THIRUMANTHIRAM - Payiram Proem Verses 67-94 of 112 by Saint Thirumular

Thirumanthiram

ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE TAMIL SPIRITUAL CLASSIC BY SAINT THIRUMULAR

 

PAYIRAM: PROEM

(Verses 1 to 112)

1 IN PRAISE OF GOD

 

4 THE GURU HIERARCHY

 

67: Eight Masters

 

Seekest thou the Masters who Nandi's grace received

First the Nandis Four, Sivayoga the Holy next;

Patanjali, then, who in Sabha's holy precincts worshipt,

Vyaghra and I complete the number Eight.

 

68: Eight Nathas

 

By Nandi's Grace I, His Masters elect,

By Nandi's Grace I Primal First sought;

By Nandi's Grace, what can I perform not?

Nandi guiding, I here below remained.

 

69: Seven Disciples

 

By merit of instruction imparting,

Malangan, Indiran, Soman and Brahman,

Rudran, Kalangi and Kancha-malayan,

These seven in my line successive come.

 

70: Four Nandis

 

The Four, each in his corner, as Master ruled,

The Four, each his diverse treasure held,

Each in his turn spoke, "Take all I've;"

And thus, Immortals and Masters became.

 

71: Lord Transcends What He Revealed

 

The Lord it was who spoke to the Three and to the Four,

He spoke of Death futile and of Birth according;

At once of God and the three Radiant Lights;

Yet His surpassing greatness ne'er fully revealed.

 

72: Nandis Attain Celestial State

 

"The Heavens in eight directions may rain,

Yet shall you the Holy rites and pure perform;"

So spoke He of the matted locks and coral hue,

And His Grace conferred on the steadfast Four.

 

5 HISTORY OF TIRUMULAR

 

73: In Meekness And Prayer

 

High on my bowed head Nandi's sacred Feet I bore,

Intoning loud His Name in my heart's deepest core,

Daily musing on Hara wearing high the crescent moon,

Thus I ventured the Agamas to compose.

 

74: Witnessed Divine Dance

 

Flashed in my mind the mystic name of Sivagama;

Straight I rose to Arul Nandi's Holy Feet;

These eyes witnessed, enthralled,

The surpassing Dance in Holy Sabh;

Thus I lived and joyed for seven crore Yuga.

 

75: Lost In Sakti Devotion

 

Hear O! Indra, what urged me thus?

She the Holy One, Lady of the Universe, rich and vast

In devotion deep and true, Her I adored

And with ardour unceasing, here I pursued.

 

76: Mystic Truths Flashed

 

Sadasiva, Tattva, the Muthamil and Veda

Them I sought not while here I stood;

I held them not in the heart; but soon my mind turned,

And indifference abandoning, realised them all.

 

77: Import Of Siva Dance

 

This it was, O Malanga, urged me here to come,

The Veda to expound and the Dance Divine's deep import;

These mysteries occult the Lord first unveiled

To Her of the azure hue and jewels bright.

 

78: Devotion To Sakti

 

Bright jewelled, the Eternal Bliss named,

She my Saviour, sundering all bonds of birth;

Siva's treasure, Mistress of Avaduthurai cool,

Her Feet I reached and in devotion fast remained.

 

79: Under The Sacred Bodhi Tree

 

Fixed in devotion fast I clung to Her Lord-elect,

Rooted firm to Siva who in Avaduthurai smiled;

In devotion fast sought repose under Siva Bodhi's shade,

In devotion fast I chanted

The lyric spell of His countless names.

 

80: Countless Years In Mortal Body

 

Remained thus prisoned in mortal coil for ages beyond count;

Remained in space where day nor darkness is;

Remained in places where Devas offered praise,

Remained immutably fix't at Nandi's holy Feet and true.

 

81: Agamic Truths In Tamil

 

What availeth thee now to be born,

If to the Lord, the meed of penance you deny?

The Lord made me, my task assigned,

In sweetest Tamil His Glory to expound.

 

82: Through Ninety Milliion Yugas

 

While Time's unbroken chain trailed its nine Yuga's length,

Wisdom's Mistress into Nandi's City passed,

And bathed His Feet in Wisdom's loving stream;

And I sat and watched, under the sacred Bodhi tree.

 

83: From Kailas To Earth

 

I sought the way countless Devas, Asuras, humans take

To scale the heights; all wisdom conquered;

Thus a Shiv Muni I grew and Siddha true,

Came down here through the cerulean blue.

 

84: Immortal Body

 

Of Books that glow and thrill the heart,

The Vedas stand in truth unsurpassed,

The Lord who, the center holding,

Bodied forth the Vedic chants;

Likewise in His Grace to me gave this body-temple to hold.

 

85: Bliss To Humanity

 

All the world may well attain the Bliss I have;

Who hold firm to the Heavenly secret the Books impart,

Who chant the hymns that thrill the flesh

And swell the heart,

They, sure, take their place in foremost rank.

 

86: Garland Of Mantras

 

The Heavenly Beings with folded hands approach

Nandi the Lord above and free of the bonds of Birth;

Deep in their hearts the Holy Hymns revolve

And, devoutly fixed, chant the immortal strains.

 

87: Splendour Of Tamil Agamas

 

In Himself He contained the glowing Fire,

In Himself the Seven Worlds, and yet all space not filling

He contained too the Tamil Sastra, in lone splendour set,

Pregnant of import, deep yet recondite.

 

88: Baffling Quest Of Brahma And Vishnu

Ayan and Mal, His Head and Foot toiling sought,

Baffled in their quest, again on earth they met;

"I saw not the Foot," Achuth plained,

"The Head I saw," Ayan falsely claimed.

 

89: Lord Blessed Tirumular

 

Nandi, by bull, deer and axe ever attended,

Nandi, my Lord, the Cause without Cause,

Creation's limit in His Thought conceived to me revealed,

And on my lowly head He planted His Holy Feet.

 

90: Basic Spiritual Categories

 

So impelled, streamed out of me in measures full

The Jneya, the Jnana, and the Jnathuru,

The Maya, and the Parayaya that in Mamaya arise,

The Siva and the Agochara Veeya.

 

91: From Siva's Seat To Earth

 

Thus expounding I bore His Word

Down Kailas's unchanging path,

The Word of Him, the Eternal, the Truth Effulgence,

The Limitless Great, Nandi, the Joyous One,

He of the Blissful Dance that all impurity dispels.

 

92: Form-Formless Sadasiva State

 

With Nandi's Grace I sought the Primal Cause,

With Nandi's Grace I Sadashiv became,

With Nandi's Grace Truth Divine attained,

With Nandi's Grace I so remained.

 

93: God Within Vedic Hymns

 

In the countless measures that are in Veda Rig,

He indwells with His radiant locks;

The Sun and Moon with their splendid argent rays,

In vain they melt the waxing lustre of His glowing locks.

 

94: Night And Day Yearn For Him

 

Unceasing, I prattle daily Nandi's name,

By day praise Him in thought and ;by night as well,

Daily I yearn for my Master, the Light-Hued,

The Lord of the uncreated Radiant Flame.