HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

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7HE HERITAGE OF

Planned by J. N. FARQUHAR, M.A., D.Litt. (Oxon.),

D.D. (Aberdeen).

fThe Right Reverend V. S. AZARIAH, LL.D.
Joint (Cantab.), Bishop of Dornakal.

Editors " ; ^' ^" BEWICK, M.A. (Cantab.)

. N, C. GANGULY, M.A. (Birmingham),
Darsan-Sastri.

Already published.

The Heart of Buddhism. K. J. SAUNDERS, M.A., D.Litt. (Cantab.)
A History of Kanarese Literature, 2nd ed. E. P. RICE, B. A.

The Samkhya System, 2nd ed. A. BERRIEDAXE KEITH, D.C.L., D.Litt.

(Oxon.)

A3oka, 3rd ed. JAMES M. MACPHAIL, M.A., M.D.
Indian Painting, 2nd ed. Principal PERCY BROWN, Calcutta.
Psalms of Maratha Saints. NICOL MACXICOX, M.A., D.Litt.
A History of Hindi Literature, F. E. KEAY, M.A., D.Litt.
Tne Karma-Mlmamsa. A. BERRTEDALE KEITH, D.C.L., D.Litt. (Oxon.)
Hymns of the Tamil Saivite Saints- F. KINGSBURY, B.A., and G. E.
PHILLIPS, M.A.

Hymns from the Ri^eda. A. A. MACDOKELL, M.A., Ph.D., Hon.
LL.D.

Gautama Buddha. K. J. SAUNDERS, M.A., D.Litt. (Cantab.)
The Coins of India. C. J. BROWN, M.A.
Poeim by Indian Women. MRS. MACNICOL .

Bengili Religious Lyrics, Sakta. EDWARD THOLIPSON and A. M.

SPENCER.

Classical Sanskrit Literature, 2nd ed. A. BERRIEDALE KEITH, D.C.L.,

D Litt. ( Os0 n.).

i. ne Music of India. H. A. POPLEY, B. A.
lejugp Literature. P. CHENCHIAH, M.L/., and RAJA M. BHXTJANGA

.

KaDindraaath Tagore, 2nd ed. EDWARB THOMPSON, M-A.

proposed and volumes und$r preparation.

HISTORY AND THE HERITAGE.
The Early Period.
The Gupta Period.
Mogul Period,

11
HE PHILOSOPHIES.

A Introduction to Hindu Philosophy. J. N. FAROJDHAR and

Principal JOHN MCKEXZIE, Bombay.
Selections from the Upanishads. M. H. HARRISON, Jaffna.
The System or the Pali Buddhist Books. Prof. V. LESNY

Prague.

FINE ART AND MUSIC.

Indian Architecture.

Indian Sculpture. Dr. Stella XRAHRISCH, Calcutta.

Tne Minor Arts. Principal PERCY BROWN, formerly of Calcutta.

BIOGRAPHIES OF EMINENT INDIANS.

naja. Prof. R. OTTO, llarbnrg.
Aktar.

VERNACULAR LITERATURE.

The Sural. H. A. POPUEY, B.A., Madura, and K. T. PAUL,

B.A., Saiena.

Ttis: Das ! s Ramayana In Mnuatture. G. J. DAKN, M.A.
Bengali ReE^ons Lyrics, Vaishnava. EDWARD THOMPSON and

A. M. SPENCER.

Malay slam Devorlonal Literature. C. E. ABRAHAM, B.D.,

Serarspore,

HISTORIES OF VERNACULAR LITERATURE.

Bengali. C. S. PATERSOX, M.A., Calcutta. ^ ,

Gujarat!. ^ ~"

MaratM.

Tamil.

Malayalam. T. K. JOSEPH, B.A., L.T., Trivandrum.

Urdti. T. GRAHAME BAILEY, D.Litt,

Bnrmese, Prof. TUNG PE> Rangoon.

VARIOUS.

Indian Temple Legends. K. T. PAUL, B.A.

Indian Astronomy and Chronology.

Tfee Aryan Languages of India. Prof. R. L. TURNER, London.

-the Indian Drama. Prof. M. WINTERNITZ, Prague.

Prakrit Literatore. Principal A. C. WOOLKER, Lahore,

EDITORIAL PREFACE

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things are honourable, whatsoever
things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatso-
ever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of
good report ; if there be any virtue, and if fftere be
any praise, think on these things.

No section of the population of India can afford to
neglect her ancient heritage. The treasures of knowledge,
wisdom, and beauty which are contained in her literature,
philosophy, art, and regulated life are too precious to be
lost. Every citizen of India needs to use them, if he is to
be a cultured modern Indian. This is as true of the Chris-
tian, the Muslim, the Zoroastrian as of the Hindu. But,
while the heritage of India has been largely explored by
scholars, and the results of their toil are laid out for us in
books, they cannot be said to be really available for the
ordinary man. The volumes are in most cases expensive,
and are often technical and difficult. Hence this series of
cheap books has been planned by a group of Christian men,
in order that every educated Indian, whether rich or poor,
may be able to find his way into the treasures of India's
past. Many Europeans, both in India and elsewhere, will
doubtless be glad to use the series.

