after manifold things you roam about  
        Higher and thither; you abide futilely in the wilderness  
    Of a body linked to your kith and kin; you will, for sure,  
        Go to pieces; avoid this.  O heart, Listen:  
    “He is inaccessible to the many suns, the gods,  
        And the billions and billions of the celestials;  
    His shrine is Neitthaanam; think on this  
        In all propriety and stand redeemed!”                 420 
 
4.     Trapped in the body, the abode of deeds that breed  
    Like waves in quick succession, you are immersed   
        In your inmost desires of paasam; caught in this,  
        You are pushed to the very nadir; fear not wilting much  
    O heart! You can gain deliverance, if in all propriety,  
        You can think of Neitthaanam where the eternal One resides;  
    He is hailed by the celestials; He joyously wears the sylvan  
        And leafy konrai, the billowy flood and the  
                crescent in this crest.                421 
 
5.     Do not deem as a thing of any worth this nest  
        Of a body where the impatient life cannot tarry 
    Even for the fraction of a second; give up.  O heart,  
        The egoistic hauteur that goads you to asseverate  
    That you can, with your brain, rule all the world.  
        He is the One of great compassion, who, of yore,  
    For the sake of the Devas, resolved to bend, in all celerity  
        The mighty bow whose arrow was tipt with ruddy fire,  
    And destroy the triple, walled citadels of the sky  
        Which rushed amain to charge.  If you can,  
    In all propriety think of His Neitthaanam  
        You can, for sure, gain deliverance.                 422 
 
6.     Deeming the miserable embodied life as abiding truth, do not  
        Plunge and get sunk in karma, feeling joyous  
    All the while, O heart! Know that the Father of Kumaran  
        Abides in the manam-s of the humble; He is  
    A Dancer; His hand wields a spear; whilst the tinkling  
        Heroic anklet and the silampu fastened to the divine feet  
    Sound, He dances at which the earth quakes; He is  
        The all-pervading One.  If you can, in all propriety  
    Think of  His shrine Neitthaanam, you can gain salvation.         423 
 
7.     O heart, come! Embodiment is worthless; let not 
        Your little mind think it to be great, and desire it;  
    Do not get trapped in the gin of union with women  
        Of perfumed locks and suffer a fall.  
        For His mantle, He ripped the tusker; He is bedaubed  
    With the Holy Ash; with the sacred thread His chest is bright;  
    Unto the base that seek Him not, He is inaccessible;  
        If you can, in all propriety, think  
        Of His Neitthaanam, you can gain deliverance.             424 
 
8.     The body but dances to the tune of the five  
        Dreadful senses; it is an abode of cruel maladies;  
    Get not plunged in this, deeming it your Palladium;  
        O heart! Do not get sunk; He is Manikantan who is not to be  
    Eyed by them of deceptious heart who pursue Him not.  
        He who is hailed by the celestials as their Lord  
    Is sweet to the heart; if you can, in all propriety, think  
        Of his Neitthaanam, you can gain redemption.             425 
 
9.     Life that assumes unbecoming embodiment will flit;  
        Well aware of this, desire not to live the base life,  
    And suffer, O heart! He is the Lord of the Devas; He smote  
        The black-footed and ichorous tusker which Uma  
    Witnessed in dread; He is the triple-eyed, the Warrior  
        Who smote the sacrifice of the thoughtless; if you can,  
    In all propriety, think of Neitthaanam where He dwells  
        For ever, you can gain deliverance.                 426 
 
10.     O heart that lives not the life of vratas and tapas!  
        I disclose to you the truth: this body’s nature does not  
    Become you; He gives nothing to them that give nothing  
        To the indigent; He crushed the King of Lanka who did not  
    Hail Him as the Burner, the Holder of fire, the Eight-armed  
        And the Lord-God! If you can, in all propriety, think of Him  
    That abides at Neitthaanam, you can gain salvation.            427 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
5. The fraction of a second: The Tamilverse speaks of a unit of time, the size of  
a millet.  
 
6. Heroic anklet and the silampu: The heroic anklet is fastened on the right knee  
of Siva and the silampu (anklet) on His left ankle.  Sine dubio, the verse in question  
relates to the Lord’s androgynous form.  The left ankle is that of Uma’s.  The right  
knee is Siva’s.  
 
9. Karun thaall: (Black-footed) This phrase may also be translated as “of great  
perseverance / prowess.” 
 
10. Vratas: Vows, the performance of which ushers in spiritual weal and welfare.  
 
 
43. TIRUPPOONTHURUTTHI

 
After the theophany with which our Saint was blessed in Tiruvaiyaaru, our Saint would not  
stay in the sacred town.  He had a matam built for him in Tiruppoonthurutthi.  The following  
decad was sung by our Saint during the time he abode at this place. The names of the Deity  
and His Consort are Pushpavaneswarar / Aadi Puraanar / Poyyili and Soundara Naayaki.  
 
1.     He is the One that caused the water that stands not  
        To stand on His matted hair; He is the One who caused  
    MY heart that is unable to think on Him constantly,  
        To think on Him for ever; He is the One that taught me  
    All that I did not learn; He is the One that revealed to me  
        All that I did not see; He is the One that spake to me  
    The words unuttered to me before; He is the Holy One  
        Who cured me of my cruel malady, and for ever  
    Rules me as His serviteur; Him, the righteous One  
        I did behold at Poonthurutthi!                     428 
 
2.     He presides over Kutraalam and Gokaranam;  
        He smote the cruel-handed Death; willingly he ate  
    The poison Aalaalam and held it in His throat;  
        He enlightened my ignorant heart; in love  
    He abode under the Banyan tree; He played on the tuneful  
        Vina; He, the Holy One, cinctured Himself with a snake  
    Of the ant-hill; It is Him, the Righteous One  
        That I beheld at Poonthurutthi!                 429 
 
3.     He, my Lord, is for ever sweet to me; He presides over  
        Beauteous Yekampam! He even loves to pervade the manam;  
        He abides not in the bosoms of the deceptive ones;  
    He is of Ninriyoor; He is Sankara who, for ever, has me  
        As His serviteur; He sports the kuzhai wrought  
    Of sea-shell; He is the only One that wears the konrai 
        That grows in the mullai region; It is Him who is  
        Poyyili that I beheld at Poonthurutthi!                430 
 
4.     He wears konrai flowers rich in fragrance; He is  
        Of Vennkaadu hailed by the white tusker;  
    From the sea of misery He retrieved me who was  
        Unwittingly entangled therein, and said:  
    “Behold this, the Way!” He cures me of my quotidian,  
        Painful illnesses; He is the Holy One cinctured  
    With the speckled serpent, it is Him, the Righteous One  
        That I did behold at Poonthurutthi!                 431 
 
5.     He is the lofty One bedaubed with the white ash;  
        By His laughter He burnt the triple, hostile towns;  
    He is the Author of the four Vedas;  
        He is the proper One hailed and adored by the goodly;  
    He clipped the head of the lofty one of cool Lotus  
        And in a trice roamed about the earth;  
    He is the Holy One, the Righteous One; it is Him,  
        That I did behold at Poonthurutthi!                432 
 
6.     He cinctured His waist with Vaasuki and caused him  
        To dance; He clipped the head of him  
    Of beauteous and auric body--the one on Lotus--,  
    And held it incongruously; by His look He burnt   
    The body of him--the wielder of flower-darts;  
        Then He graced him; He sports the cool-watered Ganga  
    On His spreading matted crest; He mantled Himself  
        In the hide of the tusker that quaked when it saw Him;  
    He is the Righteous One, the Holy One; it is Him;  
        The Never-false that I beheld at Poonthurutthi!         433 
 
7.     He burnt the triple, hostile towns to powdery ash  
        Before eyes could wink; with His beauteous hands  
    He seized the ichorous tusker and excoriated it;  
        Witnessing this when Uma shook in dread, He but laughed;  
    On His sacred matted hair He had placed the crescent,  
        The snake and the river; by the glorious Bhoota-Hosts  
    Is He surrounded; He is the Righteous One, the Holy One; it is  
        Him, the Never-false that I beheld at Poonthurutthi!        434 
 
8.     He created the celestial world; He—the Seed--, is hailed  
        By the dwellers of the celestial worlds that come to Him  
    With flowers, and standing, hail Him therewith;  
        He grants the very thing prayed for; He is the God  
    Of the Devas; He chased karma away, He is the Concealer  
        Of the noisy Ganga borne by His matted crest;  
    He is concorporate with Uma to whom He uttered a lie;  
        He is the Righteous One, the Holy One; it is Him, 
    The Never-false that I beheld at Poonthurutthi!             435 
 
9.     He is the Ruler of all the celestial worlds; of yore,  
        With (revived) celestials He returned from the sacrifice  
    Of Daksha, the ignoramus; He was beyond the quest  
        Of the Four-faced throned on the fragrant Lotus and Maal;  
    He became a column of fire to gut with fire, the three  
        Walled towns of the de-based; He held a bow;  
    He is the Righteous One, the Holy One; it is Him,  
        The Never-false that I beheld at Poonthurutthi!            436 
 
10.     He ignored (the words of Nandi) and lifted the mountain;  
        With His foot, He crushed his gemmy crown  
    And his twenty shoulders; then He listened  
        To the music of his seven strings; He clipped the head  
    Of him who could ken the eight directions; He graced  
        The celestials with nectar; He ate the poison that none  
    Could endure, and held it (in His throat); He is the Holy One,  
        The Righteous One; it is Him, the Never-false,  
        That I did behold at Poonthurutthi!                437 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES  
 
1. Water can never stand erect, though it can fall straight.  Manam never remains still;  
it for ever, wanders, Siva alone can cause water to stand erect.  He alone can still the  
manam and bless it with single-pointed concentration.  
 
Our Saint confesses that it is from Lord Siva He learnt of divine servitorship.  Our  
Saint acknowledges with gratitude the fact that it was Lord Siva who blessed Him  
with divine visions.  Visions comprise sight as well as insight. 
 
Our Saint gratefully declares that Siva, the Lord, blessed him with salvific and  
redemptive words gravid with extraordinary potency.  
 
Our Saint gladly celebrates the infinite mercy of Lord Siva which made a servitor of  
him. It is the Lord who cured our Saint of the malady of transmigration.  
 
It is at Tiruppoonthurutthi that our Saint was blessed with a vision of Lord Siva in  
all His majestic splendour. 
What Tiruvetkalam is to Tillai, Tiruppoonthurutthi is to Tiruvaiyaaru. 
 
3. Poyyili: The name of the Lord of Poonthurutthi.  It means: “He who is without  
falsehood/falsity.”  It is rendered as “the Righteous One” in our translation.  It is  
also referred to as “The never-false.” 
 
5. Our Saint says that Lord Siva laughed the three towns into incendiary  
destruction.  
 
8. He uttered a lie: The Bhakti tradition holds that Siva uttered a lie to Uma when  
He told Her that He had not known of any other woman.  Intense bhakti leads to  
anthropomorphism.  Truly speaking Godhood is above sex. 
 
 
44. TIRUCCHOTRUTTHURAI

 
At Nalloor, our Saint was blessed with the Tiruvadi Diksha.  He abode at Nalloor for a number  
of days and visited the shrines of Siva in and around Nalloor.  He visited Tiruppaazhanam and  
also the shrines in and around this place.  The following decad was sung during this period,  
when our Saint visited Tirucchotrutthurai.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Othana- 
vaneswarar / Tholaiyaacchelvar / Chotrutthurai Naathar and Annapoorani / Oppilaambikai. 
 
1.     As the oldest, You were before the world came to be!  
        You created all things in order! You who are hailed  
    By all, became the seven worlds! As the sweet One  
        You annul the misery (of the world)! 
    You the Fosterer, for ever, foster all! You beheld  
        My evil karma and did away with it!  
    O Lord of Tirucchotrutturai! O bright Lamp!  
        O Siva! I seek refuge in You!                    438 
 
2.     As the Leader, unique is Your state unto the world!  
        You, the Tattvan, are nectar to them that have reached You!  
    As the Imperishable, You are beyond compare!  
        O Killer that smote the inconscient Death! O Death 
    Unto the murderous tusker in whose hide You mantled  
        Yourself! O Bowman that shot the triple, walled  
    Towns that sported (victorious) flags! O Lord  
        Of Tirucchotrutthurai! O bright Lamp!  
    O Siva! I seek refuge in You!                        439 
 
3.     You wear the milk-white, young crescent!  
        O One like unto the sprouting shoot of Karpaka!  
    You have kin none! O bright Light that fosters 
        The world! You are the Author of the chanted Vedas!  
    Beholding my evil karma--the one that did not learn  
        Wisdom-conterring sastras--, You smote it!  
    O Lord of Tirucchotrutthurai! O bright Light!  
        O Siva! I seek refuge in You!                     440 
 
4.     You are the eye of the world which You foster! You abide  
        Witnessing all Time and aeons! As Deva, You grace  
    The devas! You are the Author and Explicator of Vedas!  
        O Lord of self-implementing sankalpa! O mighty One  
    That smote the triple, hostile towns with fire by Your look,  
        Before eyes could wink, and (then) laughed!  
    O Lord that presides over Tirucchotrutthurai!  
        O bright Light! O Siva! I seek refuge in You!            441 
 
5.     O supremely desirable One! You became the four Vedas!  
        O valiant Dancer! O Enacter of the Dance of Gnosis!  
    O Kampan! O Lord of Kacchi, the great city! O One  
        Whose dart reduced to ash, the well-protected,  
    Triple, walled-towns! O One of endless glory!  
        O Nectar unto the devotees! O Ruddy Gold whose mount  
    Is the Bull! O Lord of Tirucchotrutthurai!  
        O bright Light! O Siva! I seek refuge in You!             442 
 
6.     O Indweller of the worlds that You became!  
        O the perfect One! O One of endless renown!  
    O merciful One! O Dancer of Kutraalam!  
        O One that goes about holding the cruel  
    Three leaved trident! O Lord that became  
        All the Grand deluge! O Abider in the hearts  
        That ever hail You! O Lord of Tirucchotrutthurai!  
        O bright Light! O Siva! I seek refuge in You!             443 
 
7.     O Deva of munificent manam! You are the Lord  
        Of the Devas that possess the great stone --  
    The Chintaamani! As a forester You went in quest  
        Of the boar! You smote the triple, well-guarded,  
    Forted towns! O Giver of all! O the One that abides  
        At Kailas! You are the Honey unto Her who is peerless!  
    O Lord of Tirucchotrutthurai! O bright Lamp!  
        O Siva! I seek refuge in You!                     444 
 
8.     Ever Yourself, You became all the worlds! As the Tattvan,  
        You are the sweet nectar unto devotees! As my own Ens  
    You abide in my bosom! O God! O King that quells  
        Karma bred by paasam! You keep as part  
    Of Your person the Daughter of the Mountain! O the Abider  
        At the southern bank of the Cauvery, adored  
    By the celestials! O Lord of Tirucchotrutthurai!  
        O bright Light! O Siva! I seek refuge in You!             445 
     
9.     O the Destroyer! O the Eye of the eight directions!  
        You were before the seven words were!  
    For the two--otherwise knowledgeable--, You stood  
        Unbeknown to them as the Beginning as well as  
    The End transcending them! O Abider at the heart  
        That ever hails you as the Lord-God  
    In such a way that none else is aware of it!  
        O Lord of Tirucchotrutthurai! O bright Light!  
        O Siva! I seek refuge in you!                     446 
 
10.     O Lord whose neck is dark like kohl! O Wielder 
        Of the bright spear! O One unknown to Maal  
    And the other celestials too! With Your toe You crushed  
        Of yore, the bright crown and the shoulders of the King  
    Of well-protected Lanka! O Deva that grants whatever  
        Your devotees seek! O One that listens to prayers  
    And grants them! O ruddy One! O Lord that presides  
    Over Tirucchotrutthurai! O bright Lamp!  
        O Siva! I seek refuge in you.                    447 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
4. Sankalpa: Thought, resolution. 
 
Laughed: It is also said that the Lord smote the citadels by His laughter.  Here,  
the laughter was distinctly heard after the destruction.  In the happy phrase of  
Francis Thompson, His laughter was the “running laughter.”  
 
7. O Deva … manam: It is to be ever borne in mind that whatever praise one  
offers to Lord Siva, and howsoever great one be, that offers the praise, it is  
bound to fall far short of His true merit.  There is nothing that can equal Siva. 
So, words, though they be of those of the Veda or those of a Vates sacer (holy  
prophet) or supreme gnaani, are inadequate to describe Siva as he really is.   
Yet is should be remembered that one of Notwithstanding their insufficiency,  
we use them, not to define, not to explicate, but to indicate, to give bright  
glimpses.  
 
Our Saint speaks here of Siva’s munificent manam.  Has Siva a manam? No. 
Is not our Saint aware of this? If anyone is aware of this, it is our Saint.   
However, he does believe that his readers, by the grace of Grace, will  
understand his words. 
 
9. O Abider at the heart …. aware of it:  True bhakti resent display.  Publicity  
is an abomination unto it.  The Periya Puranam testifies to this.  The great  
preacher of Saivism, Swami Kripaanandavaariar once narrated an anecdote to  
exemplify this concept.  
 
There was, once, a king who professed atheism.  He was, however, honest,  
just and upright.  He also saw to it that the services at the temples, the feasts  
and the holy days were conducted in all their propriety.  His queen, a great  
devotee, constantly prayed to Lord Muruka that her consort should turn into  
a devotee.  
 
One night, during his slumber, the lips of the king moved and articulated the  
sacred name of Muruka.  The queen heard it and was beside herself in joy.   
When the day broke, all unknown to the king, she ordered the  performance  
of special poojas in all the shrines.  She commanded the subjects to celebrate  
the days as a holy day par excellence.  Sumptuous feasts were provided for  
the destitute throughout the realm. 
 
When the king beheld his capital celebrating an unknown festival, he sent for  
his minister and demanded of him the reason for the extraordinary jubilation.  
The minister said that he knew nothing and that things were done as commanded  
by the queen.  The king stood nonplussed.  The queen had, never in her life,  
acted suo motu.  He made a bee-line to the gynaceum and confronted his queen.  
She but smiled and danced.  Joyous tears were rolling down her rosy cheeks.   
Eventually, coming to herself, she said: “My liege, my prayer over the years, had  
been heard.  Last night, in your sleep, you chanted the sacred name of Muruka.” 
The king asked her: “Are you sure?” Se answered: “Yes, my lord! I heard you  
chant the sacred name with these--my blessed ears!”  
 
At this the king heaved a deep sigh.  Once again He uttered the name of Muruka. 
Then saying: “O my Lord-God! Am I a publicity-hunter?” he fell down dead. 
 
 
45. TIRUVOTRIYOOR

 
Our Saint adored Kaapaali at Mylapore and proceeded to Tiruvotriyoor.  It was in this town  
the following decad was sung by our Saint.  The name of the Deity and His Consort are Aadi- 
puriswarar / Putridamkondaar / Patampakka Naathar / Yezhutthu Ariyum Perumaal / Thyagesar  
/ Aananda Thyagar and Tirupurasundari / Vadivutai Ammai. 
 
1.     On His matted hair which sports the blooms  
        Of belladonna, red lotus and lily buzzed by bees  
    He wears a crescent; throwing up his thousand arms  
        He dances pervading the directions; He, the Lord  
    Of Sivaloka, ate the poison that the worlds might thrive;  
        He is the bright One of Otriyoor; I eyed Him  
    In my dream; when I eyed Him thus,  
        The cruel malady and its fever forsook me.            448 
 
2.     Over His chest He wears a snake; He rides a white Bull;  
        On His hirsutorufous, matted crest He sports  
    The noisy Ganga; He is concorporate with a Woman; He is  
        Also a Man; He roams about riding a Bull; He is  
    A supreme Yogi; He is triple-eyed; by His look,  
        He burnt him of the five darts that kindle passion;  
    He abides at radiant Otriyoor ever linked  
        With sacrifices and the chanting of the four Vedas.        449 
 
3.     You have willingly placed on Your red matted hair  
        The river; You keep on Your person the white moon  
    And the snake juxtaposed; as You have concealed  
        In Your manam the clandestine love, it will prove   
    Harmful t the beholders; during day You go singing  
        For alms which You receive not; with Your cruel serpent;  
    Cool crescent and flag, you have looted our bosom; O King  
        Of Otriyoor from which pervading radiance parts not!        450 
 
4.     Mounting a white Bull bedaubed with ash, cinctured  
        With a serpent and holding a skull, He entered our house      
    Without any announcement and sought alms; Him I asked:  
        “O great One, what may Your town be?” He said” Listen 
    To me with commotion none, O lass whose eyes are spears!  
        It is Otriyoor in whose extensive sea are espied the plying  
    Barks; it is the town where, washed ashore by waves,  
        Conches crawl thereon.” Alas, behold me, the ill-fated one!     451 
 
5.     Mantled in the hide of a huge, ichorous tusker, He,  
        The ethereal One, came and stood at our threshold;  
    Thus was He questioned; “O One decked with snakes!  
        Like one demented You publish aloud Your praise;  
    You frighten women who flee away from You;  
        Companied with devotees, You sing and dance;  
    What may Your town be?” To this, He answered thus:  
        “It is Otriyoor of lovely radiance renowned for its  
    Water-festival that fittingly takes place during Uttaram!”        452 
 
6.     The blue-throated One, holding in His hand a fawn  
        And the bright mazhu, mounts a swift footed Bull 
    And comes seeking alms; He would not receive the petty alms;  
        Neither will he move away.  Thus did all the people query:  
    “What may the town be of the great One?” Some one said:  
        “We came across Him holding a stinking, white skull,  
    Accompanied by a beautiful Lass, at Mayilaappu;  
        He has now made His entry into Otriyoor.”  
        Alas, behold me, the ill-fated one!                453 
 
7.     All the valiant celestials foregather to hail and adore  
        Him; for this they stand waiting; someone said:  
    “We have not seen our Lord during the day!” As He is not  
        To be seen by any means in any form, the goodly ones  
    And those of the four Vedas gathered, searched for Him,  
        And questioned Him thus: “O great One decked with snakes!  
    What may Your dreadful town be?” To them He said:  
        “It is Otriyoor of lovely radiance where waves that roll  
    Onto the shore quickly rool back into the sea!”                454 
 
8.     O friend, listen to my discovery of everlasting beatitude!  
        Yesterday, during broad daylight, the great One  
    Came here, and so penetratingly eyed me, that my  
        Exquisite clothing and flower-eyes began to flutter;  
    I desired to feed Him with victuals of goodly concoction; 
        Alas, He was not to be seen anywhere; this is sheer deception;  
    If ever I happen on Him, I’ll so hug Him with my breasts  
        Pressing Him hard, that my body’ll be oned with His;  
    I will not suffer Him, the weller of Otriyoor!  
        That roams about here, to part from me at all.            455 
 
9.     You are earth, sky, planet, sea,  
        Wind, number, letter, fire, night, day;  
    You are not any of the things (known or unknown); You are not 
        Woman, man, the sexless one;  
    Yet You are nothing but these, O great One!  
        You are the indwelling good of the goodly;  
    Unto them You are not evil; 
        O the incomprehensible King of Otriyoor.            456 
 
10.     She of the fragrant, flowery locks, trembled in fear;  
        The mountain shook; the cardinal points were atremble;  
    It was thus He stared, and quelled the might of the bright  
        And martial demon by pressing a toe of His sacred foot  
    Causing him to wail aloud.  Gazing on His form  
        The two ran to behold it; He then spiraled up  
    As dazzling light; He, even He, came and declaring,  
        “Tiruvotriyoor is Our town,” moved away.  
    Alas, my serried bangles are slipping one by one!             457 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Thousand arms: This aspect of Siva is glorified by the Purusha Sukta.  The  
cruel malady…forsook me: A mere darshan in somnium is so curative in its  
effect.  
 
4. Alas...ill-fated one: The word ‘Otri’ means ‘mortgage.’  Otriyoor is therefore  
a town under mortgage.  The visitor with whom the heroine has fallen in love,  
is therefore without a town.  He is, in other words, homeless.  So, how can she  
ever marry Him and run a house? Thinking on this, she bemoans her lot.  
 
5. Uttaram: Pangkuni Uttaram: 
Pangkuni: The last month of the Tamil year (March-April).  The asterism called  
Denebola is Uttaram.  Now-a-days the water-festival takes place during Maasi  
(Makam).  
 
7. It is said that the shrine at Otriyoor is wrought of the Yoga-Agni of Brahma.   
This accounts for its singular radiance.  
 
Waves that roll... the sea: This depictures the plight of man.  He goes away from  
God, but finding asylum none, he comes back to Him.  The Aanava mala that holds  
him in its grip accounts for his constant commuting. 
 
8. These words are addressed by the heroine to her friend.  The reader should  
compare this poem with Sri Aandaal’s poem which begins with the words: “Ulle  
uruki naivenai....”  
 
 
46. TIRUVAAVADUTHURAI

 
Our Saint’s pilgrimage covered many holy shrines.  He visited the shrines situate on both the  
banks of the Cauvery.  Passing through Tirucchemponpalli, he eventually arrived at Triukko- 
dikaa whence he came to Tiruvaavaduthurai.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Maasi- 
laamani Easwarar / Gomathiswarar and Atulyakujaambikai / Oppilaamulai Ammai.  
 
1.     He is the supremely desirable One; He knows the bournes  
        Of the four Vedas; He is the great sea of Gnosis; He is  
    The good; He is Kampan; He was seated under the Banyan tree;  
        He graces His servitors very like Karpaka; He is ruddy gold,  
    Coral and pearl-cluster; He is the sun, the moon, the fire  
        And the water; He is Hara, the beauteous Gold  
                of cool Aavaduthurai.  
    I, the lowly cur, reached His feet and stand redeemed.             458 
 
2.     He is lightning; He is thunderbolt linked to lightning;  
        He rises as the white cloud and pours; ever Himself,  
    He is beyond compare; unto the many lives he is the Mother  
        As well as Father; He is mine; He, the Lord-God, is  
    My Father; He is the wide earth, the planets and the sky;  
    He is Hara that abides at cool Aavaduthurai; I the lowly cur,  
        Reached His feet and stand redeemed.                 459 
 
3.     He is ever contemplated by the chittas of bhaktas;  
        He is the shoot of coral; He is the diamond cluster;  
    He abides as the pure Way; He manifests as the meaning  
        Of the words uttered by the godly; He is the Seed; He is  
    The germinating Sprout; He is the Root; He is Glory;  
        He is the harborage of Karma; He is the Father  
    That annuls miseries; He is Hara of cool Aavaduthurai;  
        I, the lowly cur, reached His feet and stand redeemed.        460 
 
4.     On His matted hair he fosters a goodly crescent;  
        He is the ladder leading His devotees mad after Him  
    To moksha; unto me caught up in a maelstrom  
        Of the sea of misery, He is the ark that transports me  
    To the other shore; He, the Wearer of the swaying white Kuzhai,  
        Is the pure lustre unto me--His serviteur; He is  
    The touchstone of the radiant golden coin; He is Hara  
        That abides at cool Aavaduthurai; I, the lowly cur,  
    Reached His feet and stand redeemed.                     461 
 
5.     He is the peerless Ruby; He is the mainstay of the world;  
        He is the sun at its meridian; He is the thunder-bolt; He is  
    The immense Gem; He bathes in milk and Pancha-kavya;  
        He is the pure One; He is Pasupati; He is a hill of coral;  
    He is the divine Gem, the abiding light; He is Honey.  
        The sweet juice of the sugarcane; He is sweetness itself;  
    He is the rare Gem; He is Hara of cool Aavaduthurai;  
        I, the lowly cur, reached His feet and stand redeemed.        462 
 
6.     His mount is a Bull; He is eight-shouldered;  
        He dances in the night; He is Death; He kicked Death  
    (To death); He ate the poison of the noisy sea  
        And holds it in His throat; He is daubed with ash;  
    He is cinctured with a long serpent; on His long  
        Ruddy, matted hair, He sports the river Ganga;  
    He is Hara of cool Aavaduthurai; I the lowly cur,  
        Reached His feet and stand redeemed.                463 
 
7.     He flayed the invincible, trunked tusker;  
        He is sea, mountain, sky and ether; He is  
    Coral! Great and ruddy; He is bright pearl”  
        He is moon, sun and fire, our Lord;  
    He abides in my manam -- His shrine; He is the God  
        Of those servitors whose bones melt in love;  
    He is Hara of cool Aavaduthurai; I, the lowly cur,  
        Reached His feet and stand redeemed.                 464 
 
8.     He is the Truth; He mixes not with the false;  
        He is naked space, cool shade; His hand holds  
    The cruel fire; His eye burnt to ash Kaamma’s body;  
        He is the triple-eyed; on His matted hair, he juxtaposed  
    The dancing serpent and the moon; He is clad in the hide  
        Of the leaping tiger; He is the noble One;  
    He is Hara of cool Aavaduthurai; I, the lowly cur,  
        Reached His feet and stand redeemed.                 465 
 
9.     He is without likes and dislikes; of yore, He,  
        The hunter, caused Arjuna to wilt; He is  
    The untrimmed, goodly and bright-rayed Flame;  
        His weapon is a trident; He is the great One  
    Who kicked the life out of Death; He is the Chief 
        Hailed by the celestials and the earth-born;  
    He is Hara of cool Aavaduthurai; I, the lowly cur,  
        Reached His feet and stand redeemed.                466 
 
10.     He is concorporate with Her whose soft fingers sport  
        A ball; He is the Master of song and dance; His is  
    A wreath of fragrant konrai growing in bunches;  
        Beauteous is His throat with the blue hue; He is  
    Chaste Tamil as well as Sanskrit; He is the glorious One;  
        He is the Brahmin who wears on His divine chest  
    The sacred thread; He is Hara that presides over cool Aavaduthurai;  
        I, they lowly cur, reached His feet and stand redeemed.        467 
 
11.     He ate the poison of the cool sea and held it  
        (in His throat); He smote the great sacrifice of Daksha;  
    He is a Sifter; On His red matted hair the crescent  
        Crawls; He crushed the demon who by his great strength  
    Lifted the mountain; He is concorporate with Her  
        Of lovely jewels; He cured the bodily ailment of mine--  
    The base one.  He is Hara who presides over cool Aavaduthurai;  
        I, the lowly cur, reached His feet and stand redeemed.        468 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. He knows.....four Vedas: He who is of limitless knowledge knows the limits  
of pasu and paasa knowledge. 
 
4. The other shore: The realm of moksha.  
 
10. Chaste Tamil and Sanskrit: Tamil is the language of Bhakti.  Sanskrit is the  
tongue in which the Lord’s Vedas stand recorded. 
 
 
47. TIRUVAAVADUTHURAI

 
 
1.     O Salvation! O my Wealth! O Honey! O the bright Light  
        Of the celestials! O One whose form is goodly Light  
    Of coruscating effulgence! O my kin! O my flesh!  
        O Soul of my fleshy embodiment! O the Embryo  
    Of my consciousness! O my Karpaka! O Lion  
        Of the celestials, abiding at cool Aavaduthurai  
    O mine eye! O the dark orb of mine eye! O the pupil  
        Of that orb! Save me from the onslaught  
        Of the malady of formless and cruel Karma.            469 
 
2.     When, I, the cur, contemplate, it is only Your divine feet;  
        I think not of other gods; my lips unfailingly hail  
    The mystic pentad; I forget not Your divinely gracious acts:  
        I’ll not suffer my heart to house deceit; more and more  
    I endure Your acts (of chastisement); given over to misery,  
        Every day I suffer from my unendurable lot;  
    O Lion of the celestials of cool Aavaduthurai,  
        Be pleased to assure me thus: “Fear not!”            470 
 
3.     O One concorporate with the bashful Woman of the Mountain!  
        O Bridegroom of Ganga! O One with long matted hair!  
    I will not be daunted by the maladies that attack me,  
        Though they be numerous, if I am blessed to utter Your name  
    At the time when life quits me; O King of the devotees  
        Who melt thinking of You and get tear-bedewed  
    And in love hail Your ankleted feet! O Lion of the Devas  
        Abiding at cool Aavaduthurai! Be pleased to assure me,  
        Your servitor thus: “Fear not!”                    471 
 
4.     You bent the bow and burnt the triple citadels  
        Of those who were wrathfully uproarious;  
    You wore such a fearsome look that Uma beholding it,  
        Quaked; O Gangkaala who flayed the tusker that ran  
    Trumpeting, throwing its trunk on the huge she – elephant!  
        O our King! I am a burden to men on earth;  
    I, the base one, ever fostering the life of my  
        Ephemeral embodiment stand fatigued.  
    O Lion of the Devas abiding at cool Aavaduthurai, be pleased  
        To assure me--Your servitor thus: “Fear not!”            472 
 
5.     I plunge into water, pluck great and fragrant flowers  
        And hail and adore daily Your ankleted feet;  
    Thus have I forsaken the unforsakable misery.  
        What do I care for the Praarabta Karma  
    That is this world assails me? O Righteous Lord  
        That ate the poison of the roaring, billowy sea  
    And saved the Devas who as kin implored You  
        In the fullness of their heart! O Lion of the Devas  
    Abiding at cool Aavaduthurai! Be pleased to assure me.  
        Your servitor thus: “Fear not!”                 473 
 
6.     Wearing the skeleton of King Naaraayana on the shoulders  
        Holding in the hand the skull of him whose seat  
    Is the lovely Flower, and mantled in the hide of the sylvan tusker  
        You go about everywhere in the guise of Gangkaalan,  
    Who am I for you but a Karma-ridden man?  
        It is You who became in the beginning, the good  
    And the bad Karma; O Lion of the Devas abiding  
        At cool Aavaduthurai! Be pleased to assure me,  
        Your servitor thus: “Fear not!”                    474 
 
7.     You peeled he skin of a deer and are clad in that  
        Deer-skin, O Lord of Uma! O Lion of the Devas!  
    You ate and hold in Your throat the poison of the dark sea  
        In which rivers that run smashing bamboos, flow.  
    O Lord of Mount Kailas! Even the prayer that implores You 
        To forgive does not bespeak Your great grace;  
    You are the great One and as such it is Your duty to forgive.  
        O Lion of the Devas abiding at Aavaduthurai girt  
        With groves where great peacocks call out and dance!         475 
 
8.     Holding a skull of the dead, You go abegging  
        In the celestial world; You draw to Yourself the manam-s  
    Of those who love You; You grace them; You hold fife  
        In Your hand; O Sire! Caught up and immersed  
    In the delusive embodiment of Maya that houses  
        The mala-ridden life, I feel fatigued day by day;  
    O Lord of the celestials, abiding at cool Aavaduthurai!  
        Be pleased to grace Your servitor thus: “Fear not!”        476 
 
9.     Holding in Your hand a white-toothed skull  
        And riding a Bull, You go abegging from town to town! 
    Both You and the Daughter of the Mountain delight  
        To dance in the crematory; if You deem me not  
    As Yours all will dispraise me; I have forsaken  
        The company of the unlearned, the poor Samanas--  
    The cruel and untractable ones--, and the Saakyas;  
        O Lion of the celestials abiding at cool Aavaduthurai!  
        Be pleased to grace Your servitor thus: “Fear not!”         477 
 
10.     I did not pursue the pure path of the renouncers;  
        I am not unsullied; I canst not deck my Lord  
    With a garland woven of flowers; I can deem not birth  
        Worthy if I speak not of Your divine grace;  
    Futile are my days unspent in Your praise; I have  
        Known of your crushing the king of the well-set, walled  
    Lanka and Your gracing him; O Lion of the celestials  
        Abiding at cool Aavaduthurai! Be pleased to assure me,  
        Your servitor thus: “Fear not!”                    478 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
2. The bhakta’s main prayer relates to the Lord’s granting the gift of freedom  
from fear.  
 
4. You wore…quaked: This was at the time when Lord Siva was out to flay  
the tusker.  
 
Gangkaala: Gangkaalam means skeleton.  Lord Siva, at the time of the Grand  
Dissolution, wore on His person the skeletons of Brahma and Vishnu.  
 
The tusker….she elephant: Unless one is acquainted with the hoary tradition  
and the conventions of Tamil poetry, one may feel mystified when one meets  
with a passage like the present one.  Tamil and Sanskrit dwell at length on  
associated ideas.  They do not always hit the nail on the head.  Excursions  
that may appear to be ungermane and unnecessary are often met with in the  
classics.  For instance, when the object of description is a sea, things  
associated with the sea invariably form part of the description.  We do not  
know if ships plied over the sea when it was churned by the Devas and the  
Asuras.  However.  Sri Aandaal would say that three was the traffic of ships  
when the sea was churned (Vangkak Kadal).  Similarly when St. Kumaraguruparar  
desires to mention about the mount of Lord Muruka, namely the peacock, he  
loads his description with words indicating connected ideas.  The peacock is  
a colourful bird: it is an enemy of the serpent: the serpent is a wrathful reptile. 
So it is of “Seerum aravai-p-poruta chitra mayil vakanan” he speaks.   
 
In the passage under review, the simple message relates to the flaying of a  
tusker.  This is not directly conveyed.  The behaviour of a tusker is also taken  
into account.  A tusker in rut chases its mate.  If its mate chooses to flee away,  
the tusker leaves it not.  It runs throwing its trunk on its mate.  This idea is  
included in the description of our Saint.  Though the tusker that was flayed by  
Lord Siva did not run after a she-elephant, the propensity to run so, is taken into  
account and mentioned.  
 
5. The unforsakable misery: Embodiment.  
 
Praarabta Karma: Karma is threefold.  Sanchitam is Karma accumulated by the  
soul.  Praarabtam is that which is experienced in the current life.  It is invincible. 
Aagaamiyam is what is earned in the current life.  At the time of Diksha (Initiation)  
Sanchitam gets burnt away.  By the chanting of the mystic pentad as instructed by  
the Guru.  Aagaamiyam is forfended. 
 
 
48. VALIVALAM

 
Our Saint abode at Tiruvaaroor for a number of days.  He hailed the Lord of Poongkoyil in  
many decades.  Our Saint was also very much alive to the glory of the Lord of Araneri.  It  
was during our Saint’s sojourn at Tiruvaaroor that he visited Valivalam whose glory is the  
theme of the following decad.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Hridayakamala  
Naatheswarar / Mana-th-thunai Naathar and Vaalaiangkanni / Angkayarkkanni.  
 
