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 5.8.4
Tamil text and transliteration:
செலக் காண்கிற்பார் காணும் அளவும் செல்லும் கீர்த்தியாய்
உலப்பு இலானே! எல்லா உலகும் உடைய ஒரு மூர்த்தி
நலத்தால் மிக்கார் குடந்தைக் கிடந்தாய்! உன்னைக் காண்பான் நான்-
அலப்பு ஆய் ஆகாசத்தை நோக்கி அழுவன் தொழுவனே.
celak kāṇkiṟpār kāṇum aḷavum cellum kīrttiyāy
ulappu ilāṉē! ellā ulakum uṭaiya oru mūrtti
nalattāl mikkār kuṭantaik kiṭantāy! uṉṉaik kāṇpāṉ nāṉ-
alappu āy ākācattai nōkki aḻuvaṉ toḻuvaṉē.
English translation of verse 5.8.4:
Oh, peerless Lord of all the worlds, Your traits auspicious soar
As high as one can see and even beyond, without end;
To behold Thee reposing in Kuṭantai where men of piety galore
Do dwell, I look at the sky, weep and in worship bend.
Note
The Āḻvār does not seek out the Lord in Heaven or in the Milky-ocean but the One in nearby Tirukkuṭantai. Seeing the Lord connotes not merely seeing His Form, as others do, but conversing with and embracing Him. The Āḻvār is gazing at the sky, hoping that the Lord would drop down, from above, as He did, to rescue Gajendra, the elephant in distress. The Āḻvār weeps like a child and worships like elders.