The utmost care is being taken by the General Editors
in selecting writers, and in passing manuscripts for the
press. To every book two tests are rigidly applied : every-
thing must be scholarly, and everything must be sym-
pathetic. The purpose is to bring the best out of the ancient
treasuries, so that it may be known, enjoyed, and used.

f\ ft

ft

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THE HERITAGE OF INDIA SERIES

HYMNS OF THE
ALVARS

J, S. M. HOOPER, M.A. (Oxon.) @

( late Scholar of Corpus Chrtsti College, Oxford ; Principal
of Wesl&y College, Madras]

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ASSOCIATION PRESS

5 RUSSELL STREET, CALCUTTA

LONDON: OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

NEW YORK, TORONTO, MELBOURNE
BOMBAY, CALCUTTA & MADRAS

1929

To THE MEMORY

OF

R. M. H.

MARCH 4ra, 1878 MARCH 21sT 5 1918

PREFACE

IT has not been easy to decide the principle on which to
select iroin the large amount of material available In the
Hymns of the Alvars. It would have been comparatively
simple to choose nothing- but pieces naturally attractive, an
anthology of the best according to a Western literary stan-
dard ; but It has seemed to me more valuable to attempt
to convey an impression of other elements which have not
so frequently found their way from Indian languages into
English. This Is one of the reasons for including the very
difficult TiruppaUandU) and for giving what would other-
wise appear disproportionate space to the last two selections
the Tiruppavai and the Tiruvirultam which are suffi-
ciently long to give the Western reader a consecutive view of
the qualities of the hymns and of the type of devotion
fostered by them. The stanzas are numbered throughout
as la the original Tamil.

A metrical form, rather than prose, has been chosen for
most of the translations, because it appears to me that the
strong emotional element in the hymns is better brought out
In verse than in prose. But no attempt has been made to
reproduce the metres of the original Tamil, which are alto-
gether foreign to English ears, and the actual forms used
have no relation to any Tamil verse forms..

Among those to whom I am under obligations in connec-
tion with this little book, I would specially refer to Dr. J. N.
Farquhar, the planner of the Heritage of India 5 series. It
was at his Instance that I undertook this work, and his zeal

4 HYMXS OP THE ALVARS

a ^r 1 i -, ^ a *" j_

movement in incus. In tna: movement a tew great
names stand cut: the Bhagavad Giia^ Ramanujacharya,
asd the founders of the later sects in North India
which owe their inspiration to him, may be taken as
the landmarks, sc far as the Yaishnavite movement is
concerned : while on a line of its own, owing its inspiration
very largely to the GHZ, but ^directing its devotion to Siva
rather than to Vishnu, is the Saivite bhakti movement, with
lit hymns of the Dfczram and the Tiruvachakam* Bhakti
Itself, the attitude of fervent devotion to Gcd ? may of course
be found wherever men turn in eagerness of desire, or in
extremity of despair, away from themselves and their own
reasonings to the One : but the historical student has to be
content with such references to this attitude and experience

* !^ Ti * * j i ,

as ne can nnc in literature and ntuai.

Thus* before the Glia^ it has been pointed out that in
the Yedas, the grace of Yamna already provides the
ground for such loving devotion as is later to find expres-
sion in the bhakti movement In the later literature of
Brahmanas (? 800-500 B.C.) Yishnu, though only

,e e,i many gods, already has something of the attrac-
tiveness that marks the sun-gods in many mythologies
It is significant that if there is any error in the ritual
of sacrifice, it is Yishnu who is invoked. In the ritual
of marriage, too, he has an important place, and thus
comes near to man in the most intimate and friendly
relations of life. By far the most important reference to
Yishnn in this connection is the legend which was later to
find a place as the story of one of the ten avataras of
Yishim the legend of how he, when all the other gods
were helpless, redeemed the earth from the Asuras. He
was the dwarf Yarnana who was contemptuously offered as
much of the earth as he could compass in three strides.
Straightway he swelled to the form of Tri-Vikrama, and
with Ms first step bestrode the earth, with a second the
highest heaven, and then failing to find a place for the third
stride, he placed his foot on the head of Bali, the king of the
demons, Visbm thus stands out from among his**fellow-
gods as the oae who actually did something for the redemp-
tion of the world, the one upon whose grace, therefore, man

*hp

~,Tt

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

has some right to count. How far this view o Vishnu
coherently held in the days before the appearance of
Gild is a question that would carry us far beyond the S
of our present study ; but in any case the Gita, took
belief and gave it literary form and a more
background.

The Bhagavad Gita (200 B.C.-A.D. 200} , whateve
sources from which it sprang, is for all practical purp Oses
the source of the bhakti movement in India. It contains
elements philosophically irreconcilable with one another
and inconsistent with what are commonly held to K!
the fundamentals of Indian thought, but from the first its
position has been sure ; it speaks to the heart of man, an<3 _
offers salvation to all the four castes on terms that ^ Q
readily understood. Its teaching has been used to buttress
many later theories of God and the universe, but f or
the purpose of our enquiry it will be enough to point
out three or four lines laid down in it, which the later
movement has steadily followed.

In the first place, it takes the Absolute, the
Atnian of the Upamskads, and identifies it with Vishnu,
of the gods of the pantheon, hitherto at most on a level
Brahma and Siva. Vishnu and the Absolute are now
vertible terms, and the Absolute becomes a gracious
to some extent, knowable God. In the second place, it
the warrior Krishna, who has hitherto been at most a
partial incarnation of Vishnu, and makes him a full inc
tion; he that has seen Krishna has seen Vishnu,
seen the Absolute. In the third place, it lays down as a
of release from rebirth (which release remains
the goal of religious endeavour ; though in the
the Alvars, as we shall see, there are hints of another
possible goal), a method that is open to all. The
of Knowledge, Jndna Marga, as prescribed in the
shads, is recognised as effective, but it is
limited to the few. The Way of Works, Karma
is recognised, and if prescribed duties are done \vith-
out desire for reward, and without attachment to the
fruits of the action, release will come. But as efecti ve
as either of them is the new Way of Devotion to Krishna

2

6 HVMXS OF THE ALVARS

Bkakti Mdrga. These who have followed the Bhakti
Marga have contemplated the attractive figure of Krishna,
and froir many sides devotion has been lavished on him.
He has made his appeal to the devout and to the sensuous
alike, and in the love of Krishna, time and space, sin and re-
birth* have alike been forgotten. This has been a sufficient
c-QSpel for many eager souls ; but to those who have enquired
hew this comforting message can be reconciled with the
Upanishad doctrine of an impersonal, actionless Absolute,
the Gita has had no satisfactory answer to give. The two
conceptions are left side by side : the thinker, in the main,
has been content to take the Upanishad doctrine as the food
of his mind, while he has found emotional satisfaction in
paving homage to a god incarnate, come to earth to help
man in his need ; he has tried not to notice the dissidence ;
while for the ordinary man the emotional satisfaction has
been everything.

