Periyāḻvār Tirumoḷi | 301-350

301.

Will Nandagopa, the father-in-law
of my daughter, embrace her and say,
“I am proud to have you as my daughter-in-law?”
Seeing her lovely fish eyes, red mouth, round breasts,
waist and beautiful arms,
will he say, “How can the mother
who gave birth to one like you
be able live apart from her?”

302.

Will the family of her in-laws join together,
perform all the requisite ceremonies
and make her happy?
Will her beloved who destroyed the Asura
that came in the form of a cart
be able to live happily with my daughter
whom he married as the whole city
and the country looked on?

303.

Will the chief of the gods in the sky
who carries a discus
live with my daughter without blaming her for anything?
Will he live with her in the family,
give her the name of belonging to a cowherd family
so that all the other housewives
will know and protect her?

304.

O beautiful girl!
The son of Nandagopa doesn’t do any of the things
that people born in good families do!
He doesn’t follow our customs.
O my god!
My daughter’s waist is becoming thin
and she is longing for a better life.
Will her hands become rough
always churning buttermilk and holding the churning rope?

305.

Without sleeping well, can my daughter wake up before dawn
and churn the white yogurt?
Will the god who has shining beautiful lotus eyes,
who measured the world,
make her do hard work or will he keep her happy?

306.

The chief of flourishing Puduvai
composed ten poems describing
how a good mother went to a cowherd village
searching for her daughter
who went away with Maayavan and how she worried
whether her daughter could live as a daughter-in-law in the cowherd village.
Those who recite the poems of Viṣṇu-Citta
will become devotees of the god
who has a beautiful sapphire-coloured body.

28. Playing balls - undi paṛathal.

307.

O undi, fly and sing the strength of my god
who pulled a beautiful Parijāta flower tree
from Indra’s world with the help of strong Garuḍa
when Indrāṇī did not give the flowers to Satyabhāmā.
Praise and sing the strength of my beloved and fly.
Praise and sing the strength of my god and fly.

308.

O undi, fly and sing the power of the bow of the god
who took away the power of Balarāma’s tapas
when he came in front of him and said,
“See the power of my bow and leave!”
He bent his bow and took the life of Thaḍagai.
Sing and praise the strength of the son of Daśaratha.
Fly and sing the power of his bow.

309.

O undi, when the god brought Rukmiṇī on his chariot,
Rukman, her proud brother,
came there angrily and opposed him.
Kaṇṇaṉ destroyed his heroism and cut off his head.
O undi, fly and sing the praise of the god.
Praise the lion-like son of Devakī and fly.

310.

O undi, fly singing the strength of the god
who went to the terrible forest without getting angry
when his step-mother who is like Yama told him,
“Go to the forest!”
and as the mother who gave birth to him
followed him crying, “My dear son!”
Sing the praise of Rāma the beloved of Sītā.

311.

O undi, fly and sing the praise
of the dark kohl-coloured god
who went to Duryodhana as a messenger for the Pāṇḍavas
and helped them fight the Bhārata war.
He jumped into the pond and danced on the heads
of the snake Kālinga and then gave his grace to it.
Sing the praise of the lion-like son of Yaśodā and fly.

312.

O undi, fly and sing the praise
of Rāma who gave his padukas
to his faultless brother Bhārata
who followed him and asked him to come back
to rule all the three worlds and be the king
and show him his grace.
Sing the praise of the king of Ayodhyā and fly.

313.

O undi, fly and sing the praise
of the strength of the heroic arms
of the clever god who jumped into the pond,
stirred it up and danced on the five wide heads
of Kālinga and then gave his grace to him.
Praise the pure sapphire-coloured god and fly.

314.

O undi, fly and sing the praise of the god
who gave the kingdom to his younger brother
and went to the forest obeying the order
of his step-mother Kaikeyi.
In the forest Rāma cut off the ears and nose
of thin-waisted Śūrpaṇakhā as she screamed.
Sing and praise the king of Ayodhyā and fly.

