Tiruvāymoḷi of Nammāḷvār | Book 7

Category:

Śrī:
Śrīmate rāmāṉujāya nama:
Tiruvāymoḻi ēḻām pattu

BOOK 7

Seventh Centum-First Decade

1.1

O Lord of countless good, Lord of the three worlds, worshipped by the celestials! 
You heap miseries on me, through the five senses borne on this body. 
You are still intent on torturing me, separating me from your lotus feet. 
O My sweet ambrosia, My father, My Master!

1.2

You have made five tyrant kings rule me, shooting pain night and day. 
O Sap of the sugarcane, my dark-hued Lord, protector of the Earth and ocean!
O Bearer of the lightning-discus, O this sinner's Vedic Lord! 
See, you have made sure that I do not reach your lotus feet!

1.3

You have made these five senses stay and obstruct my path with mines.
You are the first-cause, you made this universe, then spanned and lifted it. 
O Lord with a tall radiant crown, this servant's own Madhusūdana! 
Alas, what have you achieved by not letting me join your feet?

1.4

You planted these five senses like snares around
me leaving no room for escape,
you placed all things and beings without exception in your person,
then slept as a child floating on a fig leaf. 
O The medicine for my karmas!
See, you have made me incapable of joining your lotus feet

1.5

These five senses swirl me in a giant-wheel causing me incurable sicknesses. 
O Lord of celestials, you routed the wicked Asura clan;
O Lord of radiant discus! Now who will be my medicine? 
Alas, you are like the executioner who blocks the front, back and the sides

1.6

These five senses afflict even the celestials who serve and worship you. 
What can they not do to an earthling, more so when you too have left me? 
O Great Lord, you are hidden in music, in poetry and in devotion. 
I see you in my eyes, now in my heart, now in my speech; pray speak a word to me?

1.7

These fickle senses cannot stick to one path or goal.
My sweet ambrosial Lord, you churned the ocean with gods and the Asuras,
with a snake rolled around a mountain planted in the deep.
Alas, how will I ever control my senses if your grace is not forthcoming?

1.8

The five senses you gave can deceived anyone as sweet ambrosia. 
My Master! My Krishna!  Lord of celestials!
Grant that I may be rid of timeless Māyā, root and all,
that I may contemplate, sing and worship your symbols and forms

1.9

These five senses can throw even the gods into the trash pit,
My Krishna, my radiant effulgence, you made this Earth,
and all the worlds, the standing, the moving, and the things,
Grant to destruction of the five, their strength and all, heed me

1.10

O Lord you churned the ocean and gave ambrosia to the gods,
I wish to sing your glory and melt with love over your lotus-feet. 
Instead you made me carry this log and heave a burden. 
These five drag me into stormy directions, and beat me painfully, Oh!

1.11

This decade of the thousand songs,
by the devotee's devotee’s devotee Caṭakōpaṉ of Kurukūr
on the Lord of the three qualities, -of making, keeping and breaking,
 -will end karmas for those who sing it night and day


2.1

O Lord of Tiruva-Rangam reclining on fish-dancing waters,
what have you done to my girl?
 She knows no sleep through night and day, she doles out tears by the handful.
She folds her hands, and says "discus", then "lotus-Lord", and swoons. 
"How can I live without you?", she weeps then falls to the Earth

2.2

"What are you doing to me, my lotus-Lord?", she asks with tears in her eyes,
then, "What shall I do, O Raṅga?", she weeps with hot and heavy sighs.
"Oh, My Karmas!", she laments, "Come, O Dark Lord, is this proper?"
you made the Earth, swallowed it, and brought it out, then measured it. 
How is it going to end for her?

2.3

Shamelessly she calls, "Gem Lord",
then sighs and stores into the say, "O My Lord who destroyed the Asuras!",
then starts to weep: 'O My Krishna, Kākutstha, come let me see you here!",
-O Raṅga, surrounded by walls, what have you done to her!

2.4

She remains as she is left, she rises, falls and folds her hands:
"Woe, this love!", she says, then swoons;
"Ocean Lord, invisible!", then "Orbed discus Lord!", she says,
"Please come!", on and on, then faints,
O Perfect Raṅga, Lord reclining on bright waters, what do you intend for her?