It was not until many centuries had passed that in
Ramanuia the bhakti movement found a competent philoso-
phical exponent. He attempted what to some appears
the impossible task of reconciling in thought the conception
of the impersonal Absolute and the gracious Helper of
men; and he succeeded in the Visishtadvaita philoso-
phy which he formulated, in providing the strongest
alternative to the philosophy of Sankaracharya which has
been allowed to retain the reputation of orthodoxy. From
Ramaaujacharya 5 as from a reservoir into which earlier
streams had poured* the many subsequent bhakti move-
ments branch out again, some with more of emotion, some
with less ; but al alike in accepting as substantially true his
theory of the relation between God and man and the
universe.

The work of the AMlrs falls into its place between the
Glta and Ramamija. |rhe Alvars provided the soil out of
which Ramanuja's teaching naturally sprang, and in which
later it cotdd bear fruit. He is not really (as has been erro-
neously asserted) the * morning star* of the bhakti move-
ment ; that is a name far more fitly given to the Alvars ; but
in him, bhakti shir^Jn the full splendour of a. great philo-
sophical exposition. Alvars in their hymns assume the

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

po

sition of the Glta with regard to Vishnu and Krishna,
nd in the type of devotion which they represent and
stimulate they maintain bhakti as the great way of
salvation.

The period during which they appear to have flourished
is that in which South India made its chief contributions to
the religious life of the country. From the seventh to the
ninth centuries of the Christian era, not only they, but also
the curiously parallel Saivite singers, emphasised bhakti,
while at the same time (A.D. 788-850) Sankaracharya was
enunciating the Advaita philosophy, with its relentless
emphasis on an Absolute without attributes, and the
unreality of all manifestation. The bhaktas, holding a view
ultimately inconsistent with this, were continually drawn
away into this pantheistic position, and in their hymns we
can trace the same inconsistency as is to be noted in the
Git ft itself.

Before giving some account of the Alvars and their
work, it will be well to consider briefly some of the other
elements in the religious atmosphere which they breathed.
We have seen that the thought of the Glta was one of the
chief elements, but there was also in the early centuries the
strong influence of the Buddhist and Jain movements. For
our purpose it is not necessary to treat these separately.
Both appear to have been in the nature of reactions against
the attributeless Absolute by those who felt that if such be
the Supreme Being, practical atheism is the only logical
conclusion for men to come to. Both were strongly ethical
and offered a way of salvation open to all, as distinguished
from the narrow limits imposed by Hindu orthodoxy. The
critical note was also struck by Buddhism and Jainism, and
in this respect they opened the way to the later reform
movements. There are two other respects in which they
may be said to have prepared the way for the bhakti
movement : (1) they used the vernaculars, and thus made a
direct and successful appeal to the masses, a course in which
they were followed by both the Saivite and the Vaishrtavite
bhaktas; and (2) they so completely moralised religion,
excluding from it all the emotional glow that comes from
devotion to God, and making it a matter of pure ethical

8 HYMX5 OF THE ALYARS

teaching, that the hungry human heart was ready to turn to
a religion thai would give it someone to love and worship.
There was also the Advaita philosophy, dominant then
and dominant still in Indian thoughi ; hut here it is only
necessary to touch on two or three of the points in which
it is particularly related to our subject. According to it the
Way of Deliverance is the Way of Knowledge, for only so
can the "bondage of ignorance, producing the illusion of
reality, be removed. Through ignorance comes rebirth, and
man and god alike are bound by Karma ; all action works
itsel; cut with impersonal justice, and there is no room for
anything else. Thus bhakti, in any really valuable sense, is
Impossible, both because the Supreme Being is without
attributes, unknowable, unapproachable, unapproaching, and
because of this reign of ire personal retributive law, Bhakti
involves a mutual relationship of love and trust, a relation-
ship which to be valuable must be between the human soul
and the One with whom finally we have to deal. But the
utmost that is allowed in the Advaita system, and the
Upanishads as expounded by it, is that Vishnu is a special
form 01 the Absolute, worship of whom may be permitted as
a concession to human weakness, until with full knowledge
this illusion also disappears, and the One is all and in all. It
is clear that a bhakti regarded thus from the superior eleva-
tion of philosophic enlightenment holds its position by a very
insecure tenure ; and it is this that bhakti has had to contend
with, and from this that the Visishtadvaita philosophy aimed
to deliver it. The philosophy, implicit in much of the work of
the Alvars, and explicit in Ranianuja, maintains the personal
existence of the Supreme Being, and emphasises his love
and pity for the sinful beings who adore him. He is able to
grant them an abode of eternal bliss in conscious commu-
nion with himself ; while God alone exists and all else is mani-
festation, that manifestation (because God is immanent in it)
is real and permanent, though subject throughout to the
control of the one Brahman. These permanent and real
attributes are chit ' (individual souls) and l achit* (matter).
They are incapable of existing alone, and so do aot interfere
with the non-duality of the Absolute. .They find their real
esistence in association with God.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 9

Side by side with philosophy was the practice of poly-
theistic worship. The remote Absolute of the philosophers
was clearly ill-suited to satisfy the craving of human
affection for a god near at hand, and, perhaps even less,
the imperative need of a god who could still the disorder
of human fear. Hinduism as it developed tolerated , as of at
least temporary value, the aboriginal cults in which men
had found some satisfaction for these needs s and thus we
find an increasing number of local legends of the gods
incorporated into Hinduism through the Pur anas ^ and
attached to the greater gods of the pantheon. In particular,
from the standpoint of this study, is to be noted the move-
ment associated with the Pancharatras in the early centuries
A.D. This was among the higher castes, and emphasised
the worship of Vishnu in temples and by means of images,
with an ancient non-Vedic ritual. It marked a great advance
on indiscriminate poly theism , in that it insisted on all
worship being directed to Vishnu ; even the other gods of
the pantheon were excluded, Narayana (identified with
Vishnu) the primal cause, alone being the object of worship.
This sect was for these reasons criticised as unorthodox ;
"but it has always claimed orthodoxy, and has maintained
caste and the observance of Vedic forms in domestic
worship.