1.     He is the good One: He became the four Vedas; He is  
        The supremely desirable One; He is a Wielder of the bow  
    Who burnt the triple, hostile towns; He is far above  
        The Devas; He is concorporate with the soft One;  
    He is the Vedic (sacrificial) mantra; He became  
        The three lights; He grants the hoary ethereal world  
    To the serving worshippers; He is of Valivalam who is  
        Hailed by the Devas; He abides in my manam.            479 
 
2.     He is body; He is the life of body; He lives for ever;  
        He exists not (for the undevout); He is for ever  
    The Honey unto Uma; He is the opulent One; He became  
        The directions; He is the pure One; He is the Forester  
        Who admired the martial prowess of Arjuna; He is the sea;  
    He became the mountain; He is the supernal One  
        Who mantled Himself in the hide of the tusker  
    That wailed aloud (in pain and agony); He is of Valivalam  
        Who is hailed by the Devas; He abides in my manam.        480 
 
3.     He is the Mover; He is the essence of all the lives;  
        He is the sweet One; He is without sorrows; He is,      
    The Mother unto the world; He is the peerless Tattvan; 
        He is the noble One; He pervades everywhere; He is  
    Beyond the macrocosm; He is inseparable from the life  
        Of those who inly melt and weep thrilled;  
    He is of Valivalam who is hailed by the celestials;  
        He abides in my manam.                        481 
 
4.     It is He who governs; He is the life of the body; He is  
        The One of AUM; He is the Seed of all the worlds;  
    He became the rain that pours from the sky; He is  
        The produce; He manifests not in the hearts of those  
    Who like Him hit; He supports the seven worlds; He keeps  
        On His crest the river, the crescent and the snake; He is  
    Of Valivalam hailed by the Devas; He abides in my manam.         482 
 
 5.     He is the Word; He is the Guna; He is the Mark; He is  
        All the flaws; He wears the beauteous ash; He is  
    The shade; He is the fire; on His red and erect  
        Matted hair He received the river Ganga; His mount  
    Is a Bull; He became the seven worlds;  
        Before even eyes could wink, He reduced  
    Kaama to ash; He is of Valivalam who is hailed  
        By the Devas; He abides in my manam.                 483 
 
6.     He is the Abode of all; He is the Creator of all;  
        He is water; He is earth; He is the Wielder of the bow  
    Who smote the triple towns; On one side of His body  
        He holds the red-lipped and black-tressed Damsel  
    Of mellifluous words; He is the Scriptures; He is the wind;  
        His wrath smote Death; He is of Kailas--the divine  
    Mountain; He is of Valivalam who is hailed  
        By the Devas; He abides in my manam.                484 
 
7.     He is woman; He is man; He is the great One.  
        Unto the great; He is the rare One; He became Ayan;  
    He is numbers; He is letters; He is music sweet to listen;  
        He is poesy; He is the all-seeing Eye; He is though;  
    He is the way trodden by the mala-freed; He is wisdom;  
        He is the earth girt with the seven seas; He is  
    Of Valivalam who is hailed by the Devas;  
        He abides in my manam.                        485 
 
8.     He was before the Beginning; He will be after the End;  
        He is the Primal One of unageing body;  
    He is the crown; He is the three lights; He is close  
        To the servitors; He is far away from the wordly;  
    He is the lightning of boundless effulgence; He is  
        The thunderbolt; He has Tirumaal on one side  
    Of His body; He is the Lord of Ganga of abundant waters;  
        He is of Valivalam hailed by the Devas;  
    He abides in my manam.                            486 
 
9.     He is Wealth; He is Niti unapproachable by the thought  
        Of anyone; He is a Brahmin; He is the Refuge of those  
    That think on Him; He is nimbus; He became fire;  
        He is Pati animating Time and its aeons;  
    He is fruit; He is essence; He is the wise One who made  
        The snake and the moon befriend each other;  
    He is of Valivalam who is hailed by the celestials  
        He abides in my manam.                         487 
 
10.     The lofty one throned on the Lotus and he that became  
        A little boy to scale the worlds could not 
    Measure Him; then they hailed Him -- the column of fire --,  
        Holding their folded hands above their heads;  
    He is the ever-young One who with His toe crushed the head  
        Decked with pollen-laden flowers of the King  
    Of Lanka upon the billowy main; He has a Woman  
        As part of His body; He who is of Valivalam is hailed  
        By the Devas; He abides in my manam.                488 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES  
 
1. The three lights: Sun, Moon and Agni.  
 
5. He is all the flaws: All things-- good, bad and indifferent--, exist thanks to  
God.  Flaws, faults, sins and the like have a role to play in the phenomenal  
world.  Poison too has its uses.  God is the over-all Controller of things and  
beings.  
 
 
49. TIRUKKOKARANAM

 
    (Gokaranam)
 
After adoring Siva in the holy hill of Kalatthi, our Saint proceeded northward.  He visited  
Sri Sailam and adored its Lord.  Passing through the Kannada realm, he arrived at Gokaranam  
situated in the Tulu country.  The following decad was sung by our Saint when he abode at  
Gokaranam.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Mahaabaleswarar / Praanalingeswarar  
/ Aatma Lingeswarar and Gokarneswari. 
 
1.     He keeps the river and the moon juxtaposed; He is  
        Of dazzling matted hair; He is nectar unto them  
    That depend on Him; He smote the three skyey towns  
        Of the Asuras; He becomes the beauteous form in which   
    He is hailed; He sang the four musical Vedas; He plays  
        The instruments of taalam in manifold ways; He became  
    The content of the Vedas rich in mantras; He, for ever,  
        Abides at Gokaranam upon the great main.             489 
 
2.     He holds the skull of him who fathered the world;  
        He moves everywhere; He is Nectar unto them that depend  
    On Him; He is fragrance; He is Virattan of the Gedilam;  
        He is the indestructible One; He is One whom none can  
    Destroy; He daubs His body with the burnt ash; He is  
        The Hero; He abides at the immense Kailas; He is  
    The unapproachable One to tall Maal who as His mount  
        Bears Him; He is beyond the ken of intellect; He, for ever,  
        Abides at Gokaranam upon the great main.             490 
 
3.     Unto none is His form manifested; He is our Lord  
        Of dazzling matted hair; His form of auric flame  
    Is experienced by the blessed; He sports a river; He is  
        The perfect One ancient; He became the lives; He is  
    Concorporate with Her of subtle and fulgurant waist;  
        He dreadfully mantled Himself in the hide of the tusker;  
    In His aeviternal form He chanted the Vedas; He, for ever  
        Abides at Gokaranam upon the great main.            491 
 
4.     He is our Lord of Aaroor in whose red matted hair  
        The river flows: He is the loving One; He is the Lord  
    Who abides at beauteous Pazhanam; His divine body  
        Is bright with the ash; He is the King; He is unique;  
    He wields a cruel and cleft mazhu; He plays  
        On the kokkarai; His hosts are the goodly Bhootas;  
    He smote the triple, hostile and walled towns; He, for ever,  
        Abides at Gokaranam upon the great main.             492 
 
5.     He bent that bow (of Meru) and wielded it;  
        His dart was Agni; He so cast His look on the three  
    Mobile towns that they were reduced to powdery ash;  
        He is the Lord of lives; His hosts are the Bhootas;  
    He instantaneously graces His adorers; He bathes  
        In the fire; He is Nectar unto His servitors; sweet  
    And suaveolent is His spreading matted hair; He, for ever,  
        Abides at Gokaranam upon the great main.             493 
 
6.     He placed the crescent and a woman on a portion  
        Of His crest; He is the glorious One; He is birthless; 
    He is Kaapaali of dark and beauteous throat;  
        He wields kattangkam; holding in His hand  
    A skull He sang many a song to the beat of drum;  
        He danced rhythmically; He is the Lord who heard  
    The Vedas rendered most musically; He, for ever,  
        Abides at Gokaranam upon the great main.            494 
 
7.     He abides beyond the foudroyant vault of heaven;  
        He is the God of the Devas; He is the Chief of the three  
    Who held suzerainty everywhere; He is the beauteous  
        Wielder of the three-leaved trident; fathoming  
    My thought Her abides in my chinta; He is a hunter; He is  
        The One of gramarye hailed by the Devas standing,  
    Who is unknown to Maal who scaled the earth; He, for ever,  
        Abides at Gokaranam upon the great main.             495 
 
8.     He wore the crescent on His plaited, mated crest;  
        Immense is His grace; He is birthless; by His sankalpa  
    He manifested even before the worlds came into being;  
        He is the Primal One that smote in joy the three walled towns;  
    None knows what His form is; He became the seven seas  
        And the seven worlds: the aeviternal Matron rests  
    On one half of His body; He, for ever, abides  
        At Gokaranam upon the great main.                 496 
 
9.     He became the blazing fire to them that contended vociferously;  
        He is the Hero; He presides over Virattam; by His look  
    He smote Kaama; He is every life; His hosts are  
        The Bhootas; from cruel and fettering karma  
    He redeems men and fosters them; like sugar He is  
        Sweet; He wears konrai whose nectar had been  
    Eaten away by chafers; He wears the semicircular crescent;  
        He, for ever, abides at Gokaranam upon the great main.         497 
 
10.     Pressing His toe, He crushed his shoulders who lifted up  
        The Kailas with his hands; when with the veins  
    Of his body he made music and caused Him hear it  
        He blessed him with manifold grace; He keeps  
    Away from the false-hearted; He is the Lord  
        Of martial weapons; there is none to fight against Him;  
    He of the plaited, matted hair has a dark neck;  
        He, for ever, abides at Gokaranam upon the great main.         498 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
2. Vanthu ottha nedu Maarkum arivonaann kaann:  The meaning of these words is  
not clear.  The words suggest a measure of equality between Siva and Vishnu, and  
at the same time, affirm the superiority of Siva.  
 
7. The passage following the word “Yevalan” can also be rendered as follows:  
“Hailed by the standing celestials, He commanded them to perform their respective  
offices.”  
 
 
50. TIRUVEEZHIMIZHALAI

 
On occasions, St. Tirugnaanasambandhar and our Saint traveled together, adoring Siva in His  
many shrines.  From Aakkoor, they eventually arrived at Veezhimizhalai.  A famine swept the  
country at that time.  Each of them stayed in his matam and fed the servitors of Siva, thanks  
to the golden coin which they each received from Siva.The following decad was sung in this  
place by our Saint when he abode in that holy town.  The names of the Deity and His Consort  
are Netraarppaneswarar / Vizhiazhakeesar / Vizhiazhakar / Kalyana Sundarar and Sundaraku- 
chaambikai / Azhakumulai Ammai.  
 
1.     He mantled Himself in the hide of the battling tusker;  
        He is joyously clad in the tiger-skin; He is earth, moon  
    And sun; He is the many lives; He is the extensive ether;  
        He is water, wind and fire; in His car wrought  
    By the Gods, He resolved to ride and smite the foes  
        That failed to think on Him; He is of Tiruvizhimizhalai;  
    They that are unwilling to seek Him are, for sure,  
        Destined to tread only the evil way.                499 
 
2.     He wears the rope of hair as His sacred thread, holds  
        A skull as His bowl and decks Himself with the ashes  
    And the bones of the corpse-abounding crematorium;  
        To end the soul’s embodiment He assumes the guise  
    Of Paasupata; of yore, He totally destroyed the sacrifice  
        In which the Devas participated; He is Yekampan  
    Of Kacchi; He grew wroth at Death and smote him  
        As he rose up in anger against him that took refuge  
    In His ankleted feet; He is of Tiruvizhimizhalai. 
        They that are unwilling to seek Him are, for sure,  
        Destined to tread only the evil way.                500 
 
3.     Of yore, seated under the Banyan tree, He explicated  
        Dharma; He loves Agastya; He stood (a column of fire)  
    Whilst Ayan and Maal went in quest of its top  
        And its base; He ate the venom of the sea; though oned 
    With the bejewelled, He is the Victor of the five senses;  
        He presides over Miyaacchoor; He went to Her  
    Of soft mien to assess the steadfastness of Her tapas;  
        He is of Tiruvizhimizhalai; they that reach Him not,  
        Are destined to tread only the evil way.             501 
 
4.     He is the pure One; He glows like the lustre of coral;  
        He is the Mother of every embodied life; He gifted  
    To Maal the Disc; He is Sankara; His lips melodize the Sama Veda  
        Linked to Chhandas; He abides in the manam-s  
    Of those that contemplate mantras; He is far away  
        From them that chant, alio intuitu, the mystic  
    Pentad; He is of Tiruvizhimizhalai; they that seek  
        Him not are destined to tread only the evil way.         502 
 
5.     He is the goodly object of righteous tapas; He ate the venom,  
        The evil outcome, and turned it into nectar;  
    Though the Devas that ate the nectar perished, He is deathless;  
        He is time past, present and future; He is the unique  
    Light not to be comprehended though one knows all  
        The happenings; He smote the triple towns that winged  
    The wide skyey expanse; He is of Tiruvizhimizhalai;  
        They that seek Him not tread but the evil way.            503 
 
6.     His throat is like a nimbus; His matted hair which sports  
        A crescent is like the lightning of nimbus; He pours  
    Everywhere like nimbus; He dances for alms; circled  
        By the Hosts of Bhoothas of hollow mouths, He wields  
    His trident; He is the true One ever free from falsity;  
        It is He who orders lives on earth and worlds ethereal;  
    He is of Tiruvizhimizhalai; they that seek Him not  
        Are destined to tread only the evil way.            504 
 
7.     He is the lofty One; He loves them that come to Him  
        Seeking Him; it is He who became the six faiths;  
    He is the One neutral to all; He is the One superior  
        To all the things coveted, by the Devas; He is the Tattvan  
    Who is omneity; it is He who fixed the cardinal points by placing  
        The lofty mountain in the center; he is of Tiruvizhimizhalai;  
        They that seek Him not tread but the evil way.             505 
 
8.     He, the great One, cut the shoulder of the King of Devas;  
        He for ever abides at Valaikulam and Maraikkaadu;  
    He is body; He is life; He is a hunter, who of yore, visited  
        Arjuna well aware of his great tapas; He abides  
    At Kailas; His matted hair sports the Ganga; He is  
        Honey unto them that are oned with Him; He is  
    Of Tiruvizhimizhalai; they that do not seek Him  
        Are destined to tread but the evil way.                506 
 
9.     He is of the empyrean; He became many things  
        This side of the empyrean; He is Pasupati;  
    He, the boon-giver, reveals moksha to His bhaktas;  
        He abides in the manam-s of adorers; Vayu, Vishnu  
    And Agni became the feather, the dart, and the tip  
        Of His arrow; He is the tapaswi that put down the dart  
    Under His feet; He wore on His crown of matted hair the skull  
        With beauteous eyes; He is of Tiruvizhimizhalai;  
        They that seek Him not tread but the evil way.             507 
 
10.     He clipped one of five heads of Brahma; He crushed  
        The shoulders of the demon who undaunted, lifted up  
    The mountain; He then listened to the music which he  
        Made with his nerves; He ground the moon with His foot;  
    He knocked out the teeth of Surya; when the Devas  
        Implored on behalf of Bhagirata, He wore on His crest  
    Like a mist, the spreading Ganga that made a crashing  
        Descent; He is of Tiruvizhimizhalai; they that do not  
        Seek Him are destined to tread only the evil way.         508 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
2. Rope of hair: This is called panchavati, the sacred thread of the Mahaavrata  
Saivite.  
 
4. Chhandas: Metre.  
 
7. The six faiths: They are reckoned in various ways.  Saivism, Vaishnavism,  
Gaanaapatyam, Kaumaaram, Saaktam and Souram are found mentioned in the  
Vedas.  Pingala Nikantu speaks of Bhairavam, Vaamam, Kaalaamukham, Mahavratam,  
Paasupatam and Saivam as the inner faiths.  It also says that Lokaayatam, Buddhism,  
Jainism, Mimaancha, Paancharaatram and Bhattachaariyam speaks of four categories,  
each category comprising six faiths. 
 
9. He is a tapaswi…. His feet: Though three mighty gods joined together to become  
His arrow, he felt no need for it.  He put the dart under His feet and burnt the triple  
hostile towns of the Asuras by His laughter. 
 
He wore .... beauteous eyes: From the Aabhichaara Homa performed by the Taarukaavana  
Munis, a white skull arose to attack Lord Siva.  Our Lord quelled its vehemence and wore  
it on His matted hair.  Dadisi Utthara-p-Patalam (Kanda Puranam) describes this episode.  
 
10. When the Devas.... A crashing descent: There are two versions of this episode.  For  
the first version, refer to the notes appended to stanza 349.  The second version is as  
follows: Of yore, Uma playfully placed Her fingers over the eyes of Lord Siva.  That very  
moment the whole universe was plunged in deep darkness.  To provide the cosmos with  
light.  Our Lord opened His third eye.  Such was its effulgence that the ten fingers of  
Uma began to sudate.  She withdrew Her fingers whence started flowing ten Gangas.   
They began to flow destructively.  The Devas implored Siva to quell their might.  The  
Lord in His infinite mercy, gathered all of them into one vast sheet of water and then  
wore it on His matted crest.  
 
 
51. TIRUVIZHIMIZHALAI

 
 
1.     He is of Mount Kailas, Kaaronam, Kandamaathanam,  
        Kaalatthi, Mayilaaduthurai, Maakaalam  
    And Vakkarai; He gifted the Disc to Maal;  
        His beauteous hands hold the sharp-tipped trident  
    And the skull; His mount is a Bull; He is daubed  
        With the ash, bright like the sun;  
        He presides over Vizhimizhalai.                    509 
 
2.     He is of auric hue who is adorned with ash; He wears  
        The sacred thread and the snake that spirals up;  
    He is Sankara; on one ear He wears as white kuzhai; He abides  
        At Kedeeccharam and Kedaaram; He is the Lord  
    Of northern Atikai Virattam upon Gedilam; curing me  
        Of my great distress He redeemed me: He is  
    The Bridegroom of Mazhapaadi; He is of Vedikudi  
        And Miyaacchoor; He presides over Vizhimizhalai.        510 
 
3.     He abides at Annaamalai; He is at Aaroor; He is  
        Of Alappoor; He is the Lord of Moolattaanam  
    In the Maadakkoyil hailed by the Brahmins; He is  
        The Lord of Uma, the God of Devas; He is of Otriyoor;  
    He is the God of great Thoongkaanaimaadam  
        At Pennaakadam; He is of Yemakootam  
    And Peraavoor; He presides over Vizhimizhalai  
        Hailed in love by all the celestials.                511 
 
4.     He is of Vennkaadu; Sengaattangkudi, Venni--  
        The goodly town--, and Vetkalam; His lips chant  
    The Vedas, He is at Pazhanam where chafers hum  
        Melodiously; He is of Paraaitthurai and Ciraappalli;  
    Of yore, as He flayed the hide of a dark tusker  
        Of white tusks, it trumpeted aloud in agony;  
    He mantled His heroic form therewith at which She  
        Whose forehead is like the skiey crescent, quaked  
        In fear; He pesides over Vizhimizhalai.                512 
 
5.     He dances at Tillaicchitrambalam circle  
        By the Bhoothas that chant the Vedas;  
    He is clad in tiger-skin; He abides at resonant Metrali  
        In Kacchi; He is of Yekampam girt with cool groves;  
    He, the Gangkaala, seeks alms in every threshold;  He is  
        Of Kazhumalam; He, whose victorious flag sports  
    The Bull, along with Her whose locks are adorned with  
        Rich flowery wreaths, presides over Vizhimizhalai.        513 
 
6.     He loves Perumpuliyoor; He is of (Arathai-p-)Perumpaazhi;  
        His is the Moolattaanam at Perumpatrappuliyoor;  
    He is of Irumpoolai abounding in great bushes;  
        He is of beauteous Innambar; He is of Yeengkoi hill;  
    He is of Karukaavoor where He is enshrined with Uma -- the One  
        Like unto sugarcane --, of sweet words; He is  
    Of Karuppariyaloor and Karaviram; hailed in love by Devas  
        Night and day, He abides at Vizhimizhalai.            514 
 
7.     He is of Maraikkaadu, Valivalam, Vaaimoor  
        Vaazhkolipputthoor and Maakaalam; His neck 
    Has a dark patch; He is Kaapaali; His are Karkudi,  
        Virkudi and Kaanapper; circled by many ghosts  
    Whose hollow eyes are like the drum’s, He the great One  
        Of Pazhaiyanoor Aalangkaadu, of yore,  
    Leaped on the pain-inflicting cruel Death and caused  
        His death; He presides over Vizhimizhalai;             515 
 
8.     He is of Anjaikkalam, Aiyaaru, Aaroor, Peroor  
        And Azhunthoor; Talikkulam of Tanjai is His shrine;  
    He abides at Takkaloor and Ayavanti at Satthamangkai;  
        He is the supremely desirable One who ate  
    The poison as though it were nectar for Him;  
        He is of Naakeccharam and Naaraiyoor; He retrieved me  
    From the prison of Jains, the utterers of cruel words;  
        He presides over Vizhimizhalai.                    516 
 
9.     He is of Kondal; He abides at Kondeeccharam;  
        His shrine is Kovaloor Virattam; He is of Tandalai;  
    He abides at Talayaalangkaadu; He dwells at the shrine  
        Of great Talaicchangkai; He is of Valanjuzhi  
    Upon the Cauvery whose godly water rolls with loam  
        And sand; He is enshrined at Vaikal Maadakkoyil;  
    He the Vikirta, holds in His hand a white skull; it is He  
        Who presides over Vizhimizhalai.                517 
 
10.     He is of Aricchantiram and Ambar; He is the rare One  
        Unto Hari, Brahma and Indira; at Puricchantiram  
    He abides; He is the joyous experience; with the Daughter  
        Of the Mountain-King, He abides in love at places  
    Where the ritual fire is tended during the junctions  
        Of the day; His shrine is Yemakootam; bees hum  
    His praise who is the Lord of Music; His form is that  
        Of the Dancer who holds the fire in His open palm;  
        He presides over Vizhimizhalai.                 518 
 
11.     He is of Punkoor, Purampayam, Putthoor, Poovanam  
        And Pulivalam; He, the Lord of Cosmos, of yore, pressed  
    An auric toe of His ankleted foot and crushed the heads  
        And Hill-like shoulders and legs too of him  
    Under the mountain, as he durst lift up the mountain  
        Deeming his abundant puissance to be great;  
    He has fulgurant matted hair; His mount is a Bull;  
        He presides over Vizhimizhalai.                    519 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
1. Kandamaathanam (Gandamaathanam): A hill-shrine.  
 
3. Maadakkoyil: The shrine constructed on a raised platform.  It is so constructed  
that an elephant cannot enter it.  St. Tirumangkai Aazhwar says that the Chola King  
Ko-Chengkanaan built seventy shrines of this type for Lord Siva.  The Maadakkoyil  
referred to in this verse may relate to the one at Vaikal. 
 
9. Vikrita: One who is different from others.  
 
 
52. TIRUVIZHIMIZHALAI

 
 
1.     He is the Eye; He is the vision beheld by the light of eye;  
        He is the Master of music who manifests its grammar  
    In the songs rendered; He is the tiral of pann; He is fruit,  
        Its taste and the yielder of both; He is earth, fire,  
    Water, moving wind and heavens the abode of nimbi;  
        He is far above the Devas; He is of cool Vizhimizhalai,  
        Of heaven-descended Vimaana.                     520 
 
2.     His name is mystic pentad sweet like the juice  
        That the sugarcane-press expresses; He abides  
    In the chinta of the just and upright; He is the One  
        Who burnt the triple mobile towns with His bow;  
    He bathes in milk and curds and fragrant ghee; He enacted  
        The dance Paandarangkam; He seeks alms; His neck  
    Holds the poison of the sea; He is of cool Vizhimizhalai  
        Of heaven-descended Vimaana.                     521 
 
3.     He became heat as well as coolth; He graced him  
        Whose mount is a Bird with the Disc; He is Kaapaali--  
    The triple-eyed; with His look He burnt the body  
        Of Kaama; He retrieved me from senseless Jainism  
    And rules me; in the form of fire He graced the two;  
        He abides ever hailed by the celestials;  
    He presides over cool Vizhimizhalai  
        Of heaven-descended Vimaana.                     522 
 
4.     He wears a kuzhai o shell that becomes His ear;  
        He looks like a mountain of gold; He proved  
    The great tapas which She performed; He wears the tusk  
        Of the mighty white boar as His jewel; He is Aadi;  
    He is beyond the cosmos; He made the five-headed  
        Serpent His bow-string; He is a Brahmin; He reveals  
    The way of the Vedas; He is of cool Vizhimizhalai  
        Of heaven-descended Vimaana.                     523 
 
5.     He bathed in water, ghee and tender-coconut-water;  
        He abides as the sempiternal Bridegroom; He holds  
    In His hands a mazhu and a fawn; He kicked the life  
        Out of Death; His divine body is bedaubed  
    With the white ash; on His ruddy matted crest He keeps  
        A white crescent; He sport in the fierce fire;  
    He is of cool Vizhimizhalai of heaven-descended Vimaana.         524 
 
6.     The dark and tall Maal who keeps the wakeful sleep,  
        Seeking the Disc, gouged his eye and offered it to Him;  
    For this, He graced him; He is the great God who conceals  
        In His matted crest the melliferous konrais sucked  
    By chafers, flowers of vanni and belladonna and also  
        The celestial Ganga; He is concorporate with Her  
    Whose words are melodic; He is the supreme One; He is  
        The supremely worshipped; on His ruddy matted crest  
    He placed the white crescent and the snake; He is of cool  
        Vizhimizhalai of heaven-descended Vimaana.             525 
 
7.     He is the merciful One that graced the dark Maal with that Disc  
        That clove the rock-shouldered Jalandara;  
    He enfeebled the might of Arjuna whose shoulder sports  
        The bow; in the guise of a hunter, He displayed His skill  
    In fighting; He is Tatparam par excellence; He is Sadasiva;  
        He is beyond compare; He abides in the love of the Daughter  
    Of the Mountain-King; He is of cool Vizhimizhalai  
        Of heaven-descended Vimaana.                    526 
 
8.     He is the true One unto those poised in tapas; He is the One  
        Invisible to those unloving, iron-hearted evil doers;  
    He made fresh flowers of the stones that Saakya flung at Him  
        Unforgettingly; he led them to great beatitude  
    That (always) thought on Him; He is the unseen Adept  
        That fosters all the worlds and confers salvation;  
    He is of cool Vizhimizhalai of heaven-descended Vimaana  
        Who is hailed by the excellent.                 527 
 
9.     With His divine foot He caused Chandra to wilt; He, in wrath,  
        Punished Daksha and clipped the head of Yecchan;  
    He broke the shoulder of Indra and then graced him;  
        He is the Lord, the loving One to those that contemplate Him;  
    He is the mantra and the import of the Vedas; up He spiralled  
        And blazed as a spreading column of fire the top  
    And the bottom of which could be eyed neither by Maal  
        Nor Ayan; He is of cool Vizhimizhalai  
        Of heaven-descended Vimaana.                     528 
 
10.     He abides in the Yeengkai and the great crematory; He is  
        Our Lord; He mantled Himself in the hide of a tusker;  
    He stood a single form concorporate with the Daughter  
        Of the lofty Mountain-King; He is AUM; He wears  
    A chaplet of pollen-laden konrai flowers; His victorious flag  
        Sports a murderous Bull; His upper garment is the pelt  
    Of a striped tiger; He is of cool Vizhimizhalai  
        Of heaven-descended Vimaana.                    529 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES  
 
1. Tiral: Tamil music is threefold.  Its three components are pann, tiram and tiratthiram.   
Tiral stands for both tiram and tiratthiram. 
Vimaana: The tower that stands above the adytum.  
 
4. Become-v.t to suit or befit.  
prove-v.t. to rest the genuineness of.  
 
6. Vanni: Indian mesquit tree.  Prosopis spicigera. 
 
7. Tatparam: (Skt.) The phrase is understood as (1) “Superior to that” and (2) “That  
(which) is supreme.”  
 
8. The act of Saakya is echoed by St. Sundarar who refers to him as “maravaathu  
kal erintha Saakkiya.”  
Unseen Adept: The word olitthu (unseen / concealed) may also refer to the Lord’s  
act of Odukkam / samhaaram (resolution / re-absorption).  
 
9. Yecchan: The performer of Yagna (sacrifice).  
 
10. Yeenkai: This word refers to Indai creeper.  Indai is “eight-pinnate soap pad”  
(Acacia intsia caesia).  
 
 
53. TIRUVIZHIMIZHALAI

 
 
1.     He is the Dancer and Boon-giver who, in His hand, holds  
        A fawn; He bent the huge mountain into a supple bow  
    The ends of which could meet; He peeled the hide  
        Of the sylvan tusker even as it wailed aloud; He holds  
    In His hands a kattangkam, a flag and a tudi; He wears  
        A wreath of beauteous and mellierous konrai;  
    He is the opulent One abiding at Tiruvizhimizhalai;  
        He is the handsome One whose mount is a Bull;  
        He is my Lord-Ruler who owns me as His servitor.        530 
 
2.     He is the clever One who caused the belligerent Jalandara  
        That came seeking a fight, to get split by a disc;  
    With His foot, He, the Lord, smote Death to death;  
        He has Naaraayana packed into the left half of His body;  
    He has for His son Kumara; He is the handsome One  
        Abiding at cool Vizhimizhalai; He first ate  
    The poison that Devas might later drink nectar;  
        He is my Lord-Ruler who owns me as His servitor.        531 
 
3.     He is the Nimalan whose divine person is bedaubed  
        With ash; He graced the tall Maal with the Disc; He is  
    Our God whose flag is adorned with the bullsignum;  
        He smote with a fiery dart the three walled towns;  
    Different is His beauteous guise; He is the Vikirtan  
        Of vast Vizhimizhalai; He is the handsome One  
    Whose crown of matted hair sports a river;  
        He is my Lord-Ruler who owns me as His servitor.        532 
 
4.     He created Vinaayaka, the tusker-faced with a trunk;  
        He caused him kill Kayaasura; of yore, He smote  
    Daksha, the performer of sacrifice; He did away  
        With one of the visages of Brahma; He excised  
    The head of Yaga-Moorti; at vast Vizhimizhalai  
        He abides; He became the five sacrifices and the six Angas;  
        He is my Lord-Ruler who owns me as His servitor.        533 
 
5.     He has a corded kovanam; He, the pure One, is the three  
        Flames and their lustre; He is the holy One  
    Whose body blazes like gold; He goes about surrounded  
        By the Bhootha-Hosts; He has a white crescent on His  
    Fulgurant and ruddy matted hair; He is Vimalan  
        Abiding at vast Vizhimizhalai; He is the Lord  
    Who holds the head of Brahma whose mount is a Swan;  
        He is my Lord-Ruler who owns me as His servitor.        534 
 
6.     He is Varatar whom even Maal does not know; He can  
        Annul the transmigration of those that do not  
    Forget Him; He is the Lord of the fourfold Vedas; He is  
        The supremely desirable One whose name is  
    The mystic pentad; Of yore, He created the spear-holding  
        Veeri; He is the Vikirtan of vast Vizhimizhalai;  
    He held Aalaalam in His neck, and saved all.  
        He is my Lord-Ruler who owns me as His servitor.        535 
 
7.     He is the Consort of Her whose fingers are soft as cotton;  
        He is the supreme One cinctured with a serpent;  
    His neck is dark like a rain-cloud; He is the Bridegroom  
        Abiding at Kailas in the north; He sports  
    A white crescent on His ruddy matted crest;  
        He is Siva enshrined at Tiruvizhimizhalai;  
    He is close to the devotees that have quelled the five senses;  
        He is my Lord-Ruler who owns me as His servitor.        536 
 
8.     He drew me away from the cruel and unteachable ones,  
        And rules me; He is enshrined at Kudamookku;  
    His seat is the fresh Lotus; He killed the King of birds and later  
        Revived him; He is the Vikirtan that seeks alms  
    In the white skull; at the town of vast Vizhimizhalai  
        He abides; He is beyond the pale of that realm  
    Which is beyond the macrocosm; He is my Lord-Ruler  
        Who owns me as His servitor.                     537 
 
9.     His is the burgeoning smile of pearly lustre;  
        His matted hair looks like ruddy coral creeper;  
    He is sweet to them even if their bhakti is but a little;  
        He became the Moortis two times four; He is dear  
    To His friend Kubera; He is the Vikirtar  
        Abiding at vast Vizhimizhalai;  
    He is to me my Father as well as Mother;  
        He is my Lord-Ruler who owns me as His servitor.         538 
 
10.     Uma quaked when He peeled the tusker’s hide;  
        He concealed Ganga in His matted crest hirsutorufous;  
    He is the Lord who holds in one hand the fire; He adorned  
        Himself with the boar’s curved tusk;  
    He grew wroth with the two lights; He is the Vikirtar 
        Abiding at vast Vizhimizhalai; He graced Hari  
    And Brahma when they hailed and adored Him;  
        He is my Lord-Ruler who owns me as His servitor.         539 
 
11.     Pressing His toe, He so crushed him that he fell down  
        Crashing the one who lifted Mount Kailas;  
    Then He graced him; He is the handsome One that dances  
        Witnessed by Her whose words are sweet like the kuyil’s;  
    He is the sun-bright light; He is the Vikirtar   
        Abiding at vast Vizhimizhalai; He is  
    The Wielder of the sharp, three-leaved trident;  
        He is my Lord-Ruler who owns me as His servitor.        540 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Varathar: It means a “boon-giver.” The letters “va” and “bha” are, it is to  
be remembered, interchangeable.  So Bharathar may also be the intended  
word.  Bharathar is Dancer.  So, we have included both the meanings in our  
translation.  
 
4. Kayaasura: Gajamukhaasura: Siva caused the manifestation of Ganapati  
to destroy this Asura. 
Yaga-Moorti: Yecchan.  
The five sacrifices: These are of two type:  
(A) (i) Brahma-yaga, (ii) Deva-yaga, (iii) Manushaya-yaga, (iv) Bhoota-yaga  
and (v) Pitir-yaga and (B) (i) Karma-yaga, (ii) Tava-yaga, (iii) Japa-yaga,  
(iv) Dhyana-yaga and (v) Gnaana-yaga. 
 
6. Varatar: (i) Grantor of boons, (ii) Dancer.  
Veeri: Kaali. 
 
9. Moortis two times four: This refers to Ashta-Moorti. 
 
10. the two lights: Sun and Moon (who were punished in the Daksha-yagna) 
 
 
54. TIRUPULLIRUKKUVELUR

 
Our Saint visited Kolakkaa with the boy-saint Sambandhar.  Then he took leave of him and  
proceeded on his pilgrimage to the shrines at Karuppariyalur and other places.  It was during  
this pilgrimage, he visited this shrine.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Vaidhya- 
naathar / Pullirukkuvelooran and Thailaambaall. 
 
1.     He is the Lord-Ruler who owns me as His servitor;  
        He so stretched Himself that neither Ayan nor Maal cloud  
    Eye His feet or crown. He is of the great town -- Nedungkalam;  
        He split the body of the strong one with the mighty weapon--  
    The Disc; He abides at Kedaaram; He wears  
        Bones and speckled serpents; alas, alas, I wasted  
        Many, many days not haling Him of Pullirukkuvelur.        541 
 
2.     He happened on me in great glory; He glows in my, His  
        Servitor’s chinta; He is Siva; the God of gods; He is  
    The Subtle One; smiting with His ankleted foot Yama  
        Of long and cruel spear, He did away with the dread  
    Of the Muni; He is birthless; He is the deathless God;  
        He willingly mantled Himself in the hide  
    Of the elephant; alas, alas, I wasted many, many days  
        Not hailing Him of Pullirukkuvelur.                542 
 
3.     He taught me -- His servitor--, to weave garlands of verse  
        And hail Him therewith for many, many days, poised  
    In bhakti and loving adoration; He is the God hailed  
        By every god; He is the Lord; He is honey, nectar  
    Milk of cow and sweet juice of sugarcane which spring  
        And flow in my heart; He is Hara, the Primal God;  
    Alas, alas, I did waste many, many days  
        Not hailing Him of Pullirukkuvelur.                543 
 
4.     He did away with the murk of my dark heart,  
        Annulled my, the nescient one’s, troubles and sins,  
    And redeemed me; He is the gracious One that clarified  
        My well-night-impossible-to-enlighten-chinta  
    And conferred on me that chinta like unto His own  
        Which could understand and tread the way of Sivaloka;  
    He is the One poised in the primal and great tapas; He is  
        The Ens that abides transcending the four Vedas  
    And the six Angas; alas, alas, I wasted many, many days  
        Not hailing Him of Pullirukkuvelur.                544 
 
5.     His form is fulgurant; He is one in the ether,  
        Twofold in the wind that blows amain, threefold  
    In the form of ruddy fire, fourfold in the water that flows  
        Downward and fivefold in the expanse of earth; He is  
    Of the aeviternal form of unfailing refuge; He is  
        The great shoot of coral; He is pearl, growing light, diamond  
    And flawless form of gold; alas, alas, I wasted many, many days  
        Not hailing Him of Pullirukkuvelur.                545 
 
6.     He is the beauteous One that dances in the Ambalam  
        Of ornate Tillai, decked with auric and sounding anklets;  
    He is the great God of the long spear -- the three-leaved  
        Trident tipt with venom; He is of Naakaikkaaronam  
    Upon the sea; He is the Lord-God; He abides for ever  
        Within the heart of my heart; He is the One that bears  
    All the seven worlds; alas, alas, I wasted many, many days  
        Not hailing Him of Pullirukkuvelur.                 546 
 
7.     His beauteous body is like fire; He is daubed  
        With the white ash; He is the dear One who abides  
    In my heart from which He never parts; He is  
        The Brahmin; He is the seed of the Vedas; He dwells  
    At the towns of Vennkaadu and vast Tirutthi; He parts  
        Not from Idaimarutu and Yeengkoi; He, the God,  
    Is the Lord of Kailas who rules me; alas, alas, I wasted  
        Many many days not hailing Him of Pullirukkuvelur.         547 
 
8.     Alas, alas, I have wasted many, many days, not hailing  
        Him of Pullirukkuvelur! He is the Lord whom Devas  
    Hail with a thousand names; unto the servitors who part not  
        From Him, He secures the wealth of salvation; becoming  
    Mantra, Tantra and medicine too.  He cured the malady---  
        Well-nigh impossible to cure; He is the martial One who held  
    The strong bow with which He gutted with fire  
        The triple, hostile towns.                    548 
 
9.     Alas, alas, I have wasted many, many days, not hailing  
        Him of Pullirukkuvelur; He is the Creator; He is  
    The Consort of Her -- the fresh liana; He is the deceptive  
        One who concealed in His spreading matted hair the river;  
    He is close to me; He cured me and keeps me inseparable  
        From Him; He is the goodly import of the four Vedas;  
    He wears a cool chaplet -- the white crescent; He is  
        The primal cause, the One that rides a fast-moving Bull;  
    He is Naaraayana; He is the holy One that  
            sprang from the Lotus;                     549 
 
10.     Alas, alas, I have wasted many, many days, not hailing Him  
        Of Pullirukkuvelur; He crushed the ten heads of Lanka’s King;  
    He grew delighted listening to the sweet music of the seven  
        Strings; He did away with the cruel malady and the sin  
    Of servitors; His neck grew dark having consumed  
        The Aalaalam of the billowy main; He burnt the body  
    Of Kaama with the fire of His eye; He bore on His beauteous  
        Hands the fire, the mazhu and the fawn.             550 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
2. Muni: Maarkandeya.  
5. Tanmatras are five they being sound, Touch, Form, Taste and Smell (sabda,  
Sparisa, Roopa, rasa, Gantam).  These gave birth to the five elements: Ether,  
Air, Fire, Water and Earth.  Ether is pervaded by Sound; Air by Sound and Touch;  
Fire by sound, Touch and Form; Water by Sound, Touch, Form and taste; Earth by  
the above four and Smell.  
 
