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 9.5.2
Tamil text and transliteration:
இத்தனை வேண்டுவதுஅன்றுஅந்தோ! அன்றில் பேடைகாள்
எத்தனை நீரும் நும்சேவலும் கரைந்துஏங்குதிர்
வித்தகன் கோவிந்தன் மெய்யன்அல்லன் ஒருவர்க்கும்
அத்தனைஆம் இனி என்உயிர் அவன்கையதே.
ittaṉai vēṇṭuvatuaṉṟuantō! aṉṟil pēṭaikāḷ
ettaṉai nīrum numcēvalum karaintuēṅkutir
vittakaṉ kōvintaṉ meyyaṉallaṉ oruvarkkum
attaṉaiām iṉi eṉuyir avaṉkaiyatē.
English translation of verse 9.5.2:
Ye, Aṉṟil birds, is it at all meet
That you should with your male partners mate,
Right in front of me and warble my life out?
Alas! Kōvintaṉ, the mystic Lord isn’t true to any one,
My life is in His keeping and help I need from none.
Notes:
The Koel-birds kept silent, in response to the Nāyakī’s appeal. Meanwhile, the Krauñca (Aṉṟil) birds started warbling along with their inseparable male partners. The Nāyakī chides them, saying that neither the female nor the male is any better than the Koel-birds and wants to know why they are all out to kill her. The birds tried to beat back the Nāyakī’s admonition by pointing out that she should not make all this fuss over her temporary separation from the Lord, seeing that He covets her company so much that He could not bear being away from her for long. In her present state of deep dejection, the Nāyakī is in no mood be believe that the Lord is most easily accessible unto the devout and beyond the reach of others. She reshapes the slogan and avers that He is true to none and is hardly the Universal Saviour, He is believed to be. And yet, He is so enigmatic that He can neither be clung to, as the Saviour nor be given up, as being antagonistic. Either way, her life is in His keeping and, therefore, she does not need the help of these birds or, for the matter of that, of any one else. Actually, the Lord’s dispensation, in any form, is always welcome to His true devotees, who have realised their essential nature, as His exclusive vassals, solely dependent on Him. Lord Kṛṣṇa’s proverbial mendacity is as wholesome to them as Lord Rāma’s classical veracity, both being beneficial.