Mention must also be made of the similar cult of Saivism
exercising at approximately the same time a very profound
influence in South India. The two movements were direct-
ed towards rival gods, and to that extent were obviously
rivals, and at times even enemies of each other ; but, from
another standpoint, they were most potent allies, both
making a popular religious appeal through the use of the
vernaculars, both insisting on an exclusive devotion to one
god, and emphasising his grace, on the one hand, and the
privilege of man's loving devotion, on the other.

In the Alvar hymns there are references to all these types
of religion and thought, and it is impossible to appreciate
the emphasis of the hymns without remembering the
conflict in the midst of which they were produced
_ There are three main sources of our knowledge of the
Alvars. First, the legendary lives of the saints ; these are,

i: HYICsS OF THE ALVARS

**

at the earnest, contemporary with Ramanuja, ana are there-
fore some centuries later than the events they profess to
relate, so that they cannot be relied upon If contemporary
evidence contradicts them. They are, nevertheless, of great
interest as being among the earliest attempts at the writing
of histcry in South India. It is significant that they come
when personal contributions begin to be made to religion ;
hitherto Indian religion had In the main gone its way with
no outstanding names but that of Buddha ; It had been an
evolution of thought rather than a succession of prophets ;
but now the devotion of disciples was anxious to preserve
every detail of the life and teaching of the revered guru,
and these lives are the result They obviously contain
a large admixture of Imagination but they represent
thought which was current in the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries, and which Is current to-day among devout ri-
Vaishnavas.

In the second place there are contemporary Inscriptions
on stone or metal. The study of these by competent epigra-
phists is yielding valuable results, and will increasingly
serve to check conclusions reached by other means.

In the third place, there Is Jiterary evidence gathered from
the surviving works of the Alvars themselves, as embodied
in the collection of their hymns known as the Nalayira
Prabandkamtios; Collection of Four Thousand.- These
Tamil hymns were gathered together by Nathamuni, (d. AJX
920) who also made arrangements for their use In temple
worship. The hymns contain evidence of great value for the
subject matter of devotion; but the data for establishing
chronology are scanty and have Mtherto been Insufficiently
explored for full agreement between scholars to have been
reached* The field of disagreement has been narrowed
down ; but how wide it has been may be judged from the
fact that while the traditional dates for the Alvars are 4203-
2706 B.C. the first estimates of western scholarship placed
them subsequent to Ramanuja, who died in A.D. 1137. Cald-
well, Seshagiri Sastri, Mouier Williams, and even the article
in the latest edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica are all
agreed on the later date. Apart, however, from those who
to the traditional dates, there Is now agreement that

GENERAL INTRODUCTION *, 11

_ r - I

the Alvars were predecessors of Raraanuja, and the
ences of opinion are only as to their relative positions,
as to the period to which the earliest of them belong,
Professor S. Krishnaswamy Aiyangar appears inclined, to
place the four earliest Alvars in the second century A.B. : but
in the judgment of the present writer the evidence for this
is lacking, and a considerably later date, the middle of the
seventh century, must be assigned to them. The late Mr.
T. A. Gopinatha Rao has pointed out that one of the early
Alvars, Bhutattalvar, makes reference to Mamallai as the
place of his birth. This is clearly Mahabalipuram (The Seven
Pagodas), established as a seaport by thePailava king, Nara-
siibhavarmaa l,surnamed Mahamalla, in the middle of the
seventh century. This carries with it a later date for Bhutatt-
alvar and his contemporaries, Pey Alvar and Poykai Alvar.
In the chronology that is here adopted, Gopinatha Rao has
been followed, though it has not been thought necessary to
give the detailed evidence that he brings in support of his
conclusions. In any case the chronology is so disputed that
in this introduction no theories are based upon its details,
and no attempt is made to trace any progression of thought
from the earlier to the later.

As to the main order of the Alvars, there is very general
agreementthat the traditional account may be followed. The
first three Alvars are PEY ALVAR, BHUTATTALVAK, and POY-
KAI ALVAR, and their story illustrates the meaning of the
name " Alvar * that all these devotees have in common ; the
Alvar is one who has gone deep in the knowledge of God,
one who is immersed in the contemplation of him. Pey
Alvar, according to the tradition was bom in a red lotus
in a well in Mylapore. On the same day, a few miles to the
south, at Mahabalipuram, was bom Bhutam, also in a
flower, while the day before saw the birth of Poykai in a
lotus in the tank of the Vishnu temple at Kanchi (Conjee-
varam). It chanced that one night each of them was
weather-bound, and they took shelter one after the other in
a space all too small for them. As they stood thus close
together to escape the fury of the rain they became con-
scious of another Presence squeezing in among them. It
was God Himself ; and when the day carne, each of them

12 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

broke into ecstatic song ? the result of which we have in the
first., second and tMrd Tiruzandadi^ each containing a
hundred stanzas and composed respectively by Poykai,
B!mtai& and Pey. 1

