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 1.9.11
Tamil text and transliteration:
உச்சியுள்ளே நிற்கும் தேவதேவற்குக் கண்ண பிரானுக்கு,
இச்சையுள் செல்ல உணர்த்தி வண் குருகூர்ச் சடகோபன்,
இச் சொன்ன ஆயிரத்துள்ளே இவையும் ஓர் பத்து எம்பிராற்கு,
நிச்சலும் விண்ணப்பம் செய்ய நீள் கழல் சென்னி பொருமே.
ucciyuḷḷē niṟkum tēvatēvaṟkuk kaṇṇa pirāṉukku,
iccaiyuḷ cella uṇartti vaṇ kurukūrc caṭakōpaṉ,
ic coṉṉa āyirattuḷḷē ivaiyum ōr pattu empirāṟku,
niccalum viṇṇappam ceyya nīḷ kaḻal ceṉṉi porumē.
English translation of verse 1.9.11:
The Lord’s longish feet will for ever crown
The heads of those who (but once) recite these songs ten,
Out of the thousand sung by Caṭakōpaṉ of Kurukūr, narrating
Just as he experienced, how Kaṇṇapirāṉ, the Supreme Lord,
migrated from one limb of his to another and alighted on his crown.
Note
The Supreme Lord, adorning the heads of the exalted Devas, coveted the Āḻvār’s head so much that He got into it by stages, and there being no higher place to step into, the Lord stays on there. In other words, the Āḻvār’s head is the new abode of the Lord. This is indeed the limit for the Lord’s loving condescension (Sauśīlya)! Here then is the mystic realisation that God loves His Subjects in the same way they pine for union with Him.