Tiruvaymozhi 8.8.1 · verse 3640 of the four thousand
Meaning
His eyes are red and large; His lips are red and ripe, with gleaming white teeth within; radiance shines from Him, and His fish-shaped earrings sway. He is coloured like the rain cloud, with a radiant crown and four shoulders; He holds the bent Sarnga bow, the bright conch, the mace, the sword and the discus. That matchless One is within me, His servant.
Word by word
- kaṇkaḷ civantu periyavāy
- eyes red and large
- vāyum civantu kaṉintu
- lips red and ripe
- makara kuṇṭalattaṉ
- wearing fish-shaped earrings
- koṇṭal vaṇṇaṉ
- coloured like the rain cloud
- kuṉi cārṅkaṉ
- holder of the bent Sarnga bow
- caṅkatai vāḷ āḻiyāṉ
- with conch, mace, sword and discus
- aṭiyēṉ uḷḷāṉē
- is within me, His servant
Tiruvaymozhi 8.8.2 · verse 3641 of the four thousand
Meaning
He is within me, His servant; He is within my body; He is inside the universe and outside it too. One may say, "This is His form," yet He is not bound by any form: He is the Supreme beyond the supreme. His subtle nature is beyond pleasure and pain; His greatness is a bliss that never breaks. He is the One who stands above all who know.
Word by word
- uṭal uḷḷāṉ
- He is within my body
- aṇṭattu akattāṉ puṟattuḷḷāṉ
- inside the universe and outside it
- paṭiyaṉ allaṉ
- not bound by any form
- paramparaṉ
- the Supreme beyond the supreme
- iṉpat tuṉpak kaḻi nērmai
- subtle nature beyond pleasure and pain
- oṭiyā iṉpap perumaiyōṉ
- One whose greatness is unbroken bliss
- uṇarvil umpar oruvaṉē
- the One above all who know
Tiruvaymozhi 8.8.3 · verse 3642 of the four thousand
Meaning
That One, above all who know: so that I might reach Him by His grace, I placed Him within my awareness; and even that was His sweet grace. Awareness, life, body and all the countless other things are worth nothing in themselves. Rising far beyond them to gain true awareness, I found that He stands as my very self.
Word by word
- avaṉatu aruḷāl uṟaṟporuṭṭu
- so as to reach Him by His grace
- uṇarviṉ uḷḷē iruttiṉēṉ
- I placed Him within my awareness
- atuvum avaṉatu iṉ aruḷē
- that too is His sweet grace
- ulappilaṉavum
- countless other things
- paḻutēyām
- are worth nothing
- yāṉum tāṉāy oḻintāṉē
- He stands as my very self
Tiruvaymozhi 8.8.4 · verse 3643 of the four thousand
Meaning
He stands as my very self; He was before all things and all beings; He is the one First Cause who spread out as Himself, as Shiva and as Brahma. Becoming honey, milk, sugarcane and nectar, He grows sweet to me, and stands within my flesh, my life and my awareness. That One I have come to know.
Word by word
- yātum evarkkum muṉṉōṉai
- Him who was before all things and beings
- paṇaitta taṉi mutalai
- the one First Cause who spread out
- tēṉum pālum kaṉṉalum
- honey, milk and sugarcane
- tittittu
- growing sweet
- ūṉil uyiril uṇarviṉil
- in my flesh, my life, my awareness
- uṇarntēṉē
- I have come to know
Tiruvaymozhi 8.8.5 · verse 3644 of the four thousand
Meaning
Having come to know the One who stands within, I see that the subtle nature of the self cannot be grasped by anyone as "this" or "that"; even when known, it is hard to see further. Going on and on, it is beyond the beyond; it is free of everything, worn fine and set apart; it is hard to call good or bad; it is good, and it passes beyond knowing.
Word by word
- nuṇ nērmai
- subtle nature
- atu itu eṉṟu
- as this or that
- uṇaralākātu
- cannot be grasped
- paramparam āy
- being beyond the beyond
- naṉṟu tītu eṉṟu aṟivu aritāy
- hard to know as good or bad
- ñāṉam kaṭantatē
- it passes beyond knowing
Tiruvaymozhi 8.8.6 · verse 3645 of the four thousand
Meaning
Passing beyond knowing, drawing in all the senses, meditating again and again on that rare, vast, endless emptiness which lies alone as one, going there, crushing and casting off pleasures and pains, when every clinging is gone: then and there is release, they say; that is release, release indeed. The elders read this as the lonely release of enjoying the self alone, apart from the Lord.
