Tiruviruttam 91 · verse 2568 of the four thousand
Meaning
He is the thief who stole and ate butter from the hanging pot; the One with the great belly who swallowed the whole world at once; the great trickster who went to Mahabali as a little dwarf and asked, so pleasingly, for three steps of land. My heart, the heart of His servant, cherishes no one but Him.
Word by word
- curuṅku uṟi veṇṇey
- butter in the hanging pot
- toṭu uṇṭa kaḷvaṉai
- the thief who stole and ate it
- peru vayiṟṟāḷaṉai
- the One with the great belly
- māvalimāṭṭu
- to Mahabali
- mūvaṭi vēṇṭic ceṉṟa
- who went to ask for three steps
- peruṅ kiṟiyāṉai
- the great trickster
- neñcam pēṇalatē
- my heart cherishes no other
Tiruviruttam 92 · verse 2569 of the four thousand
Meaning
The celestials come with their feet touching the earth and worship You, day after day, morning and evening, praying, 'Be gracious and set great fires to the long city, the great capital, girt by the sea, of the rakshasas who have no goodness in them.' They pray so in the hope of seeing even one of Your many forms.
Word by word
- pēṇ nalam illā arakkar
- the rakshasas with no goodness in them
- munnīra perum pativāy
- in the great capital girt by the sea
- nīḷ eri vaittaruḷāy
- graciously set great fires
- tāḷ nilam tōyntu
- their feet touching the earth
- niṉ mūrtti pal kūṟṟil oṉṟu
- even one of Your many forms
- vaikal mālaiyum kālaiyumē
- every day, evening and morning
Tiruviruttam 93 · verse 2570 of the four thousand
Meaning
The marauders of the night, who fled before the hot morning sun, spread over the world again when the evening sun goes down. Even seeing such things, people do not bathe at dawn in the ford of true knowledge, offer their eyes to Him like flowers, take Tirumal on their tongues, or think of His dark form.
Word by word
- kālai veyyōṟku
- to the hot morning sun
- kaṅkul kuṟumpar
- the marauders of the night, the darkness
- vaiyakam pāvuvar
- spread over the world
- nal ñāṉat tuṟai
- the ford of true knowledge
- kaṇ pōtu ceytu
- offering the eyes like flowers
- maip paṭiyē
- His dark form
Tiruviruttam 94 · verse 2571 of the four thousand
Meaning
Your dark body and Your red lotus eyes: those who live by the Vedas are the ones truly fit to wear Your holy feet in the right way. But as they say, when the cows of the village low, the blind cow lows too; in the same way I too have spoken. What else can I, Your servant, say?
Word by word
- maip paṭi mēṉiyum
- Your dark body
- centāmaraik kaṇṇum
- and Your red lotus eyes
- vaitikarē
- those who live by the Vedas
- ūr ā milaikkak
- when the village cows low
- kuruṭṭu ā milaikkum
- the blind cow lows too
- maṟṟu yātu eṉpaṉē
- what else can I say?
Tiruviruttam 95 · verse 2572 of the four thousand
Meaning
Entering one body or another, being bound there and set loose again, the soul has stumbled through ancient lives since long before. So I bow to Tirumal, who is mother and father, who brings to true liberation this endless habit of clinging to one thing after another and letting it go.
Word by word
- ōr ākkaiyil pukku
- entering some body
- āppuṇṭum āppu aviḻntum
- being bound and set loose again
- taṭumāṟum uyir
- the soul that stumbles
- nal vīṭuceyyum
- who grants true liberation
- mātāviṉai pituvai
- mother and father
- tirumālai vaṇaṅkuvaṉē
- I bow to Tirumal
Tiruviruttam 96 · verse 2573 of the four thousand
Meaning
You made many, many paths of worship; through the varied reckonings of the mind You made many, many creeds that quarrel; in each of them You made many, many deities, and so You spread out Your own form. O You who have no equal, I will stir up longing for You.
Word by word
- vaṇaṅkum tuṟaikaḷ
- paths of worship
- mati vikaṟpāl
- through the varied reckonings of the mind
- piṇaṅkum camayam
- creeds that quarrel
- aṇaṅkum pala pala
- many, many deities
- niṉ mūrtti parappi vaittāy
- You spread out Your form
- iṇaṅkum niṉṉōrai illāy
- You who have no equal
- vēṭkai eḻuvippaṉē
- I will stir up longing
Tiruviruttam 97 · verse 2574 of the four thousand
Meaning
The sun rises and sets again, and so ages upon ages pass; most people only watch it again and again and shrink. But for those who have fallen in love, wishing to see to their eyes' fill the ancient Lord, whom the hosts of immortals worship and circle around, do their eyes ever close in sleep?
Word by word
- eḻuvatum mīṇṭē paṭuvatum
- rising and setting again
- eṉai ūḻikaḷ
- so many ages
- imaiyōrkaḷ kuḻām
- the hosts of immortals
- toḻuvatum cūḻvatum
- worshipping and circling around
- kaṇṇārak kaṇṭu
- seeing to the eyes' fill
- kaṇkaḷ tuñcutalē
- eyes closing in sleep
Tiruviruttam 98 · verse 2575 of the four thousand
Meaning
He removes the sorrow of endless births that pursues sleepless sages and others alike; He is the matchless great Form, needing no support, beyond the reach even of the immortals. His wonder cannot be rightly grasped even by the mind: that lowly word said of Him, 'the butter-eater'!
Word by word
- tuñcā muṉivarum
- sleepless sages
- eñcāp piṟavi iṭar
- the sorrow of endless births
- kaṭivāṉ
- He who removes
- taṉip peru mūrtti
- the matchless great Form
- neñcāl niṉaippu aritāl
- hard to grasp even with the mind
- veṇṇey ūṇ eṉṉum īṉac collē
- the lowly word 'butter-eater'
Tiruviruttam 99 · verse 2576 of the four thousand
Meaning
Lowly word or not, let it be so! He is the Lord who, in the form of a boar, dug up the whole earth with its dashing waves. For those in heaven, where the great kalpaka tree stands, for those who are not, and for everyone else, there is no good I have found other than this Lord of knowledge.
Word by word
- īṉac col āyiṉum āka
- let it be a lowly word
- eṟi tirai vaiyam
- the earth with its dashing waves
- ēṉattu uruvāy iṭanta
- who dug it up in the form of a boar
- iruṅ kaṟpakam
- the great kalpaka, the wish-granting tree
- ñāṉap pirāṉai allāl
- other than the Lord of knowledge
- nāṉ kaṇṭa nallatuvē
- the good that I have found
Tiruviruttam 100 · verse 2577 of the four thousand
Meaning
Maran, Nammalwar of the city of Kurugur praised by the good, who wears as a garland on his head the feet of those devoted to the holy names of Tirumal, made this plea. Those who can recite these hundred, this garland of words, will never sink into the false land of birth, the deep and deceptive mire of hard, evil deeds.
Word by word
- nallār navil kurukūr nakarāṉ
- of the city of Kurugur, praised by the good
- tirup pēr vallār
- those devoted to the holy names
- aṭik kaṇṇi cūṭiya
- who wears their feet as a garland
- māṟaṉ
- Maran, Nammalwar
- col ār toṭaiyal
- a garland of words
- aḻuntār
- will not sink
- vaṉ cēṟṟu aḷḷal
- the deep, sticky mire
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.