315.

O undi, fly and sing the praise of the god
who kicked and destroyed the Asura
when he came in the form of a deceiving cart.
He killed the Asura brothers
who stood in the form of marudam trees.
He is a clever god
who goes with the cowherds, protects the cattle
and plays the flute wonderfully.
O undi, fly and sing the praise of the bull-like son of the cowherds.
Fly and sing the praise of the god who grazed the cows.

316.

O undi, fly and sing the praise of the god
who crossed the ocean, entered Lanka,
killed his enemy Rāvaṇa, the ten-headed king,
and gave his kingdom to Vibhīṣaṇa, Rāvaṇa’s good brother.
O undi, fly and sing the praise of the nectar-like sweet god,
fly and sing the praise of the king of Ayodhyā.

317.

Viṣṇu-Citta, the chief of southern Puduvai
where ornamented Tamil flourishes composed ten poems
describing how the women decorated with shining ornaments
asked the undi to praise
and sing the heroic deeds of Kākutstha, the son of Nanda.
Those devotees who learn and sing these ten poems of Viṣṇu-Citta will not have
any trouble in life.

29. Hanuman sees Sītā. Story of Rāma.

These poems describes how Hanuman went to Lanka, saw Sītā, told her things that
only she would know to show that he was a messenger from Rāma and gave her the
ring of Rāma.

318.

Hanuman sees Sītā in Asokavanam in Rāvaṇa’s palace and says,
“O Beautiful goddess with dark thick hair!
I am your slave. This is my request.
Rāma broke the bow of king Janaka
who wore a shining crown studded with diamonds and married you.
When Balarāma, who did much tapas,
stopped him on the way to Ayodhyā after your marriage,
Rāma broke his bow and destroyed his powerful tapas.
This tells you I am a messenger from Rāma.

319.

“Your hair is decorated with lovely alli blossoms.
I bow to your feet. This is my request.
Give me your grace and listen.
You are beautiful like a deer
and your two eyes are like blooming flowers.
One day when you were with your beloved husband,
he brought you a jasmine garland
and you were very happy to see it.
This tells you I am a messenger from Rāma.

320.

“Kaikeyi, the queen of Daśaratha,
confused in her mind,
asked for two boons from Daśaratha
and the king with a sorrowful mind
was unable to refuse and granted the boons.
He sent Rāma away saying, ‘O dear son of our family!
Go and stay in the forest!’
And Rāma went with his brother Lakṣmaṇa.
This tells you I am a messenger from Rāma.

321.

“O Vaidehī, you are beautiful
and your breasts are decorated with a band.
This is my request.
You are the royal queen of the king of Ayodhyā
who has a beautiful chariot.
Give me your grace and hear me.
He became a good friend of Guhan
who is proficient in using a sharp spear
and who lives on the bank of Ganges.
This tells you I am a messenger from Rāma.

322.

“O Vaidehī, your look is soft like a deer,
your words are as sweet as milk!
This is my request.
When you and Rāma went to the forest
filled with stony paths and stayed in Chitrakūṭa
where the mountain slopes are filled with groves
and flowers drip honey
Bhārata came and worshipped you.
This tells you I am a messenger from Rāma.

323.

“When you were in Chitrakūṭa,
a small crow came and touched your breast.
You were frightened when Rāma shot an arrow at the crow and the crow,
frightened, flew all over the world.
You called Rāma, saying,
‘O Rāma, you are a clever one. Come, you are my refuge.’
At once Rāma came and made the crow blind in one eye.
This tells you that I am a messenger from Rāma.

324.

“Your waist is as thin as lightning!
This is the request of your true slave. Hear me.
When a golden deer came in the forest and played sweetly,
you asked your beloved husband to bring it to you.
He took his bow and went to catch it.
Lakṣmaṇa who was guarding you left
and searched for Rāma
because he heard Rāma calling him
and thought that Rāma was in trouble.
This tells you I am a messenger from Rāma.