2.5

She falls into thought, faints and recovers;
with folded hands utters: 'Śrī Rangam",
bows that-a-ways with tears like rain; says, "Come, I prithee!", such and swoons.
O Lord who tore Hiraṇya’s chest, rare ambrosia who churned the ocean,
you have infatuated a strong maiden; now unite her to your feet

2.6

O Lord serpent-bed, grace this girl, she says;
"O Lord who stole and took my heart!", "O Red-lipped gem-hued Lord!",
"O Lord lying in Śrī Rangam, girdled by cool waters!"
"O Celestial Lord with dagger, discus, bow, mace and conch!"
Alas, my karmas are to be blamed

2.7

My tender princess sits with her large eyes raining tears.
She says, "Lord who made both pain and pleasure, loved even by the loveless!",
"Lord bearing the wheel of Time, ocean-reclining Lord!",
"O My Krishna, sacred pilgrimage spot in Śrī Raṅga’s cool-fish waters!"

2.8

O Raṅga, what can I do for my precious daughter?
She says; "O Lord of gods, you lifted a mount to protect the cows!",
she weeps and folds her hands, and sighs hotly as would dry her soul,
she says, "O Lord, how can I see you?", then looks up and stares

2.9

O Raṅga in the temple of the South! She says, "My soul!",
"O spouse of Dame Earth, whom you lifted on your tusk!",
"My Lord of lotus-dame Lakshmi, who rests on your chest!",
"Beloved Lord of cowherd-dame, you won her by subduing seven bulls!",
Alas, I cannot decipher her end

2.10

She says: "O Lord of the worlds, I know not an end for myself!",
"O Matted-hair Śiva!", "O Four-faced Brahma!"
"O King of the great celestials!", "O Lord of fragrant Srirangam!"
Becoming a refugeless, my daughter has attained the feet of the cloud-hued Lord

2.11

This decade of the thousand songs, by Caṭakōpaṉ of Kurukūr,
through grace attained at the Lord's feet in groves of Porunal Waters, 
addresses the good Lord of hue like the raincloud.
Those who master it will secure the life of joy, hallowed by good celestials


3.1

O Ladies, how shall I explain this? Alas, you do not see the way my heart sees.
My lotus Lord with discus and conch is riding away on his Garuda,
he is there is Tiruppēraiyil of joy, where Vedic chants and festival sounds
and sounds of Children playing merrily never subside, so thither shall I go

3.2

O Sakhis of fragrant tresses, O Ladies, O People of the neighbourhood!
I cannot stop this galloping heart, it is not in my bridle alas! 
Night and day it runs after the coral-lipped Lord of celestials,
Krishna who sits amid honey-dripping groves
in Tiruppēraiyil surrounded by cool fertile fields

3.3

O Friends, my heart has lost its shame and reserve
to the Lord who sits in Tiruppēraiyil,
where festivals continue for days and months.
How can I forget his radiant crown, conch and discus,
and the lotus eyes and coral-lips that I have enjoyed so long?

3.4

O Ladies, why blame me? Lost in the boom of his wonderful conch,
I bade my heart, "Go retrieve my lost lustre from the Lord
in Tiruppēraiyil, where he sits amid Vedic chants that rise like ocean eternally". 
Alas! My heart too remained there; now whose help have I for doing what?

3.5

I lost my femininity to my Krishna who smote a devil-cart,
drank the ogress breasts, went between dense Marudu trees,
and threw a coif against the wood-apple tree,
Ladies, come on, quick! No use of blaming me now;
show me the way to Tiruppēraiyil of fruit-laden groves

3.6

Save time and take me there, my love swells like the ocean!
My cloud-hued Lord appears before me, but is not within my grasp.
He sits on Earth in Tiruppēraiyil amid large water tanks,
whisked by fertile ears of paddy with endless Vedic chants

3.7

With Longing, O Sakhis!, my heart enters Tiruppēraiyil where the Lord resides. 
He destroyed the walled city of Lanka girdled by the ocean. 
Alas!  I do not see my heart return, now whose company have I?
None to call him back either; whose help for doing what, alas!
I see only what my heart sees

