Chapter 59 - Tiru Onakantan Tali (Hymn 5)

I

The present cycle of hymns may be compared with the cycle of hymns—24 14, etc. After the exclamation, “I shall not praise anyone else” (H: 21), the poet gets rid of the tension of the over-surging bliss through his humorous address to the Lord who has thus become near and dear to him, as it were, a friend and companion as the tradition states. This may be even compared to the humorous speech of the damsels in love with the Bhikshatana, what Tiruvalluvar will characterize as ‘Pulavi nunukkam’. The puranic descriptions and the poetic experiences all roll into one great humour though at bottom, shine the spiritual greatness and divine love of the Lord.

II

“The Bhaktas have begun worshipping you daily with ghee, milk and curd. But there is no coin in their hand, unless they serve through their worshipping your feet of victorious anklets” (1). As usual our poet passes from the objective statements about the Bhaktas which are themselves his own experience—to the description of his own state. “The five (senses) there, take hold of me. They make me dance and I dance. I am caught up into the deep slough going down deeper and deeper therein. O, Thou, who art inside Onakantan Tali, bless me with a way of escape from this” (1).

“(What can we get from you? You are lost in the floods). The waves dash and roll up above the moon bedecked mat-lock. As for the damsel, the Ganges, she will never open her mouth. (Your eldest son), Ganapati is a voracious eater. The Lord of the spear (Subrahmanya) is an intant-boy. Your wife plays on the Yal (Vina) and will never save or take care of us. O, thou inside the Onakantan Tali, we cannot serve your people!” (2). There is another reading “korru atti atal” for “korratti dial”: the interpretation given is that she does not offer the daily batta).

“Whether they get anything or not, the Bhaktas praise your feet with all care and love. You do not sympathize and feel for them who are without any other prop or attachment. You do not sympathize and feel for them. You do not behave like a reasonable person (as far as they are concerned). When they become absolutely destitute and when they are miserable, in such times of despair, O, Lord, can they mortgage you and eat?” (3).

“Even if they praise stating all they are capable of, you do not open your mouth and say whether you have or whether you have not. You see there for saving us but alas! to what purpose? You will never leave off the life of roaming about for alms all through the day, with the teethless skull of a bowl”. (It is this which made us suggest that these verses may be taken as the speeches of the damsels in love with Bhikshatana) (4).

“Your followers again and again come together, dance and sing without defect in their song or tune. They weep and their hearts melt. You do not think of any happiness for these lovers of yours. I go constantly in quest of you, roaming about and getting fatigued and yet you do not sympathize with me. Neither do you desert me and run away, nor do you offer any help” (5).

“The damsel who is never separated from your loving embrace has established the Karnakkottam at Kacci for saving the whole world. While this Kamakkottam is there, why do you go receiving alms from various cities?” (6).

“You spend your time by pretences. You are neither outside nor inside; You do not tell us the truth and accept as your servant and save us. You cannot give us anything. If you receive us, you want nothing, you give nothing and you say nothing. You, Sir, my Lord, I am addressing you alone” (Emmaipperrdl—accepting the Bhaktas as His servants is thus looked upon as something valuable from the point of view of the Lord) (7).

“The God of Death has spread his net. He comes and stands up above. I have heard this word or statement. Making my mind as firm as a stone, I contemplate on you and fall at your feet. That is the only way of escape. Otherwise, I cannot be in communion with you allowing the six passions to grow and develop, [The six passions are: Kama, Krota, Lopa, Moha, Mada and Matsarya—Matsaryam may be taken as ‘cerram’. The old commentator on Cilappatikaram interprets ‘cerram’ as ‘matsarya’ (Valakkurai katai—‘Cenranalpolum). Therefore, ‘Mdha alone has to find a corresponding word in the list given by Arurar, The only word found there is ‘Varutai’. ‘Maruttal’ is found used in the sense of attraction perhaps as a variant of ‘marul’ which probably leads us to the significance of ‘Moha’ or wonderful delusion. The Tamil Lexicon however gives the meaning ‘Matsaryam’ taking ‘Varutai’ to be a corruption of ‘spard/ia’; but this cannot be correct for we do not get the six well known passions. The next problem is the meaning of the phrase ‘Kalaiyamaitta’ which occurs as the qualification given by our poet to these passions. ‘Kalai’ may be taken to mean the body, when these passions may be taken to be bubbling up within the body of ours. There is also another reading ‘kalaiyam vaitta’ where the ‘kalaiyam’ can only mean the pot, metaphorically meaning the body. ‘UlaiyamaittaV is making them ready for enjoyment even as we cook the rice for being served. There can be a better suggestion. Kalai may be taken to mean the fine-arts and our poet may be giving us a clue to his philosophy of art in this phrase ‘kalaiyamaitta’.} There is thus a great purpose served by these passions. When they are sublimated into the sentiments of fine arts they serve this purpose and become divine” (8).

“In whose city do you live? (the city you live in, is somebody’s). As for Otriyur (which means a mortgaged city) it is not yours. You have taken for your wife the Ganges and placed her inside your mat-lock. Your city is the burning ghat and your garments are the skins. Your necklace is but a serpent. What do the Bhaktas get, these Bhaktas who out of love serve your beautiful feet?” (9).

Our poet has given here the various modes of worship with ghee, milk, curd, praises, dance, music, contemplation and love.

III

He refers to the puranic descriptions—the moon (2), the matlock (2), the Ganges (2), Ganapathy (2), Kumaran (2), the Mother (2), the skull (4), the begging (4), the konrai (6), Karnak-kottam (6), the burning ghat (9), the garments of skin (9), the bull (10). The bull is here said to be in the form of Pranava. The poet says he has described in an orderly way the form the Lord has assumed wearing the loin cloth and adorning himself with nice cotton and silk clothes (10). This description is not intelligible, for, on the surface, the loin cloth and the silk contradict each other. It has been suggested elsewhere that this may be a description of ‘Ardhanarisvara’ form. It may be the present reading ‘vikki’ in ‘Pattu vikki” a mistake for the original word ‘nikki’ when it may mean that God has discorded the cotton and silk for the loin cloth of a beggar. This will be in keeping with the general trend of this hymn which, as we have suggested, gives the description of the beggar Lord, who may in a humorous vein be referred to as incapable of supporting His followers.

IV

“Avanam ceytalum kcrntu occurs in the last verse of this hymn and it is taken by the tradition, as referring to the deed of sale which the Lord produced for saving our poet. We had discussed this phrase elsewhere.

V

In singing this hymn in this humorous vein as the friend and companion or lover of the Lord, the poet has experienced a feeling of identity wherein all the sins and past karmas completely disappear. Therefore the poet assures that there will disappear similarly the sins of those who are masters of these ten verses of Tamil which is the very form of poetry (10).