325.

“O Vaidehī, your kohl-like dark hair
is decorated with beautiful flowers.
This is my request.
I am a chief of the monkeys.
The great king of Ayodhyā told all these things to me
so that I could search for you.
This is a ring from his hand
and this is the best sign that I am his messenger.”

326.

Sītā saw the ring of Rāma
who is praised in all directions,
and thought of the day
when Rāma came to Janaka’s palace,
broke the bow in the middle of a large assembly of kings
and married her.
Sītā, decorated with flowers on her hair,
said, “O Hanuman, this is a marvellous sign!”
and joyfully put the ring on the top of her head.

327.

The Paṭṭarpiran of Puduvai who is praised
by all the world composed in poems the signs
by which the famous Hanuman convinced Vaidehī
when he saw her, the beautiful one
whose breasts are bound with a band.
Devotees who recite these poems will stay
with the god in divine Vaikuṇṭha.

30. Devotees search for the God (Rāma and Kaṇṇaṉ)
These poems describe devotees who search for Rāma and the other devotees who
guide them to the places where Rāma is.

328.

If you want to find Rāma
who has matchless fame
whose bright crown shines like the rays of thousands of suns joined together,
go to the people who saw him with his fingers bloodied
after he split open the chest of heroic Hiraṇyan
whose strong arms were decorated with bracelets.

329.

If you want to find the famous Rāma
who carries a sword, conch, club,
a bow that twangs loudly as it shoots arrows,
and a divine discus,
go to the people who saw him at Sītā’s suyavaram
in the palace of Janaka, the king of kings,
where Rāma broke the strong bow for Sītā
whose beautiful fingers are like blooming kandal flowers.

330.

If you are searching anxiously for the god
who broke the tusks of the murderous elephant,
who killed the Kaurāvas fighting in the Bhārata war,
and who destroyed the mara trees with his bow,
go to the people who saw him
on the seashore with rolling waves,
when the monkey clan carried large stones
and made a bridge on the ocean with rolling waves.

331.

If you are searching for the magical child,
the ancient god who sleeps in the middle of the ocean,
come, I will tell you the way.
Go to people who were there and actually saw him
when he sweated and fought the seven strong bulls
and killed them for the love
of the beautiful cowherd girl Nappinnai.

332.

If you are searching for the divine Tirumāḷ
who is praised by Nāṉmukaṉ
and Shiva who has red jaṭa where the Ganges flows,
go to the people who were there and saw him
when he took Rukmiṇī whose breasts are decorated with a band on his chariot
and her brother, Rukman came to oppose him on the way.

333.

If you are searching for the place
of the handsome dark sapphire-coloured god,
the heroic one who drank milk
from the breasts of the ugly demon Pūthanā and killed her,
go to the people who saw him
seated on a throne surrounded by thousands of queens
in famous Dvārakā puri.

334.

If you want to know the place of your god
who carries in his hands a sounding white conch
and a divine shining discus,
come, I will tell you.
Go to the people who have seen him
driving a chariot yoked to white horses
and decorated with victorious monkey flags
in the Bhārata war where he used his tricks to help Arjuna.

335.

If you want to see the young son of Devakī
who hid the light of the sun with his discus
for thirty nalihais and made enemy kings wait
and then conquered them,
go to the people who saw him
drive the chariot for Arjuna
who fought and killed Jayadratha in the Bhārata war.

336.

If you are searching anxiously for the god
who swallowed the earth, mountains, wavy oceans
and everything else and then spat them out,
go to the people who saw him
when he became a boar that no one can imagine,
dug the ground and brought the earth
from the underworld
and married the earth goddess with lovely dark hair.

337.

The Paṭṭarpiran of Puduvai
where good paddy grows in the fertile fields
described in poems the places
where the devotees
who search for the dark cloud-coloured god can find him.
Those who recite these ten poems and praise god in their minds
will reach the feet of the highest god.