3.8

O Sakhis! For the very reason that you all gather
and join hands with my Lord in heaping blame over me,
my love grows.  If I were to tell you how, if would exceed the Earth and sky,
I must go then to my Lord and join him in Tiruppēraiyil, lapped by waters

3.9

My Sakhis! I must go.  O Ladies, pray do not stop me, of what use is this? 
I have no contentment of heart anymore. 
My Lord of dark ocean-hue, Lord who swallowed the Earth and Ocean
resides in Tiruppēraiyil surrounded by fertile fields

3.10

O Sakhis! I will search town and country, I have no shame. 
The Lord in Tiruppēraiyil is surrounded by mountain-like jewel mansions. 
He is Makara-neṭuṅ-kuḻai-kātaṉ, Lord wearing Makara ear rings. 
He is the discus Lord who killed the hundred Kaurāvas;
how long ago he stole my heart!

3.11

This decade of the thousand songs by Kurukūr Caṭakōpaṉ,
on the Lord of Tiruppēraiyil who takes many forms and names
through countless ages every time to protect the world,
-those who master it will secure the golden feet of the discus Lord


4.1

The discus grew, the conch and the bow also grew,
the Earth resounded, "Hail!, the mace and the dagger grew. 
The world become a bubble, the Lord's foot touched the Āsura’s head. 
Oh! How my father grew and strode the Earth, heralding a new age!

4.2

What sounds arose when my Father churned for ambrosia!
The rivers lashed water backwards over mountains,
the ocean swirled in waves back and forth,
as a snake-wrapped-mountain grated the Earth!

4.3

The seven plains stood firmly in place,
the seven mountains stood firmly in place,
the seven oceans stood firmly in place,
when my Father lifted the Earth with his tusk teeth!

4.4

The day disappeared, Earth and water disappeared,
the sky and stars disappeared. Fire and Wind disappeared,
mountains and plains disappeared, the radiant orbs disappeared,
the day my Father feasted on the Universe with relish!

4.5

Oh! The sounds of well-fed wrestlers being crushed! 
The jitters of the manly warrior kings,
and the praise that the wakeful celestials showered,
when my Father took charge of the glorious Bharata war!

4.6

When the day waned into twilight,
a lion-like form exploded from a rock,
and blood spewed high like a fountain every which way,
when my Father came and killed the wicked Asura

4.7

Arrows grinding against countless heavy arrows,
corpses by the hundred heaped like mountains,
pools of blood flowing like rivers everywhere,
-Oh, how my Father destroyed Lanka to dust!

4.8

The Cock-bannered god ran away, know ye!
Then the burning Fire-god ran away,
then the three-eyed god too ran away,
when my Father cut the strong arms of Bāṇa

4.9

Beginning with water, earth, fire, wind, and sky,
and then the mountains and radiant orbs,
and thereafter the rains, the gods, the living and all else,
-how my father made the first Universe!

4.10

Herds of grazing cows and all animals couched under;
the great tanks overflowed with gurgling waters.
The entire cowherd-clan found a shelter
when my Father lifted a mount and stopped the bad rains!

4.11

The decade of the sweet thousand songs
sung by the grateful Caṭakōpaṉ
who stood with the devotees of the Lord who lifted a mountain,
-reciting it with love bestows success


5.1

In the blessed Ayodhyā, the land created by Brahma,
 -down to the meanest gross and insect without exception,
he gives on exalted place to all the sentient and the insentient,
so would any scholar study about a king other than Him?

5.2

For the sake of humanity, Nārāyaṇa took birth
and walked on Earth, suffering countless miseries,
then destroyed the plague of Rākṣasas. 
He gave the kingdom to Vibhīṣaṇa, and liberation to all knowing this,
would mortals be devotees to anyone else?

5.3

Śiśupāla the arch-enemy of Krishna would utter lowly words of abuse,
such as would blister the ears, yet he attained the Lord's feet.
Knowing those who know this well,
would anyone listen to any but Keśava's praise?

5.4

In the hoary past when none of these existed,
he made the waters, then the four-faced Brahma,
then hid all these within himself,
Contemplating these wonders, will scientists ponder on anything else?