Contemporary with these is TrauiiALJSAi ALVAS, bom
three months after them in the village of Trramalisai, near
PconamaHee. He was the son of a rishi and an apsara^ but
was early abandoned by Ms mother, and found and brought
tip "by a devout man of low caste- 2 He is reputed to have
lived for 4,700 years and to have spent much time in Tripli-
cane, Ccnjeevaram and Kuinbakonam. His hymns are the
Nan-Mukham Tiruvandadij containing 96 stanzas, and the
Tiru-Cckanda-Viruttamj containing 120 stanzas. They con-
tain an interesting and superior reference to Jains, Bud-
dhists, and Siva Bhaktas. 3

The next name is that of NAMMALVAR L the greatest,
most famous and most voluminous of the Alvars. He is
known by various other names, the most frequent of which
are Sathagopan and Parankusam. His story is closely inter-
woven with that of another Alvar, his disciple, MATHURA-
KAvi.__Natnmalvar was born in a Sudra family at Kurakur,
now Alvartimnagari in the Tinnevelly District. For the
first sixteen years of his life, the child, at that time called
llaran, remained under a tamarind tree, opening neither
Ms mouth nor his eyes. Meanwhile Mathurakavi, who was
on pilgrimage in North India, saw a great light shining

1 The opening stanzas of the First and Second Tiruvandadi are as

follows :

^ earth as lamp-bowl, the poured-ont sea as oil s the burning sun

as light, I "nave twined a garland of words for the feet of him who

wields the red blazing- discos, that the destruction-bringing discus
may IK gone * Poykai.

* With love as lamp-bowl, desire as oil, mind melting with bliss as
wick, with melting sonl I have kindled the bright light of wisdom in
the learned TartH which I have wrought for Narayana ' BhQtam.

* cf. Tirucckanda yiruftam, 90 : 'I was not born in one of the
twice two castes : 1 am not learned in the four sacred Vedas ; I have
act conquered fee five senses . , . save thy shining feet alone, O Lord,
I have no other bold. 1

s Nam-M^kam Tiruvandadi, 6: 'Jains are ignorant, Bttddhists
have faHen Into delusion, Saivas are ignorant innocents, and those who
not worship Vishnu are low indeed. 1

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 13

In the South, and guided by it he came to Kuruktir and
the tamarind tree. By asking a conundrum he succeeded
in rousing Maran from his meditative trance, and immedi-
ately attached himself to him as his disciple. At the same
time Maran experienced a revelation of Vishnu, and the
resnlt was the mass of poetry which is preserved in the
Ndlayira Prabandham. His works are the Tirumruttam^
containing 100 stanzas; the Tiruvasiriami 7 stanzas;
the Periya Tiruvandadi^ 87 stanzas ; and the Tiruvaymoli >
1,102 stanzas. The last forms the whole of the fourth (and
concluding) main division of the Prabandham^ and is
iiself divided into ten parts, called Tens s ' each containing
ten poems, almost all of them with eleven four or eight line
stanzas, the eleventh being to show the eternal benefits that
will accrue to those who sing these hymns. The Tiruvay-
moli is by far the best known part of the Nalayira
Prabandham. The works of Namrnalvar as a whole are
held to contain the essence of the four Vedas. Unlike some
of the other Alvars, the whole of his life was devoted to
meditation on divine truth. His disciple, Mathurakavi, has
left ten stanzas only, in praise of his master ; he is the great
example of that devotion to the guru as himself a partial
incarnation of Vishnu, which was in some later develop-
ments of the bhakti movement to have such dangerous
implications. The date that modern scholarship assigns to
Nannnalvar is about the first half of the ninth century.

KULASBKARA ALVAR was a king in Travancore, and his
poems contain a number of place-references that have been
made the ground of various conflicting theories as to
his exact date. Probably the first half of the ninth century
may be accepted. He was a capable ruler, but his interests
gradually turned to religion. He made a^ careful study
of sacred literature and himself corap&^'lSi anthology
of poems drawn from it. His religious pre-occupations
proved increasingly embarrassing to his ministers* and
various incidents are related of his absorption. On one
occasion he was so moved on hearing a passage read from
the Ramayana in which Rama is pictured as standing alone
against hosts of giants, that he ordered out his own troops
to go to the rescue, and his ministers needed considerable

14 HYilXS OF THE ALVARS

ingenuity to avoid complications. Again, he was impetuously

on his way to Ceylon to rescue the captive Sita, and had
already plunged into the sea to swim the Straits, when
Rama appeared in person with Sita to assure Mm that his
help was no longer needed. Other stories are told of
his devotion ; but a: last he abdicated and was then able to
gratify to the fall his desire to visit the sacred shrine of
Srirangam, and from there to pay visits to other temples,
His experiences are embodied in the Pencniol Tirumoli^
containing 103 stanzas.

PEXXYALTAX, also known as Vishnu-chittar, was born of
Brahmin parents at SrivilHputtur. He was a man of natural
piety and devoted himself to the supplying of flowers daily
to Krishna in the form of the Sleeper on the Banyan Leaf,
in ihe Srivilllptitmr temple. In a vision he was instructed
to go to the court of the Pandya king, VaUabha Deva, at
Madura, and there In a council of sages, summoned by the
king: to expound the Vedanta, he earned the title of ' Pattar-
piran 3 the Brahman chief. On -his return he experienced
so strong an emotion* ar' love for Vishnu, and so vivid a
realisation of him, that he Broke into the song of praise
known as the Tiruppalldndu> in which he summons
others to join him. He returned to his service at Srivilli-
putiir B and there composed Ms Tirumoli, on the exploits of
Krishna, to whose imitation he devoted" himself till the end
of his days. He may be placed about the middle of the
ninth century.