10. Kanal Mazhuvum Kalaiyum Angkai-p-Porutthaanai: Kanal mazhu may mean (1) Fire  
and mazhu and (2) blazing mazhu.  Mazhu also means: “a fire iron rod.” 
 
 
55. TIRUKKAYILAAYAM

 
 
Potritthirutthaandakam 
(The Thaandaka which glorifies God Siva) 
 
Our Saint was the only Naayanaar who undertook the most hazardous pilgrimage to Kailas.   
Crossing Sri Sailam, the states of Andhra and Kannada, he reached Maalawam.  He proceeded  
to Laada Desa and thence to Madhya Paitiram.  Eventually he arrived at Kaasi.  He bade his  
followers to abide thither, and proceeded alone, alone, all, all alone to Kailas.  He did not  
reach Kailas, though he came perhaps, close to it.  It was here he sang the following decad.   
Kailas is the holiest of places.  Mount Kailas in the Himilayas is known as the Bhoo-Kailas.   
Maha-Kailas is beyond the pale of the macrocosm itself.  
 
1.     You stand as ether and other elements, praise be!  
        You have me as Your servitor not to be manumitted, praise be! 
    You lie concealed within as the spring, praise be!  
        You are the sound of continuous sonance, praise be!  
    As energy You abide there, praise be! You became  
        The six Angas and the four Vedas, praise be!  
    As wind, You pervade everywhere, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be praise be!             551 
 
2.     With ghosts you love to dance madly, praise be!  
        O Lord that snaps the cycle of transmigration, praise be!  
    You delight to play the puppeteer, praise be!  
        You pervade my bosom in loving union, praise be!  
    You smote the triple towns of the false ones, praise be!  
        You abide in my bosom, never to part, praise be!  
    You are serpent-cinctured, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             552 
 
3.     You smote the triple, hostile towns, praise be!  
        You entered my chinta in loving union, praise be!  
    Assuming a form, You created me, praise be!  
        You retrieved my inner lie and veiled it in Yours, praise be!  
    O Divinity that is Skill, praise be!  
        O One hailed by the nation, praise be!  
    O enceinte cloud that moves, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             553 
 
4.     O Nectar hailed by Devas, praise be!  
        You entered my chinta, praise be!  
    O Lord of divine form! You do away with flaws, praise be!  
        You rose up straight as blazing fire, praise be!  
    O Clarity that confers honey, praise be!  
        You stand as the God of gods, praise be! You joy  
    To dance in the fire of the crematory, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             554 
 
5.     You are the World of many towns, praise be!  
        You rose up straight as fire, praise be! You pervade  
    Everywhere in the form of Flame, praise be! You entered  
        My chinta, not to part thereform, praise be! You are  
    The lives that thrive in water and their shadows, praise be!  
        You are beyond compare, praise be!  
    You are the cloud that is dark, praise be! 
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             555 
 
6.     You fared forth in many little forms and became  
        The one and only Form, praise be! O God unknown to gods,  
    Praise be! You invested the grass with life, praise be!  
        You entered my chinta, never to part thereform, praise be!  
    As manifested lives, You pervade everywhere, praise be!  
        You-hold the world and do not forsake it, praise be!  
    You are the fire, the life of stone, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             556 
 
7.     You are the music of pann, praise be! You annul  
        The sins of those that contemplate You, praise be!  
    You became numbers, letters and words, praise be!  
        O Lord that parts not from my chinta, praise be!  
    You became ether, earth and fire, praise be!  
        You are loftier than the loftiest, praise be!  
    You are the pupil of the eye, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             557 
 
8.     You wink not; You breathe not; praise be!  
        O God that parts not from my chinta; praise be!  
    You share Uma in Your body, praise be!  
        You are the One that art the seven aeons, praise be!  
    You ate the poison that cannot be eaten, praise be!  
        O Aadi, the hoary and perfect One, praise be!  
    You are the forgiving Flame, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             558 
 
9.     You age not, You do not get born, You die not, praise be!  
        You manifested before the Beginning, praise be!  
    O God of gods hailed by gods, praise be!  
        You move and pervade everywhere, praise be!  
    Ha! You are my all, praise be!  
        Overwhelmed by troubles, I grieve, praise be!  
    O Heap of gold, save me; praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!            559 
 
10.     You are the extensive and all-supporting space, praise be!  
        You are the length and the breadth of all, praise be!  
    Your feet and crown were invisible to the wranglers, praise be!  
        THERE You abide unknowable, praise be!  
    You kicked (to death) the cruel Death, praise be!  
        You abide as in a shrine in my chinta, praise be!  
    You are thunder winged with lightning, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             660 
 
11.     You eat not; You slumber not; praise be! You know  
        The Vedas without even reading them, praise be! O Lord 
    That crushed the Lanka’ King pressing a little, You toe  
        And then graced him in joy; praise be! You listened  
    To the sweet music of melodic words, praise be!  
        Of yore, You entered my chinta, praise be!  
    You are the Eye of the world, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             561 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. As energy... there: The Lord abides in all things as the animator.  
 
2. The Lord is the puppeteer and jives (embodied) are puppets.  
 
6. Evn grass and stone are deemed ensouled lives.  
 
10. The wranglers: Vishnu and Brahma.  Each contended with the other that he was  
the supreme deity.  It was then Lord Siva appeared before them as an infinite column  
of fire.  
 
 
56. TIRUKKAYILAAYAM

 
 
1.     You became forbearing earth and water; praise be!  
        On Holy One whose hosts are Bhoothas, praise be!  
    O Dweller in the continent heart, praise be! O One  
        That abides and parts not from my bosom, praise be!  
    You explicated the arcane of the Vedas, praise be!  
        O One adored by the Devas, praise be!  
    O One with a dark throat, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!            562 
 
2.     O Primal Ens that was before the Beginning, praise be!  
        O Triple-eyed of unageing body, praise be!  
    O One very close to the loving ones, praise be!  
        O One that sports a river in the crown, praise be!  
    O One all decked with bones, praise be!  
        O Lord that parts not from my chinta, praise be!  
    O Fire that animates the eye, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             563 
 
3.     O crescent that rises in the eve, praise be!  
        O the aeviternal Dweller in my chinta, praise be!  
    O Annuller of Aagaamiya Karma, praise be!  
        O One whose crown is decked with a crescent, praise be!  
    O lucid Juice of sugarcane crushed by the press, praise be!  
        O Nectar sweet unto the servitors, praise be!  
    O Lamp that sprouts at day-break, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!            564 
 
4.     O Snapper of bodily karma, praise be!  
        O Lord who blazes like fire, praise be! O One that sports  
    A crescent on the spreading matted hair, praise be!  
        O Dancing Lord of multitudinous hosts, praise be!  
    O bright Flame of lamp, praise be!  
        Manifesting in my heart, You abide there, praise be!  
    O Pearl serene and bright of the main, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             565 
 
5.     O One of darkened throat, praise be!  
        O Giver of the peerless Disc to Maal, praise be!  
    O One that pervades not the false chinta, praise be!  
        O One that dwells and parts not from my chinta, praise be!  
    O One whose body is bedaubed with milk-white ash, praise be!  
        O Lamp hailed by the lofty ones, praise be!  
    O Dancer whose hand holds the fire, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             566 
 
6.     O One who sports a river in the crown, praise be!  
        You abide as Nectar unto servitors, praise be!  
    O One whose body is bedaubed with ash, praise be!  
        O One that abides in my bosom, never parting  
                thereform, praise be!  
    Of the Wielder of mazhu concorporate with a Woman, praise be!  
        O One that became the seven days (of the week), praise be!  
    O One of dark neck, praise be  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             567 
 
7.     O the One that transcended, of yore, the seven worlds,  
        Praise be! O Aadi, O hoary and perfect One, praise be!  
    O Annuller of old karma, praise be! O One hailed  
        By the heavenly and the earth-born, praise be!  
    O One enshrined where devotees hail You, praise be! 
        O Lamp that rules considering one’s kriya, praise be! 
    O One that can get the throat darkened, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             568 
 
8.     O flooding billowy river, praise be! O Curer  
        Of incurable malady, praise be! You abide inly  
    In them that melt thinking on You, praise be! You are  
        The Lord that does away with the flaws, praise be!  
    You are the rare and coruscating gold, praise be! You are  
        The One never dispraised, praise be!  O Cloud  
    That getting darkened pours and flows a river, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!            569 
 
9.     Kannan who is seated on the red flower quested after You,  
        But could not find You, praise be! O the Eater  
    O poison whose gracious forbearing is unfailing, praise be!  
        You hold me as Your servitor deeming even me to be  
    Of some worth, praise be! Truly You delight in Pancha-kavya  
        As Your ablutions, praise be! Te lofty ones hail  
    Your virtues, praise be! You peeled off the hide of the trunked  
        Tusker, praise be! O Lord of Mount Kailas,  
                praise be! praise be!                 560 
 
10.     You are the God of the supernal gods, praise be! You burnt  
        The triple towns that winged in the sky, praise be!  
    You caused him, the King of southern Lanka who (later) took  
        To Your worship, to wail aloud when he lifted up the mountain,  
    Praise be! You, the handsome One, burnt him fiercely,  
        The One of flawless beauty, praise be!  
    With Your foot, You smote Death, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             571 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
6. Kooreru mangkai (mazhuvaa): This may be split as Kooru erum (i) Mangkai or  
(ii) angkai.  We have followed the first.  It angkai should be represented in the  
translation it should be as follows: “O Holder of a splitting (sharp) mazhu in Your  
beautiful hand!” 
 
7. O One enshrined where devotees hail You: These are the Kumbha (pot), bimba  
(idol) and sthamba (linga) etc. 
Kriya: work, chore, duty, deed.  
 
 
57. TIRUKKAYILAAYAM

 
 
1.     O You that are hailed with verse-garlands, praise be!  
        You are unaware of Your greatness, praise be! 
    You wear as a chaplet the crescent in Your crest, praise be!  
        O Wearer of pure garlands and mattham flowers, praise be!  
    You bathe in Pancha-kavya, praise be! You set fire  
        By Your laughter to the hostile towns, praise be!  
    You flayed the sylvan tusker, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             572 
 
2.     You annul dreadful karma, praise be!  
        You sat under the Banyan tree, praise be!  
    O Adept, the Wearer of wondrous kuzhai, praise be!  
        O Chief whose body is bedaubed with the ash, praise be!  
    You will author the peerless world, praise be!  
        You’ll bestow grace--ever proof against transmigration, praise be!  
    You are the Eye of the bright-rayed sun, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!            573 
 
3.     You are ruddy, dark and white, praise be!  
        You are of indestructible wealth, praise be!  
    You are great and small, O wondrous One, praise be!  
        You are ether-like, praise be!  
    You are hot, cool and close, praise be!  
        Your sacrifice self-initiates and self-sustains, praise be!  
    Your hand holds the fire, O Vitangka, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             574 
 
4.    You are the Ruler of the world, praise be!  
        You grant nectar and all, to the servitors, praise be!  
    You have deception none whatsoever, praise be!  
        You ate the venom of the circling sea, praise be!  
    Immense indeed is Your majesty, praise be!  
        You joy to abide for ever in my chinta, praise be!  
    You are rarely to be beheld, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             575 
 
5.     You, the Muni, are the Primal One, praise be!  
        Your body never ages, praise be!  
    You are my Mother, Father and Lord, praise be! 
        You joy in the sevenfold music, praise be!  
    You are the Consort of the aeviternal Damsel, praise be!  
        You are Mantra and Tantra, praise be!  
    You are the Lord of Ganga--the virgin, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             576 
 
6.     You own all the worlds, praise be!  
        Your mount is indeed consciousness, praise be!  
    You are the fiery and divine Ray, praise be!  
        You hold the fleshless skull that is dispraised, praise be!  
    You are inaccessible to all the Devas, praise be!  
        You are the subtle chith, praise be!  
    You gifted, of yore, the Disc to the dark one, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be, praise be!             577 
 
7.     You are thoughtful about the thoughts (of lives), praise be!  
        You openly ride the Bull, praise be! 
    You are attached to pann, praise be!  
        You cultivated yaazh and vina married to pann, praise be!  
    You stand transcending the space beyond the heavens, praise be! 
        You are loftier than the great ones superior to  
                the lofty ones, praise be!  
    You have an eye above Your eyes praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             578 
 
8.     You sport a crescent in Your matted hair, praise be!  
        You are the Moorti whose whole body is  
                bedaubed with the ash, praise be!  
    You are concorporate with Uma whose waist is tudi-like, praise be!  
        You were invisible to the experimenters, praise be!  
    You know of the servitorship of Atiyaar, praise be!  
        You caused them to rule the heavenly world, praise be!  
    You smote the triple towns of the cruel ones, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             579 
 
9.     You have permitted (us) to hail Your feet with music praise be!  
        O Holy One hard of access, praise be!  
    You are beyond the thundering sky, praise be!  
        Your names are hundred times eight thousand, praised be!  
    O Chief who is the Lamp of the four directions, praise be!  
        O One inaccessible to the Four-faced and Vishnu, praise be!  
    You are the Seed of the four directions pervaded by the wind, praise be!  
        O Lord of Mount Kailas, praise be! praise be!             580 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES  
 
1. Mattham flowers: Flowers of Datura.  
 
2. Peerless world: Mosksha-loka. 
 
3. You are ether-like: Natrinai says that the Lord’s body is ether (visumpu meyyaaka).   
The Taittiriya Upanishad says: “The body of the Lord is ether” (Aakaasa sariram Brahma). 
Vitangkan: The handsome one; the heroic one.  
 
8. Whose whole body... ash: Siva, in this form, is known as Muzhu Neeru Poosiya Munivar.  
The experimenters: Vishnu and Brahma.  
You know.... Atiyaar: Many servitors served Siva in a secret way.  Siva publicized their  
servitorship.  The Periya Puranam abounds in episodes which bear testimony to this.  
 
9. Your names... eight thousand: The idea is that Siva’s names are legion. 
Lamp of….directions: The Lord is the Light of cosmos. 
 
 
58. TIRUVALAMPURAM

 
After taking leaves of St. Tirugnaanasambandhar, our Saint visited the shrines of Tirukkarup- 
pariyaloor, Tiruppunkoor, Tiruneedoor, Tirukkurukkai.  Tiruninriyoor and Tirunanipalli.  From  
here he proceeded to Tirucchemponpalli.  En route our Saint adored Siva at Tiruvalampuram and  
sang the following decad.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Valapuranaathar and  
Vaduvakirkkanni. 
 
1.     All the damsels of melodious words and I bowed and hailed  
        Him thus: “Behold Him surrounded by Manivannar who measured  
    The earth, the one of the Vedas and the Devas!”  
        He has a forehead that sports an eye; He holds in His hand  
    A wrathful adder! As we went after Him, He entered  
        Valampuram whose streets are dight with mansions  
    That are girt with fields of fecund soil,  
        To abide there for ever.                     581 
 
2.     He is of the hue o fire; with a dart still fixed to the bow  
        He smote the triple towns; He is hailed gloriously  
    By the Devas; He, the Dancer that ever enacts the dance,  
        Mantled Himself in the hide of a murderous tusker,  
    And even as the Brahmins well-versed in the scriptures  
        Beheld Him, He, circled by the Bhootha-Hosts, mounted  
    His Bull and with the Mountain’s Daughter as also Ganga  
        Entered Valampuram to abide there for ever.            582 
 
3.     He is the opulent One whose one half blazes like fire;  
        In the other half abides Hari; He made believe He would  
    Enter the Taan Thondri Maatam at Aakkoor causing me,  
        The one of evil karma to roam about bewildered;  
    He would not cast His look anywhere; His divine body is  
        Ash-bedaubed and decked with the sacred thread  
    To which is tied a bit of deer-skin; He explicated  
        The Vedas and spoke sheer gramarye; this done,  
        He entered Valampuram to abide there for ever.             583 
 
4.    Cinctured with an unageing, cruel and untamable  
        Serpent, the Primal Lord whose form is of the triune gods,  
    The handsome One who fixed in His bow a burning dart  
        That was not to be stayed, this day, wearing konrai, 
    Walked about; Him beholding I went after; He ignored me  
        Though He said: “Come, come,” He but spake mayic words;  
    Surrounded by His Bhootha-Hosts  
        He entered Valampuram, there to abide for ever.            584 
 
5.    Holding the fire in one hand, clad in skin, His wrist  
        Girt with a great five-hooded serpent, the Lord  
    Whose matted strands of hair sport a river, the Holy One  
        Of auric body; hailed in love by the Devas, mounted  
    The wrathful Bull and made it appear that He would  
        Fare forth to Tiruvaaroor, Sirapuram and Idaimarutu;  
    He spake words of magic, melted my heart and caused  
        My bangles to slip, and entered Valampuram to  
                abide there.                    585 
 
6.     He has a dark neck; He, the Kaapaali, joyed to smite  
        With His foot Yama; clad in the peeled hide, wearing  
    A garland of skulls, circled by the throng of munis,  
        He visited the foreyard of every house strumming  
    His vina; the smile of his lips overwhelmed me;  
        But He would not cast His look at me again;  
    He but spake bewitching words and entered  
        Valampuram there to abide for ever.                586 
 
7.     Clad in silks, His auric body bedaubed with fresh  
        Sandal-paste, He walked with paining feet; He raised  
    And placed His feet in a dance and came here:  
        “My Lord, what may Your town be?” I asked.  
    Then He did that which lured the life out of me; such was  
        His quick glance; making it appear that He would  
    Go elsewhere, He but whirled, all the while speaking magic,  
        And entered Valampuram there to abide for ever.         587 
 
8.     He talked of Pazhanam, the town of many, and Paasoor,  
        He stood descanting on the ancientness of Pazhanam;  
    He said: “I put up this day at goodly Nanipalli and will  
        Reach Nallaaru to-morrow.” He would not speak  
    Of any single town as His home-town; throwing up His arms,  
        The handsome One adorned with the burnt ash, entered  
    Valampuram, the streets of which are dight with mansions,  
        The town which is girt with uberous fields everywhere,  
        To abide there for ever.                    588 
     
9.     Holding in His hand a dancing snake of spread hood  
        And a sharp, battling mazhu, He moves not; He abides  
    At no one place; He does not grace us with fulfillment of our love  
        For Him; He says: “I am poised in Tattvam.” His acts,  
    Truly speaking, are contradictory; (yet) He graces us  
        With the guise that parts not from my eyes; He entered  
    The sea-girt Valampuram whose streets are rich  
        In cloud-capped mansions, to abide there for ever.         589 
 
10.     The red-eyed Maal, the wielder of a bow, laid a bridge,  
        With his army, over the sea, waged many a battle  
    And with the help of those that sought him as refuge,  
        Caused the huge heads of the warring Raakshasa  
    To fall on dust.  Our Lord, the lofty One gently pressed  
        His beauteous toe and crushed his beads and then  
    Graced him: even He, this day, entered Valampuram  
        That is girt by the sea on which ships ply--the town  
        Whose streets are rich in mansions, to abide there for ever.    590 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. This decad comprises the utterances of a young woman who beheld the procession  
of the Lord and who eventually lost her heart to Him.  Her angst and anguish are the  
theme of the decad.  
 
3. He is.... Hari: Siva in this form is known as Sankaranaaraayayan.  
His divine body…deer-skin: This describes the Brahmacharya form of Sivan.  
 
7. He did that…out of me: This indeed is je ne sais quoi.  
 
8. Yengum mallaar: This phrase can be split thus: “Yengum allar.”  
This means: “He who is nowhere/He of no town.” 
 
9. The Lord who chooses not to quench the passion of His beloved says: “I am poised  
in Tattvam.”  The Lord is known as Tat (THAT).  Tattvam means:  “You (are) That.”  The  
Lord addressing His beloved says, “You are Me”.  He leaves her at that.  Then He teases  
her with his beauteous form which parts not form her eyes.  The reader can imagine the  
angst and agony of requited love.  
 
 
59. TIRUVENNIYOOR

 
 
1.     He is the peerless Way unto atiyaar wedded  
        To servitorship; His chest is bright with the pure ash;  
    He is the hoary and perfect One who stood a column  
        Of blazing fire that could not be eyed by Ayan  
    Of the Lotus and Maal; His is a garland of konrai flowers  
        Buzzed by bees; for the Devas, He, the noble One, ate the poison;  
    He is the One who smote the triple, hostile towns;  
        He is the Vikirtar that abides at Venni.            591 
 
2.     White ash veils His fire-like body; He has an eye  
        In His forehead; the Daughter of the Mountain-King  
    Occupies His left half; He is the hoary and perfect One  
        O the town of Poonthurutthi; He wears a chaplet--  
    The white tusk-like crescent; He abides at Valaikulam  
        And Maraikkaadu; He is throned  
    In the heart of the loving and dedicated servitors;  
        He is the Vikirtar that abides at Venni.            592 
 
3.     He holds a three-leaved trident in Hi hand;  
        He is the God that dances in the fire of the crematory;  
    He causes the hooded serpent to dance;  
        He annuls the sins of those that hail Him;  
    He is the opulent One of Tiruppunkoor girt with fields  
        Where kayal-fish roll; He is the One  
    Whose entire person is bedaubed with ash;  
        He is the Vikirtar that abides at Venni.            593 
 
4.     He is the Adept that sport a river in His matted hair;  
        He smote the great sacrifice of Daksha;  
    On His vestment of tiger-skin, He has cinctured a serpent;  
        He roams from town to town for alms; He is the Bridegroom  
    Of Mayilaaduthurai girt with fields into which leap  
        Kayal-fish that jump over the sluices; 
    He is the Vimalar whose triumphant flag sports His mount-- 
        The Bull; He is the Vikirtar who abides at Venni.        594 
 
5.     He became earth, water, fire, air and space and stood  
        As their virtues; He abides at Sri Sailam and Paasoor  
    Where pann-laden music and dance never cease;  
        He has an eye in His forehead; He is to be seen  
    With a skull in His hand, begging alms at every door;  
        He has a chaplet--the crescent of the sky;  
        He is the Vikirtar that abides at Venni.            595 
     
6.     He graces true servitors with moksha; His neck is  
        Dark with the sea’s venom that He devoured ; 
    He burnt the triple walled towns of the hostile ones;  
        With His ankleted foot He smote Death; He cinctured  
    Around His waist the dancing snake, and dances;  
        He explicated dharma seated in the shade of the Banyan tree; 
    In the guise of a hunter He graced Arjuna;  
        He is the Vikirtar that abides at Venni.            596 
 
7.     Wearing a garland of honey-laden konrai and holding  
        A fawn in His hand, He daily goes about with His Woman,  
    In a guise that is wisdom-conferring;  
        For petty alms, He goes from town to town; He is the One  
    That put an end to the time of him who is Time  
        And who came to throw his fettering noose  
    (That snatches life away); one of His ears is with a kuzhai  
        Adorned; He is the Vikirtar that abides in Venni.        597 
 
8.     He wears on His ruddy matted hair a white crescent;  
        He is the opulent One abiding at Tiruvaalavaai;  
    He is concorporate with Her whose eyes are touched with kohl;  
        He is the six Angas and the four Vedas; He is the One  
    That entered and abode at walled Aaroor whose streets  
        Are rich in mansions girt with cloud-capped groves;  
    He is the One who peeled the hide of the tusker;  
        He is the Vikirtar that abides at Venni.             598 
 
9.     He wears a great, bright and prosperous crescent  
        On His hair; for the Devas, He, the great One, ate  
    The poison; He chose my heart as His place to abide  
        There for ever; He is our God of Kacchi Yekampam;  
    He is sweet like nectar that inly springs and cools the heart;  
        He abides in each direction as the lofty One;  
    He wields a white and bright mazhu;  
        He is the Vikirtar that abides at Venni.            599 
 
10.     Adorned with a garland of golden konrai, He abides  
        At Pukaloor and Poovanam; He wields  
    A murderous, three-leaved trident; He is the handsome One  
        Of cool and ruddy matted hair; with His  
    Beauteous toe He pressed and crushed the ten heads  
        Of the King of southern Lanka, and then graced him;  
    He is concorporate with Her who is fulgurant-waisted;  
        He is the Vikirtar that abides at Venni.            600 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
3. Kayal-fish: Carp. 
 
7. He is the One…Time: Siva is Kaala.  Kaala (kaalan) is Time, the God of Death.   Siva  
smote Kaalan for the sake of the Brahmachaari called Maarkandeyar.  Many may argue  
that Death was but discharging his duty when he cast the noose around the boy  
(Brahmachaari) who was fated to die in his sixteenth year.  These miss the point.  The  
boy took refuge in Siva and so he came under His protection.  In this way, the boy was  
out of bounds for Yama Dharma. 
 
 
60. TIRUKKARKUDI

 
Our Saint adored Siva at Tiruvaanaikka, Tiruverumpiyoor and Tirucchiraappalli.  Then he visi- 
ted Tirukkarkudi--a shrine on a hill.  The following decad was sung in this place.  The names  
of the Deity and His Consort are Ujjeevanaathaswami / Ucchinaathar / Muttheeswarar / Karpaka  
Naathar and Anjanaakshi (Myvizhi Ammai) / Baalambikai.  
 
1.     He is the oldest among the Devas; He is the Primal One  
        Of unageing body; He cinctured His sacred waist  
    With an untamable serpent; He wears garlands of bones  
        And snakes; He is hailed by atiyaar who bow to Him  
    In love; He is the honey of the huge mountain; to others He gave  
        Sweet nectar; He prevents the onslaught of troubles; He is  
    The lordly One of Karkudi; Him I beheld, the Karpaka,  
        With my eyes in insatiable delight.                 601 
 
2.     He is ruddy, white and dark; He is Brahma; He abides  
        As the eight directions; He is the handsome One;  
    He is subtle; He is the glorious One; He is far, far away;  
        He is close; very close; He bathes in Pancha-kavya;  
    He is ever free from falsity; His mount is the Bull;  
        His hair is all matted; His palm holds a fawn  
    Of bewildered eyes; He is the lofty One of Karkudi; Him, I  
        Beheld, the Karpaka, with my eyes in insatiable delight.     602 
 
3.     He is fivefold in earth, fourfold in water, threefold  
        In blazing fire, twofold in wind and one in ether;  
    He is ray-diffusing sun, cool moon, stars, excelling  
        Thought, letters and sevenfold music; He is the One  
    Whose unwinking eye in the forehead spat fire  
        And destroyed the beautiful form of Kaama; He is  
    The lordly One of Karkudi; Him, I beheld, the Karpaka,  
        With my eyes in insatiable delight.                 603 
 
4.     He is the holy tapaswi; His bow’s string is a serpent  
        Of the ant-hill; unashamedly He relished the alms  
    He receives into his smiling skull; He is the perfect One;  
        His body never ages; He ate in joy the venom of the sea;  
    He is the Prop; He smote with His weapon the towns of foes; He is  
        The One that knows to annul the sins of those that seek Him;  
    He is the lordly One of Karkudi; Him, I beheld, the Karpaka,  
        With my eyes in insatiable delight.                604 
 
5.     Resolving my doubt, He, the Chief, rules me; He is  
        Sankara; His beauteous palm holds the handle  
    Of the blazing mazhu; the bosom of His person is ruby;  
        A Woman occupies a moiety of His person; on His spreading  
    Matted crest that sports the ethereal Ganga, He juxtaposed  
        The moon and the serpent in sweet concord;  
    He is the lordly One of Karkudi; Him, I beheld, the Karpaka  
        With my eyes, in insatiable delight.                 605 
 
6.     He is woman; He is man; He is sexless; He is  
        Birthless and deathless; He is the ether inseparable  
    From sound; He is far superior to the celestials; He is  
        A Brahmin; He is the melodious singer of Vedic hymns;  
    He is the fruit of pann; He is the earth; He is the Eye  
        Of those beings that live on earth; He is the lordly One  
    Of Karkudi; I beheld Him--the Karpaka,  
        With my eyes in insatiable delight.                 606 
 
7.     He is the ancient One; He is the Pervader; the Absorber;  
        He is earth and sky; He devoured all the worlds  
    And spat them out; He is the Lord paramount; He is  
        The transcendent One whose glory can be known by none;  
    He caused the triple hostile towns to burn in fierce fire  
        And crumble down as ash; He is the lordly One of Karkudi;  
        Him, I beheld, the Karpaka, with my eyes in  
                insatiable delight.                 607 
 
8.     He is the supernal Lord; He is far superior to the Devas;  
        He is the honey that sweetly moves into the manam-s  
    Of atiyaar that adore Him; His ankleted feet are hailed  
        By the Devas; He is the victorious Sovereign that abides  
    As multitudinous virtues; His mount is a murderous Bull;  
        He dances in the crematory accompanied by kuzhal  
    And muzhavam; He is the lordly One of Karkudi; Him I beheld,  
        The Karpaka, with eyes in insatiable delight.             608 
 
9.     He flayed the killer-tusker; to His bow of mountain  
        He fixed the sharp arrow--, the Man-lion; He is  
    The Conferrer of welfare unto the three of the triple towns;  
        He, the Chief, vouchsafes weal; He became the tattvas;  
    He shares a Woman in His person; in His hand He holds a fawn;  
        He is the lordly One of Karkudi; Him, I beheld, the Karpaka,  
    With my eyes in insatiable delight.                     609 
 
10.     He is the worlds; He is of Punkoor girt with gardens;  
        He is of Purampayam; He, the Performer of dharma, abides  
    At Pukaloor; He is the comely One that at Idaimarutu  
        Is enshrined; from Yeengkoi, He the God, parts not;  
    He dances in the fire; with His ankleted foot, He crushed  
        The shoulders of the demon who, of yore, durst uproot  
    The hill; He is the lordly One of Karkudi; Him, I beheld,  
        The Karpaka, with my eyes in insatiable delight.         610 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Atiyaar: servants, servitors. These are both servitors of the Lord and His servitors.   
The word ‘Ati’ means foot.  Atiyaar are attached to the feet of God or His servitors.  
 
8. Kuzhal: The flute.  Muzhavam:  A percussion instrument like the mrudangam.  
 
9. The three of the triple towns: These three where the Asuras called Sundanma.  Suseela  
and Sumaali who were steadfast in their devotion to Lord Siva.  
 
 
61. TIRUKKANRAAPPOOR

 
During his sojourn at Tiruvaaroor, our Saint visited the holy shrines in and around Tiruvaa- 
roor.  It is during this time he visited the shrines of Valivalam, Keezhvelur and Kanraap- 
poor.  It is in the last-mentioned town, the following decad was sung by our Saint.  The  
names of the Deity and His Consort are Vatsasthambapureeswarar / Naduthari  Naathar /  
Naduthari Appar and Sri Valli Naayaki / Maadumai Ammai.  
 
1.     If with frangrant flowers and water and with a heart  
        Freed from deception that melts in love, You are daily  
    Hailed without forgetfulness thus, even thus: “O One  
        Who is delighted to be concorporate with Your Consort!  
    O One whose lips chant the Vedas! O Lord of the Devas!”  
        You-- the Nadutari of Kanraappoor--, can be beheld  
    In the hearts of such atiyaar that hail and adore You  
        Thus, during the three divisions of the day, in love.         611 
 
2.     Even as the day breaks daub your person with white ash;  
        Fasten your loins with keell and kovanam fulled white;  
    Then pray thus: “Cure me of the cruel malady of mighty  
        Twofold Karma! O Lord Siva that reveals the way  
    Of deliverance! O Consort of the Damsel whose waist is  
        Tudi-like! O Flame that dances in the crematory!”  
    Then the Nadutari of Kanraappoor can be beheld  
        In the hearts of atiyaar that hail the Lord  
        With pure and fragrant flowers!                 612 
 
3.     Whoever they be (it matters not); if you behold in their forehead  
        The holy ash and if you eke behold in their person  
    The marks of Saivism, give up dislike; think of the greatness  
        Of the habit; the moment you sight them, think  
    On the greatness of their servitorship and behold them  
        In joy immense; never say: “These are devas and He,  
    The Lord, is the Deva! “Do not distinguish; think these to be  
        The Lord Himself; in the hearts of such atiyaar  
    Who so adore in single-minded devotion you can  
        Behold the Nadutari of Kanraappoor!                 613 
 
4.     With a heart unperturbed by the indigence that rules  
        The time, alms-giving (without distinction) is to be  
    Cultivated; this is the way to be pursued unswervingly;  
        With increasing knowledge (of God’s mercy) and with true  
    Love suffused, totally freed from falsity, the adoring atiyaar  
        Dedicate, untroubled, their chittam to the twin feet  
    Of the Lord who saved the Devas of unclarified in tellect  
        By eating the poison; the Nadutari of Kanraappoor  
        Can be beheld in their hearts.                     614 
 
5.     The Nadutari of Kanraappoor can be beheld in the hearts  
        Of the adoring atiyaar--the quellers of the five senses--,  
    Who for ever hail the Lord thus: “O ancient One! O One  
        Whose throat holds the poison of the sea! O peerless One  
    Who sports the bright, white crescent in the spreading  
        Matted crest! O Consort of Uma! O Lord of the world!  
    O the bright Light that glows uninduced! O kin  
        Unto atiyaar!”.  It is they who cry aloud His praises  
        And behold Him by their mental eye.                615 
 
6.     Think not the base and fleshy body full of fluid, chyle  
        And blood, and draped in worm-laden skin, will last;  
    Driven by (the thought of) hunger, you earn, but give nothing  
        To the needy who are numerous; ere you get trapped  
    In the gin of the coral-lipped, and perish, you can behold  
        The Nadutari of Kanraappoor in the hearts  
    Of the melting atiyaar who chant the mystic pentad-- 
        The name of the Sovereign of Devas.                 616 
 
7.     Ere the throat gets choked with phlegm, and life quits  
        The body, when those in the house foregather, deck  
    The dead eyes with collyrium, garland the corpse and take it  
        To the crematory, may you become the servitor of Siva  
    Who wears a crescent, and in exceeding love let your heart  
        Melt and body thrill.  The Nadutari of Kanraappoor  
    Can be beheld in the hearts of the atiyaar who adore  
        The feet of the Lord with folded hands.             617 
 
8.     With firmness of manam, you should place the five  
        (Senses) in duress; with bewilderment none  
    And with the sruti of chinta that is SIVAAYANAMA  
        May you conquer delusion; enthused full well by the thought  
    To swim the sea of flooding misery and to reach the other shore  
        May you daily hail the Lord thus: “O Queller of sins  
    That plucked out the teeth of Surya! O Supernal Light!”  
        You can, for sure, witness in the hearts of the adoring  
    Atiyaar who ever think on Him, the Nadutari of Kanraappoor.        618 
 
9.     The Nadutari of Kanraappoor can surely be witnessed  
        In the mellowed hearts of the adoring atiyaar  
    Who hail Him thus: “Bending Your bow You burnt  
        The three towns! Your ankleted foot kicked Death!  
    You gave to Arjuna the Paasupatam! When the ten-headed  
        Lifted up the mountain, You pressed your toe and in wrath  
    Crushed his ten heads and his shoulders and feet too,  
        Denuded him of his might and graced him.”             619 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Kanraappoor: ‘Kanru’ means calf: ‘aappu’ means stake / peg, and ‘oor’ means  
town.  
Nadutari: Planted peg or stake.  Siva appears in this shrine as a stake to which a  
calf can be fastened.  
 
2. Fasten.... white: This is worn after bath.  
 
3. Give up dislike: Some atiyaar practise Saivism in a repulsive way.  Even than  
they should be respected.  The Mahavrati that called on St. Maanakkanjaarar and  
the Bhairava that called on St. Sirutthondar were treated with great veneration.  
 
The habit: The external guise/form.  
Do no distinguish:  Atiyaar are to be venerated as Lord Siva Himself.  
 
8. Sruti: Vedic mantra--here Panchaakshara. 
 
 
62. TIRUVAANAIKKA

 
Proceeding from Pazhayaarai, our Saint adored the shrines of Siva in both the banks of the  
Cauvery and eventually arrived at Tiruvaanaikkaa where the following decad was sung by him.   
The names of the Deity and His Consort are Jambukeswarar / Appulingeswarar / Vennaaval Easar  
/ Aanaikkaa annal / Neertthirall Naathar and Akilaandeswari.  
 