5.5

The Lord then came as a beautiful boar, and in a trice lifted the Earth,
-submerged in deep deluge waters, -on his tusk teeth,
knowing this, would seekers seek anything other than his feel?

5.6

Afflicted by the generous king Bali,
the gods in hordes petitioned to the Lord,
who then came as an alms-begging manikin,
 knowing these wondrous deeds,
how will anyone not be a devotee of Keśava?

5.7

The fragrant garland-deck Mārkaṇḍeya prayed for life. 
The mark-haired Śiva took him in and showed himself as example. 
The Lord then took him unto himself. 
Contemplating this, will anyone seek a god other than Krishna?

5.8

The Asura king Hiraṇya with the power of his penance afflicted the gods. 
The Lord then came as a man-lion and showed his wonder.  
Knowing this, will knowers learn any other than the Lord's names?

5.9

The Lord drove a chariot, destroying the hundred who cheated in dice,
securing victory for the good five, in a battle that the world spoke about,
knowing this, will anyone seek and but the Lord?

5.10

He removes and destroys by the root
the great miseries of Maya-birth, sickness, old age and death,
then takes us all unto his good feet.
Knowing this, will anyone with wisdom be a devotee of the Lord?

5.11

The decade of the lucid thousand songs by Kurukūr Caṭakōpaṉ
on Krishna –who gives joy to those who stand and worship him,
-will bequeath clear thought to those who master it


6.1

O Great! lotus-navel that created the worlds!
O Great lotus-feet that strode the Earth! 
O Lord of lotus eyes, protector of this forlorn self!
O Lord of lotus hands, when will I join you?

6.2

Alas, when am I to join your red lotus feet,
fittingly worshipped by Śiva and Brahma?
O Lord who stands as Earth, Fire, water, Wind and sky!
O My Dancer-Lord who protected the cows under a mount!

6.3

My Lord of cool Tulasī crown, my Lord Śiva,
my four-faced Lord Brahma, Lord of praise worthy names,
Lifting a mountain, you stopped a hailstorm. 
If indeed you are my soul's soul, pray where am I to meet you?

6.4

O My Gopāla, wearing a honey-dripping cool Tulasī wreath!
You are the three fair worlds. 
The three-eyed Śiva is you, the Lord Brahma too is you.
The thunderbolt-Indra and all the other gods are you. 
Where am I to meet you?

6.5

My Gopāla, my uncut black-gem Lord! 
The three worlds are spread in your lotus-navel. 
In the midst of your effulgent radiance,
how is this soul to see and attain you?

6.6

I know not how to see the Lord with Lakshmi on his chest. 
He looks like a brilliant gem, spreading a flood of blue effulgence. 
His feet and hands, lips and eyes, chest and navel
are like sparks of dazzling red blowing everywhere

6.7

My Lord with Lakshmi on his chest is the Lord with Parvati on his half,
and the Lord with Sarasvatī on his face, and the Lord of Indrāṇī too. 
He lifted the Earth, burnt the three cities, subdued his senses
and rules the world of the celestials,  Alas, I do not see him!

6.8

Like horses before a ganayle, like foxes before a lion,
the demons howled and left their haunts and went into hiding,
when the Garuda-Lord killed the fierce enemies and stacked bodies like a mountain,
Oh, can we not see him too?

6.9

Can we see him too, O Heart?
He destroyed the demon clan of deathly might and wickedness,
and gave the kingdom to the younger brother,
then himself ruled like a lion among gods in abounding glory

6.10

He took birth in the cowherd-clan, did many wondrous deeds,
killed Kaṁsa, befriended the Pāṇḍavas, and destroyed the armies,
Full of patient goodness, he shall by his grace
give us the precious ascent to Vaikuṇṭha, Hari.

6.11


7.1

Are they two sentinels of death, come to devour the souls of females,
or are they the beautiful eyes of the ocean-hued Lord?, -
I know not what they are. All around they appear, like day-fresh lotus flowers.
Oh, see!  O Sinful me! Sakhis! Ladies!  What shall I do?