AX^AL is of peculiar interest as the one woman poet
among the Alvars. She was the reputed daughter of
Periyalvar, who, however, had found her in his flower garden
while he was digging, and brought her up as his own child.
One day in his absence she was playing with the flowers he
had set aside for Krishna, and decked herself with them. He
rebuked her severely, and was grieved that on that day he
was unable to present his usual offering to the god. In a
vision, however, he was told that the god preferred the
flowers that Aptja! had worn ; and henceforth she always
wore them before they were presented to the deity. She
became inflamed with passion for Krishna, and pictured her-
self as one of the gofiis, seeking for union with him by every

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 15

means. She composed the Tiruppdvai in thirty stanzas,
describing the way of fulfilment of a sacred row for the
realisation of the divine presence. She also composed the
N&cchiyar Tirumoli (the Sacred Speech of the Queen) in

143 stanzas, consisting of invocations to Kama s the god of
Love, etc. The question of her marriage arose ; and in a
\ision it was revealed that she was to be the bride of Sri
Rafiganatha himself, i.e., Vishnu in the recumbent form
shown at Srirangain. She went to Srirangam with due
ceremony, and was there absorbed into the divine being.

ToxpASApiPPOpi was born at Mandangudi. His original
name was Vipra Narayana, and like Periyalvar, he gave
himself to the preparation of flowers for the worship of the
god, in this case at Srirangam. The crisis of his life came
when he yielded to the seductions of a courtesan called
Devadevi. He was under her spell for some time, and was
at last saved only by the intervention of the god Ranga-
nathan himself. Thus saved and shocked into a more
complete devotion, Vipra Narayana returned to his former
service of the god, and gave himself the new name of
Tondaradippodi (The Dust of the Feet of the Slaves of
God). The heights of his religious experience find
expression in his two poems, the Tirumalai (the Sacred
Garland) and the Tiruppalli Yelucki (the Rousing of the
Lord) both directed to the same manifestation of the
recumbent Ranganathan at Srirangam. He shows strong
hostility to Buddhists and Jains, and there is one hostile
reference also to Saivas. He also may be dated about the
middle of the ninth century.

TXSUPPAN ALVAR was found in a paddy field in Uraiyur
(now Woriur, Trichinopoly ) and adopted by a childless Panar,
or lute-player, and his wife. The child grew up with a deep
devotion to Vishrra as manifested at Srirangam^ just across
the river Kaveri ; but conscious of his lowly Panchatna
origin, he contented himself with singing his praises from
the southern bank of the Kaveri, not crossing to the sacred
island itself. There he used to stay, adoring, and altogether
unconscious of his surroundings. On one occasion the
Brahmin, Loka Saranga Maha Muni, who was responsible
for bringing the water for the ablutions of the god t wished

16 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

to draw water frxa the place where TIruppan was seated,
and called 10 mm to remove himself, in order that his out-
caste presence might not be a pollution. Tiruppan heard
nothing, till at last the Brahmin in his irritation threw
a stone at him. Tirappan at once realised the situation
and htitnbly withdrew. The Brahmin proceeded to_draw
ihe v;ater and in dne course presented it to Sri Ranganathan.
To his intense surprise it was rejected, and the god rebuked
him angrily for Ms treatment of the outcaste, who was his
devotee. "Finally, Maha Muni was instructed to go to
Timppan and carry him on his shoulders to the sacred
presence, as Tirappan's modesty would not allow him of
his own motion to bring what he regarded as the defilement
of his person near to the god. This was done, and the
ecstatic experience drew from Tirappan the Amalan-adi-
ftiran in ten stanzas, He was finally absorbed into the
divine form at the age of fifty.

Last and most picturesque of the Alvars comes TIRU-
MA&GAI, bora in the thief caste, Ms father being commander
of the armies of the Chola king. The name Nila (blue)
was given to the child in honour of Vishnu. He inherited
Ms father's position, and was made a sub-king of the Tiru-
vaji country; he was thus able to indulge his turbulent
passions to the full. His conversion to religious thought
dates from Ms falling in love with a heavenly nymph adopted
by a Vaishnava who gave her the name of Kurnuda Valli,
as he had found her in a lily pool. Uninfluenced by his
offers of jewellery and wealth, she refused to marry anyone
bat a true Vaishnava. Nfla immediately hurried to a shrine
and begged the deity to make him a Vaishnava. In answer
to Ms prayer the twelve marks of Vishnu the wheel, the
conch, etc. were imprinted on his person, and he thus
returned to claim Ms bride. Kumuda Valli, however, in-
sisted that he should feed 1,008 Vaishnavas daily for one
year. To this also he agreed, and the marriage was duly
'Celebrated. From this point Nila becomes Tirumangai. He
kept Ms promise to feed the 1,008 Vaishnavas, though in
order to do so he defrauded Ms overlord, who therefore came
against Mm and made Mm a prisoner. However, wMle he
was In captivity a Mdden hoard was revealed to Mm

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 17

by Varadarajasvami of Kanehi (Vishnu in the form wor-
shipped at Conjeevaram), and with this he was able not only
to ransom himself but to feed the Vaishnavas for a consider-
able time. When it was exhausted he took to highway
robbery to procure the requisite money. Narayana himself
was watching the zeal of Tirumangai for this good end, and
in order to win it yet more fully for himself he turned into
a wealthy Brahmin traveller and allowed himself to be way-
laid and robbed. Tirumangai did his work thoroughly but
was unable to lift his rich spoil from the ground until the
Brahmin taught him a mantra which contained within itself
all the four Vedas. This produced a wonderful effect, and
Tirumangai saw the traveller whom he had robbed trans-
formed into Vishnu in the form of Hrishikesa, with his
consort Lakshmi, riding on the great kite, Garucla. Inspired
by the sight he produced the hyrnns which are pre-
served in the Praba?idham Periya Tirnmoli^ Tirukurun
T&ndaham^ Tirunedun Tdnda/iam, Tiriwerukutrirukkai,
Siriya Tinnnadal^ and Periya TirumadaL He visited
many sacred shrines, which he celebrated in his hymns.
At Sihali (Shiyali) he had a debate with the'Saiva saint,
Sambandhar, in which he came out victorious, Sambandhar
giving him his trident as a sign of respect. (This trident is
found on all images of Tirumangai, who is for this reason
called Parakalar, the Enemy of Heretics.) At last he reached
Snrangam, where the god, Ranganathan, commissioned him
to rebuild and enlarge his temple. To secure the necessary
funds for this, Tirumangai -again resorted to brigandage. He
gained possession of half a cargo of nuts by an unscrupulous
trick, and proceeded to rob the Buddhist shrine at Negapatam
of its golden image of Buddha. In the latter place his
brother-in-law, Yatirajan, lost his life, which was however
restored to him through the intercession of Sri Ranganayakl,
the divine consort at Srirangam. With the funds so obtained
he set about the building work at Srirangam. When obstre-
perous workmen demanded payment he saw to their being
drowned in the Kaveri, and consoled their indignant rela-
tives by telling them that they would be happier at the feet
of Sri Ranganathan than they had been on earth. ... And
so at last, having obtained as a final boon the vision of the