1.     Who are mothers? Who is father? Who are kin? What indeed  
        Is supporting wealth? Who indeed are good? None comes  
    To help when death comes; they will set fire to the corpse  
        With small sticks of fuel and go away  
    Even as it burns.  O Lord whose form is Chith! O opulent  
        One of Tiruvaanaikka upon the long-extending Ponni!  
    O my Father! If I could gain your golden feet  
        Would misery assail me-- Your servitor?             620 
 
2.     As flesh, life and consciousness within life  
        And as all other things, You abide;  
    Without my being aware of it, You entered into me  
        And revealed to me things good as well as bad;  
    O Lord-wearer of melliferous konrai! O Lord  
        Of Ninriyoor! O Siva abiding at Tiruvaanaikka!  
    You are Gnosis! If I could gain Your golden feet  
        Would misery assail mee-- Your servitor?             621 
 
3.     I roamed forgetful of the way of life harmonizing  
        With that of the world (of the wise); I but companied  
    With them of pseudo-tapas and partook of weak victuals;  
        I was unaware of Your greatness; (yet) You came to me  
    And saved me; You bestowed me with that consciousness 
        That perceives You everywhere; thus, even thus,  
    You ruled me; O Lord of Tiruvaanaikkaa! O the Father  
        Of the Devas! If I could gain Your golden feet  
    Would misery assail me-- Your servitor?                 622 
 
4.     You abide in the hearts of those that meditate on You!  
        You have placed the full moon on Your matted crest!  
    You smote by burning the triple towns of those  
        That sought You not! O Primal Lord, You mantled  
    Yourself, of yore, in the hide of the tusker! O the One  
        That is blue-necked that rides a Bull  
    That bellows of ever! O Lord of Mount Kailas!  
        I have attained Your ankleted feet! O Ruler  
    Of all the worlds! O One of Aanaikkaa! O deceptious thief!  
        If I could gain Your golden feet, would misery  
                Assail me--- Your servitor?             623 
 
5.     Caught in the maelstrom of sea-like misery which is  
        This embodiment I languished; to cure me  
    Of my wilting, You extended to me Your helping hand  
        And made my manam strong; Yu showed me mercy,  
    Love and grace; Pray, manifest Yourself, O Brahmin  
        That flayed the mighty tusker of immense ichor!  
    O Lord of southern Aanaikkaa! If I could gain Your golden  
        Feet, would misery assail-- Your servitor?             624 
 
6.     O glorious One hailed in glorious words! O Lord  
        Of Otriyoor, Kacchi Yekampam and Kaaronam!  
    O One that manifests in them that hail You strewing  
        Odoriferous flowers! O Wearer of garlands of bones  
    And snakes! O Honey abiding at Tiruvaanaikka  
        Upon billowy Ponni-- the holy river! O Sovereign  
    Of the Devas! If I could gain Your golden feet  
        Would misery assail me-- Your servitor?             625 
 
7.     O Lord of beauteous blue throat! O One concorporate  
        With a Woman! O One that holds in the palms the fawn,  
    The mighty mazhu and the fire! O Gangkaala that smote  
        To death Death! O Karma earned in the past  
    And its fruit! O One of ruddy and divine frame!  
        O rare One! O the Shoot of the celestial clan! O Sire  
    Abiding at southern Aanaikkaa! If I could gain Your golden  
        Feet, would misery assail me-- Your servitor?             626 
 
8.     O One that wields the spear of leafy blade! O One of eight  
        Shoulders! You dwell in them that adore You with hands  
    Folded above their heads, and hail You thus: “There is  
        No place where You are not present!” With Your bow  
    Of Mahameru You burnt (the triple towns)! O Lord-Dancer  
        In fire, that abides in Tiruvaanaikka! If I could  
    Gain Your feet, untroubled by the onslaught of petty illness  
        Would misery assail me-- Your servitor?             627 
 
9.     O One whose matted crest sports the celestial stream!  
        O Lord of the Vedic way! O Eater of the venom of the billowy sea!  
    O One of infinite glory! If I could gain  
        Your golden feet, ever think on You, ever chant  
    With my lips thus: “O my God!” and ever behold You  
        In delight, O the One inaccessible that abides  
    At southern Aanaikkaa girt with fragrant groves,  
        Would misery assail me-- Your servitor?             628 
 
10.     O One whose flag sports the white Bull! Koolis sing;  
        The dwarfish Boothas dance; You too dance with them;  
    You, the great One, are concorporate with the comely damsel!  
        You abide at walled Aanaikka and Maakaalam!  
    You crushed the huge heads and the strong shoulders of the King  
        Of Lanka-- the ruler of the world--, with Your foot and felt  
    Delighted; If I could gain that foot and become its servitor  
        Would misery assail me--Your servitor?                 629 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Mothers: Tamil Literature speaks of different kinds of mothers, namely, the mother  
that bore the child, the foster-mother and others. 
Chith: Wisdom, Gnosis.  It is Sakti.  Siva is of this form.  
Allakandam: A rare word meaning: trouble, misery, sorrow. 
 
4. Nirai Matiyam: Full moon: The Lord wears a crescent, not the full moon.  While  
translating this passage, I stood perplexed.  By the grace of Grace, my son Chiranjivi  
Ramesh came to my rescue.  He referred me to the article “Pirai Muzhumatiyaanatu”  
by Dr. U.Ve. Swaminatha Iyer.  (Vide pp.119-125, Puthiyatum Pazhayatum, 1968).  When  
the Lord during His divine dance pirouettes, the crescent looks like a full moon.  
 
10. The foot that crushed the demon, also granted grace to him.  The feet of the Lord  
dispense nothing but grace.  Grace looks, sometimes, cruel (Marakkaarunai).  When  
the occasion demands the Lord is cruelly kind.  
 
 
63. TIRUVAANAIKKA

 
 
1.     He is the Lord-God who, of yore, mantled Himself  
        In the hide of a tusker; He made tuskers of the unripe  
    Chinta, manam and vaak, and mounted them;  
        He is the One hard to attain; He is the Father; He is  
    My elephant-cub; He is my Disposer; He is of southern  
        Aanaikkaa circled by the Cauvery whose rising waves  
    Spray and spume; He is the Honey, the Milk; He is the rich  
        Mass of water in which I did bathe.                 630 
 
2.     He is the medicine; He dwells in them that contemplate Him;  
        His matted crest sports a crescent; in joy He abides  
    In my heart; He is deathless and birthless; He is the Lord  
        Of the Devas; He mantled Himself in the hide  
    Of the tusker seeing which Uma trembled; His weapon is  
        The mighty mazhu; He roam from town to town  
    For alms; He is of Tiruvaanaikkaa; He is the rich  
        Mass if water in which I did bathe.                631 
 
3.     His is the chaplet of young, white crescent; He is  
        The kin who ate the venom of the sea and gave  
    The nectar to the Devas; He is the Help unto many lives;  
        He is the import of AUM; he is the Author of all the worlds;  
    He is their Absorber; He smote the towns of those  
        Who did not hail Him as God; He is  
    The One abiding at Tiruvaanaikkaa; He is  
        The rich mass of water in which I did bathe.             632 
 
4.     He is our Lord whose neck is dark; He wears a white  
        Kuzhai in His ear; He is adorned with a garland  
    Of suaveolent konrai; He is clad in the tiger-skin;  
        His form is of Gnosis and nought is, but for Him;  
    His chest is decked with chains of gems; He is Pigngnaka;  
        His car is wrought of the four divine Vedas; He is the One  
    Abiding at Tiruvaanaikkaa; He is the rich mass  
        Of water in which I did bathe.                     633 
 
5.     He is the true One not a whit tainted by falsity;  
        He is the holy One; He aimed His dart at the hostile towns  
    And reduced them to ash; He radiantly manifests  
        Himself in the tapas that is performed; He is the Rider  
    Of the Bull; He holds a fawn in His left hand; His guise  
        Is that of the Gangaala’s; His flag sports a Kattangkam;  
    He is ruddy like fire; He abides at Tiruvaanaikkaa; He is  
        The rich mass of water in which I did bathe.            634 
 
6.     He holds an antelope; His hand holds a mazhu; He is  
        A glorious heap of diamonds; He is a beauteous hill  
    Of ruby; He abides in my crown; He has strands of ruddy  
        Matted hair; He lives in the crematory; with Meru for bow  
    And the striped adder for its string, He smote and burnt  
        The towns of foes; He is the One abiding  
    At Tiruvaanaikkaa; He is the rich mass  
        Of water in which I did bathe.                     635 
 
7.     He is the Aadi; He is the sound of the clanging bell;  
        He glows bright beyond the celestial world unknown   
    To the Devas; He is the meaning of the pure Vedas; He is  
        The Brahmin, the Wearer of the hoary sacred thread  
    And the konrai flowers buzzed by bees; He is the Guru  
        That explicated Dharma; He chopped off one of the five  
    Heads of Ayan whose seat is the radiant Flower;  
        He is the one that abides at Tiruvaanaikkaa; He is  
        The rich mass of water in which I did bathe.            636 
 
8.     He feels delighted to abide at Kacchi Yekampam;  
        He causes them that unforgettingly think of His  
    Ankleted feet and hail and adore and praise them,  
        To rule the golden world; His are the Bootha-hosts;  
    He joys to dance in the crematory; He loves to beg alms;  
        He is a mass of coral; He glows bright in my heart;  
    He abides at Tiruvaanaikkaa; I sought Him, the rich  
        Mass of water in which I did bathe.                 637 
 
9.     He is the lovable One; He is beyond the pale of the four Vedas;  
        He saved us from indigence, cruel malady and illness;  
    He is the glorious One; infinite are His qualities; He parts not  
        From Idaimarutu and Yeengkoi; His mount  
    Is the Bull; He is expansive sea, earth, sky, exceeding fire,  
        Water, blowing wind and eight directions.  He abides  
    At Tiruvaanaikkaa; I sought Him, the rich mass  
        Of water in which I did bathe.                     638 
 
10.     He stared Kaama to ashes; He, of yore, grew lofty  
        And became unknowable t Ayan and Maal; 
    His form is of ruddy fire; He is the God of the Devas;  
        Unmindful of His puissance, the King of Lanka  
    Ran uproariously and lifted up the mountain; He set  
        At nought his manly valour, and then and there  
    Saved him from his misery; He is the One that abides  
        At Tiruvaanaikkaa; I sought Him, the rich mass  
        Of water in which I did bathe.                     639 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. He made tuskers…mounted them: Chinta, manam and vaak are notorious  
misleaders.  Siva can domesticate them and cause them to serve Him well.  
Elephant-cub: A term of endearment.  
 
8. The golden world: The celestial world. 
 
 
64. TIRUKKACCHI YEKAMPAM

 
It was from Otthoor our Saint came to Kaanchi whence he went to Tirumaalperu.  From this  
shrine he returned to Kaanchi and adored at Kacchi Yekampam.  The names of the Deity and  
His Consort are Tiruyekampar / Ekaampara Naathar / Ekaampareswarar and Elavaarkuzhali. 
 
1.     He is the God of Dissolution; He is the King who smote Death;  
        He is earth; He became the water of the earth; He is wind;  
    He is fire; He is rumbling thunder and lightning;  
        His is the glorious, coral-like ruddy body bedaubed  
    With white ash; on His crest floats the crescent; on His long  
        Matted hair He sports the Ganga of abundant water;  
    He is Yekampan of Kacchi girt with beauteous groves;  
        Behold Him, the One enshrined in my thought!             640 
 
2.     He is the many lives; He pervades everywhere; He annuls he sins  
        And karma of those that rise from slumber hailing Him;  
    He wears a chaplet of pure flowers; He is the medicine who is  
        Origin, Sustenance and End; He annuls the burdens  
    Of the worlds; He abides, never parting thence, in the hearts  
        Of those who ever think of Him and hail Him with flowers;  
    He is Yekampan of Kacchi girt with beauteous groves;  
        Behold Him, the One enshrined in my thought!            641 
 
3.     He is the ash-bedaubed; He became water as well as fire;  
        He holds in His hands the shapely mazhu, the tudi  
    And the fire; He is birthless and deathless though  
                He manifests; He has none  
    As His help; He fosters them who with all their heart  
        Hail Him as their unfailing Help; all glories abide in Him;  
    On His spreading matted hair, He keeps the speckled snake  
        And the flood of Ganga; He is Yekampan of Kacchi girt with  
    Beauteous groves; behold Him, the One enshrined  
                in my thought!                     642 
 
4.     He is the Mother; unto the world He is the Tattvam  
        Beyond compare; He abides in the lips of those that chant  
    Thus: “O Consort of the Mountain’s Daughter!” He will annul  
        The cycle of transmigration; He is far away from the Devas,  
    The Asuras and the earth-born; He abides in the hearts  
        Of those who think on His divine feet in single-minded  
    Devotion; He is Yekampan of Kacchi girt with beauteous groves;  
        Behold Him, the One enshrined in my thought!             643 
 
5.     “He flayed the tusker that came to attack him.....”  
 
[The verse following the above one is incomplete.  Only half a line of it is extant.] 
 
6.     He is the One that smote the three towns with the dart  
        Tipt with fire; He is the Ruler of Aiyaaru and Idaimarutu;  
    He lies not them that seek Him not; He is the Prop of those  
        That seek him; His bow-string is an adder of the ant-hill;  
    He contained the Ganga in His crest; He caused it to descend  
        For the sake of the pure and great munis who hail  
    His feet; He is Yekampan of Kacchi girt with beauteous  
        Groves; Behold Him, the One enshrined in my thought!         644 
 
7.     He danced to the music in graceful movements; He pities  
        Them that went in search of His feet when He stood a column  
    Of fire; such is His nature that the Ghost-throngs hail  
        And adore Him; for them who rise up thinking on Him  
    He oozes out in love; He mantled Himself in the tusker’s hide;  
        He (alone) consented to eat the venom of the sea that Devas  
    Might get nectar; He is Yekempan of Kacchi girt with  
        Beauteous groves; behold Him enshrined in my thought!         645 
 
8.     He killed cruel Death; wielding His bow, He burnt  
        The triple towns of the mighty with His fiery wrath;  
    His guise is that of the Pigngnaka’s; on His crest He wears  
        The wreath of fragrant konrai and snake; He holds  
    The goodly triple-leaved trident; He is the rumbling cloud  
        Who shines as lightning, thunders and pours; He is  
    Yekampan of Kacchi girt with beauteous groves;  
        Behold Him, the One that is poised in my thought!        646 
 
9.     Unto them that think not in melting love on Him, He causes  
        Troubles; He is the deceptive One; He is the medicine that cures  
    The great diseases unto the chanters of the mystic pentad;  
        He is the Pervader that became the sky and the earth; holding  
    The skull of Him whose seat is the Lotus, He goes begging  
        From town to town; He is Yekampan of Kacchi  
    Girt with beauteous groves; eight are the strands  
        Of His spreading, matted hair; behold Him  
        The One that is poised in my thought!                 647 
 
10.     He flayed the wild and proud tiger and wore its hide;  
        He is the meaning of the Vedas; He grants their wishes  
    That sob and cry (fro His mercy); He roams mounted  
        On His Bull; He is the Dancer, the God of the Bhootas;  
    He supports the vast expanses; he is the wondrous One; He is  
        My God who is beyond the pale of word and its import;  
    He is Yekampan of Kacchi girt with beauteous groves;  
        Behold Him, the One that is poised in my thought!        648 
 
11.     He clipped the head of Ayan; When Devas prayed, He ate  
        The venom of the deep sea; He quelled Ganga and wore it;  
    He is the Deva of devas; He holds a fawn in His palm;  
        Hailed and adored by the men of the eight directions;  
    He crushed the heads and the shoulders four times five, of him who came  
        To hurt the Palladium, and who lifted up the Kailas  
    That blocked him.  He is Yekampan of Kacchi girt with  
        Beauteous groves; behold Him poised in my thought!         649 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
5. “Atutthu aanai Uritthaan Kaann…”: Only these words of the fifth verse are extant.  
The 64th decad is described as comprising eleven verses inclusive of this incomplete  
verse.  Though this verse is included as the fifth in the Dharmapuram Aadhinam  
publication, no running number is given to this verse.  The fourth verse is numbered as  
643 and the 6th verse is assigned the number 644.  
 
9. Siva’s matted hair has nine strands.  The central one is left out of account when He  
dances.  The other eight indicate the eight directions.   
 
10. Proud tiger: The tiger is supposed to follow a code of conduct which is characteristic  
of its clan.  When its victim falls to its left, he does not eat it. 
 
 
65. TIRUKKACCHI YEKAMPAM

 
 
1.     He flayed the puissant tusker at which Uma quaked;  
        He is the peerless One of AUM; He explicated Gnosis  
    That is realizable; He is poised in the unfolded Vedas four;  
        He gave embodiments to the many lives in keeping  
    With their karma; He is the Pervader that assumed the forms  
        Of minor gods; with His bow He burnt the triple towns;  
    He is Yekampan of Kacchi girt with beauteous groves;  
        Behold Him, the One poised in my thought!             650 
 
2.     Unto the loving devotees He is the dear One; He is ashamed  
        To eye the base of loveless heart; He is the handsome One  
    Abiding in the hearts of those who have given up the sense  
        Of shame (for His sake); He is fragrant with lovely konrai;  
    He is the Partner of the Mountain’s Daughter; He is the Lord  
        Who is ever adored and hailed by the Devas; He is  
    Yekampan of Kacchi girt with beauteous groves;  
        Behold Him, the One that is poised in my thought!         651 
 
3.     He is the Prop; He is the lofty and holy One who supports  
        The seven worlds; He is the Brahmin of Lotus flower;  
    He is the Father of that Brahmin; He is the One who wears  
        A crescent and a snake in His matted hair; He is  
    The God that dances during night in the crematory  
        With the ghosts of gaping mouths and sabreteeth like unto  
    The crescent; He is Yekampan of Kacchi girt with beauteous  
        Groves; behold Him, the One poised in my thought!         652 
 
4.     He is earth, sky and sea; He is the cool mountains;  
        He is the glory that is night and day; He is directions;  
    He pervades the eight directions; His name is meditated  
        By atiyaar; He is the great One whose names are legion;  
    He is the rare One, He is the handsome One whose mount  
        Is the Bull; He is Yekampan of Kacchi  
    Girt with beauteous groves; behold Him,  
        The One that is poised in my thought!                653 
 
5.     He is the Pigngnaka of great tapas; He wears a crescent;  
        He is the medicine that cures the agony of myself--  
    The fool; He became the mantras; He is the great God  
        Adored by Devas; He is concorporate with bejewelled Uma  
    Of rare askesis; He is ever ritualistically adored  
    By the Devas; He is Yekampan of Kacchi girt with  
        Beauteous groves; behold Him poised in my thought!         654 
 
6.     He has scrutinized the rare Vedas and the six Angas;  
        He wears a dancing snake, bones and a carapace;  
    He burnt Kaama’s body with the fire of His eye;  
        He so leaped at Death that rose up in spiraling wrath  
    That he crumbled into powder; He endowed the Spider  
        That wove many a time a canopy of dried leaves,  
    With the opulent rulership of the world; He is  
        Yekampan of Kacchi girt with beauteous groves;  
        Behold Him, the One that is poised in my thought!         655 
 
7.     He is concorporate with Uma; He caused the resounding  
        Ganga to descend from His matted hair; He is the opulent One  
    Of the Himalayan Kailas in the north; He is the poor One  
        That goes abegging for alms from door to door; He is  
    The Chief of the six faiths; He is Tattvan; He is the lofty One;  
        He Himself is the Himavant; He is Yekampan  
    Of Kacchi girt with beauteous groves; behold Him  
        The One that is poised in my thought!                656 
 
8.     He will annul the misery of servitors poised in servitorship;  
        He is our Light whose twin roseate feet are pure flowers;  
    He contained the sea’s venom that He ate, in His throat;  
        He gave to the Devas the oceanic nectar; He   
    Konrai garlands in which chafers lie cradled; He became  
        The bright moon and the star that rule the days; He is  
    Yekampan of Kacchi girt with beauteous groves;  
        Behold Him, the One that is poised in my thought!         657 
 
9.     He is the most ancient One; He is the First among the Three;  
        He is the Moorti that wields the three-leaved trident;  
    He is the Father of Lord Muruka; He is the Father of Him  
        That has the face of a cool ichor-dripping animal;  
    He pervades the chinta of those who bow at His feet  
        And adore Him; He is Siva to those of undistracted chinta;  
    He is our Father who rides a red-eyed and huge Bull;  
        He is Yekampan of Kacchi girt with beauteous groves;  
    Behold Him, the One that is poised in my thought!             658 
 
10.     He is the One of auric, matted strands of hair, He is  
        The Lord of the Bhootha-Hosts; He is fittingly clad  
    In tiger-skin; He sports a beautiful snake; He is the Adept  
        That wears on His ear a kuzhai of white shell;  
    In wrath, when he of fulgurant, white teeth lifted up  
        The mountain, He crushed him with His foot; then, when he  
    Sang sweetly, He gave him the bright sword; He is Yekampan  
        Of Kacchi who is poised in my thought.                 659 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES  
 
Decads 64 and 65 can be considered to form a single hymn.  The refrain is the same  
in both these decads.  
 
3. He is the father of that Brahmin: It is Vishnu who is referred to here.  
 
10. The bright sword: This is called Chandrahaasa.  
 
 
66. TIRUNAAKECCHARAM

 
After adoring at Tiruvaavaduthurai, our Saint came to Tiruvidaimarutu whence he proceeded to  
Tirunaakeccharam where he sang the following decad.  The names of the Deity and His Consort  
are Naakeswarar / Naakanaathar / Sanbakaaranyeswarar and Girikuchaambika / Kundramaamulai  
Ammai.  
 
1.     He is Mother; He is the Chief of the Devas and the others;  
        He is of the mountain; He became all the worlds; He is  
    Far, far away; He is close, very close; He is fire; He is shade;  
        He is the incomprehensible One of gramarye; He is  
    The Brahmin; He is the Mantra of the Brahmins; He is the Tantra;  
        He is the growing fire; He abides at Tirunaakeccharam;  
    They that seek Him not (as their refuge) are those  
        That have not attained the righteous way.             660 
 
2.     He flayed the inchorous tusker; our Lord wears a crown,  
        Bright and fulgurant; He shares Uma in His person;  
    He burnt the towns of foes; He scrapes away karma,  
        Disease and sins of those who take refuge in Him;  
    Seated under the Banyan tree; He explicated Dharma,  
        Wealth, Joy, Moksha, the six Angas and the four Vedas;  
    He abides at Tirunaakeccharam; they that seek Him not  
        Are those that have not attained the righteous way.         661 
 
3.     He is the God mantled in the hide of the dark tusker;  
        He visits not the hearts of the deceitful ones who do not  
    Think of Him in love; He ever abides in the manam-s  
        Of those who hail Him; He is the lofty One beyond compare;  
    He is the God of Devas; He is the glorious One who naturally  
        Fills the worlds with His presence; He abides  
    At Tirunaakeccharam; they that seek Him not  
        Are those that have not attained the righteous way.         662 
 
4.     He is the Chief; He became all the worlds; He is such  
        That none can know of His form; He is dear  
    To the loving ones; He is the Mountain that upholds the vault  
        Of extensive heaven; He had the striped snake for His  
    Bow’s string and shot the three towns of the cruel Asuras  
        To destruction; He abides at Tirunaakeccharam;  
    They that seek Him not are those that have not  
        Attained the way of salvific righteousness.             663 
 
5.     He is the truthful One to the loving ones; He never reveals  
        Himself to those that are inseparable from sins; He is  
    The Dancer of the crematory; His matted hair is golden;  
        He holds a pouch of ash; He causes the hooded snake  
    To dance; He is the omnipresent; He is the ruddy One who is  
        Like unto a huge, coral mountain; He abides  
    At Tirunaakeccharam; they that seek Him not are those  
        That have not attained the way of salvific righteousness.    664 
 
6.     He forsakes the flawed ones that adhere not to dharma;  
        When hailed with many hymns by Devas, He stands  
    As the perfect One; He is water, earth, fire, sky, air  
        As well as the moving and the stationary; He ignores  
    The deceitful ones that think not on Him; He is  
        The glorious One unto those that are valiant to chant  
    The mystic pentad; He abides at Tirunaakeccharam;  
        They that seek Him not tread not the righteousway.         665 
 
 7.     He is of the Vedas; His mount is a huge Bull; He ate  
        The poison of the vast sea; He is the God of Devas; He is  
    The annuller of misery which is my embodied life;  
        He is the sweet Nectar; He abides at the glorious  
    And aeviternal Yekampam; I keep Him incarcerated  
        In my heart, hidden from every one’s knowledge;  
    He abides at Tirunaakeccharam; they that do not  
        Seek Him, tread not the righteous way.                 666 
 
8.     Before eyes could wink, He shot the triple towns;  
        He received on His divine crest the flood that came  
    Down from the vast sky; He is birthless; He clipped  
        With His fingers one of the heads of Brahma who was not  
    Poised in dharma; He is the valiant Dancer; He made me--  
        The goalless fool--, His servitor; He abides  
    At Tirunaakeccharam; they that seek Him not do not  
        Tread the way of salvific righteousness.             667 
 
9.     He is the merciful One; He is sweet like the cow’s milch;  
        He is the great crop; He is the raindrop that annuls  
    The wilting of that crop; He is the Light unbeholdable  
        By Ayan and Maal who went in search of it;  
    He is the easily accessible one to His servitors; He is  
        Inaccessible to all others; He is the lucent juice  
    Of sweetcane; He abides at Tirunaakeccharam;  
        They that seek Him not are those that tread not  
        The way of salvific righteousness.                 668 
 
10.     He is the glorious One; hailed glorious by the seven worlds  
        He stands supreme; He is the opulent One, perfect and lofty;  
    He stared Kaama into ash; His matted crest sports the moist  
        Crescent; He is the holy One; when the Raakshasa rushed  
    Uproariously and lifted the mountain, with His lovely toe  
        He crushed him and caused him to quake in fear;  
    He annuls the sins of those that seek Him; He abides  
        At Tirunaakeccharam; they that seek Him not  
        Tread not the way of salvific righteousness.            669 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Mantra: Vedas.  Tantras: Aagamas.  Fire: Sacrificial fire.  
 
10. Seertthaan: The Tamil word ‘seer’ means glory.  God alone can be considered  
the glorious one.  His glory is described as “porul serpukazh” (true and abiding  
and meaningful glory) by Tiruvalluvar.  
 
 
67. TIRUKKEEZHVELOOR

 
Our Saint sojourned at Tiruvaaroor and adored the shrines situated in and around Tiruvaaroor. 
He visited Valivalam from Tiruvaaroor.  He later came to Keezhveloor where the following  
decad was sung by him.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Kediliyappar / Akshaya- 
lingeswarar and Sundarakuchaambaal / Vanamulai Naayaki.  
 
1.     He is dear to the devotees that have became His servitors;  
        He bathes in Pancha-kavya; His are the feet in which I  
    Sought refuge; He is peerless; His shoulders are daubed  
        With sandal-paste, saffron and musk; He is like  
    The unpierced pearl; He wears a kovanam attached  
        To keel, on Hi waist; He is the Sovereign of Keezhaveloor;  
        They that seek Him, the Deathless, become deathless.         670 
 
2.     He removes not the manam’s murk of those who know not  
        The meaning that pervades the Word and who are not  
    Poised in Grace; He caused me, a cur that knew not the way  
        Of weal, to tread the salvific way; He annuls the sins  
    Of those that sing sanctifying songs, dance, bow down,  
        Rise up and pray to Him for mercy; He is the Sovereign  
        Of Keezhveloor; whoever seeks Him, the  
                Deathless, becomes deathless.             671 
 
3.     He is the handsome One that causes the snake of the ant-hill  
        To dance; for ever He graces His servitors with love;  
    He is the One of Gnosis; He is the Adept; by the bhakti  
        Of His servitors He melts; with the others He is not so; He is  
    Deathless; invading my heart He weeds out the flaws  
        Of manam; He is the Sovereign of Keezhveloor;  
    Whoever seeks Him, the Deathless, becomes deathless.             672 
 
4.    He clipped the head of him throned on the stalked Lotus,  
        And assumed the habit of a Mahavrati; He became  
    The days connected with the orbs; He will redeem me,  
        Even if I, the one of cruel karma should fall into cruel  
    Inferno; He is a bunch of coral; He is of the Vedas; He will  
        Hearken to the Vina that strums out the import  
    Of the Vedas; He is the Sovereign of Keezhveloor;  
        Whoever seeks Him, the Deathless, becomes deathless.         673 
 
5.     He is the goodly One; His mount is a white Bull; He is  
        The Word beyond the pale of the four Vedas and the six  
    Angas; He became the three lights; He is close to them  
        That serve and hail Him; He is a bowman; He is  
    Concorporate with the Damsel of soft mien; He annuls not  
        The karma of those who do not think on Him truthfully;  
    He is the Sovereign of Keezhveloor; He is the Deathless;  
        Whoever seeks Him becomes deathless.                 674 
 
6.     He wears on His crest Ganga whose troops are whirlpools,  
        Flowery vanni, konrai, pure mattham and bright snake;  
    He smote the triple towns by gutting them with fire;  
        He ate the poison-- aalaalam; He stared at Kaama  
    And reduced him to ash; He is concorporate with Her  
        Of soft mien; He tore with His nail the tusker;  
    He is the Sovereign of Keezhveloor; He is the Deathless;  
        Whoever seeks Him becomes deathless.                 675 
 
7.     He is the Light that stirs; He is the inner meaning of AUM  
        That abides in the heart; He is the white flame;  
    He is sun, moon and agni of white flame; He is earth,  
        Sky and space; He is the ever-growing light; His hue is  
    Emeraldine; He is the blazing light that is ever hailed  
        By Devas; He is the Sovereign of Keezhveloor;  
                He is the Deathless;  
        Whoever seeks Him, becomes deathless.                 676 
 
8.      He kicked Death to death with His foot; of yore,  
        He graced the bachelor that reached Him as his refuge;  
    He wore the tiger-skin, bones and snakes; He abides  
        In the hearts of those that melt; He ate the poison  
    And held it in His throat; He destroyed Daksha’s sacrifice  
        In which Devas participated: He is the Sovereign  
    Of Keezhveloor; He is the Deathless; 
        Whoever seeks Him becomes deathless.                 677 
 
9.     He is One who wears the bones of the dead; He is the Dancer  
        Of the (Grand) Crematorium; He is adorned with  
    Bright snakes and bones; He dances in the crematory;  
        He entered my heart to rule me and never to part thence;  
    It is hard to comprehend His chinta; He is the fearless One;  
        He did away with the dread of the Devas;  
    He is the Sovereign of Keezhveloor; He is the Deathless;  
        Whoever seeks Him becomes deathless.                 678 
 
10.     When He crushed the back of him that spake cutting words  
        And lifted up the mountain, He was pleased to grace him  
    After listening to his singing accompanied by the strumming  
        Of his nerves; He gave him a tsurugi with which he could snatch  
    The lives of his foes; He printed His foot-flower in me--  
        The sinner’s heart; He burnt the triple towns; He played  
    False to the false and deceived them after much luring; 
        He is the Sovereign of Keezhveloor; He is the Deathless;  
        Whoever seeks Him becomes deathless.                 679 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
4. Vitthurumam: Coral.  The word corrupted into Vitthu uruvam meaning ‘the  
form of seed’.  
 
8. The bachelor: Maarkkandeyan.  
 
9. The (Grand) Crematorum: The crematorium of Final Dissolution.  He dances  
in the crematory: This crematory is the phenomenal one.  
 
 
68. TIRUMUDUKUNRAM

 
      (Vriddaachalam)
 
Our Saint adored Siva in His shrine of Tirutthoongkaanai Maatam at Pennaakatam.  From here he  
came to Tiruvaratthurai, whence he proceeded to Tirumudukunram where he sang the following  
decad.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Vriddagiriswarar / Pazhamalai Naathar and  
Vriddaambika / Periya Naayaki / Baalaambika. 
 
1.     He is the pupil of the eye; He is like a hill of gold; He is easy  
        Of access to those that think on Him; He is the bright gem;  
    He causes the cruel snake to dance; He is clad in the skin  
        Of the murderous tiger; He is girt with a kovanam; He is  
    The rare gem; He is nectar unto those that have reached Him;  
        He bathes in the Pancha-kavya; I have attained Him,  
    The divine gem, as my refuge; His is Tirumuthukunram; alas!  
        I, the one of evil karma, stood perplexed unaware of Him!     680 
 
2.     He is the Lord with a shining black throat; He is Kaapaali  
        That wields a kattangkam; He is the light of earth  
    And sky; He is of the nether world; in grace He wore  
        The milk-white moon; He is light immense; He shares  
    A Woman in His person; He is the glorious light that willingly  
        Does away with the karma of those that hail Him;  
    His is Tirumuthukunram; alas, I, the one of evil karma,  
        Stood perplexed unaware of Him!                 681 
 
3.     He stands in all the directions adored by Devas;  
        He, the Lord, rides a Bull; He graced me--His servitor,  
    Who hailed Him as the Lord in devotion--, to sing Him  
        In verse-garlands, for many many days; He is my Pearl;  
    He is my Gem, He is my Ruby; He is like unto the ruddy  
        Coral shoot that rose up in splendour; He presides  
    Over Tirumuthukundram, alas, I the one of evil karma,  
        Stood perplexed unaware of Him!                 682 
 
4.     He is the light within life that is embodied; He is  
        The noble One; He dwells in the manams of bhaktas;  
    Holding a bow, He roamed in the wood; His throat is  
        Dark like nimbus; He is fire, is wind; knowing when  
    It should be done, He made me His servitor and He,  
        The delicious sweetcane, placed His sacred foot on my head;  
    He presides over Tirumuthukundram; alas, I, the one,  
        Of evil karma, stood perplexed unaware of Him!            683 
 
5.     He smote the mighty sacrifice of Daksha; He became  
        The Four-faced throned on the Lotus; He is the mighty  
    Fire, wind, water and ether; He who is beyond  
        The heavenly worlds abides here; He is adorned  
    With bones and pearls; He is the refuge unto devotees  
        And He manifests as their six faiths there and there;  
    He presides over Tirumuthukunram; alas, I, the one,  
        Of evil karma, stood perplexed unaware of Him!            684 
 
6.     He is the light of glory; He is the holy One that burnt  
        The towns; He is of golden hue; He is the hoary  
    And perfect One; He is the festive sound and the heavenly  
        Sound; He is the Vikirtan of Vennkkaadu; He is  
    The bright light that goes abegging from door to door 
        Whilst His anklets and bracelets sound and resound;  
    He presides over Tirumuthukundram; alas, I, the one  
        Of evil karma, stood perplexed unaware of Him!            685 
 
7.     When his body grew exceedingly bright (when He flayed  
        The tusker), He mantled Himself in it; He roamed about, clad  
    In tiger-skin; He is ever the master of the five senses;  
        He smote the triple towns; with His ankleted foot He killed  
    Death; He is a great Dancer; He becomes the medicine that uproots  
        The cruel karma of servitors that adore Him in devotion;  
    He presides over Tirumuthukunram; alas, I, the one  
        Of evil karma, stood perplexed unaware of Him!             686 
 
8.     He forsook His body without forsaking; He stood as the perfect  
        And Primal Light; without getting born He is the help  
    Of every (embodied) life; He abides in an androgynous form;  
        He is the skilful One who for ever abides in the manam-s  
    Of devotees who hail Him only, without ever forgetting Him;  
        He presides over Tirumuthukunram; alas, I, the one  
        Of evil karma, stood perplexed unaware of Him.             687 
 
9.     He is a golden pillar; holding a skull stinking of flesh  
        He roamed about in the heavenly worlds; He wears  
    An unageing white crescent; He is the endless prop--  
        The granite pillar that supports the three worlds;  
    He is the Ens Entium; He is of Kaalatthi mountain;  
        He smote with a dart the three walled towns of foes;  
    He presides over Tirumuthukundram; alas, I, the one  
        Of evil karma, stood perplexed unaware of Him.            688 
 
10.     He crushed the twenty shoulders of him that dispraised Him,  
        By pressing (His toe); then when he plucked out  
    His nerves and sang, He listened to it in grace and praise him;  
        He abides at Poonthurutthi; He is the holy One, the wealth  
    Of Devas; He is joyously concorporate with the Daughter  
        Of the Mountain; He keeps on His crest the crescent; He causes  
    Mall to thrive in a portion of His body; Tirumuthukunram is His;  
        Alas, I, the one of evil karma, stood perplexed  
        All oblivious of Him.                         689 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
4. Placed His sacred foot on my head: This took place at Nalloor.  
 
5. Angkangke: According to Winslow the meaning of this term is: “there  
and there.”  
 
8. He forsook His body without forsaking: The meaning of this passage is as  
follows.  It is God’s nature to be bodiless and formless.  
 
 
69. PALLIYINMUKKOODAL

 
Our Saint abode at Tiruvaroor for a number of days.  Tiruppukaloor is the place where our  
Saint settled down eventually.  As our Saint proceeded from Tiruvaaroor to Tiruppukaloor,  
he arrived at Palliyinmukkoodal en route.  It was here the following decad was sung by our  
Saint.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Mukkonanaathar / Trinetraswami /  
Mukkoodalnaathar and Anjanaakshi / Maimmevukanni. 
 
