Mudhal Tiruvandadi 31 · verse 2112 of the four thousand
Meaning
Holding the conch in one hand and bearing a golden discus, He took a form both lion and man, and Mal tore open the chest of the one whose form was like fire. Can anyone think of anything but His feet, even for the blink of an eye?
Word by word
- puri oru kai paṟṟi
- holding the conch in one hand
- poṉ āḻi ēnti
- bearing the golden discus
- ari uruvum āḷ uruvum
- a lion's form and a man's form, Narasimha
- eri uruva vaṇṇattāṉ
- the one whose form was like fire, Hiranya
- māl aṭiyai allāl
- other than the feet of Mal
- imai
- even for a blink of the eye
Mudhal Tiruvandadi 32 · verse 2113 of the four thousand
Meaning
Those who look on Him with unblinking eyes so that all darkness leaves them, who hold Him close to their heart without letting the five restless senses wear them down, will surely reach the city of the Lord who rests on the thousand-mouthed serpent.
Word by word
- imaiyāta kaṇṇāl
- with unblinking eyes
- iruḷ akala nōkki
- looking so that the darkness leaves
- amaiyāp poṟi pulaṉkaḷ
- the senses that are never satisfied
- ākattu aṇaippār
- those who hold Him close in the heart
- āyira vāy nākattu aṇaiyāṉ
- He whose bed is the thousand-mouthed serpent
- nakar
- His city, His abode
Mudhal Tiruvandadi 33 · verse 2114 of the four thousand
Meaning
He is the gracious One who gave Brahma a city to dwell in and brought forth the Vedas for him to recite upon the lotus. If a man chants that Lord's names without thinking on them in his mind, and only counts the number of times he says them, what fruit can there be in such evening rites?
Word by word
- nakaram aruḷpurintu
- graciously granting a city
- nāṉmukaṟku
- to Brahma, the four-faced
- maṟai payanta paṇpaṉ
- the gracious One who gave forth the Vedas
- puntiyāl cintiyātu
- without thinking on them in the mind
- uru eṇṇum
- counting the repetitions
- antiyāl ām payaṉ
- the fruit of the twilight rites
Mudhal Tiruvandadi 34 · verse 2115 of the four thousand
Meaning
O cloud-hued Lord, who long ago swallowed the seven worlds and lay alone on a banyan leaf! The demoness who came as a mother, pretending to melt with love, gave You her breast and never rose again. How then could the cowherd mother with large, lovely eyes give You her breast and come to no harm? Who could say that is true?
Word by word
- ēḻ ulaku uṇṭu
- swallowing the seven worlds
- āl ilaiyil
- on a banyan leaf
- mukil vaṇṇā
- O cloud-hued One
- pēyt tāy
- the demoness who came as a mother, Putana
- pērntilaḷāl
- she never rose again
- āyt tāy
- the cowherd mother, Yashoda
Mudhal Tiruvandadi 35 · verse 2116 of the four thousand
Meaning
Your servants, whose love has not yet grown calm, say things in their eagerness; do not take what they say as faults. Consider it, O Tall One: even the enmity raised against You by the ten-crowned Ravana, was it not in the end a way to reach Your feet?
Word by word
- āṟiya aṉpu il aṭiyār
- servants whose love has not grown calm
- ārvattāl kūṟiya
- spoken out of eagerness
- kuṟṟamāk koḷḷal
- do not take as a fault
- neṭiyōy
- O Tall One
- īr-aintu muṭiyāṉ
- the one with ten crowns, Ravana
- muraṇ
- enmity, hostility
Mudhal Tiruvandadi 36 · verse 2117 of the four thousand
Meaning
Long ago the whole earth was already Yours. Yet with that hand which bears the golden discus, whose generous nails had covered Hiranya with wounds, You went and begged for land. Was that only so that the strength of Your foe might be undone?
Word by word
- muraṇai vali tolaitaṟku
- to destroy the strength of the foe
- taraṇi taṉatu ākattāṉē
- though the earth was already Yours
- puṇ niranta
- covered with wounds
- vaḷ ukir
- strong, generous nails
- poṉ āḻik kaiyāl
- with the hand bearing the golden discus
- maṇ irantu koṇṭa
- begged for and received the land
Mudhal Tiruvandadi 37 · verse 2118 of the four thousand
Meaning
Venkatam, where those blessed with subtle, flawless learning, and Vedic brahmins from every direction, come every day bearing incense, lamps, flowers and water to bow down: that is the town that Mal delights in, He whose lips blew the white conch.
Word by word
- vakai aṟu nuṇ kēḷvi
- subtle learning without flaw
- pukai viḷakkum
- incense and lamps
- pūm puṉalum
- flowers and water
- vētiyarkaḷ
- Vedic brahmins
- veṇ caṅkam ūtiya vāy
- the lips that blew the white conch
- māl ukanta ūr
- the town Mal delights in
Mudhal Tiruvandadi 38 · verse 2119 of the four thousand
Meaning
On Venkatam the bright hill-folk hurl a great gem to drive away a huge elephant; and the striped, crawling snake, seeing it flash, takes it for lightning from a dark cloud and slips into its anthill. That hill is the dwelling of Mal, whom the gods above call "our own".
Word by word
- ūrum vari aravam
- the crawling striped snake
- oṇ kuṟavar
- the bright hill-folk
- pēra eṟinta peru maṇiyai
- the great gem flung to drive it away
- kār uṭaiya miṉ
- lightning of the dark cloud
- puṟṟu aṭaiyum
- slips into its anthill
- curar em eṉṉum
- whom the gods call our own
Mudhal Tiruvandadi 39 · verse 2120 of the four thousand
Meaning
What He dug up was the earth; what He lifted was a hill; the one He overcame, and terrified first, was Kamsa; where He lies is the great sea of rolling waters; where He stands is Venkatam. How great are the deeds of the One whose colour is the vast, surging sea!
Word by word
- iṭantatu pūmi
- what He dug up was the earth
- eṭuttatu kuṉṟam
- what He lifted was a hill
- kaṭantatu kañcaṉai
- the one He overcame was Kamsa
- kiṭantatuvum
- where He lies
- niṉṟatuvum vēṅkaṭamē
- where He stands is Venkatam
- pēr ōta vaṇṇar
- He whose colour is the vast surging sea
Mudhal Tiruvandadi 40 · verse 2121 of the four thousand
Meaning
An elephant, terrified by the red fire in the hands of the hill-folk with their great bows and arrows, has fled its field; now, seeing stars fall across the vast sky, it shrinks in fear, thinking it is fire again. That is Venkatam, the hill of Him who rejoiced to see the king of the asuras fall.
Word by word
- peru vil pakaḻik kuṟavar
- hill-folk with great bows and arrows
- kaic centī
- red fire in their hands
- puṉam tuṟanta vēḻam
- the elephant that fled the field
- mīṉ vīḻak kaṇṭu añcum
- fears on seeing stars fall
- acurar-kōṉ vīḻak kaṇṭu
- seeing the king of asuras fall
- ukantāṉ kuṉṟu
- the hill of Him who rejoiced
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.