7.2

O Ladies, what use punishing me with nudges and abuse?
Is it a tendril or stem of a grown Kalpa creeper?,
I know not, -the beautiful nose of the thief-Lord enters my soul,
strongly like a radiant lamp hanging on a chain

7.3

Is it a beautiful berry fruit, -the sins of my wicked self?, -
Or is it a coral spring of beauty, I know not,
The radiant lips of my dark hued Lord
appear me everywhere, sweetly to my soul

7.4

Is it the dark sugarcane bow of the blessed Mādana,
god of love directed on sweet damsels?
The eyebrows of my Krishna, the father of Mādana,
appear everywhere and kill me, alas!

7.5

Is it a flash of lightning, raking a fire that burns my soul?
Or is it a beautiful string of pearls, I know not,
The radiant smile of my Lord who lifted the mount kills me.
  Alas, Ladies! I know not where to escape

7.6

Are they springs dangling with Makara fish?, -
that make damsels and Asuras fear and ask, "Where?", -
O Ladies, See! The ornamented ears of the Lord
who sleeps on a hooded snake kill me relentlessly

7.7

Ladies, I know not how to show you this, but see!
is it the waxing crescent moon? Alas, is there no poison for lovers?
The forehead of my Lord with four arms
afflicts my soul and kills me relentlessly

7.8

The beautiful face of Krishna has taken my soul!
His lotus eyes, tendril nose, coral lips, bow-like eyebrows,
pearly teeth, ornamented ears and crescent-marked forehead
stand like a radiant orb of brilliance

7.9

Are they radiant sunrays that have soaked up the darkness of night?
No, they are the dark radiant tresses of the Lord,
fragrant with fresh Tulasī blossoms, taking in my soul.
Alas! You do not understand this, Ladies, and you abuse me

7.10

Ladies, you stand around me with rough hands
and abuse me for standing in the porch.
My heart is set on the gem-hued Lord whose radiance is spread everywhere;
what do you want of me?

7.11

This decade of the powerful thousand songs
By Kurukūr Caṭakōpaṉ on Krishna
who is hard to see for even the celestials, -
those who master it will secure the world of the celestials forever


8.1

O wondrous Lord, Vāmana!, Madhusūdana! Tell me.
You stand as Earth, Fire, Water, Sky and Wind,
 then as Mother, Father, Children and relatives, as all else, and as you;
what do these mean?

8.2

Beautiful Tulasī-wreathed Lord, Achyuta! Pray tell me!
You are the Moon, The sun, the stars, darkness and thundering rain.
Great fame, blame, and the sinister-eyed god of death are also. you:
what wonders are these?

8.3

Beautiful discus Lord Deft Charioteer! Pray speak;
the many countless eyes, -and moving within them,
the countless myriad objects, transient or not, -
wondrously you stand as these, what mischief's are these?

8.4

Honey-dripping-lotus-eyed-Lord! Pray give me an answer.
You lie in the deep ocean on a hooded snake,
and will these many things, being and non-being, permanent and impermanent,
what designs are these?

8.5

Fragrant-Tulasī-blossom-Lord! Pray tell me.
You rid me of my desires and took me as your own;
body, breath, birth and death are you.
The many wondrous acts are yours, what deceptions are these?

8.6

O Deceiving Manikin! Pray tell me, that I may understand
ignorance and knowledge, heat and cold, wonders and trivia,
victory and despair, use and wastefulness are you;
what travails are these?

8.7

O Hardships! My Krishna, Lord with a tall crown! Tell me,
The afflicting pride, insolence and love, the afflicting desires,
the heavy, the still, the moving, -
you made these and caused me grief, -what games are these?

8.8

O My Krishna ruling me!  What mischief you have filled with!
You make it hard for anyone to see you and speak of you as this or that,
Then you made the three worlds, and became them.
You are within me, and without. What ways are these?

8.9

O My Krishna! you are the hands and feet and all the limbs,
taste and form and touch; sound and smell too are you.
Begin to think, there is no end to your subtle nature.
What do these mean?  How do you stand?

8.10

You are the form and the formless spoken of in the Vedas,
the subtle inseparable from the gross reality.
O My Achyuta with a Tulasī garland over your chest!
Whatever one attributes to you, that you are indeed!