1.     He is the insatiable nectar sweet; He is the Lord; He is  
        Aadi who is not known to Ayan and Maal; He wears  
    The chaplets of konrai blossoms in His matted crest;  
        He is Sankara, the One beyond compare; He is water  
    Air, fire, extensive sky and earth girt with the seven  
        Deep oceans; without cultivating Him of Palliyinmukkoodal,  
        Alas, alas, I but wasted away my life!                690 
 
2.     His mount is the Bull; it is on Him Devas think; He is  
        A Brahmin; He wears a white crescent on His matted crest;  
    He is dark-throated; He is the Tattvan;  
        He is peerless; He fixed a deadly dart to His bow  
    And aimed it at the triple, hostile, walled towns and gutted  
        Them with fire; He wields a sharp trident;  
    Without cultivating Him of Palliyinmukkoodal,  
        Alas, alas, I but exercised myself in utter futility!         691 
 
3.     He is adorned with ash; He is like a golden Mountain;  
        He, the holy One, conceals the flood in His strands  
    Of matted hair; He is a Brahmin; at Vennkaadu He abides;  
        His mount is the white Bull; He is the Aadi of Devas;  
    Aadirai is His goodly asterism; He is the Lord; She whose eyes  
        Are touched with collyrium, is His half;  
    Without cultivating Him of Palliyinmukkoodal,  
        Alas, alas, I but exercised myself in utter futility!         692 
 
4.     He mantled Himself in the hide of a tusker; He smote  
        The three towns to ashes; He is the holy One; He is the Consort  
    Of Her whose beauteous breasts are covered by a  
                band; He ate the venom  
        Of the billowy sea and did away with the dread of Devas;  
    He so stared at Kaama that in a trice, his body crumbled  
        Into ashes and his life journeyed away to the south;  
    Without cultivating Him of Palliyinmukkoodal,  
        Alas, alas, I but exercised myself in utter futility.        693 
 
5.     He will render nugatory the sins, troubles, maladies,  
        Evil karma and indigence of those that have reached Him; 
    His throat is dark like nimbus; He sliced away with a disc  
        The body of him of vile wrath; He is beyond compare;  
    He is the Tattvan; He is the noble One; He abides in the hearts  
        Of those that think on Him; without cultivating Him  
    O Palliyinmukkoodal, alas, alas, I but exercised  
        Myself in sheer futility.                    694 
 
6.     He concealed the flood of Ganga in His ruddy matted hair;  
        He of the divine body dances in the fire; He holds  
    In His hand the head of him whose seat is the Lotus; He is  
        The God of gods; He is a blazing light; from distress  
    He saves them that contemplate His feet; He pervades  
        As earth, ether, billowy sea, vast firmament and all else;  
    Without cultivating Him of Palliyinmukkoodal,  
        Alas, alas I but exercised myself in utter futility!         695 
 
7.     His matted crest sports a river; He is of Nalloor;  
        He abides at Nallaaru and Nallam; He is  
    Of Vaaimoor girt with melliferous gardens; He presides  
        Over Maraikkaadu; He is of Aakkoor; He is  
    The friend of the Lord of Riches; He is of Nidoor;  
        He dwells at Neitthaanam; Aaroor is His town;  
    Without cultivating Him of Palliyinmukkoodal,  
        Alas, alas, I but exercised myself in utter futility!         696 
 
8.     He is a great tapaswi; He became the four Vedas; He is  
        The godly One; He smote the triple towns of those who sought  
    Him not; He is the King that abides at Tiruvaaroor  
        Tirumoolattaanam and wears on His ruddy matted crown  
    The crescent; He is adorned with many snakes; He is the prop  
        Of those who seek His mercy well aware of His Godhead;  
    Without cultivating Him of Palliyinmukkoodal,  
        Alas, alas, I but exercised myself in utter futility!         697 
 
9.     He is flesh; He is body; He is life; He became the seven worlds;  
        He is the Lord of Devas; He is of the empyrean; He, the Wearer  
    Of the crescent abides at Valavi; in the presence of the Daughter  
        Of the Mountain, He, the forester, went after a hog;  
    He resides at Mount Kailas; He is the syrup quaffed  
        By them who enshrine Him in their hearts, and melt  
    In love; without cultivating Him of Palliyinmukkoodal,  
        Alas, alas, I but exercised myself in utter futility!         698 
 
10.     The Raakshasa grew wroth with Him who checked him;  
        Stroking his shoulders, he lifted up the huge mountain  
    With his twenty arms and (ten) heads; The Lord so pressed  
        Him with His toe that he almost died; then the Lord,  
    In grace, heard him sing, strumming his plucked-out  
        Nerves, and granted him a name and a sharp sword;  
    He, of yore, kicked Death to death; without cultivating  
        Him of Palliyinmukkoodal, alas, alas,  
        I but exercised myself in utter futility!             699 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
3. Aadirai: The Betelgeuse.  
 
4. South: The region of Yama (Death).  
 
5. The disc referred to in this verse is actually a sprocket wheel. 
The body of him of vile wrath: Jalandaraasura.  
 
7. The Lord of Riches: Kubera. 
 
 
70. KSHETRAKKOVAI

 
 [THE LIST OF HOLY SHRINES]
 
 
1.     Even, He, the Lord of Kailas can be beheld at Chitrambalam  
        In Tillai, Cemponpalli, Devankudi, Ciraappalli,  
    Tengkoor, cool Kolliaraippalli, Koval Virattam,  
        Gokaranam, Kodikaa, sylvan Murukanpoondi  
    Abounding in mullai creepers, Muzhaiyoor,  
        Pazhayaarai, Satthimutram and glorious  
    Kaalatthi upon rocky mountain.                        700 
 
2.     Even He, the Lord of Kailas can be beheld at Aaroor  
        Moolattaanam, Aanaikkaa, Taantondrimaatam of Aakkoor,  
    Aavoor, Peroor, Brahmapuram,  
        Peravoor, Perunturai, Kaambili,  
    Pitavoor, Kurukkai Virattaanam abounding  
        In adoring servitors, Kottoor, Kudamookku,  
    Kozhampam, cloud-capped Kazhukkunram and Kaanapper.             701 
 
3.     Even He, the Lord of Kailas can be beheld at Idaimarutu,  
        Yeengoi, Rameswaram, Innambar, beauteous Yitavai,  
    Yemapperoor, Sataimudi, Saalaikkudi, Takkaloor,  
        Talaiyaalangkaadu, Talaicchangkaadu,  
    Kodumudi, Kutraalam, Kollampoothoor,  
        Kotthittai, Kottaaru, Kottukkaadu, Kadaimudi,  
    Kaanoor, and Katampanthurai.                         702 
 
4.     Even He, the Lord of Kailas can be beheld  
        At Yecchililamar, Yemanalloor,  
    Yilampayangkottoor, Yiraiyaanceri,  
        Acchirupaakkam, Alappoor, Ambar,  
    Aavaduthannthurai, Azhunthoor, Aarai,  
        Kaicchinam, Karkudi, Kacchoor Aalakkoyil,  
    Kaattuppalli and the many shrines at Kacchi  
        Inclusive of Yekampam.                        703 
 
5.     Even He, the Lord of Kailas can be beheld  
        At Kodungkoloor, Anjaikkalam,  
    Sengkunroor, Kongkanam, Kunriyoor,  
        Kurakkukkaa, Nedungkalam, Nannilam,  
    Nellikkaa, Ninriyoor, Nidoor, Niyamanalloor,  
        Yitumpaavanam, Yezhumoor, Yezhoor,  
    Thozhoor, Yerumpiyoor, beauteous Yemakootam  
        And also the shrine in Katampai Yilangkoyil.             704 
 
6.     Even He, the Lord of Kailas can be beheld  
        At Mannippatikkarai, Vaazhkolipputthoor,  
    Vakkarai, Mantaaram, Vaaranaasi, Venni,  
        Vilatthotti, Velvikkudi, Vilamar,  
    Viraatapuram, Vetkalam, Arul Thurai at Pennai,  
        Cool Pennaakatam, Pirampil,  
    Perumpuliyoor, Peruveloor, Kannai, Kalar,  
        Kaarai and Kazhippalai.                     705 
 
7.     Even He, the Lord of Kailas can be beheld at Vizhimizhalai,  
        Vennkaadu, Vengkoor, Vedikudi,  
    Vijayamangkai, Viyaloor, Akatthiyaanpalli  
        Upon the sea, Annaamalai, Aalangkaadu,  
    Arathaipperumpaazhi, Pazhanam, pananthaal,  
        Paathaalecchuram, Paraaitthurai, 
    Paigngneeli, Panangkaattoor, cool Kaazhi  
        And Kaaronam of Naakai girt with sea.                 706 
 
8.     Even He, the Lord of Kailas can be beheld  
        At Unjenai Maakaalam, Ooral, Otthoor,  
    Rudrakoti, Maraikkaadu, cloud-capped mount  
        Of Potiyil, Thanjai, Vazhuvoor Virattam,  
    Maathaanam, Kedaaram, Venjamaakkoodal,  
        Miyacchoor, Vaikaa, Vedeecchuram,  
    Viveecchuram, Vetriyoor, Kanjanoor,  
        Kanjaaru and Panjaakkai.                     707 
 
9.     Even He, the Lord of Kailas can be beheld  
        At Tindeeccharam, Seignaloor, Semponpalli,  
    Tevoor, Sirapuram, Sitremam, Serai,  
        Kondeeccharam, Koontaloor, Koozhaiyoor,  
    Koodal, Kurukavoor Velladai, Kumari,  
        Kongku, Atikai Virattaanam hailed  
    By Devas, Aiyaaru, Asokanti, Aamaatthoor,  
        Kandiyoor Virattam and Karukaavoor.                 708 
 
10.     Even He, the Lord of Kailas, can be beheld  
        At Naraiyoor Siddheeccharam, Nallaaru,  
    Turaiyoor, Sotrutthurai, Soolamangkai,  
        Tonipuram, Turutthi, Someccharam,  
    Uraiyoor, Otriyoor upon the sea, Ootratthoor,  
        Omaampuliyoor, peerless Yetakam,  
    Karaiyoor, Karuppariyal and Kanrappoor.                 709 
 
11.     O Servitors, if you have a darshan of Pulivalam, Putthoor,  
        Pukaloor, Punkoor, Purampayam, Poovanam, Poikainalloor,  
    Valivalam, Maarperu, Vaaimoor, Vaikal, Valanjuzhi,  
        Vaanjiyam, Marukal, Vanni, Neitthaanam abounding  
    In fertile fields and the many, great and aeviternal  
        Temples situate everywhere, you can envision Him,  
    Even Him who is the Lord of Kailas and who with His toe  
        Crushed the king of exceedingly prideful puissance.        710 
 
 
71. ADAIVUTTHIRUTHTHAANDAKAM

 
(The Tirutthaandakam that methodically lists the Holy shrines)
 
 
1.     All those that chant thus, even thus: “Poruppalli, auric  
        Chakkarappalli of Him who smote with a bow the three  
    Hostile towns and cut into two Jalandhara, Tirukkaattuppalli,  
        Melliferous and fragrant Kolliyaraippalli, Sirappalli  
    In whose domain peacocks abound, Sivappalli,  
        Cemponpalli, uberous Nanipalli, Tavappalli  
    And glorious Parappalli, will sweetly rule the supernal world.         711 
 
2.     When messengers of Yama approach them at the hour  
        Of their death, they will move away from them, deeming  
    Them to be the servitors of Siva, if they have been chanting  
        With their lips, thus: “KandiVirattaanam, charming and glorious  
    Atikai Virattaanam Vazhuvai Virattam, extensive  
        Pariyal Virattam, Koval Virattam-- the town where the Lord  
    Whose mount is a Bull reside--, Kurukkai Virattam  
        And Kotthittaikkudi Virattam.”                    712 
 
3.     Troubles will cease if Sembangkudi of the One who is  
        Supremely desirable and whose goodly flag sports the Bull,  
    Nallakkudi, lovely Naattiyatthaangkudi, Karkudi,  
        Tenkalakkudi, Sengkaatangkudi, Karunthittaikkudi,  
    Kataiyakkui, Virkudi sweet to behold, Vellvikkudi,  
        Goodly Vettakkudi, Vedikudi, Maanikudi,  
    Vitaivaaikkudi, Purkudi, Devankudi, Neelakkudi  
        And Pudukkudi are duly hailed.                    713 
 
4.     Troubles will be snapped if Aaroor of our Lord in whose  
        Matted crest the crescent floats, Perumpatrappuliyoor,  
    Peraavoor, Naraiyoor, Nalloor, Nallaatroor, Naaloor,  
        Setroor, Naaraiyoor, Uraiyoor, Otthoor,  
    Ootratthoor, Alappoor, Omaampuliyoor, Otriyoor,  
        Turaiyoor, Tuvaiyoor, Thozhoor and Tudaiyoor  
        Are duly hailed and adored.                     714 
 
5.     If seventy-eight great temples of the Lord  
        Whose matted crest is adorned with the great flood,  
    Karakkoyil, Gnaazharkoyil girt with well-protected  
        Groves, the hill-like Kokudikkoyil of Karruppariyal,  
    Ilangkoyil where with the chanting of the Rig Veda  
        The Brahmins hail and adore the Lord, Manikkoyil,  
    Aalakkoyil and every Tirukkoyil where Siva abides,  
        Are circumambulated and hailed in humble  
        Adoration, evil karma will get annulled.            715 
 
6.     If Maraikkaadu--the adobe of the God of gods who is  
        Concorporate with the Mountain’s Daughter--, Talaicchangkaadu  
    Girt with uberous groves, cool Saaikkaadu circled by  
        The extensive main, Kollikkaadu rich in streams,  
    Pazhaiyanoor Aalangkaadu whose praise is sung by many,  
        Panangkaadu and Vennkaadu where, to wash sins away,  
    Damsels decked with precious bangles, joyous plunge into tanks,  
        Are reached, Karma flees away.                    716 
 
7.     Cruel karma gets not attached to them who enter  
        All the Vaayils such as Annalvaayil in which abides  
    The Lord who has an eye in His forehead and who  
        Redeemed me from the company of myrobalaneaters,  
    Neduvaayil, Neithalvaayil rich in fertile fields,  
        Mullaivaayil, Gnaazhalvaayil, Aalavaayil  
    Of the city of Madurai in the South, rich in tanks,  
        Punavaayil upon the billowy sea, Kudavaayil  
        Abounding in lofty mansions and Gunavaayil.             717 
 
8.     Thus we hail, even thus we hail: “Nandikecchuram  
        Of the Dancer, Maakaalecchuram, Naakechuram,  
    Naakalecchuram, Kodeecchuram of goodly weal,  
        Kondeecchuram, Tindeecchuram, Kukkudecchuram,  
    Makkeecchuram, Aatakecchuram, Akattheecchuram,  
        Ayaneecchuram, Attheecchuram, Siddheecchuram,  
    And Raamecchuram of beauteous and cool shore washed  
        By waves.”  We will eke hail  
        The many churams where Siva abides.                 718 
 
9.     These are the mountains where Chandrasekara abides.  
        We will hail, yea, hail thus that our sins may perish:  
    “Kanthamaathanam, Mount Kailas, Kedaaram,  
        Kaalatthi, Kazhukkunram, beauteous Annaa, Northern  
    Parvatam in whose slopes dight with gardens  
        Gentle wind wafts, Mahendra Maamalai, Neelam,  
    Yemakootam, Vindhya, Vedam, Saiyam,  
        Great and glorious Potiyil, Meru, Udaiyagiri,  
                and Asthamanagiri.”                719 
 
10.     We will hail every aaru, kulam, kalam and kaa where  
        The Lord adorned with melliferous konrai, abides,  
    Such as Nallaaru, Pazhaiyaaru, Kottaaru, Naalaaru  
        Of goodly weal, Tiruvaiyaaru, Tellaaru, Valaikulam,  
    Talikkulam, goodly Idaikkulam, Tirukkulam Anjaikkalam,  
        Nedungkalam, Vetkalam, Nellikkaa, Kolakkaa,  
        Aanaikkaa and extensive Kodikaa.                 720 
 
11.     Paraaitthurai of the Lord who with His toe crushed  
        The hands and the heads of him who lifted up Mount Kailas,  
    Paalaitthurai in the South, Tavatthurai of the hoary  
        Seven sages, Vennthurai, Aalanthurai of green groves  
    Where kuyils sing, Sotrutthurai, Poonthurai, Perunthurai,  
        Kurangkaaduthurai, Mayilaaduthurai, Katampanthurai  
    And Aavaduthurai: these thurai-s an all other thurais  
        We will hail and adore.                     721 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. This verse enlists the holy shrines whose names end with the suffix ‘palli’  
 
2. This verse enumerates Attavirattam (the eight holy places where Lord Siva enacted  
His heroic exploits).  
 
3. This verse enlists the holy places whose names end with the suffix ‘kudi’.  
 
4. This verse enumerates the holy towns whose names end with the suffix ‘oor’. 
 
5. This verse describes shrines whose names end with the suffix ‘koyil’.  Karakkoyil  
is the one at Katampoor.  
Tirukkoyil: The sacred temple.  Siva’s temple is to referred to in this respectful way.  
 
6. Shrines whose names terminate with the suffix ‘Kaadu’ are listed here.  
 
7. Shrines whose names end with the suffix ‘vaayil’ are enumerated in this verse.  
 
8. Churam: Shortened form of Eecchuram (the Lord’s shrine) Shrines ending with  
the suffix ‘churam’ are listed in this verse.  
 
9. This verse catalogues sacred mountains.  
 
10. Aaru: River.  Kulam: Tank, Pool.  Kalam: place.  Kaa: Woodland. 
 
11. Turai (thurai): Ford, bathing ghat. 
 
 
72. TIRUVALANJUZHI

 
It was in Nalloor our Saint was blessed with Tiruvadi-Diksha.  From this holy place he  
proceeded to Pazhayaarai whence he arrived at Tiruvalanjuzhi.  It was here the following  
decad was sung by our Saint.  The names of he Deity and His Consort are Kapartheeswarar  
/ Senjadainaathar / Karpanaatheswarar / Valanjuzhi Naather and Braghannaayaki / Periya  
Naayaki.  
 
1.     He in whose crest flows the billowy Ganga, dances  
        The rare dance in the Ambalam, witnessed  
    By Nangkai Uma; His is the guise of eternal triumph;  
        He is of Niriyoor and Nedungkalam; He, whose  
    Mount is the Bull, wields a weapon of leafy blade;  
        Everywhere Devas and Uma hail and adore Him  
    In sacred dread; He came to and abode at Valanjuzhi  
        Upon Ponni formed of the mountain’s cascade.             722 
 
Note: Only one verse of this decad is extant. 
 
 
73. TIRUVALANJUZHI AND  
TIRUKKOTTAIYOOR-K-KOTEECCHARAM

 
Decad number 72 contains the necessary note on Tiruvalanjuzhi.  Obviously our Saint adored  
at Kottaiyoor after he hailed Him in Tiruvalanjuzhi.  The names of the Deity presiding over  
Kottaiyoor, and His Consort are Koteeswarar and Kantuka Kireetaambaal / Panthaadu Naayaki.  
 
1.     He is the handsome One whose throat is  
        Sapphire-like; He was seated under the Banyan tree; 
    He wore the snake of a great ruby; He is  
        The supernal One who is like a coral-hill;  
    He is of Valanjuzhi-upon-Ponni, the stream  
        That flows beauteously; He is the God of goods;  
    He is the boon-giving Dancer; He is the colourful Gem,  
        The handsome King of Kodeeccharam at Kottaiyur.            723 
 
2.     His hand holds a fawn; He is the Eye of Wisdom  
        Unto those who are cultivators of scriptures;  
    He received the billowy Ganga on His ruddy matted crest;  
        He is beyond Andakapaalam; He is the noble One  
    Of Valanjuzhi-upon-Ponni that flows with the produce 
        Of the hill; He is the King of Kodeeccharam  
    Of Kottaiyoor surrounded by groves rich in  
        Coconut trees that bear the nuts in bunches.             724 
 
3.     He is adorned with the red lotus; He is Siva;  
        He is the God of Devas; He is the Consort of Her  
    Whose soft fingers sport with a ball;  
        He bathes in milk, ghee, curds and honey; He is  
    The Bridegroom of Valanjuzhi-upon-Ponni which flows  
        Rolling in its waves manthaaram trees; He is  
    The King of Kodeeccharam at Kottaiyoor  
        Girt with groves rich in flower-bunches.             725 
 
4.     Lo, He is the holy One bedaubed with the ash; He gifted  
        The Disc to him whose mount is the Bird; His mount  
    Is the Bull that rumbles like the fierce thunder; He is  
        The Lamp of the eight directions; He is the noble One  
    Of Valanjuzhi-upon-billowy Cauvery that flows flower-laden;  
        He is the King of Kodeeccharam at Kottaiyoor  
        Rich in lofty mansions decked with streamers.             726 
 
5.     He is cinctured with a belt of bones an a serpent;  
        He became the rare Vedas and the six Angas;  
    He smote the great sacrifice of Daksha; He is  
        Sadasiva; He cut Jalandara into two; He is  
    Of Valanjuzhi-upon-Ponni that flows laden with  
        The fan-tails of peacocks; He is a wielder  
    Of the mazhu; He is the King of Kodeeccharam  
        At Kottaiyoor girt with fields abounding in storks.         727 
 
6.     He made the goodly Devas adore Candan; He is  
        Sadasiva; He is Sankara; He is the One  
    Whose ankleted feet are adored and hailed  
        By the many servitors; He is the bright flame  
    That is inaccessible; He is of Valanjuzhi-upon-Ponni  
        Of abundant waters; unto great munis He is  
    The medicine; He is the King of Kodeeccharam at Kottaiyoor  
        On whose cloud-capped mansions streamers waft  
                    in the wind.                 728 
 
7.     He is inaccessible; He is the pure One; He is deathless;  
        He is of the empyrean; He wears the great serpent  
    Of rubied hood; He enacts the dance hight  
        Paandarangkam; He is Bhagawan; He is  
    Of Valanjuzhi-upon-Ponni of fertile sand and water;  
        He is the bestower of boons to the Four-faced  
    And Vishnu; He is the King of Kodeeccharam  
        At Kottaiyoor where lofty and virtuous servitors abide.     729 
 
8.     He wears a garland of fragrant konrai flowers;  
        He is the Lord adored by the Vedas; He wears  
    In His waist a dotted hide; He bathes in the fire; He is  
        The handsome One of Valanjuzhi-upon-billowy Ponni;  
    He is the noble One who is not to be beheld by them  
        Of deceptive manam-s; lo, He is the King  
    Of Kodeeccharam at Kottaiyoor which is girt  
        With groves rich in kuraa trees.                 730 
 
9.     The petalled lotus is His seat; He did away  
        With the misery of Dasarata’s son; on His  
    Hoary matted crest He wears a young crescent; He became  
        The great arts eight times eight; He is  
    Of Valanjuzhi-upon-Ponni of uberous flood; His feet--  
        Auric and ankleted--, are adorned  
    By the great munis; lo, He is the King of Kodeeccharam  
        At Kottaiyoor in whose cool tanks lilies burgeon.         731 
 
10.     He burnt the triple towns of foes; at Kailas  
        He crushed the body of the fierce Raakshasa; He is  
    The ankleted One who grew into a long, long column  
        Of fire, after which the one on the Lotus and Maal 
    Quested; He is of Valanjuzhi rich in gardens where  
        Chafers hum; He is the God of gods; lo, He is the King  
    Of Kodeeccharam at Kottaiyoor where abide Brahmins  
        Well-versed in the Vedas and the (six) Angas.             732 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
2. Andakapaalam: The peak of the vault of heaven.  
 
3. Mantaaram: A flowery tree.  
 
5. A belt of bones: It may also refer to a girdle of shell-beads.  
 
8. Kuraa: Common bottle-flower.  
 
 
74. NAARAIYOOR

 
It was at Tillai our Saint heard of the glory of the boy-saint Tirugnaanasambandhar. He  
desired to call on the godly child and pay obeisance to him.  On his way to Seekaazhi, he  
adored Siva at Naaraiyoor where the following decad was sung by him.  The names of the  
Deity and His Consort are Soundara Naathar and TiripuraSundari.  
 
1.     I beheld Him in the holy town of Naaraiyoor who is  
        The Word and its import, who is the Scriptures, the One  
    That gifted the bright Disc to tall Maal, the One that is  
        Night as well as Day, the inaccessible One, the One easy  
    Of access unto devotees, the One that smote with His bow  
        The three walled towns, the One that gifted Paasupatam  
    To Arjuna, the One of excellence who is in love, adored  
        By the fiery Sun and the great munis and the One who is  
    Supremely desirable and the One that dances in the fire.         733 
 
2.     I beheld Him in the holy town of Naaraiyoor who shares  
        In His body the Damsel whose soft feet are dyed  
    With red-cotton silk, the One that is sun and moving wind,  
        The One that became the sky and the moon in the sky,  
    The One that sports the moon in His matted crest, the One  
        That devouring my heart abides as my thought, the One  
    That ate the venom of the vast sea whose churners fled  
        Away, and the One that bestowed nectar on the Devas.         734 
 
3.     I beheld Him in the holy town of Naaraiyoor, who ages not  
        But is the most ancient of all, the One that is endless  
    That became the beginning, the middle and the end, the One  
        That is the God of godly Devas, the One that cut off a head  
    Of him whose visages face all the the directions, the One  
        Whose mount is the wind-swift Bull, the One who sweetens  
    My tongue whenever I think on Him and the One  
        Who is the chanted utterance of tongue.                735 
 
4.     I beheld Him in the holy town of Naaraiyoor who is  
        Ruddy gold, lovely coral, bright pearl  
    And excellent ruby; the One that abides in the chinta  
        Of worshippers, the One that stared him of fragrant darts  
    To ash, and grew joyous; the One that is Kampan of walled Kacchi,  
        The One of Kailas, the supremely desirable one that was  
    Hailed in love by the Eagle and Rama, the One that is God  
        And the One that is the Lord.                     736 
 
5.     I beheld Him in the holy town of Naaraiyoor who is  
        Mantled in the hide that covered the dark tusker;  
    The One that packed into the strands of His matted hair  
        The river; the One that wears a chaplet of white and frangrant  
    Myrobalan, the One that bedaubs His ruddy body with white ash,  
        The One attained by the Mountain’s Daughter through tapas  
    The One who is the remedy that chases ills and pains away  
        And the lordly One who sport a white Bull in His lovely flag.    737 
 
6.     I beheld Him in the holy town of Naaraiyoor who thrives  
        Birthless and deathless, the mad One who dances to the singing  
    Of ghouls, the One who abides in the manam that forgets Him not,  
        The One of mountain, sea and forest, the One  
    Who is kin and foe, the One who is life, the One who is  
        At once immanent and transcendent, the One  
    That abides as sound and the One that wears the wreaths  
        Of fragrant konrai flowers.                     738 
 
7.     I beheld Him in the holy town of Naaraiyoor who smote  
        And did away with Daksha’s sacrifice, the Chief, who  
    In a skull, received alms, the One that holds in His hands  
        Kokkarai, sacchari and vina the One who wears  
    As jewels the cruel serpent, the handsome One who is adorned  
        With shells and bones, the Father of the Tusker-faced  
    And the six-visaged; the One that is (a) naked (yogi)  
        And the One of Vakkarai and Nallaaru.                 739 
 
8.     I beheld Him in the holy town of Naaraiyoor who is  
        The Father hailed by Hari and Brahma; the One who is  
    Death unto Death, the One of the Puranam pertaining  
        To Linga-- an immeasurable Column of fire, the One  
    That became numbers, letters and pann-s; the One  
        That graced the three of burnt Tripura, the opulent One  
    That made a monarch of the Spider and the One that dances  
        In the crematory frequented by jackals.             740 
 
9.     I beheld Him in the holy town of Naaraiyoor who held  
        Aalaalam in His throat and wears it as a jewel,  
    The One that taught the Four, Dharma, seated under  
        The Banyan tree, the One that became milk, honey,  
    Fruitage, sweet sugarcane and its toothsome and potable juice,  
        The One that is the sacrifice of those versed in the Vedas,  
    The Vimalan who is the fruit of the sacrifice  
        And the One - the Lord of fourfold Vedas.             741 
 
10.     I beheld Him in the holy town of Naaraiyoor who made me  
        His sempiternal servitor, the One that abode in the worship  
    Of Veli, the One that bestowed on the Brahmin(-lad)  
        The life eternal, kicking cruel Death to death, the One  
    Who quelled the strength of arms and legs of the base one  
        Who priding in the strength of His shoulders, uprooted  
    The mountain, and the One-- the supremely desirable--,  
        That later graced him with a sword and longevity of life.     742 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
4. The Eagle: Jataayu/Sampaati.  
 
7. Nakkan: It is said that this word refers to one who is nude.  Srinivasa  
Mudaliyaar says that Nakkan is one who wears minimum clothing.  The  
Bikhshaadana icon of Siva is traditionally, in the nude.  
 
8. Antakan: This word may mean (1) Yama or (2) Antakaasuran.  
 
9. Vimalan: The One who removes mala-s.  
 
10. Veli: It means space.  Derivatively it is light which, in its turn, is symbolic  
of wisdom.  Velli is the Guru of the Asuras.  He is wisdom-incarnate.  By  
elision Velli could have become Veli.  
 
 
75. TIRUKKUTANTHAI-K-KEEZHKKOTTAM

 
This temple at Kumbakonam is to-day known as Naakeswara Swami Koyil.  Our Saint should have  
adored here, after he had visited such places as Tiruvalanjuzhi and Kottaiyoor.  The name of  
the Deity and His Consort are Naakeswarar / Naakanaathar and Braghan Naayaki / Periya  
Naayaki.  
 
1.     Our Dancer of Kutantaikkeezhkkottam is the four Vedas  
        And the six Angas wrought with words; He is the bright  
    Flame that is beyond the word and its meaning; He is  
        The Dweller at Kailas; His neck is dark with the sea’s venom  
    That He ate; He is the One whose mighty and lovely shoulders  
        Are rock-like; He is the Consort of the Daughter  
    Of the Mountain; He is the handsome One that wields  
        A murderous and three-leaved trident.                 743 
 
2.     He became a young ebullient forester who caused Arjuna  
        To exhibit his entire martial skill; He is the lovely One  
    Who, mounting a young and swift Bull, goes seeking alms  
        Beyond the skyey realm; He is our Dancer of Keezhkkottam  
    At Kuntantai rich in mansions whose streamers touch  
        The young and curved crescent, and in whose  
    Courtyards the southerly softly sprays  
        Honey-dew and whose uberous gardens are  
        Odoriferous with the scent of burgeoning spathes.         744 
 
3.     A body ash-bedaubed, a forehead with an eye, a crest  
        Of matted hair sporting the river Ganga that runs brimful,  
    A crescent and a serpent, shoulders auric and lovely; it is thus  
        He reveals His form to His servitors; His flag on a straight pole  
    Sports a Bull; He is our Lord whose ankleted feet are hailed  
        By The seven worlds; He is the Consort of the Daughter  
    Of the Mountain with whom He is concorporate; He is  
        Our Dancer of Kudantaikkeezhkkottam!                745 
 
4.     He destroyed the mighty sacrifice of Daksha; He wore  
        The moon preventing the waning of its digits; He is  
    Ruddy like the incarnadine sky, the coral blaze, the red  
        Flashing of lightning, the fire raging bright and the sun;  
    He is our Lord of Kutantaikkeezhkkottam where the smoke of fire  
        Fostered by the great and well-versed Brahmins, ascends  
    The sky and pours down, and where the sweet mango fruit  
        Fall and scatter causing their honey gush into all the fields.     746 
 
5.     He is the ankleted One who did away with the might of Yama;  
        The fire of His eye that He cast on Kaama devoured him;  
    Under the Banyan tree He taught Dharma to the Four; He is not  
        Man; neither is He Woman nor the sexless; What may   
    His hue be? Is it that of sapphire, serried diamonds,  
        Jasper, ruddy gold or great crystal? Who can tell?  
    He is Our Lord of Kutantaikkeezhkkottam-upon-Ponni  
        Whose goodly waters roll with lustrous gems galore!        747 
 
6.     With the crescent on His matted crest, the three flower-eyes  
        That are like unto the rising sun-- three in number,  
    The sound of the anklet on His foot, the shapely look of ruddy  
        Lips lit with the lovely smile of grace-abounding glow,  
    The majestic sharing of Her of tudi-like waist  
        And the manifested form of an auric and ruddy hill  
    Coruscating with exquisite effulgence, He this day,  
        Moved into my heart, thither to abide for ever;  
        He is our Dancer of Kutantaikkeezhkkottam!             748 
 
7.     He blazed into a glorious column of ruddy fire that was  
        Not to be eyed by him of the beauteous nimbus-hue,  
    And him, the author seated on the Lotus; bending His bow  
        He gutted the towns of the Asuras with fire; as Indweller,  
    He pervaded earth, water, fire, air, supernal ether,  
        Sun, moon and Sruti; He is the Father  
    Of Kumaran, the wielder of the sharp spear;  
        He is our Dancer of Kutantaikkeezhkkottam!            749 
 
8.     He is at Pukalloor girt with flowery groves; He is  
        Of Purampayam; Poonthurutthi poised in dharma  
    Is also His; He is of Pazhanam where bees whir and hum;  
        He is of Neitthaanam and Sotrutthurai where  
    Great dharma thrives; He gifted a blazing Disc  
        To Tirumaal; of yore, at Tiruvaanaikkaa, He conferred  
    The Chola-sovereignty on a Spider;  
        He is our Dancer of Kutantaikkeezhkkottam!             750 
 
9.     He wears a snake that rears its hood aloft; He is clad  
        In tiger-skin; He is the hoary and perfect One; He is  
    The holy One who wears a bright and white sacred thread;  
        He, the Saivite, is delighted to dance so deftly that  
    The roaring and shell-abounding sea rises up and hits  
        The vault of heaven; He blessed him with grace, then and there,  
    And with the konrai wreath of His matted crest, who slew  
        His Brahmin-father that sinned against His ankleted feet;  
    He is our Dancer of Kutantaikkeezhkkottam.                 751 
 
10.     Fated to be caught up in the sea of troubles I languished;  
        He called me ashore, assured me of the annulment  
    Of my embodied life and my passing into Sivaloka  
        By penetrating through all the heavenly words, thither  
    To get absorbed by the sextuple gunas, ever free from maya;  
        He is our Dancer of Kutantaikkeezhkkottam flanked by  
    The Mahamakam Tirta which receives into it the swift  
        Cauvery, the goodly Jumna, Ganga, Saraswati, Potraamarai  
    (Of Madurai), Lotus-tanks (of all places), Krishna  
        Of pellucid water and Kumari.                     752 
 
11.     He is the sweet nectar of Sivaloka in the clarified chintas  
        Of those who meditate on Him in single-pointed  
    Concentration; He stands as the perfect One concorporate  
        With Uma of lovely locks, adored by the celestial throngs;  
    He is the noble One whose hand holds a fawn; He crushed  
        The bewildered King of walled Lanka under the mountain,  
    Who later grew delighted to hear his perfect and sweet  
        Music; He is our Dancer of Kutantaikkeezhkkottam.        753 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
9. The Saivite: There are seven kinds of Saivites.  Sivaachaaryas who are entitled  
to touch the idol / icon of Siva and perform pooja, are known as Aadi-Saivas.   
St. Sundaramoorti Naayanaar belongs to this class.  Lord Siva is the God of  
Saivas.  He is hailed as Anaadi Saiva (the Saiva sans beginning). 
 
10. The Mahamakam Tirta: The tank known as Mahamahakkulam.  On the specified  
day, All the holy waters of Bharath, Assemble here.  Myriads and myriads of people  
gather here to bathe in the tank.  This bathing festival takes place once in twelve  
years.  The hoary nature of this festival is well brought out by our Saint in this verse.  
 
 
76. TIRUPPUTTHOOR

 
St. Tirugnaanasambandhar called on our Saint when the latter abode at Tiruppoonthurutthi.  In  
this place they adored Siva, and spent happy hours in the company of each other.  From the  
boy-saint our Saint heard of the glory of the Pandya country.  Taking leave of him, our Saint  
fared forth to that realm and arrived at Tirupputthoor, the first of the fourteen Pandya  
shrines.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are (1) Sritaleeswarar / Sritalinaathar /  
Tirutthalinaathar and Sivakami. 
 
1.     Only He who merits praise is hailed and adored, in love,  
        By the gods; His mount is the martial Bull; He is  
    All the lives of the seven worlds--His own manifestation;  
        He wears a fragrant wreath of konrai; He clipped  
    The head of him, the first creator well-versed in the four Vedas;  
        He is the holy One; Tirumaal is part of His body;  
    He is enshrined in the Tirutthali at Tirupputthoor girt  
        With fecund fields; even He is poised in my chinta.        754 
 
2.     He is concorporate with Her whose breasts are covered with a band;  
        He became the great Vedas; He became earth, sky,  
    Great and fierce fire, wind, water and the mountains  
        That support the earth; His throat is dark with the cruel  
    Venom that He ate; He is eight-shouldered; He is  
        Willingly enshrined at the Tirutthali  
    At Tirupputthoor in whose long streets chariots ply;  
        Even He is poised in my chinta.                 755 
 
3.     He is ever dear to Uma, the fulgurant and liana-waisted;  
        He wields the mighty mountain as His bow; as the bard  
    Of excellent verse, He entered the Sankam and secured  
        For Dharumi the purse of fine gold; He is enshrined  
    At the Tirutthali of Tirupputthoor rich in uberous gardens,  
        Where the woodland kaantal receives into its hands,  
    The gold of fragrant konrai beside which it stands, seeing  
        Which the chafer melodises; even He is poised in my chinta.    756 
 
4.     He abides, humbly hailed by him who is seated  
        On the petalled Flower, Maal and Indra; His ruddy  
    Matted hair is adorned with the petalled flower  
        Of konrai, vanni and bella donna; He is the great  
    Ruby of Maraikkaadu skirting the beach onto which  
        The flawless shells crawl and give birth to pearls;  
    He is enshrined at the Tirutthali at Tirupputthoor where  
        Healthy buffaloes move up the bank and get immersed  
        In the tank; even He is poised in my chinta!             757 
 
5.     He will cure the birth-breeding karma: He is  
        Of Yekampam is Kacchi of flowery and fragrant gardens;  
    He is the Dancer of cool Perumpatrappuliyoor  
        Which remedies all maladies and is renowned  
    The world over; He is the great friend of Alakai’s king  
        Whose long hand showers riches like the Karpaka;  
    He is the peerless tusker of Aaroor; He is enshrined  
        In the Tirutthali of Tirupputthoor girt with  
        Beautiful gardens; even He is poised in my chinta.        758 
 
6.     He dances in varying postures and it is witnessed by Uma  
        Whose shoulders are bamboo-like; in His hand,  
    A cruel snake dances; He receives alms in a skull;  
        His form is that of a huge hill; He is Sankara  
    Whose mount is an angry Bull held in leash; His waist is  
        Girdled with a serpent; He is enshrined in the Tirutthali  
    Of Tirupputthoor rich in fields where samepoo-s   
        Thrive; even He is poised in my chinta.             759 
 
7.     He wears on His spreading matted hair fragrant  
        Konrai flowers, bright crescent and vanni; He is  
    Adorned with an angry and speckled serpent and bones;  
        He is clad in the skin of a fighting tiger;  
    He became the subtle things hard to comprehend;  
        He has a thousand names; He is enshrined  
    In the Tirutthali at Tirupputthoor rich in  
        Beauteous and turreted mansions girt with  
        Dense gardens; even He is poised in my chinta.            760 
 
8.     He is the holy One who smote Yama for the sake  
        Of the Brahmin who took refuge in Him; the tusker  
    That came rushing to attack Him, quaked as He flayed it,  
        And this was witnessed by Her of white teeth  
    And white bangles; He is the merciful One who wore  
        On His crest the white crescent; He is the Lord of Aaroor  
    Rich in dense gardens of glorious sweetcanes  
        And huge punnais; He is enshrined in the Tirutthali  
    Of Tirupputthoor towards which the cool southerly wind wafts;  
        Even He is poised in my chinta.                    761 
 
9.     For the Devas and the others He indeed is the Prop;  
        He is the Ens-- high as well as low; He is the King  
    Who smote the sacrifice of Daksha; He quells  
        And does away with cruel wrath and causes  
    Increase of wisdom; such is His nature;  
        He is Pigngnaka of Kazhukkunram of hilly cascade;  
    He smote Kaama of supreme pulchritude; He is enshrined  
        In the Tirutthali of glorious Tiruputthoor;  
        Even He is poised in my chinta.                 762 
 
10.     He fashioned the Disc that cut the body of Jalandara  
        Who was proud of his puissance; He knocked off  
    The teeth of Surya that circles the earth and is much  
        Praised by all; He, the valiant, crushed the shoulders  
    Of the King of Devas; He wears a snake for His jewel  
        Of ruddy gold; with His roseate foot He crushed  
    The head of the King of Lanka girt with the billowy main;  
        He is enshrined in the Tirutthali of Tirupputthoor;  
        Even He is poised in my chinta.                 763 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Only He.... praise:  
Cf. “Praise belongs to God, the Lord of all Being.”  
- The Opening, The Koran, Tr. A.J. Arberry.  
 
