Tiruvāymoḷi of Nammāḷvār | Taṉiyaṉ - Invocations
Taṉiyaṉ
1. [Invocation by Śrīman Nāthamuni]
Bhaktāmṛtam viśvajana anumodanaṁ
Sarvārthadam Śrī Śaṭhakopa Vāṅgmayaṁ
Sahasra śākhopaniṣad samāgamaṁ
Namāmyahaṁ drāvida Veda Sāgaraṁ.
Translation
Worship do I the Ocean of Tamil Vedas,
The aggregate of the Upaniṣads, having thousands of branches,
spelt out by Śaṭhakopa,
The ambrosia for God-lovers,
Which regales all alike
[the denizens of the Universe as well as the Supreme Lord, the granter of all felicities]
Note
Invocations (Taṉiyaṉ) 1 to 6 comprising one Sanskrit Śloka and five Tamil verses, composed by the devotees of Saint Nammāḷvār, do not form part of the Text of Tiruvāymoḷi, as such, but are, as a rule, recited at the commencement of the chanting of Tiruvāymoḷi.
Tiruvāymoḷi is likened to an ocean:
Once upon a time, the ocean was churned and the ambrosia, which came up, was offered to the Devas, the Lord’s devotees. Likewise, Tiruvāymoḷi feeds the devotees with the nectarine sweetness of its contents.
Again, the ocean delights the beholders, one and all, any length of time. Similarly, Tiruvāymoḷi, the ‘Drāviḍa Veda Sāgaram’, regales one and all in the whole Universe, from the Supreme Lord downwards, without satiety.
2. [Invocation by Īśvaramuni]
Tiruvaḻuti nāṭeṉrum Teṉkurukūreṉṟum
Maruviṉiya vaṇporunaleṉrum — arumaṟaikaḷ
Antāti ceytāṉaṭiyiṇaiyā eppoḻutum
Cintiyāy neñcē teḷintu.
Translation
My mind! thou shalt, forever, contemplate, as your sole refuge,
The feet of the one [Saint Nammāḷvār], who rendered the abstruse Sanskrit Veda, in lucid Tamil verses,
Skilfully composed, adoring, as well, his birthplace, namely, Teṉkurukūr, in the region called Tiruvaḻuti and the exhilarating river Tāmraparṇī on whose bank it stands.
3. [Invocation by Coṭṭainampi]
Maṉattālum vāyālum vaṇkurukūr pēṇum
Iṉattāraiyallātiṟaiñcēṉ — taṉattālum
Ētum kuṟaivilēṉ — Entai Caṭakōpaṉ
Pātaṅkaḷ yāmuṭaiya paṟṟu.
Translation
Leaning, as I do, on the feet of Śaṭhakopa, my Sire,
I am above wants; I shall adore none
But those whose mind and mouth venerate Tirunakari,
His birth place.
4. [Invocation by Aṉantālvāṉ]
Ēynta peruṅkīrtti yirāmānuca muṉitaṉ
Vāynta malarppātam vaṇaṅkukiṉṟēṉ — āyntaperum
Cīrār Caṭakōpaṉ Centamilvētam tarikkum
Pērāta uḷḷam peṟa.
Translation
I adore the comely feet of Saint Rāmānuja of unrivalled fame,
So as to acquire a mind which shall stand riveted to the Chaste Tamil Vedas,
Yielded by Caṭakōpaṉ, the repository of all auspicious qualities,
Absolutely free from all blemishes.
5. and 6. [Invocation by Śrī Parāśara Bhaṭṭar]
Vāṉtikaḻum cōlai matiḷaraṅkar vaṇpukaḻmēl
Āṉṟa tamiḻ maṟaikaḷāyiramum — Iṉṟa
Mutaltāy Caṭakōpaṉ — moympāl vaḷartta
Itattāy Irāmānucaṉ.
Translation
Caṭakōpaṉ was the mother, who yielded the Tamil Vedas,
in a thousand stanzas, extolling the glory of Araṅkar (Lord Raṅganātha),
Enshrined in the walled city of Srirangam, surrounded by luxurious orchards;
Rāmānuja is, however, the beneficent foster-mother,
Who sedulously nurtured these songs and made them flourish in our midst.
Mikkaviṟai nilaiyum meyyāmuyir nilaiyum
Takkaneṟiyum taṭaiyāki — tokkjyalum
Ūḻviṉaiyum vālviṉaiyum ōtum Kurukaiyar Koṉ
Yāḻliṉicai vētattiyal.
Translation
The tuneful songs of Tiruvāymoḷi of Vedic excellence,
Composed by Nammāḷvār, the chieftain of Kurukūr,
Elucidate the nature of the Supreme Lord.
The nature of the eternal soul (Jīva), the means for attaining the Lord,
The end or the final goal and the impediments thereto.
Note
These five topics dealt with in Tirumantra, (Om Namo Nārāyaṇāya) are elaborated upon, time and again, in Tiruvāymoḷi:
The Lord is Supreme, the individual souls are His sole servitors, loving surrender unto His Sweet grace, the sole means of attaining Him,
the deceitful knowledge, resulting in the individual soul straying away into the domain of sensual pleasures through the media of the foul bodies, constitutes the impediment to the attainment of the Lord,
service to the Lord, without break or blemish, is the ultimate goal.