Tiruvaymoli (Thiruvaimozhi): English translation
by S. Satyamurthi Ayyangar | 388,514 words
This is the English translation of the Tiruvaymoli (or, Thiruvaimozhi): An ancient Tamil text consisting of 1102 verses which were sung by the poet-saint Nammalvar as an expression of his devotion to Vishnu. Hence, it is an important devotional book in Vaishnavism. Nammalvar is one of the twelve traditional saints of Tamil Nadu (Southern India), kn...
Pasuram 1.6.2
Tamil text and transliteration:
மதுவார் தண் அம் துழாயான் முது வேத முதலவனுக்கு
எதுவே? என்பணி? என்னாது அதுவே ஆள் செய்யும் ஈடே
matuvār taṇ am tuḻāyāṉ mutu vēta mutalavaṉukku
etuvē? eṉpaṇi? eṉṉātu atuvē āḷ ceyyum īṭē
English translation of verse 1.6.2:
“What service is there, and that too, for poor me,
Appropriate to the Primate, the colossal Lord, by Vedas revealed,
Wearer of nice, cool, ‘tulacī’ garland, shedding honey?”
If one doesn’t think so (and shrink), by him is the Lord well served indeed.
Notes
(i) Having ruled out, in the preceding song, the restriction regarding the thing to be offered to the Lord, the Āḻvār now stresses the fact that there is also no restriction regarding the persons eligible to serve Him. If one does not shrink back from the Lord’s service, in bewildering amazement that there is hardly any service that can be rendered, appropriate to the colossal stature of the Lord and, that too, by one with serious limitations, it is as good as having served the Lord. In other words, there is hardly any scope for such a feeling of aloofness.
(ii) Even a faded garland coming in contact with the Lord’s person will become fresh again and shed copious quantities of honey. That being so, the devotee need not have any qualms in regard to the offerings to be made.
(iii) As Bādarāyaṇa (Sage Vyāsa) has pointed out in his ‘Brahma Sūtra,’[1] the Lord can be known only through the authority of the Vedas, as distinguished from Ocular and inferential knowledge. The Supreme Lord is revealed by the Vedas, as the first and foremost.