3. Kaantal: Glory lily, Gloriosa superba.  
 
5. Alakai’s king: Kubera, the God of Wealth.  
 
6. Samepoo: (1) Indian Kales, Colocasia antiquorum.  
(2) A garden plant, Colocasia Indica.  There is yet another variety called colacasia  
esculenta.  
 
7. Punnai: Alexandrian laurel.  
 
 
77. TIRUVAAIMOOR

 
As directed by St. Tirugnaanasambandhar our Saint sang open the doors of the shrine at  
Tirumaraikkaadu.  It called for some effort on the part of our Saint to open the doors.   
When the boy-saint hymned, the doors closed effortlessly.  Our Saint was puzzled.  When  
he, in his matam, was brooding over this, sleep overcame him. In his sleep, Siva appeared  
and bade him follow Him to Vaaimoor.  Siva who led the way, would now appear and then  
disappear and again re-appear.  He played hide-and-seek with our Saint.  Eventually Siva  
pointed to a temple (at Vaaimoor) and disappeared.  Meanwhile the boy-saint too arrived at  
Tiruvaaimoor.  It was then our Saint sang a decad invoking the mercy of Siva to bless him  
with His darshan.  Eventually Siva revealed Himself to the boy-saint who in his turn pointed  
to our Saint the presence of Siva.  Our Saint had an ecstatic darshan of Siva and this event  
is celebrated in the following decad.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Vaaimoor  
Naathar and Paalin-nan-Mozhiyaall.  
 
1.     I beheld Him hailed by singing servitors; I beheld  
        The holy assembly of bhaktas; I beheld  
    The circling Bhootas play the muzhavam, sounded  
        During His dance; I beheld the fire in His hand;  
    I beheld Ganga, kaantal and serpent in His matted hair;  
        I beheld the feather of heron and the konrai;  
    I beheld a dry skull in His hand; thus, even thus,  
        I beheld the holy Lord of Vaaimoor.                764 
 
2.     I beheld in His (left) half Her of milk-sweet words;  
        I beheld Him served by the eighteen ganas;   
    I beheld His throat dark with the venom that He ate;  
        I beheld the eye in His forehead; I beheld His mount;  
    I beheld the young, bright-rayed crescent;  
        I beheld on His crest Karantai flowers;  
    I beheld His chapleted, matted crown; it is thus,  
        Even thus, I beheld the holy Lord of Vaaimoor.             765 
 
3.     I beheld His vibrant and ankleted feet  
        That danced for the flourishing of the earth;  
    I beheld His crown blazing in the firmament;  
        I beheld His acts that bespoke His many guises;  
    I also beheld the mazhu inseparable from Him;  
        I beheld the four Vedas and Angas being recited;  
    I beheld His habit glowing colourfully; it was thus,  
        Even thus, I beheld the holy Lord of Vaaimoor.            766 
 
4.     I beheld Him, lovingly hailed by true servitors  
        Who stood poised in exceedingly great bhakti;  
    I beheld Him decked with angry and fear-stricken snakes;  
        I beheld the blazing bowl of bones; I beheld the ash  
    That covered full His divine person; I also beheld  
        The striped bow in His hand which He, of yore, bent, and with  
    Which He smote the triple, far-off citadels of the sky;  
        Thus, even thus, I beheld the holy Lord of Vaaimoor.        767 
 
5.     I beheld the hide of the tusker that roams concealed  
        In the forest; I beheld the heroic anklet in His foot;  
    I beheld Him mantled in the hide of the tusker denuded  
        Of its flesh; I beheld the Conciousness that bestowed  
    The mind with grace to melt; I beheld him of the four Vedas  
        And tall Maal approach Him in deference;  
    I clearly beheld the fawn in His hand; it is thus,  
        Even thus, I beheld the holy Lord of Vaaimoor.             768 
 
6.     I beheld the anklets of His feet; I beheld the merciful  
        Dispensation to each according to his desert;  
    I beheld the snake immersed in the crown of His matted hair;  
        I beheld the glorious crescent hid there; I beheld  
    The signum of Bull in His flag; I beheld the bright  
        Kovanam and the keel; I beheld in His hand  
    The sharp three-leaved trident; it is thus, even thus,  
        I beheld the holy Lord of Vaaimoor.                 769 
 
7.     I beheld in His ears kuzhai and beauteous todu;  
        I beheld in His hands kokkarai and sacchari;  
    I beheld on the right side of His person the strands  
        Of sacred thread; I beheld the yaazh’s strumming  
    Of sevenfold music; I beheld His luxuriant matted hair;  
        I beheld Him poised in His greatness; I beheld  
    Thakkai and thaalam being resounded; I beheld  
        His beauteous throat dark like a rain cloud; it is  
    Thus, even thus, I beheld the holy Lord of Vaaimoor.             770 
 
8.     I beheld in His bright person things disagreeable;  
        I beheld the Devas hailing His praise in hymn and song;  
    I beheld Him rewarding them that love Him;  
        I beheld Him abiding as earth and water;  
    I beheld novel assemblages of marvel; I beheld  
        Her of soft mien and Vinaayaka; I beheld Him  
    As the medicament that cures all illnesses; it is thus,  
        Even thus, I beheld the holy Lord of Vaaimoor.            771 
 
9.     I also beheld the grace meted out to true servitors;  
        I beheld Him standing as a hunter; I beheld Him  
    Burn the citadels with a dart from His hand; I beheld  
        A bracelet and fire in His beautiful hand; I beheld Him  
    Roam about from town to town for alms; I beheld Him  
        The One who, of yore, smote the sacrifice of Daksha  
    And felt delighted, hailed by the world; it is thus,  
        Even thus, I beheld the holy Lord of Vaaimoor.             772 
 
10.     I beheld the Cause that stretched (limitlessly)  
        As flaming fire for the sake of the two bewildered;  
    I beheld His nature-- the joyous Genesis  
        Gravid with manifold fruition; I witnessed  
    The concordant union of all the musical sounds;  
        I beheld the glory that graced the King of Lanka,  
    Having first crushed all his ten heads; I beheld  
        In His right palm the fire; it is thus, even thus,  
        I beheld the holy Lord of Vaaimoor.                 773 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
2. The eighteen ganas: They are (1) Devas, (2) Asuras, (3) Munis, (4) Kinnaras,  
(5) Kimpurushas, (6) Garudas, (7) Yakshas, (8) Raakshasas, (9) Gandharvas,  
(10) Siddhas, (11) Chaaranas, (12) Vidyaadaras, (13) Naagas, (14) Bhootas,  
(15) Vetaalas, (16) Taaraganas, (17) Aakaasavaasis and (18) Residents of Bhoga Bhoomi. 
 
10. The two bewildered: Brahma and Vishnu.  
 
 
78. TIRUVAALANGKAADU

 
Our Saint adored Siva at Tiruotriyoor and Tiruppaasoor.  Then he came to this great shrine  
and sang the following decad.  In this shrine is situate the Maanikka Sabha.  The names of  
the Deity and His Consort are Vataaranyeswarar / Devar-Cinga-p-Perumaan / Aalangkaattu  
Appar and Vandaar Kuzhali. 
 
1.     In His oneness He became all the worlds;  
        He grew loftier and loftier during each aeon;  
    Poised in His abiding state He pervades everywhere;  
        He became water, air, fire, and space;  
    He kicked the killer Yama; He is the Lord  
        Of lovely Pazhaiyanoor; He is the sacred water  
    Everywhere sought by pilgrims for holy bath;  
        He is the opulent One abiding at Tiruvaalangkaadu.         774 
 
2.     He is concorporate with the Mountain’s Daughter;  
        He is the One adored by the celestials; He placed  
    On His ruddy matted crest the damsel-river; He is dear  
        To them who cling to Him as their refuge;  
    Many, oh many, are His guises; He has Pazhaiyanoor  
        For His shrine; with His mountain-bow, He smote  
    The three skyey citadels; He is the opulent one  
        Who is abiding at Tiruvaalangkaadu.                 775 
 
3.     He is delighted in His ablutions of Pancha-kavya;  
        Boundless indeed is His glory; He is the fragrance  
    That pervades the flower; He indeed is all  
        The holy things; He is a relisher of songs  
    Of perfect poesy; He has Pazhaiyanoor for His shrine;  
        He so abides that the gods foregather  
    At His feet and hail them; He is the opulent One  
        Who is abiding at Tiruvaalangkaadu.                 776 
 
4.     His crest is adorned with fragrant konrai blooms;  
        He recited the four Vedas and the six Angas;  
    He has a body that knows no change; He placed  
        The great crescent on His ruddy matted crest;  
    He eats from a white skull on which is perched  
        A kestral; He has Pazhaiyanoor for His shrine;  
    He abides in them of clarified chitta; He is  
        The opulent One abiding at Tiruvaalangkaadu.             777 
 
5.     He abides as night as well as day;  
        He is the junctions of the day;  
    He is Word as well as its import; He is  
        Stotra and Saastra; He is all the verse  
    And their manifold meaning; He has  
        Pazhaiyanoor for His shrine; He alone  
    Is valiant to point the way to be trodden; He is  
        The opulent One abiding at Tiruvaalangkaadu.             778 
 
6.     He is close to the adoring servitors; He is  
        The colourful One who wears pure ash; He grew  
    Lofty as an upright column of fire which was  
        Searched by the One on the cool Lotus flower and Maal;  
    He is pleased when hoary music is sung; He has  
        Pazhaiyanoor for His shrine; He is the One  
    With eight puissant shoulders; He is the opulent One  
        Who is abiding at Tiruvaalangkaadu.                779 
 
7.     He is the One whose throat is dark; He is the One  
        That is delighted to dance in the crematory;  
    He holds Aiyaaru, Aaroor, Aanaikkaa and Ambalam  
        As His shrines; He caused the hooded serpent  
    To dance; He has Pazhaiyanoor for His shrine;  
        He abides adored by Lakshmi; He is the opulent One  
        Who is abiding at Tiruvaalangkaadu.                 780 
 
8.     He became the entire sky and the entire earth;  
        The lofty ones hail His (divine) gunas; with the fire  
    Of His eye, He burnt Kaama; He is beyond ages  
        And aeons; He loves to listen to songs married to pann;  
    He has for His shrine Pazhaiyanoor;  
        His hand holds a mighty mazhu; He is  
        The opulent One abiding at Tiruvaalangkaadu.             781 
 
9.     He quaffed the venom of the dark ocean; He owns  
        Mount Kailas (as His seat); He loves to dwell  
    In the town of Yekampam; He abides willingly  
        At Otriyoor; He is the One praised by men on earth;  
    He has Pazhaiyanoor for His shrine; He will cure  
        The incurable disease-- the fierce Karma; He is  
        The opulent One abiding at Tiruvaalangkaadu.             782 
 
10.     He has on His crest the crepuscular crescent;  
        He pressed His toe and crushed the King  
    Of Lanka girt with the blue ocean, who did not  
        Venerate the great boon-showering Mount Kailas; 
    He is the One whose body is milk-white; He is the One  
        Who is hailed by the righteous; He is the opulent One  
        Who is abiding at Tiruvaalangkaadu.                 783 
 
 
79. TIRUTTHALAIYAALANGKAADU

 
On his way to Tirumaraikkaadu, our Saint adored Siva at Tirutthalaiyaalangkaadu and hailed  
the Lord in the following decad.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Nataneswarar /  
Aadavalla Naathar and Uma Devi.  
 
It is said that this place is referred to as Talaiyaalangkaanam in Sankam literature.  
 
1.     He abides as the righteous way for the servitors;  
        He will forfend our fall into the engulfing inferno;  
    He abides as the Beyond of the beyond of the universe;  
        He is ever pleased with the Aadirai-day; He sports  
    The fire in His forehead; His One form is the form  
        Triune; He is the Primal Ens that abides  
    As Linga in Thalaiyaalangkaadu; alas, alas,  
        I wasted many many days not seeking Him.             784 
 
2.     His waist is girt with a string of shell-beads; He is God;  
        He burnt in a trice the citadels of the Asuras;  
    He is the Dancer whose crown is decked with a heron’s feather;  
        His ear is adorned with kundala; He, the holy One,  
    Enters the hearts of those who melt, and parts not thence;  
        He is the righteous One; He is of Thalaiyaalangkaadu  
    Whose glorious pleasures are legion; alas, alas,  
        I wasted many many days not seeking Him.            785 
 
3.     He is a tapaswi true; He is the Vedas; He is the Seed of the Vedas;  
        He is the Vikirtan who wears the bright and great crescent;  
    He retrieved me-- the poor, fatigued one that roamed about  
        Witlessly--, from falling into the sea of troubles;  
    And made me pursue the path unknown to pseudo-tapaswis;  
        He is the Tattvan who conceals Ganga and is concorporate  
    With Uma; He is of Thalaiyaalangkaadu; alas, alas,  
        I wasted many many days not seeking Him.             786 
 
4.     He became Siva, the Four-faced, Tirumaal, the ruddy Soorya,  
        Fire, water, earth and all the worlds, gold, ruby,  
    Pearl, the One assuming all forms at will, all the places,  
        The Rider of the Bull, the Wanderer at will  
    And the Tapaswi abiding at Talaiyaalangkaadu;  
        Alas, alas, I wasted many many days not seeking Him.         787 
 
5.     He concealed the tumultuous river Ganga;  
        He is Yekampan of Kacchi dight with lovely  
    And flowery groves; He holds in His beautiful palm  
        A fawn; He is of Aiyaaru and Aaroor;  
    He is ever-merciful to flawless servitors;  
        He is of Paritiniyamam; He is of Paasoor; He is  
    Sankaran; He abides at Thalaiyaalangkaadu;  
        Alas, alas, I wasted many many days not seeking Him.        788 
 
6.     He girdles His waist with a venomous snake;  
        Even for the Devas He is immeasurable, inconceivable;  
    He blesses them with sempiternal life who have sought Him;  
        He is beauteous gold; He smote the great and swaying tusker;  
    He is concorporate with the Woman; He is an ocean of mercy  
        Who wears on His crest the flowing river, the bright adder  
    And the crescent; He is of Thalaiyaalangkaadu; alas, alas,  
        I wasted many many days not seeking Him.             789 
 
7.     Mounted on His Bull, He receives alms at every door;  
        He is of Veerattam; He is daubed with the white ash;  
    He dances in the crematory which stinks with flesh;  
        He is the past, the present and the to-come; He wears  
    The flayed skin as His vestment and mantle;  
        He is concorporate with Uma; His hair is matted,  
    He is of Thalaiyaalangkaadu; alas, alas,  
        I wasted many many days not seeking Him.             790 
 
8.     He is the lump of sugar, the fruit, the honey  
        The Nadutari of Kanraappoor and the wearer  
    Of kaarai--a jewel; He wields a three-leaved trident of steel;  
        He is my Lord; He is of Aanaikkaa in the south;  
    He wears konrai flowers buzzed by bees; He is  
        The pure One; He is the Ens who as Mother confers  
    All things of weal; He is of Thalaiyaalangkaadu;  
        Alas, alas, I wasted many many days not seeking Him.         791 
 
9.     He is the fruit of the musical strings whose measure  
        Was fixed, as of yore; He is milk and its taste; He is  
    The immense sky; He is fire and wind; He is easy of access  
        To those who are delighted at a mere sight of Him;  
    He is the Cause; He is Naaraayana; He is the one on the Lotus;  
        He is the God throned in my heart, the eight-petalled lotus;  
    He is Hara of the shape of Linga who fosters the hide  
        Of the tusker; He is of Thalaiyaalangkaadu;  
        Alas, alas, I wasted many many days not seeking Him.        792 
 
10.     He is the Tattvan that with His divine toe pressed  
        The King of Raakshasas who with His twenty hands  
    So thoughtlessly rushed that his pearl-inlaid crowns swayed  
        And his shoulder-bracelets burst; when He  
    Crushed him that uprooted Mount Kailas, he sang  
        With his ten mouths hearing which He was pleased;  
    In mercy, He of Taalaiyaalangkaadu named him Raavana;  
        Alas, alas, I wasted many many days not seeking Him.         793 
 
 
80. TIRUMAALPERU

 
After adoring Siva at Kacchittiru Metrali, our Saint came to this place and hailed Siva in  
the following decad.   The names of the Deity and His Consort are Manikandeswarar / Dayaa- 
nidiswarar / Pavalamalaiyaar / Vaattam Tavirtthaar / Maalvanangku Easar and Anjanaakshi /  
Karunaambikai.  
 
1.     He is earth; He is the fruit of earth; He is creation; He is  
        Merciful to the many lives; He is insatiable nectar  
    To the servitors; He became all the worlds; He is the King  
        Of Devas; His throat is dark; He is the Sovereign  
    Of Kailas; He abides in the manam of those that think  
        On Him; He is the glorious One who smote Yama;  
    He is the opulent One; I, even I, attained Him who is  
        The ruddy coral hill of Tirumaalperu.                794 
 
2.     He is water that causes germination; He is seed; He is sky  
        And earth; He is the mine of ruddy gold; He is flame;  
    He is the lamp uninduced; He is immovable sky; He is  
        The One of matted hair where abide the skyey  
    And bright-rayed moon, serpent and Ganga of roaring waters;  
        He flourishes unageing; I, even I, attained Him who is  
        The ruddy coral hill of Tirumaalperu.                 795 
 
3.     He is the Lord of the Mountain’s Daughter; He is the pearl  
        Of the great waters; He is emerald; He is ruby great;  
    His hand holds the wealth of a fawn; He is Kampan; He is  
        The red ray pleasing to the eye; He is an auric hill;  
    His body is bedaubed with priceless white ash; He thinks  
        The very thoughts of true servitors (to implement them);  
    He holds a bow in His hand; I, even, I, attained Him  
        Who is the ruddy coral hill of Tirumaalperu.            796 
 
4.     He is the kin; He is the life in the body; He is  
        The One of AUM; He is concorporate with Uma;  
    He is Pigngnaka; He is birthless; all great  
        And rare things are already comprised in His comprehension;  
    He is Kacchi Yekampan-- the object of learning; He smote Yama;  
        He is the flourishing light; I, even I, attained Him  
    Who is the ruddy coral hill of Tirumaalperu.                797 
 
5.     He became the ash and also the fire that spat out the ash;  
        He is Thought who is concorporate with the Daughter  
    Of the Mountain who sweetens thought; He is Death;  
        He is evil as well as good; He forgives  
    The anaachaaram of the servitors that are ever  
        Blissfully tearful, and He, the Lord, is  
    Never angry with them; I, even I, attained Him  
        Who is the ruddy coral hill of Tirumaalperu.             798 
 
6.     He is the harmonious import of the Vedas;  
        He is of Maraikkaadu; He knows no forgetting;  
    His matted hair sports the crescent; He is the bright  
        And colourful flame; He is of the empyrean;  
    He is a tapaswi sweet to talk about; He is the Seed  
        Of the cosmos; He is dark-throated; He is (of) Kaalatthi;  
    He abides in the manams that contemplate Him;  
        He is learning; He wields martial weapons; I, even I,  
        Attained Him, the ruddy coral hill of Tirumaalperu.         799 
 
7.     He is Birth; He is the glorious One who is birthless;  
        He is the great One; He is the rare One; He is both  
    Woman and Man; He is Ninmalan; He thinks not of them  
        That think not on Him; He thinks of those who think on Him;  
    He is dharma; He is the dispenser of dharma;  
        He is the Lord, the lofty One; He is the inaccessible One  
    Hailed by Devas; He is the flourishing light; I, even I,  
        Attainted Him, the ruddy coral hill of Tirumaalperu.         800 
 
8.     He is the thriving cloud of the sky and the moon; He abides  
        In the manams of adorers; He is shapely gold; He is  
    The firm aid abiding in the body; He is deathless; He is  
        The lofty One of Otriyoor; He is the Oozhi of oozhi; He is  
    The dark, sylvan tusker; He is (of) Kaalatthi; He is  
        The thought of the meditators; He is the Genesis;  
    He is the taste that informs honey; I, even I, attained  
        Him, the ruddy coral hill of Tirumaalperu.            801 
 
9.     He is the unageing Primal Ens; He is the sprout; He is  
        The bud; He is the Moorti in the full-grown bloom;  
    He, the Prop of many lives, is the merciful One that is  
        Never angry with them; He is of the earth and the empyrean;  
    He so stared at him-- the wielder of the sugarcane-bow--,  
        That he was burnt and reduced to cinders;  
    He smote the three citadels; I, even I, attained Him,  
        The ruddy coral hill of Tirumaalperu.                 802 
 
10.     He explicated the four Vedas and the six Angas; by pressing  
        His toe, He crushed Raavana that uprooted the mountain;  
    He is Nirmalan; He is the Lord-God; He wore on His ruddy  
        Matted crest in which the moon crawls, Ganga flowing  
    Full with water; He is Sankaran; He is Sambu; He so  
        Laughed that the triple hostile towns were gutted  
    With fire; He is the flourishing light; I, even I,  
        Attained Him, the ruddy coral hill of Tirumaalperu.         803 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
5. Thought: Sankalpa.  
Anaachaaram: Flaws occurring in observances.  Not great sins but peccadilloes.  
 
7. Ninmalan: One who is ever free from mala.  
 
8. The Oozhi of oozhi: Oozhi means “Grand / Final Dissolution.”  The Lord is the Author  
of the Grand Dissolution.  
 
 
81. TIRUKKODIKAA

 
Our Saint adored Siva at Turutthi, Vellvikudi, Yetirkollpaadi and other places, and proceeded  
to Tiruvaavaduthurai.  En route he arrived at Tirukkodikaa and sang the following decad.  The  
names of the Deity and His Consort are Koteeswarar / Kodikaa Naathar and Tiripurasundari  
/ Vadivaambikai.  
 
1.     He is a young Bull who has an eye in His forehead;  
        He is of Gandamaathanam girt with hill ranges; He is  
    The remedy that cures bewilderment causing birth on earth;  
        He presides over walled Kacchi Yekampam; He is the light  
    Of lamp pervading the supernal world; He is Vikirtan  
        Who parts not from Miyacchoor; He is the Dancer  
    Whose throat is dark like the beautiful raincloud;  
        He is the handsome One abiding at the  
                    presiding over Kodikaa.         804 
 
2.     He is the Consort of Her over whose tresses bees buzz;  
        He is the Bridegroom of Maraikkaadu; He will cure  
    The old karma accumulated of yore; He is the supreme One  
        That will reveal the way to the supreme beatitude;  
    He smote the hostile towns as in a gambol; He is  
        Tirumoolattaanan of Tiruvaaroor; He abides  
    In the manams of servitors that hail Him; He is  
        The handsome One abiding at and presiding over Kodikaa.        805 
 
3.     His matted hair sports the billowy river Ganga;  
        He is insatiable nectar to His servitors; He is  
    Concorporate with the Mountain’s Daughter; He abides  
        As the crest-jewel of the celestials; He wields a leafy trident;  
    He is our Father who is the seven worlds;  
        He is mantled in the hide of the murderous tusker;  
    He indeed is the handsome One that abides at  
        And presides over Kodikaa.                     806 
 
4.     He has none as His peer; He abides joyously  
        At Mayilaaduthurai; He, the holy One, wears  
    The snake of the ant-hill; He is Poyyili of Poonthurutthi;  
        He is the One who conceals not Himself to those  
    That have given up attachment; He is the Lord  
        That parts not from Aiyaaru; He is the Dancer  
    Abiding at Kutraalam; He indeed is the handsome One  
        Abiding at, and presiding over Kodikaa.             807 
 
5.     He is concorporate with Her whose lovely breasts are covered  
        By a band; He joyously abides at Mallperu; He rides  
    A huge, martial Bull; He is the holy One that from Pukaloor  
        Parts not; He has a lofty crown of matted hair which  
    Sports a river; He dislodges the weighty karma of those  
        That think on Him; He wields the weapon, the sharp 
    Three-leaved trident; He indeed is the handsome One  
        Abiding at, and presiding over Kodikaa.             808 
 
6.     His matted hair is decked with fragrant konrai flowers;  
        He blessed him with heaven who fixed his eye on His;  
    He will annul the repetitive embodiments on earth;  
        He will be attached to those that have given up attachment;  
    He roams about with resounding anklets; He is the God hailed  
        And adored by the celestial throngs; He is the Dancer of Tillai  
    Where waft streamers; He indeed is the handsome One  
        Abiding at, and presiding over Kodikaa.             809 
 
7.     He sports a fawn in one hand; He fittingly abides  
        At Otriyoor; He is enshrined at Kazhukkunram  
    Where bamboos sway; He is the Karpaka of Kaalatthi;  
        He is the eight-shouldered who is adorned with  
    The sacred thread; He is our God who parts not from my bosom;  
        He, the Dancer, dances and Hid kuzhai sways;  
    He is indeed the handsome One who is abiding at Kodikaa  
        Over which He is pleased to preside.                 810 
 
8.     He is cinctured with a hooded, dancing serpent;  
        He abides at Paraaitthurai and Paasoor;  
    He roams about the seven worlds dancing;  
        He is the import of the four Vedas; He is the Lord; He is  
    Nilakantan who flayed the ichorous tusker; He abides  
        At Kailas; He is concorporate with him who enacts  
    The Kudak-kootthu; He indeed is the handsome One  
        Abiding at, and presiding over Kodikaa.             811 
 
 
82. TIRUCCHAAIKKAADU

 
After taking leave of the boy-saint Sambandhar, our Saint visited Nanipalli and other  
shrines.  Tirucchaaikaadu is one of the places which was included in our Saint’s holy  
itinerary.  The following decad was sung here by our Naayanaar.  The names of the Deity  
and His Consort are Saayaavaneswarar / Ratna-Saayaavaneswarar and Kuyilinum-nan  
Mozhi-Ammai / Goshaambaal.  
 
1.     He placed the skyey moon and the serpent  
        On His matted crest to flourish in concord;  
    He is the Deva that dances at Tillai where bees  
        Joyously sip honey; and hum; He is the bright flame  
    Of Gnosis; He became good and evil; He is sweet like honey  
        To His servitors; He indeed is the opulent One  
        Abiding in delight at Tirucchaaikkaadu.             812 
 
2.     Hailed by the celestials, He ate the venom; He abides  
        At extensive Turutthi and Vellvikkudi; He is  
    The great One enshrined at Annaamalai; He presides  
        Over Atiaraiyamangkai; He is the supernal One  
    Of Paraaitthurai where joyous and melodious chafers  
        Whir and hum; He is the opulent One that abides  
    Sweetly at Tirucchaaikkaadu of Pukar whose lucid  
        Waters roll with pearls serene.                 813 
 
3.     He flayed the tusker at which the woodland trembled;  
        He abides at Kaavirippoompattinam; He gutted with fire  
    The three citadels even as the sky quaked; His seat is  
        Mount Kailas in the north; He has for alms-bowl,  
    A skull torn from the fleshy body; He is the peerless One  
        Abiding at Thonipuram; He is the opulent One  
    Sweetly abiding at Tirucchaaikkaadu in whose  
                    tanks of lucid waters  
        Fishes leap at flowers from which honey spills.         814 
 
4.     His hand holds a skull to which flesh is still attached;  
        He has witnessed many many aeons; His hand  
    Sports a fawn; He joyously abides at Kodikkaarai  
        Of Maraikkaadu; He loves to dance in the crematory;  
    He burnt Kaama with the fire of His eye; He is  
        The opulent One sweetly abiding at Tirucchaaikkaadu  
        Where flourish melliferous groves galore.             815 
 
5.     He wears wreaths of konrais that bloom in the rainy season;  
        By a single kick He smote Yama; He is hailed  
    By the whole world; He abides at Srisailam during  
        Many many aeons; He roams about seeking alms in towns;      
    He parts not from Otthoor at any time;  
        He is delighted to hear glorious hymns; He is  
    The opulent One sweetly abiding at Tirucchaaikkaadu.             816 
 
6.     He Himself manifested as Maal who tore the mouth  
        Of the steed and as the one on red Lotus; He is the Primal Ens  
    Whose body never ages; He owns the hoary town  
        Of Muthukunram; with His resounding and ankleted foot  
    He smote Yama who came to snatch the life of him,  
        The chief of munis; He is inaccessible even to the greatest  
    Among the Devas; He is the opulent One that abides  
        Sweetly at Tirucchaaikkaadu.                    817 
 
7.     With the vast space He became the five; He abides  
        At Kaaronam for ever; He is the Lord  
    Of Bhootha-hosts of thundering lips; He presides  
        Over Yekampam; such is His nature that He is  
    Beyond compare; Paandikkodumudi too is His town;  
        He will cure the painful maladies of His servitors;  
    He is the opulent One sweetly abiding at Tirucchaaikkaadu.         818 
 
8.     He is decked with a priceless chain on His chest; He is  
        The Vikirtan whose body is bedaubed with the white ash;  
    He is the Consort of the Mountain’s Daughter; He abides  
        In joy at Maalperu; He smote the three citadels  
    Of the invincible ones; He dwells at Sotrutthurai  
        And Turutthi; He has for His bow-string  
    A serpent; He is the opulent One who is sweetly  
        Abiding at Tirucchaaikkaadu.                     819 
 
9.     He will snap the troubles of His servitors; He will confer  
        On them that have attained Him, the rulership  
    Of the world of immortals; He abides at Nallam  
        And Nalloor; He never parts from Nallaaru; He is  
    Concorporate with Her whose teeth are mullai buds; 
        He was before all things were; He is the Deva  
    That dances at Tillai; He is the opulent One abiding  
        Sweetly at Tirucchaaikkaadu.                     820 
 
10.     He is the Nimalan who so pressed His toe that all  
        The twenty huge shoulders and the ten auric crowns  
    Of tenacious Raavana who zestfully lifted up the auric  
        Mountain and caused Uma to get scared,  
    Were borne down to the ground; He wears on His matted crest  
        A slice of the moon; He abides as One who is  
    Androgynous; He is sweet to the servitors of blessed Gnosis;  
        He, the opulent One, sweetly abides at Tirucchaaikkaadu.     821 
 
 
83. TIRUPPAASOOR

 
Our Saint arrived at this shrine from Otriyoor.  It was here the following decad was sung. 
The names of the Deity and His Consort are Paasoor Naathar / Pasupati Easwaran and Pasupati  
Naayaki / Mohanaambaal / Panaimulai Naacchiyaar.  
 
1.     He is sky, earth, space and also numbers and letters  
        So coveted by those of the sea-girt earth; He is  
    The nature (of all things); He is the eye, the pupil  
        Of the eye and the sight hailed and adored  
    By the seven worlds: He is the pann and the sweet  
        Nectar thereof hailed by the loving servitors;  
    He is the opulent light of Paasoor beholding which  
        I, the servitor, have gained salvation.                822 
 
2.     He became the four Vedas and the six Angas;  
        He became the Seed of all things that sprout;  
    He became the drizzle and the downpour; He became  
        The whole earth and the easterly; He is half-woman  
    Who is, in love, hailed by the heavenly ones and who  
        Scatter at His feet fragrant blooms;  
    He is the supernal light of Paasoor beholding which  
        I, the servitor, have gained salvation.                823 
 
3.     He became the seven huge mountains; He became the wind;  
        The fire, the cool sky and the vault of the cool sky;  
    He became the circling sea and the earth which it engirds;  
        He became the sun that helps seeing; He is the way; He is  
    The comely One, who holding the fire in His hand, dances  
        To the accompaniment of kudamuzhaa and chari; He causes  
    The hooded snake to dance; He is the supernal light of Paasoor  
        Witnessing which, I, the servitor, have gained salvation.    824 
 
4.     On His ruddy matted crest, He sports the river,  
        The snake, the konrai, and the full moon; He recites  
    The glorious Vedas in the just way; He ate the venom churned  
        Out of the deep sea that the worlds might hrive, and became  
    Dark-throated; He has an eye in His forehead; He is  
        Of Kacchi; Otriyoor-upon-the sea is dear to Him;  
    He is the One hailed by the heavenly ones and the earth-born;  
        He is the supernal light of Paasoor witnessing which  
    I, the servitor, have gained salvation.                    825 
 
5.     Holding a bow to which He fixed a fatal dart,  
        He, as a hunter, went after a tusked boar  
    That Arjuna might witness the marvel; Uma too assumed  
        A fitting guise; thus, even thus, He enacted the cruel fight;  
    He danced the great dance which Kaali witnessed;  
        He sang the rare Vedas and the six Angas meaningfully;  
    He is the supernal light of Paasoor, beholding which,  
        I, the servitor, have gained deliverance.            826 
 
6.     Endowed with Gnosis, the Spider with its salival thread  
        Wove a fresh canopy which came to be covered with  
    Dry leaves; for this service He blessed it with rulership;  
        He also made it a belonger of Sivagana; He witnessed  
    The flawless love of the white tusker of mighty skill  
        And blessed it with moksha; He is the sweet nectar  
    Of bhaktas; He is the supernal light of Paasoor  
        Beholding which, I, the servitor, have gained salvation.    827 
 
7.     None else is His peer; He is His own equal; He never parts  
        From Idaimarutu and Yekampam; He is one that is  
    Inaccessible; He is the Primal God; He grants all weal,  
        Verily, nectar-like, to His servitors; He is the Tattvan  
    Whose ruddy body is bedaubed with the ash that covers  
        The fire; He is concorporate with Her of swelling breasts  
    That are coated with the paste of sandalwood and eaglewood;  
        He is the supernal light of Paasoor witnessing which  
        I, the servitor, have gained deliverance.            828 
 
8.     When the celestials churned the sea, aalaalam  
        Rose up and caused ubiquitous quaking; when He  
    Saw it burn the sea-girt earth in all the eight directions,  
        He ate it and darkened His throat before eyes could wink;  
    His guise is that of the Paandarangkam’s Dancer whom  
        Servitors adore scattering flowers buzzed by bees;  
    He is the One hailed by Devas and Asuras;  
        He is the supernal light of Paasoor witnessing which  
        I, the servitor, have gained deliverance.            829 
 
9.     Such is He that He canst not be eyed by Tirumaal  
        Who devoured the earth, and the Four-faced; 
    He smote Antakaasura with the trident of His hand;  
        He kicked to death Death who kills the many many beings  
    Of the hoary world; He accepted the Brahmin who loved Him;  
        His hue is incarnadine like the ruddy sky;  
    He wears the milk-white ash; He is the supernal light of Paasoor  
        Witnessing which, I, the servitor, have gained salvation.    830 
 
10.     When the King of the lofty crown and mighty hands rushed  
        And uprooted Mount Kailas which belongs to Him who wears  
    The ash as though it were sandalwood powder, and when the King  
        Of the demons thus scared Uma of soft mien, He pressed  
    His foot and crushed His upborne and mighty shoulders  
        And ten heads; then He listened to his music and relented;  
    He is the One, whose matted crest is adorned with a snake;  
        He is the supernal light of Paasoor beholding which  
        I, the servitor, have gained salvation.                831 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
3. Kudamuzha: The five-headed drum.  
Chari: Sacchar. 
 
4. The full moon: See notes for verse 623.  
 
8. Andavarkaall: Andarkall: The word and Andam meaning ovum refers to the celestial world.  
Devas and Asuras share the celestial world.  The milky main was churned both by Devas and  
Asuras.  
 
9. The Brahmin: Maarkandeyar.  
 
 
84. TIRUCCHENGKAATTANGKUDI

 
Our Saint abode at Pukaloor and adored the shrines of Siva in and around Pukaloor.  It was  
during this period, he visited Tirucchengkaattangkudi and hailed the Lord with the following  
decad.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Uttiraapatiswarar / Aatthivana Naathar /  
Mantrapuriswarar / Brahmapuriswarar / Bhaaskarapuriswarar and Choolikaambaal / Kuzhal Ammai. 
 
