Chapter 56 - Tirukkalukkundram or Tirukkalukkunram (Hymn 81)

I

The joy of his divine experience and of the feeling resulting in freedom takes in this hymn the form of a message to the world, because this kind of joy can never be selfish. His joy flows to others for benefiting this world. He is himself so much taken up with this message that he begs of others to fall at the feet of those who worship the Lord reciting his own poetic words of rhythmic beauty probably because he has forgotten himself whilst singing this hymn and feels these words express inspired truths (10).

The pattern of the last sentence in every verse is, “the place of the Lord is the cool Kalukkunram'’. ‘Itam’ comes either at the end of the second or the third line; the fourth line always ends with the words ‘Tankalukkunram’. But in verses 3 and 8, ‘itam’ does not occur. In verse 10 the itam comes in the first line and ‘Kalukkunram’ comes in the second line. The first five verses and the ninth verse beg of the people of the world to worship at Tirukkalukkundram. Verses 6, 7 and 8 speak of the Lord without any such specific advice; the poet speaks of the Lord becoming enshrined there for getting a place in the heart of his followers.

II

The rest of the verses is taken up by the description of Kaluk-kunram full of natural beauty, suggesting that “even the bees of the place stay humming in the holy mountain and worship the Lord” (7). “The she-elephant along with (its child and with) its lord of the three flowing musts and of the long trunk circumambulates the cool mountain to be cured of the fatigue caused by their roaring noise produced whilst in search of each other” (4), “The monkeys, the male and the female, along with their yoinig ones which had drunk the milk of the mother, in loving embrace, rush in that jungle of cool Kalnkkunram” (5). “The bees feast on the honey and sing their sweet tunes whilst the peacocks of the jungle live permanently there (because of this tune being in harmony with their dance)” (7). “Everything there becomes full of munificence like the Lord. The clouds become full with rain” (9). “The tall bamboos shower round pearls” (9). “The roaring white cataract descends down carrying pearls and gems of shining colours” (2).

III

His Lordship over the Devas (1), the mat-lock shining with Konrai (2), the eight arms (2), the blue throat, (3), the sharp battle-axe (4) the dance of white ash (4), the trident (5), the great dance (7), the worship by Visnu and Brahma (8), the earring (9), the begging bowl of a white skull (10)—are all referred to, reminding us of the various puranic stories.

IV

“People kill and do all sorts of cruel acts; because of these, others describe in many ways their cruelty, their simple acts, come to stay. In order that these varied karmas may disappear, you go down and worship Him (1) every day” (3). “He will save us and accept us as His servant, according to His great rule of love” (3). “For getting rid of your ignorance or foolishness, fall at His feet” (4); “for getting rid of your meanness (5), for getting rid of your faults (9), fall at His feet” (9). “He is there at Tiruk-kalukkunram for getting enshrined in the minds of those innocent (6) and innumerable (antamilla—8) followers of His of firm faith (matam—6) and who have no faults” (7). “Because He has come there for getting Himself enshrined in the minds of His followers, the great Devas worship Him here every day offering the flowers of their heart the flowers which increase in number every day and which cast their fragrance all round the jungle of this cool mountain” (8).

V

This hymn also must belong to the period of his political greatness or to a period succeeding it, for the poet describes himself the ‘Uran of the round shoulders, great in wrestling’ (10).

VI

(The metre is that of what we now call ‘kalitturai’ every line consisting of 13 syllabic letters if beginning in ‘ner’ and of 14 if beginning in ‘nirai’. The general pattern is—‘ma’, ‘ma’, ‘ma’, ‘vilam’, ‘vilam’, allowing variations if ‘ventalai’ rhythms come in such places of variations. According to this scheme and from the iyal Tamil point of view the third ‘cir’ in line 2 of verse 4 should be ‘maluvan’ instead of the present reading ‘Maluvalan’ which is probably due to the error of the copyist).