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:

காய்சினப்பறவைஊர்ந்து பொன்மலையின் மீமிசைக் கார்முகில்போல
மாசினமாலி மாலிமான்என்று அங்குஅவர் படக்கனன்று முன்நின்ற
காய்சினவேந்தே! கதிர்முடியானே! கலிவயல் திருப்புளிங்குடியாய்
காய்சினஆழி சங்குவாள் வில்தண்டுஏந்தி எம்இடர்கடிவானே!

kāyciṉappaṟavaiūrntu poṉmalaiyiṉ mīmicaik kārmukilpōla
māciṉamāli mālimāṉeṉṟu aṅkuavar paṭakkaṉaṉṟu muṉniṉṟa
kāyciṉavēntē! katirmuṭiyāṉē! kalivayal tiruppuḷiṅkuṭiyāy
kāyciṉaāḻi caṅkuvāḷ viltaṇṭuēnti emiṭarkaṭivāṉē!

English translation of verse 9.2.6:

Your terrific anger destroys your enemies, oh, Sire,
The irate bird you rode, like unto the rain-cloud,
Perched on a mount of gold and the raging demons quelled;
The radiant crown you don and in your hands do bear
The weapons hot to cut out all my ills, oh, Lord,
May you, Who, in Tiruppuliṅkuṭi, have taken up abode,
Amid fields fertile, let me your lotus eyes behold.

Notes:

Apprehending that the lack of response from the Lord to his entreaties, in the earlier songs, might be due to his dense sins, the Āḻvār point out to the Lord that He, who destroyed the powerful demons, Māli, Sumāli and others who preceded Rāvaṇa, should have no difficulty in destroying his sins. If the Lord’s anger unto His enemies is deadly, Garuḍa, His mount, is even more hostile towards them and so are the Lord’s weapons, conch, discus, mace, sword and bow, all of them breathing fire.

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