1.     He is the noble and lofty One; He is the ruby hard to come by;  
        He is the beauteous lamp that irradiates the manams  
    Of those that bestir themselves thinking on Him; He is  
        Enshrined in (every) flower; He is the Lord that enacts  
    The great dance with rare skill throwing up His eight arms;  
        He is a beautiful hill, golden and radiant; He, of yore,  
    Explicated the true import of the Vedas to the Four seated  
        Under the Banyan tree; Him, I beheld at Chengkaattangkudi.      832 
 
2.     He could not be killed save by mighty, clawing nails;  
        Such was the victorious puissance of Hiranya;  
    Neither beauteous Tirumaal nor Brahma of golden hue  
        Could behold Him--the rare Column of fire--,  
    In their quest. He who caused Manmata to crumble  
        Into powdery ash, became, to the joy of Rati,  
    The Nectar that revived him; He is the opulent One  
        Whose strong shoulders are ruddy gold.  
    He abides at the of munificent Mount Kailas;  
        It is Him, I beheld at Chengkaattangkudi.            833 
 
3.     He is the honey that issues from the manams of those  
        That melt; He is the crest-jewel of the gemmy crowns  
    Of the celestials; He indeed is the knowledge of those that are  
        Poised in Truth, and who thereby gain increasing wisdom;  
    He is the One who taught the import of the Vedas  
        To The Brahmins; He is the Primal Ens unto Ayan seated  
    On the fragrant Flower that burgeons in beauty, and Maal;  
        He is the Help unto the true tapaswis; He is the Consort of Uma  
        Of lovely tresses; it is Him I beheld at Chengkattangkudi.    834 
 
4.     His matted hair is adorned with fragrant konrai flowers;  
        Like lustre of gold married to jasper’s radiance  
    He is concorporate with the lovely and flowery Damsel; He is  
        The goodly Mother unto the moving and the stationary; He is  
    The Grace that did away with my former bondage, made me  
        His servitor, caused me to weave garlands of Tamil verse  
    And set at nought the murk of my chinta; it is Him  
        That I beheld at Chengkattangkudi.                835 
 
5.     He is the Lord whose throat contains the poison; with His  
        One eye He so stared in fierce wrath at him who wields  
    The cool flowery darts, that he perished; He is of vast  
        Gedila Veerattam; He is the noble One abiding at walled  
    Aaroor of turreted mansions girt with long and cloud-capped  
        Gardens; He is the Wielder of the trident  
    That smokes fierce and ruddy wrath; it is Him  
        That I beheld at Chengkattangkudi.                836 
 
6.     He concealed a virgin in a strand of His matted hair;  
        He loves to abide at the Veerattam of Kadavoor;  
    He is the holy One of Aiyaaru-upon-the Ponni; He presides  
        Over Poonthurutthi and Neitthaanam; He is  
    The Master that explicates the fourfold Vedas; His roseate  
        Feet are borne on the crowns of the Devas who, in love  
    Hail and adore Him as the supreme Lord; It is Him  
        I beheld at Chengkaattangkudi.                    837 
 
7.     He, the Lord, abides in every direction; He is  
        Of Yekampam; He is the honey that sweetly percolates  
    In my manam; He retrieved me from getting immersed  
        And sunk in the falsity of the Samanas who enshrine  
    A pseudo-deity and who pluck out their hair;  
        He drew me away from them, annulled my sins,  
    Showed me the path of bhakti and rendered nugatory  
        The very dread of hoary Karma and all that it breeds;  
        It is Him that I beheld at Chengkaattangkudi.            838 
 
8.     He is the Lord-God who approaches not the manams  
        Of the unlearned; He is the dear One realized by the learned;  
    He, of yore, sped a battling dart that pulled down  
        The three towns of the pursuers of the evil way;  
    To do away with the illnesses of the ephemeral body,  
        He blessed me with tapas, fruitful and complete,  
    And caused me tread the godly way with deviation none;  
        It is Him that I beheld at Chengkaattangkudi.             839 
 
9.     He is the great and rare Being; He rides a red-eyed Bull  
        And His neck dark with the poison of Aalaalam  
    From the billowy sea, dazzles like a bright-rayed sapphire;  
        He is the deathless One who confers the whole world on His  
    Servitors that perform manifold and befitting services;  
        He is concorporate with a Woman; it is Him  
        That I beheld at Chengkaattangkudi.                840 
 
10.     His mount is a huge Bull which bellows a war-cry;  
        He abides at Purampayam and Pukaloor; He keeps  
    Ever on His ruddy matted crest a roaring river  
        And a white-rayed crescent; He is Nimalan; with His  
    Gloriously resounding ankleted foot He so pressed  
        That the effulgent crowns of the Raakshasa of Victorious sword  
    And the clamorous car of Pushpaka, were crushed; He is  
        The opulent One; it is Him I beheld at Chengkaattangkudi.    841 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
3. Lord Siva is blissful experience to His servitors, the Lord-God to the celestials, the  
Wisdom to the seekers of truth, the Guru unto the holy Brahmins, the Primal Ens to Brahma  
and Vishnu, the unfailing help to the true tapaswis and the Consort for Uma. 
 
 
85. TIRUMUNDEECCHARAM

 
Having adored Lord Siva in his divine shrines at Tiruvennainalloor and the like, our  
Naayanaar arrived at Tirumundeeccharam where he celebrated Siva in the following decad. 
The names of the Deity and His Consort are Sivalokanaathar / Mundeeswarar / Mundeesar  
and Soundaryanaayaki / Selva Naayaki / Selvaambikai. 
 
1.     He cinctured the fiery snake as His waist-cord; He is  
        Dear to His servitors; He mantled Himself in the hide  
    Of the tusker; He received the flood on His matted strands of hair;  
        He dances in the crematory; freeing the seven worlds  
    From troubles, He fosters them; He holds in His throat the venom  
        Of the roaring sea; He is Sivalokan of sacred Mundeeccharam;  
        Even He is poised in my chinta.                 842 
 
2.     He is the Chief; He smote one of the heads of him whose  
        Seat is the Lotus; He is the peerless One in whose crest  
    The flood spreads and flows; He is concorporate with Uma;  
        He is the hoary One whose single form holds the triune form;  
    He is far above the celestials; He is the sacred One who, in love,  
        Abides in the bosoms of His servitors; He is Sivalokan  
        Of sacred Mundeeccharam; even He is poised in my chinta.     843 
 
3.     He is the supremely desirable One; He rides a white Bull;  
        He is the Lord; He, the singer of songs, is the sweet One;  
    His three eyes wink not; He is dear to His servitors whose manams  
        Melt in love; He dances in the blazing fire;  
    He is the ruddy Gold that can be comprehended  
        By none; He is Sivalokan of sacred Mundeeccharam;  
        Even He is poised in my chinta;                    844 
 
4.     He is the Three; He is the Primal Ens unto the Three;  
        He is the Before, the after and the End; He is the Fosterer;  
    He is the peerless Eye of the world; He wears on His  
        Person skeletons; He is of Mount Kailas; He is  
    The Conferrer of weal; He bathes in the Pancha-kavya;  
        He is the Deva-- the spiraling flame--, unbeknown  
    To Ayan and Maal; He is Sivalokan of sacred Mundeeccharam;  
        Even He is poised in my chinta.                    845 
 
5.     He is a forester; as a forester He did fight; He is valiant  
        To dance in fire; He holds a fawn in His hand;  
    He became the four Vedas; He rides a mighty Bull; He is  
        The body of the embodied; He is the life of the world;  
    He is the Word; He is the import of the Word; He is the honey  
        Unto the God-conscious; He is Sivalokan of sacred  
        Mundeeccharam; even He is poised in my chinta.             846 
 
6.     He is the Indweller; He is all the kin; He is the deathless One  
        Who pervades everywhere; He girds His clothing  
    With the girdle of a serpent; He is adorned with serpents;  
        He dances in the fire of the crematory; He is  
    A great tapaswi; for the Brahmachari who sought  
        Refuge in His feet, He kicked Death to death  
    With His roseate foot; He is Sivalokan of sacred  
        Mundeeccharam; even He is poised in my chinta.            847 
 
7.     He so kicked that (the accessories of) the ignorant  
        Daksha’s sacrifice rolled away; He chased  
    And knocked out all the teeth of Surya; He is the Chief  
        That clipped Daksha’s head; He smote the mighty  
    And magnificent celestials who disregarded Uma--  
        The Mountain’s Daughter--, and ate the havis  
    Of the sacrifice and their total nescience; He is  
        Sivalokan of Tirumundeeccharam;  
        Even He is poised in my chinta.                    848 
 
8.     He is merciful (to His servitors), all unknown to those  
        That are unclothed and to those ignorant ones that shroud  
    Themselves with the saffron robe and roam about;  
        He is Sivalokan of Tirumundeeccharam where  
    The Pennai flanked by its two banks and laved by its water,  
        Gushes amain brimful, circumambulating  
    The Nirmalan, and onward flows interminably;  
        Even He is poised in my chinta.                    849 
 
9.     He snapt all the troubles of His servitors; He abides  
        As the Primal Ens; He smote  the body of Kaama;  
    Ignoring the greatness of the Mountain, He ran  
        In wrath and uprooted Kailas at which the manam  
    Of Uma, the Mountain’s Daughter, and the celestials quaked;  
        Sivalokan of Tirumundeeccharam so crushed his hands,  
    Bright crowns and eyes that they bulged out;  
        Even He is poised in my chinta.                    850 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Ever He .... Chinta. 
Cf. “And chiefly thou, O Spirit, that dost prefer  
Before all temples the upright heart and pure”  
Paradise Lost, I, 17 - 18. 
 
3. He... by none: The original is as follows: “Avan yivan endru yaavarkkum ariya onnacchempon  
kaann.”  English language has only one word, namely ‘he’ to indicate both avan and yivan,  
according to the Sastras, refers to Him who is not to be comprehended by words or thought.  
 
Yivan is He who is not apprehended by sight. 
 
Cf. “Verious cogitatur Deus quam dictur, et verius est quam cogitatur”  (God is more truly  
imagined than expressed, and He exists more truly than imagined.) 
                            - St. Augustine.  
 
 
86. TIRUVAALAMPOZHIL

 
From Pazhayaarai, our Saint proceeded to various shrines of Siva to hail Him in hymn and  
song and solemn strain.  He visited the many shrines situated on both the banks of the  
Cauvery.  It was during this period, he came to Tiruvaalampozhil where he sang the following  
decad.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Aatma Naadeswarar and Gnaanaambikai. 
 
1.     He is the Genesis; He is the One with an eye in His forehead;  
        He cut off the head of him whose seat is the Lotus;  
    He is concorporate with the comely Daughter of the Mountain;  
        He is all the conscious entia; He moves as sonance;  
    He is the God of Valanjuzhi; He is Eeswara who presides  
        Over Maraikkaadu and cool Aavaduthurai;  
    O heart, contemplate Him of Tiruvaalampozhil  
        Abiding at Parampaikkudi in the South.                851 
 
2.     He ripped the derma of the tusker of His mantle;  
        He is clad in tiger’s own skin; He sports Ganga on His  
    Matted crest; He holds fire in His palm; He ate the poison  
        As though it were nectar; He goes about in these guise;  
    He is like a huge coral mountain; of yore, He gifted  
        A Disc to him whose bed is a snake and laughed In joy;  
    O heart, contemplate Him of Tiruvaalampozhil  
        Abiding at Parampaikkudi in the South.                852 
 
3.     Triune is His form, though He is One only; He is the true  
        Meaning of AUM; He can discern the cruel deception  
    Born of manam abiding in the body; He is the nectarean One  
        Who graced the Brahmachaari by kicking  
    Death to death with His ankleted foot; He is the Lord  
        Of the immortals; He always showers prosperity  
    On them who hail Him as their Lord in swelling love;  
        O heart, contemplate Him of Tiruvaalampozhil  
        Abiding at Parampaikkudi in the South.                853 
 
4.     He is the supreme One who is all the earth and the heaven  
        And the nether world; He is the nectarean Consort of Her  
    Whose tresses are buzzed by bees; He is the Dancer of comely Tillai; 
        He is the Lord of Vaatpokki; He loves the devotees  
    That love Him and hail Him as their Lord; He is ever  
        The Deceptious One to the deceitful; He is the glorious King;  
    O heart, contemplate Him of Tiruvaalampozhil  
        Abiding at Parampaikkudi in the South.                854 
 
5.      He is the Consort of the bashful Daughter of the Mountain;  
        He is the ethereal Lord of the celestials; He is ruby  
    And pearl; He is the Lord who engirds the vestment  
        On His waist with a serpent; He is the Lord-God  
    To the devotees; He is the holy One who wears a precious  
        Kovanam; He is of Poonthurutthi and Pukaloor;  
    O heart, contemplate Him of Tiruvaalampozhil  
        Abiding at Parampaikkudi in the South.                855 
 
6.     O heart, contemplate Him of Tiruvaalampozhil  
        Abiding at Parampaikkudi in the South; He is  
    The One that unfolds and folds; He is the Seed  
        Of the Vedas; He is both Creation and Absorption;  
    He split the body of Jalandara; He ate the venom  
        Of the profound sea and mercifully saved  
    All the Devas; He sped an arrow from His mountain-bow  
        And smote the three citadels of countless Asuras.        856 
 
7.     O heart, contemplate Him of Tiruvaalampozhil  
        Abiding at Parampaikkudi in the South; He entered  
    Into my dirty flesh; He is the holy One who again and again  
        Purified my exterior; of yore, dispraised by all,  
    He went from door to door seeking alms; He is my Lord;  
        He thinks not of them who speak not of His glory;  
    On the path hard to come by, He puts them that follow  
        Him and hail His golden feet.                    857 
 
8.     O heart, contemplate Him of Tiruvaalampozhil,  
        He is the Lord-God inaccessible to Maal whose bed  
    Is the five-headed serpent, and Ayan who quested  
        After Him; He is concorporate with Her whose soft fingers  
    Sport a ball; He is of Paraaitthurai and Vennkaadu;  
        He seeks alms in a holed, white skull; He presides  
    Over Poovanam and Purampayam; He will cure  
        The painful and cruel consequences of Karma.             858 
 
9.     He is non-existent to those that roam about eating  
        From their hands, the Saakhyas and the unlearned that are  
    Foolish; He is never false to those that are not false;  
        Contemplate Him of Tiruvaalampozhil abiding  
    At Parampaikkudi rich in fields; He is the One that smote  
        The three citadels of the fierce tapaswis,  
    By His dart whose feather was Agni and whose steel-tip  
        Was Wind which He sped from His mountain-bow  
        Whose string was the serpent.                     859 
 
 
87. TIRUCCHIVAPURAM

 
Our Saint proceeded from Kudamookku (Kumbakonam) to Nalloor, Tiruccherai, Kudavaayil,  
Naraiyoor and other holy places.  It was during this time, he visited Tirucchivapuram and  
hailed Siva in the following decad. The names of the Deity and His Consort are Sivaguru- 
naathaswami / Sivapureeswarar / Brahmpureeswar / Sivapura Naathar and Aaryaambal /  
Singaaravalli / Periyanaayaki. 
 
1.     He is of the empyrean; He is far above the celestials;  
        He became Sanskrit, Tamil of the South and the four Vedas;  
    He bathes in the Pancha-kavya; He is the Lord;  
        He is a forester who holds fire in His palm and dances;  
    He graced the forester; He is the honey that gushes  
        From the lotus-hearts of the meditators;  
    He is the opulent One of infinite riches; He is Siva;  
        He is our opulent Lord of Sivapuram.                 860 
 
2.      He is nude; He is the Lord whose waist is girt with  
        A bright serpent; He is the One enchantingly handsome;  
    He dances with the dancing Bhootha-Hosts; He wears  
        The feather of heron; He is the bright One who hugs  
    Her of queenly breasts and whose waist is tudi-like;  
        He is daubed with white ash stored in a box;  
    He is the Refuge and Life of the triple worlds;  
        He is Siva, whose body is incarnadine like the ruddy sky;  
    He is our opulent Lord of Sivapuram.                     861 
 
3.     He is the Consort of Uma whose tresses are adorned  
        With fragrant flowers; He is the noble One invisible to him  
    Of the Flower and Maal; He flayed the ichorous tusker that quaked  
        And trumpeted (in agony); His throat is dark with  
    The oceanic venom that He ate; He abides at the great Temple  
        In the town of Ambar; He dwells in Ayavanti;  
    He is of Aiyaaru; His body blazes like ruddy gold;  
        He is Siva; He is our opulent Lord of Sivapuram.        862 
 
4.     He is a mad man; He is the Ever-free who smote  
        And did away with the glory of Daksha’s sacrifice,  
    And then wrought acts of grace; He is the threefold fire;  
        He is the Primal Ens and Father to the munis  
    And the celestials; He abides at Patthoor; He is the Siddha  
        That rules Arisilperunturai; He is of Siddheeccharam;  
        He is Siva; He is our opulent One of Sivapuram.            863 
 
5.     He is the pure One; His body is bedaubed with ash; He is  
        The lustre of bright crystal; He is fire; He smote  
    The towns of evil Asuras; He is our God whose roseate palm  
        Bears a little fawn; He is Mother; He is the Lord of Aaroor;  
    He is nectar to His servitors; He is the One far, far away;  
        He is the salvific Way; He is Siva;  
        He is our opulent Lord of Sivapuram.                 864 
 
6.     He is the earth and the crops of the earth; He is the rain  
        That fosters the crops; He is the water of the rain;  
    He sported the water on His crest; His is the name that soars  
        Aloft, guerdon-like, in the memory of the Kings of earth;  
    He is the glorious One that is adored and hailed  
        For days on end by the white Boar of crescent-like tusks,  
    That parted not from Him; He is Siva to all  
        The glorious Devas; He is our opulent Lord of Sivapuram.    865 
 
7.     He is the fierce One; He holds the fierce fire;  
        He presides over extensive Gedila Veerattam; He is  
    The true One; He abides not in the manams of the false ones;  
        His hand wields a veena rich in the melody of songs;  
    He holds a mazhu in His hand; His eye stared to powder  
        The body of Kaama; He is the ruddy One; He is Siva  
    Who gave a shapely conch to Maal;  
        He is our opulent Lord of Sivapuram.                866 
 
8.     He became the Books spiritually rich and their Angas;  
        He is the object of the Scriptures which essay  
    To explicate Him; He abides as water, mountain,  
        The earth that is girt with the seven billowy seas  
    And the sky; with a toe He pressed and crushed  
        The worthless one who uprooted the sacred mountain  
    And later ruled him;  He is concorporate with Her,  
        The Daughter of the Mountain; He is Siva;  
        He is the opulent One of Sivapuram.                867 
 
 
88. TIRUOMAAMPULIYOOR

 
It is said that Our Saint adored at Omaampuliyur on his way to Tillai from Tirumudukundram. 
The names of the Deity and His Consort are Pranava Vyaagrapureeswarar / Pranavapureeswarar  
/ Tuyartheertha Naathar and Pushpalathaambikai / Poongkodi Naayaki.  
 
1.     He holds a sharp trident in His beautiful hand;  
        He ate the venom of the billowy sea; He whose matted crest  
    Sports a lovely moon is hailed by the immortals; He holds me  
        As His servitor in each birth that I take; He causes  
    The crawling, hooded snake to dance; He is the opulent One  
        Abiding at the glorious Vadatali of Omaampuliyur  
    Of lofty renown; alas, alas, I but spent my days,  
        All bewildered, not seeking Him.                 868 
 
2.     He is the Aadi; Hari, Ayan and countless immortals  
        Hail His ankleted feet; He is Amalan; He so smote  
    Chandra that he lost his lustrous digits; He did away  
        With Daksha and Yecchan; He smashed the sharp  
    Teeth of the bright Surya; He is the opulent One abiding  
        At Tiruvadatali -- ever free from evil --, of Omaampuliyur  
    Of lofty renown where the Brahmins foster the triple fires  
        With Vedic chants; alas, alas, I but spent  
        My days all bewildered, not seeking Him.             869 
 
3.     He flayed the ichor-exuding tusker; He crushed  
        All the (four) shoulders of the King of the celestials;  
    He is concorporate with Uma of growing tresses; He is  
        Sankara, our God; He is the opulent One abiding  
    At prosperous Vadatali of Omaampuliyur of long streets  
        In whose beauteous and bright and turreted mansions,  
    The lofty ones dwell; alas, alas, I but spent  
        My days, all bewildered, not seeking Him.             870 
 
4.     His eyes bespattered fire and reduced to ash  
        The three citadels of the foes; He is the Lord  
    Of the immortals; He is the Vikirtan who so lifted  
        His divine foot that the victorious Yama gave up  
    His ghost; He is the opulent One abiding at Vadatali--  
        Ever wafted by the southerly-- of Omaampuliyur  
    Where the glorious twice-born foster the triple fire  
        And thus the four-fold Vedas of lofty renown;  
    Alas, alas, I but spent my days,  
        All bewildered not seeking Him.                 871 
 
5.     He is the supreme One who blessed the goodly  
        And comely Agni to perform pooja as desired by him;  
    The opulent One of Tiruvadatali which keeps  
        Men on earth free from troubles,  
    Abiding at loftily-walled and beautiful Omaampuliyur  
        Where He is hailed by the Brahmins of great renown;  
    Alas, alas, I but wasted my days,  
        All bewildered, not seeking Him.                872 
 
6.     He is the God who is adored and hailed by rare tapaswis;  
        He is the insatiable nectar; He forfends the troubles  
    Of His servitors; He is the Bridegroom of Damsel Uma; He is  
        My ambrosia; He is the opulent One of perfect and sweet  
    Tiruvadatali, abiding at Omaampuliyoor rich in lofty  
        Moon-washed groves and well-watered fields; alas, alas,  
    I but spent my days all bewildered, not seeking Him.            873 
 
7.     He abides at the Mountain; He flayed the mountain of a tusker;  
        He is of the Vedas; such is He that even the Vedas canst not  
    Him comprehend; He sports a fawn in His band; He will  
        Quell all the troubles of His servitors; He is the lofty One  
    Of Omaampuliyur where dwell unswerving Brahmins;  
        He, the wielder of a bow, smote the triple citadels; He is  
    The opulent One of Vadatali; alas, abas, I but spent  
        My days all bewildered, not seeking Him.             874 
 
8.     He is adorned with Ganga that rolls with gems; He keeps  
        The lovely moon and the hooded serpent juxtaposed; He is  
    Sweet to them that had sought Him; He who is beyond  
        Compare, is of the form of fire; He is the Chief; He dwells  
    At Omaampuliyur where abide the masters and practitioners  
        Of the four glorious Vedas; He abides in the hearts  
    Of those that are free from falsity; He is the opulent One  
        Of Vadatali; alas, alas, I but spent my days,  
        All bewildered, not seeking Him.                875 
 
9.     Of yore, He crushed the arms, the feet and the ten beautiful hands  
        Of the armed Raakshasa who uprooted the  
                    Mountain and caused Uma  
    Whose breasts are covered by kaacchu, to dread;  
        He was later pleased to listen to his sweet music;  
        He is the Sovereign of the celestials; He is  
    The opulent One of glorious Vadatali of Omaampuliyur  
        Where Brahmins renowned the world over, dwell  
    In turreted mansions girt with verdant groves; alas, alas!  
        I but spent my days all bewildered, not seeking Him.        876 
 
 
89. TIRUINNAMBAR

 
Our Saint abode for a number of days, at Tirunalloor, where he received his Tiruvadi-Diksha.   
During this period, he adored Siva in His shrines close to Nalloor.  Our Saint sang the follo- 
wing decad at Tiruinnambar when he visited  it.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are  
Yezhutthari Naathar / Thaanthondreesar and Suganta Kuntalaambikai / Nitya Kalyani. 
 
1.     He is poised in the fragrance of the inner-petalled flowers;  
        He parts not from the chintas of loving ones; 
    Truly speaking, He is Himself the rare Vedas; He is the guide  
        Of the salvific Way; He burnt with a bow  
    The three citadels; He is the swelling murk and soaring light;  
        He is the Dancer at midnight; He is the Lord  
        Of Innambar, the Self-Manifester.                 877 
 
2.     He is the Father of him whose flag sports a bantum;  
        He is sweetly concorporate with Her, a flowery twig;  
    He is Himself the Lord of the Oozhi; He abides in the hearts  
        Of those that melt in love; He indeed is the Adept-rider  
    Of the wheeled chariot; He is of abiding love  
        For those that have sought Him; He is the Author  
    Of the seven fold lives; He is the Lord  
        Of Innambar, the Self-Manifester.                 878 
 
3.     He abides in the virtues that befit His servitors;  
        He is the Prop of the way of pure Gnosis;  
    He, of yore, was invisible to the two; He is poised  
        In the chittas of bhaktas; a trifle dark is a modicum  
    Of His neck; He smote Yama and Kaama; He is crowned  
        With a chaplet; He is the Lord  
        Of Innambar, the Self-Manifester.                 879 
 
4.     He is the noble One who is pleased to keep on His  
        Well-grown matted hair the chaplet of the young  
    Moon of the heavens; He holds a flesh-tipped spear;  
        He is the peerless One who bedaubs Himself with bright ash;  
    He is the three divisions of the day when oblations are offered;  
        He has none as his superior; He adorned Himself  
    With the bright teeth of the Boar; He is the Lord  
        Of Innambar, the Self-Manifester.                880 
 
5.     He will do away with the encircling misery; he abides  
        As Creation and Absorption; He ate the poison  
    Of the deep sea; He is the handsome One who loves dance;  
        He is the leader who grants His quality to even me  
    Of debased mind; He will annul all the seven births;  
        He is the Lord of Innambar, the Self-Manifester.        881 
 
6.     His feet are fastened with anklets; His mount is  
        A Bull that treads the earth; He is the holy Lord  
    Of Bhootha-Hossts; He is the ancient and perfect One  
        Of beauteous Pukaloor; He manifests  
    As the import of the Vedas; He abides as the One  
        That forfends the troubles of His servitors  
    Who hail the symbols of Saivism; He is  
        The Lord of Innambar, the Self-Manifester.             882 
 
7.     He seeks alms in the toothed skull; He abides  
        In the chittas of bhaktas; He is the One who is  
    Never comprehended by the unschooled; He annuls  
        The troubles of the learned; He is the Lord  
    Of the fierce Bhootha-Hosts; He is Himself  
        The billowy seas and the seven mountains; He is  
    The One who merits, hailing by all.  He is  
        The Lord of Innambar, the Self-Manifester.            883 
 
8.     His matted crest is (decked with) honey-laden (flowers) 
        He is concorporate with a Woman; He annuls  
    Miseries and maladies; He has done away with Death;  
        He is the supremely desirable One that ever dances;  
    He became earth, fire, water, space and wind;  
        He is Himself the eight directions; He is  
    The Lord of Innambar, the Self-Manifester.                884 
 
9.     He is the Kallvar (Thief) who ruled me even when I was  
        But an embryo; He (later) blessed me with His  
    Ankleted flower-feet; with a martial bow, He smote  
        The triple citadels; He is the opulent One -- the Deva  
    Of devas; He is the One oned (with the soul)  
        That parts not; He stood as the peerless One who was  
    Sought and adored by the Two in love; He is the Lord  
        Of Innambar, the Self-Manifester.                885 
 
10.     He goes about begging alms with His dangling  
        Matted hair; he is cinctured with a serpent  
    On His waist; He holds a mazhu in His right hands;  
        He smote the sacrifice of great Daksha; He quelled  
    The puissance of the triumphant one who uprooted  
        The mountain, and felt joyous; when he sang strumming  
    His plucked-out nerves, He gave him a bright sword;  
        He is the Lord of Innambar, the Self-Manifester.        886 
 
 
90. TIRUKKANJANOOR

 
On his way to Tirukkodikaa our Naayanaar adored Siva enshrined in Tirukkanjanoor and sang the  
following decad.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Agneeswarar and Karpakaambikai. 
 
1.     He holds a three-leaved trident in His right hand;  
        He is triple-eyed; He is Moorti; He is Poet;  
    He rides a white Bull; He became the four Vedas  
        And the six Angas; He delights to bathe  
    In Pancha-kavya; He is the Sovereign of the celestials;  
        He became Brahma and Vishnu;  
        He is the Fosterer hailed by Agni; He is the King  
    Of Kanjanoor; He is Karpaka; I beheld Him  
    With joyous eyes and gained deliverance.                 887 
 
2.     He holds a skull in His hand; He is decked with bones;  
        His shoulders bear skeletons; He is bedaubed with ash;  
    He wears bunches of fragrant konrai; He causes  
        The fierce snake to dance; He abides at Mount Kailas;  
    He is beyond compare; He is of the Scriptures with is hailed  
        By moon, sun, celestials and Maal; He is the King  
    Of Kanjanoor; He is Karpaka; I beheld Him  
        With joyous eyes and gained deliverance.             888 
 
3.     He grants grace, hailed and adored by the throngs  
        Of servitors; He wields the bright weapon of mazhu; 
    It is from His ruddy matted hair the fierce, celestial  
        Ganga of lucid breakers descended; He is  
    Of the bright hue of the crimson sky; He is the cruel One  
        That cut the heads, knocked out the teeth and gouged the eyes  
    Of those that sought Him not and joyously participated  
        In the sacrifice which He smote; He is the King of Kanjanoor;  
        He is the Karpaka; I beheld Him with joyus eyes  
                    and gained deliverance.         889 
 
4.     He is of the empyrean; He has as His bow the Meru; He is  
        The true One as well as the false; He is Destiny;  
    He is Woman and Man; He is the mad One; He abides  
        In the charnel; He is the supremely competent One;  
    He is Thought; He is the Eye who is the eight directions,  
        The One of the vast earth below and the heavens above;  
    He is the King of Kanjanoor, He is Karpaka; I beheld Him  
        With joyous eyes and gained deliverance.             890 
 
5.     He is Rudra; He is Umaapati; He became the world; He is  
        The noble One; He is Pearl; He is the peerless One; He is  
    Mountain; He wears on His chest Panchavadi; He is fire  
        Who pervades as day, night, water and ether; He is  
    Like a bunch of pearls; He is the thought of those-- 
        The ash-bedaubed--, that contemplate Him; He is  
    The King of Kanjanoor; he is Karpaka; I beheld Him  
        With joyous eyes and gained deliverance.             891 
 
6.     His are beautiful strands of hair that sport  
        Petalled konrai blossoms, snake, white dead-nettle, young moon  
    Madar and heaven-descended Ganga; He is the King  
        Of Devas; He is a great mountain of ruddy gold;  
    He abides for ever in the chintas of those that have  
        Sought Him; He is the King ruling over KeezhVeloor;  
    He is the wondrous One who by His words of gramarye  
        Lured the bangles of damsels; He is the King  
    Of Kanjanoor; He is Karpaka; I beheld Him  
        With joyous eyes and gained deliverance.             892 
 
7.     He is unbeknown to Naaraayana and the Four-faced;  
        His form is of the four Vedas; He is Nampi; His hue is  
    That of milk as well as fire; He who is served by the Bhootha-Hosts,  
        Receives alms and eats it; He is Day; He holds  
    An antelope in His left hand; His throat darkened  
        And caused joy (to the Devas); He is the King of Kanjanoor  
    Imbrowned with noon-tide bowers; He is Karpaka; I beheld  
        Him with joyous eyes and gained deliverance.            893 
 
8.     He is of the empyrean; he abides at Valivalam  
        And Maraikkaadu; He, the God, wears a crescent;  
    He is a Brahmin and all others; He abides sweetly  
        With the Daughter of Himavant; He is honey to those  
    That hail Him; He is the sweet God; He is the flawless One  
        Of the Vedas; He is a forester hailed by the Devas; He is  
    The King of Kanjanoor; He is Karpaka; I beheld Him  
        With joyous eyes and gained deliverance.             894 
 
9.     His sacred fire-like body is bedaubed with white ash;  
        He abides in the hearts of those who think on Him;  
    He fills every place; He set His foot on Muyalakan and quelled  
        His pride; He destroyed Jalandara; He is desired  
    By the qualified; He is the Rule; He is the White Ash; He is  
        Truth and abounding Light; He who is Thought  
                    is hailed by the lofty ones;  
    He is the King of Kanjanoor; He is Karpaka; I beheld Him  
        With joyous eyes and gained deliverance.             895 
 
10.     When in lieu of one of the one-thousand petalled lotuses  
        He gouged and offered his eye, He granted in grace  
    The great and beautiful and bright Disc to the tall Maal;  
        He is mantled in the hide of the tusker; He crushed  
    Under the mountain the King of Lanka who seized  
        From His friend the martial and wheeled car  
    And owned it; He is a sea of gracious mercy; He is  
        The King of Kanjanoor; He is Karpaka; I beheld  
        Him with joyous eyes and gained deliverance.             896 
 
 
91. TIRUYERUMBIYOOR

 
It was from Tiruvaanaikkaa that our Saint came to Tiruyerumbiyoor and hailed Siva with the  
following decad.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Pippilikeswarar / Yerumbees- 
warar / Yerumbeesar / Maduvaneswarar / Manikootachalapathi / Maanickanaathar and Soundara  
Naayaki / Maduvaneswari / Narumkuzhal Naayaki / Suganta Kuzhaleeswari / Ratnaambaal. 
 
1.     I know not the chaste Tamil works; I am no poet;  
        Though I, the senseless, do not know the greatness of Him  
    Who is Thought, Pann, Arts and Scriptures, yet, He revealed  
        To me His greatness and the way to be trodden; I reached  
    Him--my Mother and Father--, in love, and He continues  
        To hold me as His servitor; He is the Ruby atop the beauteous  
    Yerumbiyoor Hill; He is the ruddy flame; I, even I,  
        Was blessed to reach and attain Him.                 897 
 
2.     He is the light inlaid in the crystal’s inner glow;  
        He is Pasupati; His guise is Paasupatam; He smote  
    Jalandara who shouted aloud his challenge; He is  
        Brahmin; He is of the empyrean; He is the One who  
    Measured the cosmos; He is also the Four-faced; He is  
        The rare specific unto the troubles; coming to know  
    Of Him as He is, I became inly clarified: He is the Ruby  
        Atop Yerumbiyoor Hill; He I the ruddy flame;  
        I, even I, was blessed to reach and attain Him.            898 
 
3.     He is the matrix; He is the Thought of my manam; He is  
        The immense radiance of Gnosis; He is the One before whom  
    The celestials fall prostrate hailing Him; He is the peerless  
        Author of the cosmos; He is the One that fills the universe  
    With His presence; He is its middle and end; He is concorporate  
        With the coy Damsel whose odoriferous tresses excel  
    The flowers in fragrance; He is the flawless Gem of the crematory;  
        He is the Ruby atop the Yerumbiyoor Hill; He is the ruddy  
        Flame; I, even I, was blessed to reach and attain Him.         899 
 
4.     He is the supernal light who rained arrows and smote  
        The three citadels of the puissant Asuras; He is  
    Sweetly-poised in them that hail Him in love; He is  
        Nectar; He is honey; He is the holy One; He is the beauteous  
    Auric hill whence issues the whole universe; He is a pearly  
        Pillar; He is the Lord of Uma; He is the Ruby atop the bright  
    Yerumbiyoor Hill hailed by the celestials; He is ruddy  
        Flame; I, even I, was blessed to reach and attain Him.         900 
 
5.     He dances in manifold ways to the singing of ghosts;  
        He is Nirmalan who is supremely valiant in fight,  
    Wielding a sharp spear; He grew so straight that neither Ayan  
        Nor Maal who flew up and burrowed into the earth  
    Could eye Him; He is the Ruby atop the glorious Yerumbiyoor Hill  
        Hailed by the throngs of munis with beautiful blossoms;  
    He is the ruddy flame, the Nimalan; I, even I,  
        Was blessed to reach and attain Him.                901 
 
6.     He pours as dark cloud; He causes such water  
        To effervesce; He roams in many towns mounted  
    On His Bull of swift gait; He owns Otriyoor as His town  
        And rules (the whole universe); He owns the one great letter (Om);  
    He is the Ruby atop the glorious Yerumbiyoor Hill  
        Hailed by Brahma, Vishnu and Indra with mantras;  
    He is the ruddy flame; I, even I,  
        Was blessed to reach and attain Him.                902 
 
7.     He is the Ruby atop the lofty Yerumbiyoor Hill who is  
        Hailed by the knowledgeable, as bright moon, beauteous fire,  
    Water, twofold wind that pursues it s course, space,  
        Ethereal stars, earth, sky and life that is sempiternal; He is  
    The One abiding in my life, the touchstone of ruddy gold,  
        The great, blue hill and the heap of lovely pearls;  
    He is the ruddy flame; I, even I,  
        Was blessed to reach and attain Him.                 903 
 
8.     I wasted my days in sheer ignorance, companied  
        With the cruel, brainless ones of filthy mouths  
    Who practiced Aaramba Vaadaa, all unaware of dharma;  
        I, the brainless, would not, even unconsciously, think  
    Of the sacred feet; thus, even thus, I wasted all my life;  
        My days of existence were worthless days; 
    Yet I began to magnify the name  
        Of the Lord and got steeped in the loving servitorship  
    Of Him -- the ruddy flame, the Ruby atop Yerumbiyoor  
        Hill; I, even I, was blessed to reach and attain Him.         904 
 
9.     His manam is all wisdom; He is unbeknown to them  
        That know not; the knowledgeable ones know Him;  
    He is the holy One decked with a speckled snake; His neck  
        Bears the mark of His having eaten the venom of sea,  
    Full of breakers; His matted hair is adorned with flowers  
        Of konrai from the petals of which honey flows; He is  
    The Ruby atop the Hill of Yerumbiyoor whose ponds are  
        Thick with soft lotus flowers; He is the ruddy flame;  
        I, even I, was blessed to reach and attain Him.         905 
 
10.     He is endowed with the great puissance of rare tapas;  
        But he, the martial Raakshasa brainlessly uprooted  
    The immense mountain; He so pressed him that his strong  
        Shoulders were crushed and smashed; he sank  
    To the nether world; he then plucked out the nerves of his  
        Forearm, strummed them and hymned Him; to this  
    He lent His ears; He is the Author of the seven worlds;  
        He is my God; He is mantled in the tusker’s hide;  
    He is the Ruby atop Yerumbiyoor Hill; He is ruddy flame;  
        I, even I, was blessed to reach and attain Him.         906 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
8. Aaramba Kundar: They that practise Aramba Vaada.  This deals with the creation of  
cosmos.  According to the Jains creation is from the basic pentad of atoms.  Even as  
an ant-hill is reared by the white ants with the saliva and the sand carried by their tiny  
mouths, the universe is structured with the units of atoms. 
 
 
92. TIRUKKAZHUKKUNRAM

 
From Kaanchi, our Naayanaar came to Tirukkazhukkunram and hailed the Lord on the Hill with  
the following decad.  The names of the Deity and His Consort are Bhaktavathsaleswarar and  
Tiripurasundari. 
 
1.     He holds a three-leaved trident in His hand; He is  
        Moorti; He is the Lord of the hoary crematory; He is  
    The Primal Ens; Pancha-kavya is dear to Him; He is the King  
        Of the immortals; He is the Sire who ate the aalaalam and was  
    Pleased; He is inaccessible to the Four-faced on the Flower,  
        And Mall, for their hailing; He is the holy One; He is  
    The Fosterer; He is enshrined in Kazhukkundram; He is Karpaka;  
        I, even I, beheld Him with joyous eyes!                907 
 
2.     He sports in His matted hair a toothed skull; He is clad  
        In the skin of a leaping tiger; He is Bhagavan; He is  
    Word and all its import; His body blazes with radiance;  
        His form is never devoid of (the adorning) bones;  
    He, of yore, smote the intractable Death; He was seated  
        Under the Banyan tree; He is nectar; He is Kaapaali  
    Who wears the ochre robe; He is Karpaka;  
        I, even I, beheld Him with joyous eyes.             908 
 
(Note : Only two verses of this decad are extant.) 
 
