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:

தஞ்சம் ஆகிய தந்தை தாயொடு தானும் ஆய் அவை அல்லன் ஆய்,
எஞ்சல் இல் அமரர் குலமுதல் மூவர் தம்முள்ளும் ஆதியை,
அஞ்சி நீர் உலகத்துள்ளீர்கள்! அவன் இவன் என்று கூழேன்மின்,
நெஞ்சினால் நினைப்பான் எவன் அவன் ஆகும் நீள் கடல் வண்ணனே.

tañcam ākiya tantai tāyoṭu tāṉum āy avai allaṉ āy,
eñcal il amarar kulamutal mūvar tammuḷḷum ātiyai,
añci nīr ulakattuḷḷīrkaḷ! avaṉ ivaṉ eṉṟu kūḻēṉmiṉ,
neñciṉāl niṉaippāṉ evaṉ avaṉ ākum nīḷ kaṭal vaṇṇaṉē.

English translation of verse 3.6.9:

Ye, men of the world, be not scared (of the supremacy)
Of our Lord, Chief of the Celestials, foremost of the three,
He is the Father benign, Mother and much more, you see,
Be not agitated whether He is other than the one in Image Form
(You behold here); be sure, the Lord of oceanic hue does assume
Whatever form you in your mind lovingly conceive of Him.

Notes

(i) The worldlings, addressed by the Āḻvār, expressed their difficulty in worshipping the Lord currently, either in His transcendent form or in His incarnate forms as Rāma or Kṛṣṇa. The Āḻvār puts them at ease by telling them now that the Lord is easily worshippable in any form they like, without any loss or diminution of His divine prowess and that they can, therefore, worship Him easily in His ‘Arcā’ (image) Form. This song is thus the key note of this decad and all the preceding eight songs have only served as a preamble.

(ii) As we see among our earthly relations, the mother is different from the father. The Lord is, however, our eternal Father as well as Mother and has an individuality of His own, being very different from the earthly parents. The earthly parents have their own limitations and are not also always dependable, their own interests superseding those of the progeny. Instances of parents giving up their young ones under certain circumstances are not wanting. Further, it is our Karma that binds us to our earthly parents and this artificial link gets automatically severed with the severance of our own bonds of Karma, our relationship with the Lord is, however, eternal, being inalienable.

Further, there is scarcely a relationship which the Lord cannot assume, in regard to His subjects, being All-in-one, Father, Mother and all other conceivable relations put together.

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