Word by word
- intiriyam ellām īrttu
- drawing in all the senses
- oṉṟāyk kiṭanta
- lying alone as one
- arum perum pāḻ
- the rare, vast emptiness
- iṉpat tuṉpaṅkaḷ
- pleasures and pains
- pacai aṟṟāl
- when all clinging is gone
- atuvē vīṭu
- that is release
Tiruvaymozhi 8.8.7 · verse 3646 of the four thousand
Meaning
That itself is release, and the joy of release too: those who understand this, and cling to nothing at all, become people who have nothing; for them that is release and the joy of release. Those who do not understand it ask, "What is release? What is joy?" and they grow weary, weary, weary.
Word by word
- vīṭupēṟṟu iṉpam
- the joy of attaining release
- atu tēṟi
- understanding that
- paṟṟu iṉṟi
- without clinging
- yātum ilikaḷ
- those who have nothing
- etuvē vīṭu
- what is release?
- eyttār eyttār eyttārē
- they grew weary, weary, weary
Tiruvaymozhi 8.8.8 · verse 3647 of the four thousand
Meaning
When people at home and people outside cry, "They are spent, spent, spent!" and crowd around them wailing and clasping them, as they depart like madmen, wild with love and love pouring forth: if at that moment the heart goes along with our Lord and is joined to Him, that is true steadfastness.
Word by word
- illattārum puṟattārum
- those at home and those outside
- alaṟi muyaṅka
- wailing and clasping
- uṉmattarpōl
- like madmen
- anurākam poḻiyumpōtu
- as love pours forth
- em pemmāṉōṭu
- with our Lord
- nal uṟaippē
- true steadfastness
Tiruvaymozhi 8.8.9 · verse 3648 of the four thousand
Meaning
If the heart is joined to Him, that is true steadfastness; and if one reaches a state apart from Him, that too is as our wondrous Lord wills, whose lofty banner bears the dancing bird. As for the yogis who fix on release as one set thing, and roam about through future, present and past: are they there at all, or are they not?
Word by word
- kūṭāmaiyaik kūṭiṉāl
- if one attains the state apart from Him
- āṭal paṟavai uyar koṭi
- lofty banner bearing the dancing bird, Garuda
- em māyaṉ
- our wondrous Lord
- etirvum nikaḻvum kaḻivumāy
- through future, present and past
- ōṭit tiriyum yōkikaḷum
- the yogis who roam about
- uḷarum illai allarē
- neither truly there nor quite gone
Tiruvaymozhi 8.8.10 · verse 3649 of the four thousand
Meaning
Within those who are neither there nor gone, within what is and what is not, our one Lord truly is; and He has come to dwell within my heart. Like the waxing and the waning moon, like growing light and darkness, come loss and gain, clarity and confusion: all these we have now ended.
Word by word
- uḷar em oruvar
- our one Lord truly is
- uḷḷattuḷḷē uṟaikiṉṟār
- dwells within my heart
- vaḷarum piṟaiyum tēy piṟaiyum
- the waxing and the waning moon
- acaivum ākkamum
- loss and gain
- teruḷum maruḷum
- clarity and confusion
- māyttōmē
- we have ended
Tiruvaymozhi 8.8.11 · verse 3650 of the four thousand
Meaning
Ending both clarity and confusion, the Lord graciously seats His own beneath His perfect, red-gold anklet feet; He is Brahma, He is Shiva, He is Thirumal. Blessed by Him, Satakopan (Nammalwar) sang a thousand verses; through these ten among them, our Master, the dark ruby, will graciously seat those who sing them beneath His feet.
Word by word
- tiruntu cempoṉ kaḻal aṭikkīḻ
- beneath His perfect, red-gold anklet feet
- aruḷi iruttum
- graciously seats
- ayaṉām civaṉām
- who is Brahma, who is Shiva
- aruḷap paṭṭa caṭakōpaṉ
- Satakopan, blessed by Him
- nam aṇṇal
- our Master
- karumāṇikkamē
- the dark ruby
Verse text: the word-separated e-text of the Nalayira Divya Prabandham by Project Madurai, checked verse by verse against its second edition. Meanings are simple renderings in the light of the acharyas' commentaries, written for this site, and are awaiting a scholar's review.