Pasuram 3.7.3

Tamil text and transliteration:

நாதனை ஞாலமும் வானமும் ஏத்தும் நறும் துழாய்ப்
போதனை பொன் நெடும் சக்கரத்து எந்தை பிரான் தன்னை
பாதம் பணிய வல்லாரைப் பணியும் அவர் கண்டீர்,
ஓதும் பிறப்பிடைதோறு எம்மை ஆளுடையார்களே.

nātaṉai ñālamum vāṉamum ēttum naṟum tuḻāyp
pōtaṉai poṉ neṭum cakkarattu entai pirāṉ taṉṉai
pātam paṇiya vallāraip paṇiyum avar kaṇṭīr,
ōtum piṟappiṭaitōṟu emmai āḷuṭaiyārkaḷē.

English translation of verse 3.7.3:

Birth after birth, they my masters shall be,
Who prostrate at the feet of my Liege-Lord,
Holding the golden Discus grand and wearing a garland of tuḷaci
Of fragrance sweet, by those in Heaven and Earth adored.

Notes

(i) The Āḻvār declares that those God-lovers, who are lost in enjoyment of the Lord’s sinewy shoulders and the lovely tuḷaci garland adorning them, are his perpetual masters.

As a matter of fact, this fascinating combination of shoulder and garland attracts the denizens of Heaven and Earth alike. Even those who are out to denigrate Godhead, get enthralled by the charming tuḷaci garland on the Divine person. Where even the tuḷaci garland fails to work, the effulgent Discus, held attractively by the Lord, has an irresistible appeal.

(ii) The following anecdote will show how difficult it is for us to bring ourselves to adore men who, for all outward appearances, are just like other men, the common run, eating and sleeping. To discover saintliness lying hidden in the Saints, calls for more than ordinary ken of perception in the on-looker.

Śrī Piḷḷai Āttāṉ, occupant of a spiritual gadi, in apostolic succession, sought from the great Nañcīyar, instructions in ‘Dramiḍopaniṣad’ (Tiruvāymoḻi). His Holiness, however, politely suggested that Śrī Āttāṉ could as well go to Nampiḷḷai (Nañcīyar’s disciple) and enjoy a sumptuous repast at his hands. Śrī Attāṉ, however, demurred, on the ground that he may have to prostrate unto Nampiḷḷai in that case. Nañcīyar put Śrī Āttāṉ at ease, by sending for Nampiḷḷai and ordering him to give Śrī Attāṉ a course of instructions without subjecting the latter to ceremonious formalities. And so, the instructions went on, but when the present decad stressing the importance of veneration of Godly men even more than God, came up, Śrī Āttāṉ turned penitent and begged of Nampiḷḷai that he (Attāṉ) be treated thenceforward as a humble disciple and permitted to make due obeisance to the learned instructor. But Nampiḷḷai declined to act otherwise than as commanded earlier by his Master (Nañcīyar) and would not, therefore, be a party to this change-over on the part of Śrī Attāṉ. The remorseful Āttāṉ sought the intervention of Nañcīyar and submitted that he (Attāṉ) be treated thenceforward as a humble disciple, now that he has come to know of the worthiness of Godly men, the living Saints.

There is yet another anecdote to illustrate that brotherhood among men is a virtue higher than even Fatherhood of God. Two favourite disciples of Nañcīyar, Vīrappiḷḷai and Pālikai vāḷippiḷḷai, once set out on a travel on friendly terms. But when some misunderstanding arose between them they gave up talking to each other.

When Nañcīyar came to know of this, he admonished them, saying:

“My Sons! It is difficult to comprehend one brother being offended against another. It only shows that wealth and lust, the cause of hate and anger, have not been eschewed yet or things of God have not been felt of great worth”.

This reprimand made them feel truly repentant and restored their former amity.