Tiruvﾄ《iriyam
• October 1, 1974
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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):
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 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:
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:
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:
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:
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:
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.
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1 Tiruvasiriyam, lines 1-15. (↑)
2 Tiruvasiriyam, lines 16-24. (↑)
3 Tiruvasiriyam, lines 25-33. (↑)
4 Tiruvasiriyam, lines 34-42. (↑)
5 A tree in Swarga, the region of the immortal Devas, supposed to grant all one's wishes. (↑)
6 Tiruvasiriyam, lines 43-52. (↑)
7 Tiruvasiriyam, lines 53-62. (↑)
8 Tiruvasiriyam, lines 63-71. (↑)
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