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Nammalvar
'Tiruvasiriyam' is a poem of 71 lines in seven unequal sections, the first of fifteen lines, the second, third, fourth and seventh of nine lines each, the fifth and the sixth of ten lines each.
The first fifteen lines of the poem speak of the glory of the Lord as he reclines on the primordial serpent, Adi Sesha (the first servitor):
Like a glowing emerald hill, red-veined,
Clothed in a bright, red cloud,
Wearing on its crest the fiery sun
And the cool white moon and the stars,
Reclining on the waves of the sea,
Thou dost rest aware, O Supreme Lord incomparable,
On the primordial serpent
Whose poison-hoods bend down,
Thou dost recline,
With ruby lips and lotus eyes,
Wearing a cloth of red gold,
A diadem and countless jewels,
Worshipped with folded hands
By Siva, Brahma, Indra,
And all the gods,
O Thou with the lotus navel
And feet that measured the three worlds. [1]
The second nine lines are an address to God, telling Him that the wise will never, for the sake of the pleasures of the earth, give up the sweetness of yearning for Him:
O Lord, Creator,
O Thou who takest into Thyself
All the worlds,
Will they who are clear-eyed and wise
Give up the honey-sweet, Nectarean flood
That springs and flows from love of Thee,
Give up turning to Thy shining, ankleted feet
In an ecstasy of yearning, spirit melting?
No. Let them who savour
The things of the earth cling to them.
But will the wise
Ever look at the gift of deathless strength,
Or of the three worlds, and all their riches,
Even of the House Eternal,
Offering freedom absolute,
And give up the infinite sweet of longing for Thee? [2]
The third section of the poem refers in vivid details to the 'puranic' story of the churning of the milky sea by Lord Narayana. Nammalvar asks of Him the boon to serve his devotees for ever and ever:
Of the three gods
He who is supreme,
To whom the world bows in worship,
He whom the Vedas praise,
Who sees that his writ runs true,
He, the effulgent one,
With the hooded serpent-king as rope,
Whirled the mountain-churn in he sea;
And waves mountainous rose
Crashing thunderous,
Far-flung over the deep,
And the great hills shook in fear.
He, the peerless one,
Will He grant us the boon
Of serving His devotees
Aeon after aeon without a break,
For ever and ever? [3]
The fourth movement of the poem expresses Nammalvar's desire to worship the Lord, the Creator, Origin of all tings and all life:
For ever and ever, without a break,
Will it be given to us
To turn in worship to Him
Saying "All the glory to Thee"?
When the worlds were not
And no life anywhere,
At the time of the dark void,
He, the Origin of Origins, the primordial Seed
Of all things that are,
Put forth a sprout the four-faced Brahma
From the lotus of His navel
And gave us Siva and all the gods.
The feet of this Transcendent One,
This mystery,
Will it be given to us
To worship for ever and ever? [4]
The fifth part describes 'Trivikrama avatara' and the way in which He measured with two foot-steps earth and sky and all the worlds, and ends with the question to whom else the world would bow in homage:
One foot poised, an inverted bud,
Over all the earth
And covering it, spreading over it,
Burgeoning into a cosmic flower,
The other foot flashing out to fill the sky,
The world of Brahma
Wondering and rejoicing,
and all the gods
In proper order worshipping.
He, the Great Origin, stood, a riot of lotuses,
With eyes like flowers and rosy fruit-lips,
With His thousand crowns, a thousand suns and moons,
His thousand arms Kalpaka [5] groves numberless.
To whom but to this Infinite One
Will the world bow in homage? [6]
The next section speaks of how the world in its foolishness is indifferent to its Creator and Sustainer and is drawn into the mire of the senses:
Oh, but what a world!
When the mother that gave it birth
Is at hand,
It pours ablution on a piece of dead wood.
He who created, lifted,
Took in and spat out the worlds,
He, the knower, the provider,
The Primal Cause, the Transcendent,
When He is Waiting,
To turn to various other gods,
To revel in perverse blindness and parade it,
To kill, and to sink in unrighteous deeds,
And get caught in the endless web,
The dark of the senses,
To wallow in it,
Oh, what a world! [7]
The last part of the poem refers to 'Pralaya', the day of dissolution, when all the worlds and all the gods and everything are drawn into Him:
The god with the cold moon
On his matted locks,
And the god, four-faced,
And the chief of the Devas,
Bright as a tendril,
Earth, the waters, fire, air,
The sky with the flaming sun and the moon,
All the worlds, all life and everything
Were drawn into Him,
He kept them hidden within Him
And lay on a banyan leaf,
He, the infinite mystery,
Will we turn ever
To any god but to Him? [8]
The poem, though short, is rich in imagery and reveals Nammalvar's imagination lighting up 'puranic' lore and his abiding faith in the great mystery that God is.
