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:

உயிரினால் குறைவு இல்லா உலகு ஏழ் தன்னுள் ஒடுக்கி,
தயிர் வெண்ணெய் உண்டானைத், தடம் குருகூர்ச் சடகோபன்,
செயிர் இல் சொல் இசைமாலை ஆயிரத்துள் இப்பத்தால்
வயிரம்சேர் பிறப்பு அறுத்து வைகுந்தம் நண்ணுவரே. (2)

uyiriṉāl kuṟaivu illā ulaku ēḻ taṉṉuḷ oṭukki,
tayir veṇṇey uṇṭāṉait, taṭam kurukūrc caṭakōpaṉ,
ceyir il col icaimālai āyirattuḷ ippattāl
vayiramcēr piṟappu aṟuttu vaikuntam naṇṇuvarē. (2)

English translation of verse 4.8.11:

Those that chant these songs ten
Out of the thousand, flawless and mellifluous, of Caṭakōpaṉ,
Adoring the Lord, Who did in Him compress and sustain
The souls innumerable and their worlds seven
And then ate up the curds and butter (as child Divine),
Will have their chronic cycle of birth and death ended
And attain Vaikuṇṭam (the high heaven)

Note

Unlike the worshipper at the sanctum, remaining worried about the safety of the pair of sandals left by him at the temple gate, the Lord attended to His cosmic duties first, such as the sustenance of the worlds and their contents in His stomach during the deluge, and then addressed Himself to the task of eating up the curds and butter in the pastoral village of Gokula, with no let or hindrance from other quarters. Even as pregnant women get extra-nourishment, the Lord, holding in His stomach all things and beings, had all the nourishment He could have in Gokula.

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