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 5.4.6
Tamil text and transliteration:
பின்நின்று காதல் நோய் நெஞ்சம் பெரிது அடுமால்
முன்நின்று இரா ஊழி கண் புதைய மூடிற்றால்
மன் நின்ற சக்கரத்து எம் மாயவனும் வாரானால்
இந் நின்ற நீள் ஆவி காப்பார் ஆர் இவ் இடத்தே?
piṉniṉṟu kātal nōy neñcam peritu aṭumāl
muṉniṉṟu irā ūḻi kaṇ putaiya mūṭiṟṟāl
maṉ niṉṟa cakkarattu em māyavaṉum vārāṉāl
in niṉṟa nīḷ āvi kāppār ār iv iṭattē?
English translation of verse 5.4.6:
This love-sickness which from behind eggs me on,
Does my mind consume; alas! this age-long night, right in front,
Blinds my eyes, my wondrous Lord who the inseparable discus holds on,
Comes not; who then can unto my lingering life protection grant?
Notes
(i) It is a strange sickness that afflicts the Nāyakī. This Godsickness or God-love keeps on pushing her from behind and will, she says, pursue her even on the yonder side of death, unlike the earthly kind of sickness, which holds sway only as long as there is life.
(ii) While the night makes for physical blindness, God-love screens her mind’s eye. It is a pity, the darkness prevents the Nāyakī from beholding her Lord, if He were at all to present Himself before her at that hour.