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...

Tamil text and transliteration:

தாமரைக் கண்ணனை விண்ணோர் பரவும் தலைமகனை, துழாய் விரைப்
பூ மருவு கண்ணி எம் பிரானை பொன்மலையை,
நாம் மருவி நன்கு ஏத்தி உள்ளி வணங்கி நாம் மகிழ்ந்து ஆட, நாவு அலர்
பா மருவி நிற்கத் தந்த பான்மையே வள்ளலே.

tāmaraik kaṇṇaṉai viṇṇōr paravum talaimakaṉai, tuḻāy viraip
pū maruvu kaṇṇi em pirāṉai poṉmalaiyai,
nām maruvi naṉku ētti uḷḷi vaṇaṅki nām makiḻntu āṭa, nāvu alar
pā maruvi niṟkat tanta pāṉmaiyē vaḷḷalē.

English translation of verse 2.6.3:

Adored by the Celestials, the lotus-eyed Lord,
My benefactor great wearing the tulacī garland.
Knit with fragrant flowers, a veritable mountain of gold.
Him even we could well extol, singing thro’ songs, by us composed,
And dancing in ecstasy, meditate and worship, how generous of Him indeed!.

Notes

(i) Entranced by the sweet glances from His lotus eyes, the celestials keep singing His glory, all the time. It was indeed very generous of the Lord, as the Āḻvār would put it, that He could likewise enable even him, so low, to meditate on Him and compose songs in His praise and sing besides revealing to him, out of His own free will and grace, His exquisite beauty, bedecked with tulacī garland, ever cool, ever lovely and ever fragrant.

(ii) Reference to the Lord, as a mountain of gold, shows that He is firmly established inside the Āḻvār, firm as a rock.

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