 
93. PALVAKAI-TH-TIRUTTHAANDAKAM

 
(The Tirutthaandakam celebrating many shrines)
 
 
1.     Beholding Her concordantly concorporate with Him  
        She burst amain to devastate (the earth) with a thousand  
    Currents; He caused her to flow in His matted hair  
        Where the opulent One sports a hooded serpent  
                    and a moist crescent;  
    There are servitors (of deluding senses) who do not  
        Rectify their mental kinks; yet if you, before your bodies wilt  
    And you go about with a stick to walk with, but chant: 
        “Poonthurutthi, O Poonthurutthi!” you can for ever do away  
        With your cruel fleshy embodiment working like  
                        a bellows.            909 
 
2.     When phlegm blocks the inner passage of the wind-pipe  
        None can remedy that; O ye that led the domestic life  
    Of joyous delusion companied with your women whose eyes  
        Are tinct with khol, if you but chant: “Neitthaanam.  
    O Neitthaanam!” whose Lord joyously sports on His spreading  
        Matted hair the hooded serpent, the bright crescent  
    And the flood, you can for ever do away  
        With your fleshy embodiment.                     910 
 
3.     You for ever praise the things that abide not; you but seek  
        Money from the moment you wake up; you live-- your manams  
    Full of joy--, thinking that you strictly adhere to the vocation  
        Of your clan; if you but chant: “Aiyaaraa, O Aiyaara!”  
    The Lord of Aiyaaru, the One that has an eye in the forehead,  
        The One hight Nilakantar who has for His ablutions, as it were,  
    A river of ghee, you can reign in the world  
        Of immortals, rid of all troubles.                 911 
 
4.     They will not suffer any loss by gift; they will not give  
        Aught to any; even when they realize that their parents  
    And women are but a clog on their feet, they will not stand  
        Clarified; you live deeming that your manams are  
    Full of joy; lo and behold! He will do away with our weeping:  
        He will make us sovereigns; He will cause you rule the world  
    Of immortals if you but chant: “Pazhanam, O Pazhanam! Where abides  
        The Lord-God.” You can get rid of your hoary Karma  
    Which you have been committing for a long long time.             912 
 
5.     You abide in the nine-gated body; when all of them simultaneously  
        Shut you out, you will be devoid of consciousness;  
    Ere you are made to run away in a different body, you but  
        Live delighted in your illusive domestic life;  
    He, the King, gutted with cruel fire the three citadels  
        Of them who pursued hostile deeds; if you but chant:  
    “Sotrutthurai, O Sotrutthurai! Which is the king’s,” you can,  
        Rid of your misery, set foot on the pure and holy way.        913 
 
6.     On this earth girt with dark seas where ships ply,  
        O heart that seeks weal but merely gets sunk  
    In the ocean of deception, listen! If you seek true joy  
        Praise the glories of the twin feet of Him who is  
    Supremely desirable; it is the shrine dear to the great  
        Serpent that can entwine all things at once; it is  
    The shrine of Him who is the rare Vedas and the six Angas;  
        If you chant: “Valanjuzhi, O Valanjuzhi!”  
        You will reign in the heaven, rid of cruel Karma.         914 
 
7.     Dandi, Gundotaran, Rishi Bringhi, glorious Nandi  
        Ever attached to Siva, Cangkukannan, the Creator  
    Of the hoary world and the one who measured the earth  
        Sing before Him “Pallaandu”; small-eyed Bhoothas  
    Of enormous bellies sing His glory; it is thus, He rides  
        His red-eyed mount-- a Bull; if you but chant:  
    “Kandiyoor, O Kandiyoor! Which is His, “ you can  
        In great celerity unwind all your coiled karma.         915 
 
8.     When you behold the kin of Him whose mount is a white  
        Bull seek them like the great munis who sought Him  
    Under the Banyan tree and behave like the serpent  
        That has spat out its venom; He abides in the manams  
    Of great tapaswis; He is the opulent One with the bright mazhu;  
        He was invisible to the one whose bed is the hooded  
    And cruel serpent and to Ayan on the Lotus that hailed Him;  
        If you but chant: “Kudamookku, O Kudamookku! Which is  
        His,” rid of your cruel karma, you can attain Hara.         916 
 
9.     He wears the cool paste of sandalwood, the white ash  
        And the short wreath of leafy konrai; eyed by Her  
    Who is like a dark hill, who, in mien, is like a peafowl  
        Of the rainy season and who wears a zone, He dances  
    In the fire of the endless crematorium; if you but chant;  
    “Vennkaadu, O Vennkaadu! Which is His,” you can cure  
        The well-nigh-impossible-to-cure malady of cruel karma.        917 
 
10.     Who is father? Who indeed is mother? Who are our  
        Co-siblings? Who is wife? Who are sons? Who indeed  
    Are we ourselves? How did we come into beings?  
        How do we depart? This is sheer gramarye! At this  
    Feel not happy; O ye that think on these, listen to what  
        I say: He sports in His crown the lovely crescent  
    And the bright serpent; He is our Father; His holy name is  
        Namasivaya.  They that chant this name  
        When they rise up, will abide in the empyrean.            918 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
8. “Vidamookkappaampe pol: According to the celebrated commentator Nacchinaarkkiniyar,  
at the time when a cobra sheds its slough, it also spits out its entire venom.  This  
state of the snake is compared to the attainment of twofold purity (external as well as  
internal) of an evolved soul.  See Jivaka Chintaamani, verse 1546. 
 
 
94. NINRA THIRUTTHAANDAKAM

 
(The Thaandakam of Siva’s standing Abidance)
 
 
1.     As vast earth and as fire and water,  
        As life and blowing wind,  
    As deathless moon and sun, as ether, and Ashtamoorti,  
        As great weal and blemish, as man and woman,  
                As Himself in other forms  
    And in His own form, as yesterday, to-day and to-morrow,  
        The great God of ruddy matted crown abides for ever.         919 
 
2.     As earth, heaven and mountain,  
        As diamond and ruby itself.  
    As eye and the pupil of eye,  
        As Sastras and the Sastraic Wisdom itself,  
    As woman, and man for the woman,  
        As the universe beyond Dissolution,  
    As Thought and as letters therefore,  
        As rising radiance, our God abides for ever.             920 
 
3.     As stone, glebe and forest,  
        As the Cauvery, channel and creek,  
    As grass, shrub and herb, as town  
        And the Smiter of triple towns, as Word  
    And its import, as traffic and places of traffic  
        As paddy, soil and water,  
        The great Lord--the lofty flame--, abides for ever.         921 
 
4.     As wind, rain-cloud and triple time,  
        As dream, wakefulness and night,  
    As Death and the murderous Tusker that kicked Death,  
        As roaring sea and the Sovereign of roaring sea,  
    As the ash-bedaubed and the body that wears ash,  
        As lofty heaven and the vault of lofty heaven,  
    As the Burden-bearer and as the opulent One whose mount is the Bull,  
        Our Lord-God, the rising flame, abides for ever.         922 
 
5.     As fire, water and hardness (of earth),  
        As directions and gods of directions,  
    As mother, father and (supporting) Prop,  
        As stars, sun and cool moon,  
    As fruit greet and ripe, and as One  
        That relishes the essences abiding in fruits,  
    As you and me and the subtle principle,  
        The lofty Lord--the spiraling flame--, abides for ever.     923 
 
6.     As Angas and original Vedas,  
        As rare mantras and five elements,  
    As division and as many worlds,  
        As milk-white moon, Primal Ens and Quality,  
    As the Ganga, the Cauvery and the Kanyakumari,  
        As seas, mountains and creeks,  
    As omneity and as the opulent One that rides the Bull,  
        Our God, the rising flame, abides for ever.             924 
 
7.     As mother, father and children,  
        As billowy sea and vast expanse of sky,  
    As the Godavari and the Kanyakumari, as the comely One  
        Clad in the tiger-skin, as the holy One that does away  
    With embodiment of those that hail and adore Him  
        With full-blown blossoms, as One easy of access  
    To those that think thus: “Let it be as He wills!”  
        He, whose hue is flame-like, abides for ever.            925 
 
8.     As cow and cow’s Pancha-kavya,  
        As knowledge, fire (of sacrifice) and havis, 
    As tongue and tongue’s utterance,  
        As Lord of Naada and Indweller of Veda,  
    As flower and perfume of flower,  
        As the fragrant One inly abiding in all,  
    As gods and the God of gods, our omnipresent Lord--  
        The ruddy flame--, abides for ever!                 926 
 
9.     As water, as length and breadth,  
        As light and the vault of lofty sky,  
    As name and the glory of name,  
        As the Smiter of the three great citadels,  
    As earth, pann and songs, He, our Lord,  
        That will rule them--whoever they be--,  
    If they seek refuge in Him; He, the pervasive Lord,  
        As supernal flame, abides for ever.                927 
 
10.     As Maal, the Four-faced and the great Bhoothas,  
        As increase, decrease and delight,  
    As divisions of eight directions and their bournes,  
        As expanse and as supernal world,  
    As Bhooloka, Bhuvaloka and Suvaloka,  
        As Bhoothas and as the hoary One perfect  
    As the Implementer of the impossible, Our God--  
        The rising flame--, abides for ever.                928 
 
 
95. TANITTHIRUTTHAANDAKAM

 
(The Non-Pareil Tirutthaandakam)
 
 
1.     You are loving father, mother and elder brother;  
        You are uncle as well as aunt;  
    You are well-endowed wife and righteous riches,  
        You are clan, kin and peerless town;  
    You are objects of relish and carriers too;  
        As help, You authored renunciation in my heart;  
    You are this gold, this ruby and this pearl; You are God;  
        You alone are the opulent One that rides the Bull.        929 
 
2.     Death canst not assail us causing us to wilt;  
        The cruel foe--Karma--, will gradually fall away;  
    Gone is misery; we are freed of troubles; let the sun  
        Rise anywhere! We are not weaklings; he whose hue  
    Is like the ruddy hill and the ruddy sky,  
        He who sports the river on His beautiful, coral-like,  
    Ruddy, matted hair, He who dances in the fire, He who bathes  
        In the Pancha-kavya, even He, abides in my chinta.         930 
 
3.     Who will not play (his role) if You cause him play it?  
        Who will not remain still if You cause his stillness?  
    Who will not be driven if You cause the driving?  
        Who will not melt if You cause him melt? Who will not  
    Sing if You cause him sing? Who will not bow 
        If You cause him bow? Who will not behold  
    If You cause him behold? (Yet) who can ever witness,  
        If You, O the forehead-eyed, do not reveal?             931 
 
4.     You are the superb beatitude of those great ones  
        Rendered competent (by You), O Moorti of Gnosis!  
    You are the weal-conferring light! You are beyond  
        The pale of words chanted by the masters of words;  
    You are truly ineffable; this indeed is Your state.  
        (Yet) You, the Karpaka deigned to enter and abide 
    In the seemingly-still heart which is ever in commotion,  
        And pervade the transient body of flesh; I will not lose  
        My hold on You, O God whose hue is golden and ruby-like!     932 
 
5.     The wealless town without a sacred shrine,  
        The wealless town whose residents wear not  
    The white sacred ash, the town whose people bow not  
        And sing in devotion, the town devoid of many lovely  
    Shrines, the town where men do not, in love, blow  
        The white conch, the town without festive canopies  
    And white streamers, the town whose occupants do not pluck  
        Budding flowers to offer them in worship and then eat:  
        These are not towns at all, but only forests and jungles.     933 
 
6.     If they chant not the sacred name, the Panchaakshara,  
        If they never praise the greatness of the fire-hued Lord,  
    If they never circumambulate the sacred shrine, if they  
        Eat without plucking flowers and offering them in worship,  
    If they wear not the white ash that quells cruel maladies,  
        They are surely unendowed with grace.  If you ask:  
    “Wherefore are they born?” I say: “It is only to die,  
        Cruelly tormented by chronic diseases, and to get born  
        Only to die thus.  This indeed is their lot.”             934 
 
7.     There is none like You; You alone are like unto You;  
        You are the seed (sprouting) in the manams of those  
    That contemplate You; You are the King; You are the nectar  
        Unto kings; You are the four Vedas and the six Angas;  
    You are gold, gem and blissful experience; You alone are  
        To be praised on earth; How else shall I, the poor  
                        one, hail You  
        Save articulate thus: “How have you become  
                        these, all these?”        935 
 
8.     O Father, by sheer love you drew me, Your slave, to You  
        And bathed me in the flood of Your benign look;  
    You, the infinitely rare, became easy of access to me;  
        Pitying me, You claimed and blessed accepted me;  
    Did You not forgive all my trespasses--those  
        Of a mad man, a fool, a ghoul and a dog?  
    Is all this for my sake? Alas, alas!  
        Behold the blessed grace of Him--my Lord!            936 
 
9.     Base was my company, bad my quality and bad my ideal;  
        I am full of flaws; base was my (externally) beautiful  
    Guise; I am bad; I am not a wise man; I did not  
        Company with the goodly; neither am I a middling  
    Animal; nor am I not a beast; of odious things  
        I speak over much; I have marred my clan;  
    I but beg and never give; why, o why was I,  
        The poor one, born at all?                     937 
 
10.     Even if both Sanka Nidi and Padma Nidi are,  
        Along with the rulership of earth and heaven,  
    Vouchsafed to them by (competent) men, we would not  
        Deem as worthy, the opulence of those who are not exclusively  
    Devoted to Maha Deva, and who will eventually fade away;  
        Be they pulaiyas (outcaste whose bodies are wasted  
    By festering leprosy and who flay the cow,  
        Eat its flesh and wallow (thus in sin)! If only they are  
    The devotees of Him who conceals the Ganga in His matted hair,  
        Lo and behold! It is they whom we adore as our God.        938 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. Father.... mother…. elder brother etc: All relationship is contained in God. 
 
2. Le the sun rise anywhere: The usual ecstatic expression uttered by the liberated.  
 
3. The message is that it is God who animates all.  
 
8. The Tamil original is a powerfully moving verse and the translation is unable to  
bring out the glory of the original. 
 
10. This verse, mutates mutandis, serves as the motto for many an institution. 
 
 
96. TANITTHIRUTTHAANDAKAM - II

 
(The Non-Pareil Tirutthaandakam - II) 
 
 
1.     He cured me of my malady and owns me as His servitor;  
        He rules over Atikai Veerattaanam; He cut the head  
    Of him of the Lotus and holds it in His hand; He received  
        Alms in that skull; He drew out the blood from the great  
    Body of Vaamana; He holds the weapon of mazhu in His right hand;  
        He smote the body of Kaama with a look of His; He is Kapaali;  
    Who approved even the servitorship of Kannappar.             939 
 
2.     He wears harmoniously the three-stranded thread  
        On His hill-like chest; He has as His jewel the tusk  
    Of the gigantic Boar; He is concorporate with Her  
        Whose breasts are like cups; His ruddy body is  
    Radiant with the white ash; He wears a todu wrought  
        Of pure and curved chank; the celestials  
    Encircle Him and bow to Him with their heads  
        Of bright crowns; He received alms from them---  
    The bejewelled--, and revealed to them His love;  
        He is the Lord-God who has me as His servitor.            940 
 
3.     He has a crown of matted hair; on it He keeps  
        The young sprouting crescent and the young, hooded  
    Serpent juxtaposed; He has fastened to His feet  
        The sounding cilambu and the tinkling anklet;  
    He keeps under His foot the intractable Muyalakan;  
        In His right hand He holds the shapely and bright mazhu;  
    He keeps Maal in the left half of His body; He holds tudi;  
        He wears on His shoulder skeletons; He cured me--  
        His servitor--, of colic, and rules me.             941 
 
4.     He dangles on His shoulders a pouch of ash and tiger-skin;  
        He is surrounded by Bhootha-Hosts; He has girt  
    His waist with bones and a snake; He evolves and resolves  
        All the worlds; He wears on the bun of His hair  
    The vilva and the heron’s feather; He smote the cruel one  
        With His martial Disc; His divine body is radiant  
        And red; He is Siva who redeemed me--the base one.         942 
 
5.     He transfixed Antakaasura with His sharp spear;  
        He made the Vedas His steeds; He blessed Sundaram  
    To whisk a pair of Kavari-s for Him; He has the crematory  
        As His dancing place; He bent Mandara into a well-made   
    Martial bow; He made Maakaalan His ostiary; poised  
        In Tantras and Mantras He dispensed grace; it is He  
        Who cured me of Samanaism and redeemed me.             943 
 
6.     With many an instrument, the Bhootha-Hosts orchestrate  
        His glory; He is coral-hued and crystal-hued;  
    In His matted hair where flows the flood, He keeps  
        A crescent too; He sports a blue patch in His beauteous neck; 
    He received alms from the enamoured damsels of covered  
        Breasts; He lured from them their bangles too;  
    He seized and owns the whole of Otriyoor; He cured me  
        Of my bodily malady and redeemed me.                 944 
 
7.     He has beauteous Tillai Ambalam as his dancing theatre;  
        He quaffed as nectar the dreaded venom--Aalakaalam;  
    He has for his fragrant garland  
        The exceedingly beautiful konrai flowers  
    Of golden hue; in love He abides at Kodi; He has  
        The rubied and hooded snake for His armlet;  
    To ride through the long street, He has the huge Bull 
        For His mount; He has as His vestment the flayed skin  
        Of tiger; He has me as His servitor.                 945 
 
8.     He authored the one whose bed is the dreadful hooded  
        Serpent, the supernal one and the one of the Lotus;  
    He is enshrined in Keezhkkottam at Kudamookku;  
        He saved a Brahmin by kicking Death to death;  
    He mantled Himself in the hide of the long-nosed tusker;  
        He keeps the sinners away who think not on Him;  
    Even of yore, He made Idaimarutu His shrine; He is  
        The Lord-God, who, this day, rules me as His servitor.        946 
 
9.     He cut away Yeccha’s fleshy head; He gouged the eyes  
        Of Bagan; He knocked out the teeth of another Surya;  
    He had the head of boastful Vyatthiran substituted;  
        He chopped off the hands of puissant Agni;  
    He cut off the feet of lofty Yama who stood guard  
        For the sacrifice; He kicked Chandra; He involved  
    The entire sacrifice of inconscient Daksha in dreadful  
        Annihilation; then He also showered grace; He is  
        The Amalan who has redeemed me, His servitor.            947 
 
10.     He wears the Ganga in a strand of His matted hair;  
        He played on the veena the hymns of the Saama Veda;  
    He has as His vestment the skin of the spotted deer;  
        He causes the bosoms of those that contemplate Him  
    To melt; He receives alms at the thresholds; He holds fire too;  
        He willingly goes about in the Kaapaala guise;  
    He sports in His flag the victorious Bull; He cured me  
        Of my cruel misery and redeemed me.                 948 
 
11.     He wears on His matted crest the kuraa flowers,  
        The snake and the crescent; He has Nandi as the player  
    Of kudamuzhaa; He chose Ciraappalli for His residence;  
        He smote him whose tall chariot is the southerly wind;  
    He has chosen ‘Paraaparan’ as His name; He wields  
        A mountain (-ous bow) in His hand; He scared him  
    In manifold ways and had him named Raavana;  
        Curing me of my troublesome malady, He redeemed me.         949 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. My malady: The malady was the Saint’s apostasy.  
......... even the servitorship of Kannappar: St. Kannappar knew nothing of the Saiva  
Aagamas.  In fact his servitorship ran counter to the Aagamic way.  Yet the lord  
approved it, as it was informed by love--pure and unsullied.  
 
“Kaamanaiyum udal kondaar kannaal nokkik Kannappar paniyum koll Kapaaliyaare.” 
 
These words can be interpreted as follows: The phrase “Kannaal nokki” ca be  
zeugmatically linked with both Siva and Kannappar.  When with His eye, Siva cast  
a look on Manmata, the latter was reduced to ashes.  When Siva, cast His look on  
Kannapper, with the help of the eye of Kannapper transplanted into His, Kannappar  
became a god.  
 
3. Cilambu... anklet.  Siva in his form of Ardanaari wears both cilambu and kazhal. 
Cilambu is worn by Uma, kazhal by Siva. 
 
4. Muyalakan: The pyknic demon set against Siva by the munis of Taarukaavanam. 
Siva broke his back and stood on him having completely immobilized him.  Muyalakan,  
according to Saiva Siddhanta, is symbolic of Aanava mala.  
 
5. Maakaalan: According to Kanda Puranam, Maakaalan is Lord Ayyappan.  
 
10. Paraaparan: The universal Lord.  
 
 
97. TIRUVINAATTHIRUTTHAANDAKAM

 
(The Tirutthaandakam of sacred interrogation)
 
 
1.     Is there any mark of His transcending the universe?  
        Is that a dance where fire is held in the hand?  
    Is He adored and hailed by the seven hoary saints?  
        Does He go forth surrounded by the Bhootha-Hosts?  
    Is the neck a trifle dark? Is there an eye above the eyes?  
        Is He followed by a throng of servitors?  
        Pray, describe to me our Lord as you have beheld Him.        950 
 
2.     Does His body dazzle like the young sun, concorporate  
        With the bejewelled Lass? Is He with a white Bull?  
    Is He endowed with a fire that crackles and throws up  
        Its sparks? Does He wear the tusker’s hide? Is He  
    White-threaded? Is there a streaked and speckled snake  
        On His matted hair? Is there a young moon on that matted crest?  
    Is there the flowing water? Does He have a spear? Pray,  
        Describe to me our Lord, as you have beheld Him.         951 
 
3.     Does He have the chaplet of a crescent on His ruddy  
        Matted hair? Is there an eye in the forehead? Is ash  
    His sandal-paste? Does He wear bones that stink of flesh?  
        Is He surrounded by ghouls? Does He have a martial Bull?  
    Is He concorporate with Her of battling, spear-like eyes?  
        Is He decked with a garland woven of the konrai blossoms  
    Of the rainy season? Is there on His shoulders a serpent  
        Coiled like a wreath? Pray, describe  
        To me, our Lord as you have beheld Him.             952 
 
4.     Does He play on the melodic veena? Does he go forth  
        Surrounded by the Bootha-Hosts? Did He eat  
    The uneatable and rare venom? Does He blaze like  
        The fire at the end of the Yuga? Did His ankleted  
    Foot--sweet to behold--, smite Yama? Did He burn  
        Kaama with the fire of His eye? Did He smite  
    The three citadels of those who reckoned Him not?  
        How is He, our Lord, whom you have beheld?             953 
 
5.     Is part of His sacred person bedaubed with ash?  
        Does He have an eye of fire in his forehead?  
    Does He have in His hand a cruel mazhu that cuts?  
        Is He clad in the skin of a murderous tiger? Does His  
    Guise sport a river on His matted crest? Is there  
        A snake? Is there a crescent near that? Is there  
    A flag that sports a peerless Bull? Does He dance?  
        How is He, our lord, whom you have beheld?             954 
 
6.    I beheld a forehead-band; I beheld todu on one side; Him I saw  
        Co about seeking alms, and the world glowed at it;  
    I beheld Him enact many a dance to the beat of drum;  
        I beheld a kuzhai in His ear and a crescent in His crest;  
    On His shoulderes I beheld the fluttereing flag of kattangkam;  
        I beheld in His right hand the mighty and bright mazhu;  
    I beheld the lofty One in Tiruvaalavaai; this is how I beheld  
        Him in my dream. (Was it even so that you beheld Him?)         955 
 
7.     I beheld the rushing, billowy Ganga in His matted hair;  
        I beheld Him decked with a garland of blown konrai; 
    I beheld a snake in His hand as He rushed forth seeking alms;  
        I beheld Him during the day as He entered Pazhanam;  
    I beheld Him enshrined at noisy Kacchi Metrali; I beheld  
        His ark throat and also the fire; I beheld on His waist  
    The tightly-worn deer-skin; it is thus, even thus, that I beheld  
        The great tapaswi of the Vedas.  
        (Was it even so that you beheld Him?)                956 
 
8.     I saw His sacred person bedaubed with ash, move about;  
        I saw the full flood of the Ganga on His lofty crest  
    Of matted hair; I saw Him hold a sharp and cruel mazhu;  
        I beheld in His hand Kodukotti and Kaiyalaku;  
    I beheld a crescent in His crest where flows a river;  
        I beheld Him as the nectar of His servitors; I saw Him  
    Go this way mounted on His Bull; it is thus, even thus,  
        I beheld our Lord! (Was it even so that you beheld Him?)    957 
 
9.     There is the fragrant white ash; one hand holds  
        A white skull, another a veena; in His surai-like crest,  
    He wears a crescent; He wields a trident and a spear;  
        There is the vestment of Kovanam in His loins; there is  
    A wand; there is a beautiful hide; there are snakes  
        That have not preyed on anything;  
        How can the Lord of Gods be ever without these?         958 
 
10.     The Lord who is concorporate with His Consort  
    Whose eyes are tinct with collyrium,  
    Abides in the Crematorium at Kaanchi;  
    All matted is His hair; He is flawless;  
    He has no equal; He is not of the human species;  
    He belongs to no single town;  
    Thus is He, even thus is His form and hue,  
    If He be not beheld with the eye of His Grace  
    Who can paint Him thiswise or anywise?  
        His Godhead is ineffable.                     959 
 
11.     I beheld on His golden frame the ash; I beheld  
        The vestment of tiger-skin; I beheld him concorporate  
    Concordantly with Her of fulgurant waist; I beheld  
        On His waist a dazzling serpent too; I also beheld  
    The foot that crushed the Raakshasa that flew the car-- white as swan--  
        And caused Him to lament aloud; I also  
    Beheld the chaplet of Konrai flowers-- His symbol wreath--;  
        It is thus, even thus, I beheld Siva in my chinta.  
        (Was it even so that you beheld Him?)                960 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
1. The seven hoary saints: 1. Agastiya, 2. Pulastiya, 3. Aangiraa, 4. Gautama, 5. Vasishta,  
6. Kaasipa and 7. Maarkandeya. 
 
6. Kattangkam…mazhu: Kattangkam is mazhu and vice versa.  These represent 1. the  
burning rod and 2. the battle axe.  Again they also figure in the banner of Siva.  
 
8. Kodukotti…Kaiyalaku: these are weapons, like unto sword and tsurugi. 
 
9. Surai-like crest: Surai is bottle-gourd. 
 
11. The car--white as swan: Pushpaka--the aerial car which formerly belonged to Kubera.  
 
 
98. MARUMAATRA-TH-THAANDAKAM

 
(The Tirutthaandakam of response)
 
 
1.     We are subject to none; we fear not Death; we will not  
        Suffer in hell; we are without falsity; we will ever be glad;  
    We know no illness; we do not bow; with us joy abides  
        For ever; never will we suffer sorrow; know that we are  
    The bondsman-- never to be manumitted--, of Sankara  
        Who wears in one ear the kuzhai of pure, white shell,  
    The Sovereign who is subject to none; ha, we have  
        Attained His roseate flower-fresh feet twain.             961 
 
2.     The vast earth is our place; in every town householders  
        Cook their food, give alms and eat; (so) they will never  
    Deny alms (to us); we will abide in common places; if we  
        Lie on earth (to sleep), Mother earth will not roll us away;  
    What we say is not untrue, but true; the lord of the martial Bull  
        Has accepted us; henceforth we lack nothing; we are  
    For ever rid of troubles; will we hearken to the word  
        Of those who go about (royally) robed and bejewelled  
        With gold? Lo and behold! We are freed of flaws.         962 
 
3.     We are free of the domestic life linked to women  
        Whose breasts are covered; we hail thus:  
    “Mahadeva, O mahadeva!” We are blessed with the daily,  
        Pre-dawn ablutions; we are graced with the guise  
    That is bedaubed with the ash; the stony manam is now  
        Become a holy manam by melting; we pour our tears  
    Like the dissoloving nimbus.  Will we, even we, obey  
        The fiats of those that rule the world and ride  
        The tusker? Lo and behold! We are unattached.            963 
 
4.     Our kin are the many servitors of Rudra; we but wear  
        Kovanam and keel; even the ever-angry will never be  
    Angry with us; unto us evil will turn good; we will not  
        Get re-born at all; with our lips we are competent  
    To chant the glorious Namasivaya of Him that wears  
        The odoriferous garland of melliferous and auric konrai;  
    We are linked to Him who with the flame of His  
        Bright-rayed eye, reduced to ahs the one  
        Whose flag sports the shark.                    964 
 
5.     We will never be overwhelmed by any; none on this  
        Wide earth is our equal; we will not seek refuge  
    In godlings as we have attained the sacred feet of Siva--  
        The Lord-God; since that day (we gave up the faith)  
    Of Samanas), we lack nothing; the malady that pained us  
        Hath fled away from us; we are poised in the punya  
    That links us with the Holy one who wears on His crest  
        A chaplet of the skulls of the dead ones.             965 
 
6.     They that hail Him fervently with their lips thus:  
        “O Siva whose sacred person is like the ruddy coral!  
    You are hailed by the thirty-three Devas and the exceedingly  
        Great ones as the Primal Ens of the Trinity  
    And as the Ashta-Moorti” surely own us as their servitors.  
        Even if kings, the lords of Jambu-Dwipa,  
    Command us, we are not bound by their behest at all;  
        (For) we commit neither violence not larceny.             966 
 
7.     He is the stationary and the moving, the earth,  
        The water, the fire, the wind, the vast heaven, that which is small,  
    That which is great and that which is rare; He is easy  
        Of access to those that love Him; He is the infinite  
    Tat-Param and Sadasivam; He who is Himself becomes  
        Me too; such is His nature; of Him we will speak  
    With goodly propriety; Let ghouls speak  
        As they like; we are blemishless.                 967 
 
8.     We daily contemplate Him who is the Ruler, the God  
        Of every world, the Lord of the celestials, the One  
    Who dazzles exceedingly like fire, the One whose ruddy body  
        Is bedaubed with white ash, the Lover of the Daughter of the King  
    Of mountains and the one beloved of Her; we have  
        Clean forgotten that very day (when we quit them)  
    Their dicta inculcated for our remembrance by them  
        That eat standing.  Who are you that have come here? 
        Who indeed is the king (that you speak of)?             968 
 
9.     His hair is all matted; His one ear wears a kuzhai  
        Wrought of shell; His body is adorned with ash  
    And snakes; His mount is a Bull; His upper garment  
        Is a tiger-skin; He is clad in a deer-skin of silvery  
    Spots; He owns us; we are not obliged to obey his orders  
        Who owns you and the army that stands beside you.  
        We hold it our duty to quell all paasam.             969 
 
10.     We are blessed to sing of the supremely  
        Desirable One in full-throated ease; we are  
    Blesed to part away from the shameless; the Lord  
        Of the immortals rules us in mercy; He is the God  
    Of Devas, the extending Column of fire unknowable  
        To Ayan and Maal; He who is Siva abides in my chinta;  
    (So) even if Yama, the Lord of the South, should come to us,  
        Assert his sovereignty and bid us serve him  
    We will not heed him.  Lo and behold! We are poised  
        In the Lord’s octad of attributes.                970 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
Meelaa aallaai: Bondsman for ever, slavery to God alone is true freedom for the soul.  
 
3. The stony manam… holy manam: Nothing is good or bad by itself.  It is its use which  
characterizes a thing.  A stony manam--an abomination, can by the grace of Grace,  
become a holy manam.  So it is contrition that counts.  
 
5. Punya: The fruit of righteousness.  
 
6. Jambu-Dwipa: This refers to India that is Bharat.  
 
7. Tat-param: Tat is That.  Param is supreme.  That which is supreme is Tat-param.  
Sadasivam: This is the formless form of Siva, usually represented by the linga. 
 
8. That eat standing: The Jain monks should eat only in this way.  
 
9. Paasam (rope): The triple mala.  
 
 
99. TIRUPPUKALOOR

 
After completing his pilgrimage of the Pandya country, our Naayanaar settled in Tiruppuka- 
loor.  As usual he was performing his manual service in the temple premises.  During this  
time he hymned numerous garlands of verse surcharged in with the message of salvation.  When  
the hour came for his quitting the tabernacle of flesh, he hymned Siva in the following decad  
and became oned with Him.  The names of the Deity and His Consort, of this holy shrine, are  
Agnipureeswarar / Saranyapureeswarar / Konappiraan and Choolikaambaal / Karunthaar Kuzhali. 
 
Tiruppukaloor Tirutthaandakam  
The Tirutthaandakam of Tiruppukaloor 
 
1.     O holy One presiding over Poompukaloor! What can I--  
        The one endowed with thinking--, think of, save  
    The sacred feet of our Lord? Save the vision of Your ankleted  
        Feet which I adore with folded hands, I am without vision,  
    Without refuge; in this, my body, You have fixed nine gates;  
        I will grow inconscient when they shut simultaneously;  
    (So, be pleased to accept me even now!)  
        Unto Your feet, I am bound, O holy One!                971 
 
2.     O Lord of lords presiding over Poompukaloor! You wear bones;  
        You dance in the fire; You are the One of the Betelgeuse!  
    O One seated under the Banyan tree! O Lord whose mount  
    Is the Bull! O Lord of flawless, spreading, matted hair!  
        You rule both the moon and the snake, quelling their mutual  
    Hostility! When Devas implored You, giving no room for doubt,  
        You ate the oceanic venom, O deathless, unageing Lion!  
    It is to Your feet I am bound.                         972 
 
3.     O holy One that presides over Poompukaloor! O Lord  
        Cinctured with a hooded serpent! O One of milk-white ash!  
    O One who wears a kuzhai of crystal(-line shell)!  
        O One concorporate with Her whose eyes are touched  
    With khol and who utters sweet melodic words! You hold  
        A fawn in Your hand; You cured me of the deeds which  
    The five deceitful filchers enacted in me; it is no falsehood  
        When I say, I am bound to Your feet.                 973 
 
4.     O holy One that presides over Poompukaloor! O Lord  
        Who bent a bow, sped a ruddy dart and smote  
    With fire the three citadels of the unclarified!  
        You annul the languishment in the manams  
    Of those that are not befuddled; as Medicament  
        You cure illness; You are the Origin; You are the Vedas;  
    You are the Ens abiding beyond the investigation  
        Of the one on the Lotus and the one on the water.  
        O Lord, it is to Your feet I fare forth.             974 
 
5.     O holy One that presides over Poompukaloor! O Lord  
        Of Niti who is happy to keep irremovably on Your ruddy  
    Matted hair where flows the flood, the white crescent  
        Of bright rays! O Lord who receives alms in the huge  
    Dead skull! O One who, of yore, smote Karma! O queller of sins!  
        O One whose neck is dark like a nimbus! O martial Lion  
    Mantled in the flayed hide of the black-trunked tusker  
        That wailed aloud! It is to Your feet I fare forth!         975 
 
6.     O holy One presiding over Poompukaloor! O One  
        With spreading matted hair! O Brahmin! O Singer  
    Of the Vedas! O Lord of Vennkaadu girt with extensive  
        Groves! O Lord of Meeyacchoor! O Lord of Devas who burnt  
    The three citadels! O One enshrined in the Moolattaanam  
        Of Tiruvaaroor! O Abider in loving manams! O Lord  
    Of Maakaalam and Valanjuzhi! O my Father of great  
        Maraikkaadu! O One with aeviternal strands  
        Of matted hair! It is to Your feet I am bound!             976 
 
7.     O holy One presiding over Poompukaloor! O Lord  
        Of infinite Godhead! All the Devas, the Four-faced,  
    Indra and Maal quest after Your feet, scatter flowers  
        Thereon, sing heartily the Vedas, dance and hail You;  
    You abide at Kaanapper rich in woodland groves  
        And gardens; O God! You abide atop Kazhukkunram!  
        It is to Your feet I am bound.                    977 
 
8.     O Bather in ghee! O Nirmala! O Nilakanta!  
        O perfect One! O Author of the Vedas! O just One!  
    O One concorporate with Her whose eyes are tinct  
        With collyrium! You are gladly clad in a deer-skin!  
    I, the servitor, deck You with garlands woven  
        Of freshly-plucked vilva and konrai, and hail You;  
    O holy One presiding over Poompukaloor, it is  
        To Your feet of unfailing help, I fare forth.             978 
 
9.     O One girt with a Kovanam knit to a waist-cord!  
        O One of holy ash! You wield a white and bright mazhu!  
    You gladly keep on Your matted crest, the cool crescent  
        That sought You, the snake and the flood; You are concorporate  
    With the bashful Damsel of swan’s own gait! O Lord  
        Bedecked with a garland of bones! O Aadi!  
    O holy One presiding over Poompukaloor! It is  
        To your golden feet I am bound!                 979 
 
10.     O holy One presiding over Poompukaloor! My consciousness  
        Canst not con but for You; You incited the two  
    And the three poised in my emotional commotion and did  
        Away with my pseudo sense of ‘I’ and ‘Mine’;  
    I am but a destitute; You abide at the martial mountain;  
        With Your foot You crushed the King of Lanka which is  
    Girt with sea-shores and rich in mountains abounding  
        In cardamom, and prevented the flight  
        Of his swift car; it is to Your feet I fare forth!         980 
 
---------------- 
 
NOTES 
 
This padikam is Saint’s swan-song.  
 
2. Angkam: Bones 
Saavaa moovaacchingam: Siva is thus referred to by our Saint.  The Lord is a deathless  
and unageing Lion.  As or Saint referred to Siva as a lion, a local legand has it that when  
the time came, Siva appeared before our Saint in the form of a lion and devoured him.  
 
4. Maruntaai-p-pini theerppaai: The pini (malady) is uyir-p-pini (the malady of the soul),  
that is Aanava mala.  The medicine for this is the Grace of the Lord.  
 
10. The two: This phrase refers to iruvinai--the twofold karma. 
The three: This phrase refers to the three gunas, namely Satvam, Rajas, and Tamas. 
Illaatha tharavu: This phrase refers to the pseudo state of ahangkaaram and mamakaaram  
(I-ness and My-ness). 
This decad is recited in all sincerity and bhakti, by aged Saivites every day. 
 
Sincere thanks to Sri. T N Ramachandran of thanjavur, who has translated this holy composition to English, for permitting English translation of  Sixth Thirumurai be published here.

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