IB HYMXS OF THE ALVARS

Lcrefs ten azataras, he went to Tinikkiiningudi and there
passed away. Tirnrnangai's period Is probably the first halt
c: the rJbth century.

A srcdy of the hymns of the Alvars brings out two inter-
related but distinguishable elements in them : a philosophy
striving for expression, and an emotional experience. Both
are illustrated in the selections here translated and both may
be traced in the subsequent developments of the bhakti
movement* One of the most striking features of Sri-Vaishria-
vlsm is its emphasis on the succession of gurus ; it starts
T,iih Xaxnmalvar, whose immediate disciple, Mathurakavi,
himself counted among the Alvars, gives it classic expres-
sion. But the main line runs through Nathamuni, the codifier
o; the Xalayiram, and through the acharyas, Pimclarikaksha,
Ramamisra, and Yarnunacharya (also known as Alavandar,
the Victor, on account of his dialectical skill), Yamun-
acharya's works were in Sanskrit, and contained an adumbra-
tiori of the Visishtadvaita system that was worked out by his
successor, Ramanujacharya (AJX 1017-1137). It Hes outside
the scope of this study to give any detailed account of
Ratnanuja, but m_him is summed up the intellectual side of
the work of the Alvars.

On the emotional side no such dear literary succession
can be shown ; but the suggestion of Dr. Farquhar that the
Bhagavatu Purana* the latest of \h&Pura?ias^ dating probably
from about A.D. 900, sprang from the midst of some such
community as the Alvars, 1 seems highly probable. The
kind of bhakti described in the Purdna is precisely that of
the Alvars a surging emotion produced by gazing on
images of Krishna s singing his praises, meditating on
him, associating with other devotees, touching their
bodies, serving them lovingly, talking with them of
his wondrous doing and his graces. The Purdna how-
ever appears to ha\ T e gone further in the less worthy
tHrections that are _assockted with the later bhakti move-
ment than do the Alvar hymns. There is more emphasis
on the youth of Krishna, more on the gopis, more detailed
sensuous description of the dalliance of Krishna and the

1 Religious Literature of India, p. 231 f.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 19

gopis, ihan is to be found in the Alvars. From the stand-
point of religion ii would appear to mark a perversion,
\vhich is by no means so definite in the Tamil works. 1

The Nalayira Prabandham is one of the great devo-
tional classics of the Tamil country, and there are ri-
Vaishnavas, both men and women, who carry the whole of
it in their memory, chanting it to simple ragams or tunes,
in their private devotions. It is also used in temple worship,,
side by, side with the Sanskrit Veda. Certain portions of the
Nalayiram (notably the Tiruppallandu and the Tiruppavai,
translated in this selection) are recited daily in all
Sn-Vaishnava temples, and also on special occasions. 2
For instance, there are special portions appropriate to
marriages ; and at death, among other portions, the Tirup-
pallandu is recited, and in the cremation procession the
Tirumruttam (here translated in part). At the great
Srirangam temple, near Trichinopolyj the whole of the
Prabandham is recited during the ten days of the Ekadasi
festival in January, and also on the Saints 1 Days sacred to
the several Alvars. At Srirangam and in all Sri-Vaishnava
temples, the Tamil Prabandham is recited in processions in
front of the god, and the Sanskrit Veda behind him. He is
there said * to rest on the Prabandham^ and to carry the Veda.'
For the Sri-Vaishnava, this great Srirangam temple an
enormous enclosure, containing a town within the temple
walls is simply ( Koyil/ the Temple, par excellence ; and it
is here far more than at Tirupati, which is situated at the
extreme north of the Tamil and on the borders of the Telugu
country, and which is mentioned in the Hymns only less
frequently than Srirangam that the l Tamil Veda/ as the
Prabandham is sometimes called, is given full honour. The
regular daily worship at Tirupati is mainly in Sanskrit.

Originally, the Hymns seem to have been sung in the

1 After giving a detailed account of Krishna's dalliance with the
gopis, the Bh&gavata Purana concludes (Book s, chap. 33) : * Who-
ever respectfully listens to and rehearses the account of the amorous
sport of Vishnu with the damsels of Vraja, conceives great devotion for
the almighty lord, and subduing his own self, he speedily destroys
his desires that are maladies of the mind.'

2 See ictrodsczory note on the Tiruppallandu^ p. 33.

ilXS OF THE ALVARS

^" (4 fT' 1 *** JU T ^ i" 1 "7 * ^

;L w^-.-. : -^' ' & a* w 1 - *

^ c -*>^*-, as is still the case in Saiva temples with
Saiva hymns : cut the custom of reciting them together
vdth the commentary gradually grew, possibly to emphasise
the similarity between the A Tamil Veda s and the Sanskrit.
This recitation is part of what may be called the ' Tamil
liturgy/ as distinguished from the regular liturgy which is in
Sanskrit. The singing of some parts of the Prabandham
appears re be a comparatively modern revival, and to have
no necessary relation to the liturgy. In any case it has no
connection wirh the recitation ; where there is a singer, he
performs his part alone. The reciters are called f Araiyar ';
they stand on opposite sides of the mandapam or hall, in
front of the temple, and render the hymns antiphonally.
They have allowances and perquisites from the temple,
and they must be Brahmins. There is also a liturgy for
domestic v;crsMpj in which, for Brahmans, Vedic mantras
and verses from the Prabandham are both used ,* for non-
Brahmans, the Vedic mantras are of course omitted, though
other Sanskrit passages from the Pur anas ^ etc., tnay be put
in their place. There is no caste restriction as to the
domestic use of the Prabandham; it is open to all who
accept the teaching of Ramanuja.