31. The beauty of Tirumāliruñcōlai

338.

The mountain of the god, the king,
the light of the family of the cowherds
who destroyed the clan of the Rākṣasas
who wandered about and scared and destroyed people
is the southern Tirumāliruñcōlai
where the divine Apsarās come
and wander as their anklets jingle
and where the river Silambaaṛu flows.

339.

The mountain of the great god
who cut off the thousand arms of his strong enemy Bāṇāsura,
and the ten heads of Rāvaṇa who carried a strong sword,
and his sister Sūrpaṇakhā’s nose
is the lovely southern Tirumāliruñcōlai,
whose fame is spread in all places
and has remained and will remain for many ages.

340.

The golden mountain of the glorious god
who leads the noble, the great and the evil
on the right paths is cool Tirumāliruñcōlai
that will change the lives
of the devotees who go there always
and worship the god.

341.

The mountain of the god
who carried Govardhana mountain
to save the cows and the family of the cowherds
when Indra, the king of the gods,
tried to destroy their festival with a storm
is the southern Tirumāliruñcōlai
where a river of honey flows
just like the river that flows in the Kaṟpaka garden
blooming with lovely flowers.

342.

The mountain of the god
who saved Gajendra when a crocodile caught him in a pond
and who destroyed Kaṁsa, strong as an elephant,
is fertile Tirumāliruñcōlai,
where the strong male elephant searched for his mate
that was angry and had left him, and when he could not find her,
he promised on the dark ocean-coloured god
that he would behave when she returned.

343.

The mountain of the clever god
who has lovely arms smeared with sandal paste
and who killed the wrestlers
who were sent by his uncle Kaṁsa to oppose him
is southern Tirumāliruñcōlai
where the gods and the good sages worship him,
saying that he is their refuge.

344.

The mountain of the god
who gave water to the horses and caused a flood
and who drove the chariot in the battle
for his brothers-in-law
to help them conquer the Kaurāvas
is southern Tirumāliruñcōlai,
praised by the Pāṇḍu king Neḍumaran
of Kudala city in the south
who carried a sharp spear and a bent bow.

345.

The golden mountain of the precious god
who destroys the countries of enemy kings
who do not approach him
and who makes them walk on small paths in cruel forests
is golden southern Tirumāliruñcōlai
where in the dawn thousands of bees
that have six legs and lines on their bodies
sing the thousand names of the god.

346.

The mountain of the dear god
where Bhudams offer copious food with red blood
and give sacrifices in the evening and worship the god
is southern Tirumāliruñcōlai
where the velvet mites
whose bodies are red like the sweet lips of our god
fly around in groves where honey drips,

347.

The mountain of the faultless god
who stays in majesty surrounded
by his many beautiful queens
who shine in all the eight directions
is southern Tirumāliruñcōlai
where village cows play with their bulls
and in the evening go back
and think of the happiness that they enjoyed together.

348.

Viṣṇu-Citta of Villiputtur
who worships always with devotion the god
who has the colour of the dark ocean
composed poems about the beautiful Tirumāliruñcōlai hills
surrounded with fields and groves.
Those who recite Viṣṇu-Citta’s poems
and worship the god
will reach Kaṇṇaṉ’s feet decorated with anklets.

32. Praising the mountain Tirumāliruñcōlai

349.

The mountain of the heroic god
who tied on his chariot Rukman
when he came to take his sister back
after Kaṇṇaṉ took Rukmiṇī with him
is majestic Tirumāliruñcōlai
where the kondrai trees on the hills shower golden flowers
that look like wheels and coins
as if they were generous
and lovingly gave coins to the poor.

350.

The mountain of the sapphire-coloured god
who destroyed Kaṁsa, Kālinga,
the elephant Kuvalayabeeḍam, the marudu trees
and the seven bulls when he was growing up,
is Tirumāliruñcōlai
where a poisonous snake comes
and hides the cool beautiful moon with his shining tongue
thinking he can swallow it.