NOTES
1. Tiruvasiriyam, lines 1-15.
[Back]sekkarmaa mugiluduththu mikka senchudarp parithisoodi, anchudar mathiyam pooNdu palasudar punaintha pavaLach chevvAy thigazhpasuNY chOthi maragathak kunRam kadalOn kaimisaik kaNvaLar vathupOl pIthaga aadai mudipooN muthalaa mEthagu palkalan aNinthu, sOthi vaayavum kaNNavum sivappa, mIthittup pachchai mEni migappa kaippa nachchuvinaik kavar_thalai aravinamaLi yERi eRikadaln^aduvuL aRithuyil amarnthu sivaniya Nninthiran ivarmudha lanaiththOr theyvak kuzhaangaL kaithozhak kidantha thaamarai yunthith thanipperu naayaga moovula kaLantha sEvadi yOyE!
2. Tiruvasiriyam, lines 16-24.
[Back]ulagupadaith thuNda enthai, aRaikazhal sudarppoon^ thaamarai sooduthaRku, avaavaa ruyirugi yukka,nEriya kaathal anbi linpIn thERal, amudha veLLath thaanaam siRappuvittu, oruporutku asaivOr asaiga, thiruvodu maruviya iyaRkai, maayaap peruviRa lulagam moonRi Nnodun^alvIdu peRinum, koLvatheNNumO theLLiyOr kuRippE?
3. Tiruvasiriyam, lines 25-33.
[Back]kuRippil koNdu neRippada, ulagam moonRudan vaNangu thOnRupugazh aaNai meypeRa nadaaya theyvam moovaril muthalva Nnaagi, sudarviLaNG kakalaththu varaipurai thiraipora peruvarai veruvara, urumural olimali naLir_kadaR padavara varasudal thadavarai suzhaRRiya, thanimaath theyvath thadiyavark kinin^aam aaLaagavE isaiyungol, oozhithO RoozhiyO vaathE?
4. Tiruvasiriyam, lines 34-42.
[Back]oozhithO Roozhi Ovaathu vaazhiyE! enRu yaamthozha isaiyuNG kollO, yaavagai yulagamum yaavaru millaa, mElvarum perumpaazhk kaalaththu, irumporut kellaa marumpeRal thaniviththu, oruthaan aagith theyva naanmugak kozhumuLai InRu, mukkaN Isanodu thEvupala nuthalimU vulagam viLaiththa unthi, maayak kadavuL maamutha ladiyE?
5. A tree in Swarga, the region of the immortal Devas, supposed to grant all one's wishes. [Back]
6. Tiruvasiriyam, lines 43-52.
[Back]maamuthal adippO thonRukavizhth thalarththi, maNmuzhuthum agappaduththu, oNsudar adippOthu onRuviN selI_i, naanmugap puththEL naaduviyan^ thuvappa, vaanavar muRaimuRai vazhipada neRI_i, thaamaraik kaadu malarkkaN NOdu kanivaa yudaiyathu maay_iru naayiRaa yirammalarn^ thanna kaRpagak kaavu paRpala vanna mudithO Laayiram thazhaiththa nediyOyk kallathum adiyathO vulagE?
7. Tiruvasiriyam, lines 53-62.
[Back]O_O! ulagina thiyalvE InRO Lirukka maNain^I raatti, padaiththidan^ thuNdumizhn^ thaLanthu, thErnthula kaLikkum muthaRperuNG kadavuL niRpa pudaippala thaanaRi theyvam pENuthal, thanaadhu pullaRi vaaNmai porunthak kaatti, kolvana muthalaa allana muyalum, inaiya seygai yinbu thunbaLi thonmaa maayap piRaviyuL nIngaa panmaa maayath thazhunthumaa naLirnthE.
8. Tiruvasiriyam, lines 63-71.
[Back]naLirmadhich chadaiyanum naanmugak kadavuLum thaLiroLi yimaiyavar thalaivanum muthalaa, yaavagai yulagamum yaavarum agappada, nilan^Ir thIgaal sudariru visumbum malarsudar piRavum siRithudan mayanga, oruporuL puRappaa dinRi muzhuvathum agapppadak karanthu_Or aalilaich chErnthavem perumaa maayanai yalladhu, orumaa theyvammaR RudaiyamO yaamE?