8.11

This decade of the thousand radiant songs by Kurukūr Caṭakōpaṉ
on the Lord who cannot be described as this or that, -
those who master it will become devotees of Hari


9.1

Oh, How shall I sing of my radiant first-cause Lord?
Day by day he makes me rise higher and higher.
Each day he makes me his own,
and sings through me his praise in Tamil verse

9.2

Today he has rendered my sweet soul count worthy,
Making it appear like I was singing with words mine,
he with words his, has sung his praise, what a wonder!

9.3

He entered my speech and made me acknowledge him.
He sings his own songs of praise through the words of pure-hearted devotees.
How can I forget the first-cause Lord in my speech?

9.4

Can I forget my father,
who through my songs, has sung his own praise?
He liberates me from beginningless Karma,
and roams about ensuring my well-being

9.5

He made me his and through me,
song sweet songs that the worlds praise.
I only uttered empty words,
while he filled them with meaning

9.6

My Lord of Vaikuṇṭha has preferred to blend with me and sing his praise.
He did not choose worthy poets of great words and merit for this

9.7

When shall I know to my fill the Lord who destroyed my karmas?
He made me his and through my words has sung his own songs on Vaikuṇṭha

9.8

The Lord of discus made me his,
gave me excellence, and sang his sweet songs.
Even if I mix and drink the whole Earth,
will if quench my thirst for singing?

9.9

Even if I drink through past and future,
will that quench my thirst for singing his glory?
He favoured me by making this mindless me his,
and with my tongue he song his moving songs

9.10

What can I give in return for his favour of singing with my tongue?
I wonder! The songs in his praise are so moving,
there is nothing of equal merit in this or another word.

9.11


10.1

When will the day be when I ambulate with folded hands,
the Lord who dearly resides in Tiruvaranvilai
amid groves with lotus-dame Lakshmi on his chest?
He is our Lord who rules us sweetly, spreading happiness over the seven worlds

10.2

He came as a manikin and grew tall;
dispelling doubts he grew and measured the Earth with his two feet.
He resides in Tiruvaranvilal, where pennoned mansions touch the sky,
When will I worship him with fresh water and folded hands?

10.3

Oh, when will worship him instead of seeing him ride away on his Garuda?
He is Govinda, Madhusūdana, Naraharl,
residing in Tiruvaranvilai, -surrounded by gardens, -
famed for the four Vedas, the five sacrifices and the six Angas

10.4

Will I ever contemplate without end from here
the lotus-feet of the beautiful Krishna?
The glorious Lord of the worlds was born in Mathura.
He resides in Tiruvaranvilai amid sugarcane and paddy

10.5

Through contemplation and worship of his feet forever,
 if we sing his boundless praise, our karmas will all vanish.
He resides in Tiruvaranvilai amid mansions and fall walls, -
the friend of many great devotees of yore

10.6

Devotees if we contemplate his frame, our karmas will vanish.
He is within me at all times, praised by my heart.
He then fought and won battles to wed his Rukmiṇī.
He resides in Tiruvaranvilai, the city of great fame

10.7

The city of Tiruvaranvilal is surrounded by gardens.
He resides there as Krishna, Lord of the celestials,
in the yore he entered Sana's fortress, while Śiva fled, -
and cut asunder the Āsura’s thousand arms, he is our only refuge

10.8

The tusker standing in deep waters lifted his trunk and walled,
"O Krishna, I have no refuge, other than you!"
The Lord ended his misery then; he lives in Tiruvaranvilai,
If we go around him in worship, our karmas will all vanish

10.9

Even if my karmas vanish and I ascend Heaven,
my thoughts will still be, "When will I praise and worship him?”.
With proper deeds and proper heart and proper words alone,
O When will I go around Tiruvaranvilai

10.10

I Have resigned myself to the Lord who lives in Tiruvaranvilai,
where devotees worship him through thought, word and deed.
The Lord Tevarpiran knows my heart to the core.
He knows that I nurture no secret desires

10.11

This decade of the holly thousand songs
by Kurukūr Caṭakōpaṉ of Saintly heart,
on dedicating himself to the holy one's feet, -
those who master it will secure the worship of the celestials and their spouses