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 5.10.10
Tamil text and transliteration:
கூடி நீரைக் கடைந்த ஆறும் அமுதம் தேவர் உண்ண அசுரரை-
வீடும் வண்ணங்களே செய்து போன வித்தகமும்
ஊடு புக்கு எனது ஆவியை உருக்கி உண்டிடுகின்ற நின் தன்னை-
நாடும் வண்ணம் சொல்லாய் நச்சு நாகு அணையானே!
kūṭi nīraik kaṭainta āṟum amutam tēvar uṇṇa acurarai-
vīṭum vaṇṇaṅkaḷē ceytu pōṉa vittakamum
ūṭu pukku eṉatu āviyai urukki uṇṭiṭukiṉṟa niṉ taṉṉai-
nāṭum vaṇṇam collāy naccu nāku aṇaiyāṉē!
English translation of verse 5.10.10:
Oh, Lord on serpent-bed, the way You churned the Milky ocean,
In conjunction with Devas and Asuras but gave the nectar
To Devas alone, keeping Asuras away, deep into my Soul enters
This scheming wonder of yours and waters it down;
Say how I can Your glory contemplate without breaking down.
Note
The fickle-minded Asuras gave up their bid for the nectar that came from the Milky ocean, when they beheld Lord Viṣṇu’s Mohinī Avatāra of ravishing feminine charm and ran after the strange Visitor. Contemplating this wonderful sequence of events, the Āḻvār thaws down in wonderment and prays that he should be enabled to meditate on Him with that steadiness with which Ādiśeṣa serves Him. Reference to the Lord’s serpent-bed is thus quite significant.