|
Home >
Scripture >
scripture >
English-Translation
Copy link
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.
Related Content
Tirunavukarasu thayvaram - Koyil - Ariyanai Anthanarthany
Thirunavukkarasar Thevaram - Koyil - Mankul Mathithavazum
Thirunavukkarasar Thevaram - Thiruvirattanam - Veriviravu ku
Thirunavukkarasar Thevaram - Thiruvathikaivirattanam - Chant
Thirunavukkarasar Thevaram - Thiruvirattanam - Ellany Chivan