Many hymns of the Prabandham require but little ex-
planation, in order to be intelligible. Instances will be found
among those translated here of a simple appeal to God for
deliverance from the recurring ill of life life itself is the
ill, not sin, cr sorrow, or misfortune ; but existence, from
which God himself alone may be able to save the soul that
trusts in him. Others are filled with a passionate devotion
to God, singularly free from self-regard^ and expressing
itself with a great wealth of illustration. Others again
consist of loving and detailed descriptions of God as made
known to men, especially in the form of Krishna, whose
exploits both as child and man form the subject-matter of
many hymns exalting the grace of God. (Only one of the
many dealing in great detail with Krishna's infancy has been
chosen for this selection, by Perivalvar. 1 ) Others deal
similarly with the other avataras of Vishnu, and with

1 See below, p. 37*

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 21

particular manifestations at one or other of the many
shrines sacred to him, in the Tamil country and beyond it.
The note of devotion that sounds in such hymns is a note
familiar in the soul's approach to God, and apart from the
strangeness of the names and allusions, needs no comment
to make it clear to devout men of other races and faiths.

But there are other hymns which refuse to yield their
secret unless it is realised that they embody a very elabo-
rate symbolism, much of which is entirely foreign to
western thought. In the present selection, the Tiruvzrutiam
of Nammalvar and the Tiruppavai of Andal are examples
of this class, and an attempt has been made to supply
snfEcient explanation to make them moderately intelligible
to the reader. 1 It is neither possible nor desirable to supply
a complete key to the esoteric meaning of these hymns ;
commentators differ widely on many points, and all that has
here been aimed at is to suggest interpretations that may
give some clue to the poet's meaning. No epithet is used
without a meaning on which commentators have exercised
their ingenuity at great length ; and inevitably in translation
much has been lost of the finer shades of suggestion
that the original contains. At the back of all the emphasis
on the visible image or shrine lies the great thought, that
man's religion not only needs expression through the
senses, but through them also needs and receives
stimulation. The Alvars yielded themselves fully to the
ecstatic raptures that came to their senses through the
action of song and symbol. They saw God in everything,
and under the most intimate terms known to human
relationship they sought to express the passionate hunger
of the heart for him. The soul cannot find rest until it finds
God.

For those not already familiar with the intricate field of
Hindu mythology, one of the chief obstacles to the ready
understanding of such devotional hymns as those of the
Alvars is the number of incidents and epithets with which
they need to be acquainted. Here all that can be given is a
brief summary of the main beliefs about Vishnu, detailed

1 See below, pp. 49, 58-60.

22 HYMXS GF THE ALVARS

allusiozs that are ret here made sixniclently clear being-
explained, v;here they occur, in the notes to the text. The
references in ;he hymns are very largely to one or other
of the avataras of Vishnu, and it is through them that
he is chiefly known to men. But he himself dwells in
Yaikrntha, with bis consort, Lakshmi, or Sn 3 who was
"bom of the froth of the ocean when it was churned by
the g&ds and demons. On his breast he bears a sacred
rr-srk, ri-vatsa, and in his four hands he carries always the
Wheel, the Conch, the Club, and the Lotus. He is for ever at
war with the demons that for ever plot evil against men and
gods. Among the demons are Madhn, Kamsa, Bana> Bali, all
o: whom are mentioned in these selections ; and Vishnu hurls
his wheel and uses his club against them. When he blows
his conch his enemies are filled with terror and dismay. He
also has a Bow (Sarnga) and a sword, and wears special
jewels on his breast and on his wrist. He rides on Garada,
the great eagle that is half human in form and character, the
destroyer of serpents. At the dissolution of the universe,
between the intervals of creation, Vishnu, the Supreme
Being, Scats on the waters of the Sea of Milk, reclining on
Adi-Sesha, 1 the thousand-headed serpent, in profound
repose, with Lakshmi at Ms feet. Out of Ms navel grows the
lotus which supports Brahma, the active agent in reproduc-
ing the world. Vishnu's cMef quality is Ms condescending
grace s through which he is the protector and preserver of
the world. This grace is shown pre-eminently in the avata-
raSj in which he comes to earth for the help of those who
are in need. The number is commonly given as ten, and
references to most of them are frequent in the Alvar hymns.
The first three are associated with the threatened destruction
of the earth by flood, Vishnu coming in animal form to save
first as Matsya, the Fish ; then as Kurrna, the Tortoise ; and
again as Varaha, the Boar. Then comes the Man-lion, Nara-
simha, by which Vishnu delivers Ms devotee, PraHada, from
Hiranyakasipu. In the Vamana avatara Vishnu becomes a

1 ex, Pcykai Alvar (First Ttnivandadf , 53) : * If be travels, an
ua brella ; if be sits, a throne : if he stands, sandals ; within the deep
sea , aiwa\-s a raft ; a jewelled lamp. Sue silk, a conch for embraces, the
Sa aie will be fcr Tirr

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 23

vrar. an by his three strides, as Tri-Vikrarra, delivers
the earth from the demon Bali. Xest comes Parasurama,
followed by the two great figures of Rama, whose foe was
Ravana, and Krishna, who destroyed Xarhsa. To the other
two names, generally Included among the ten av T ataras>
Bnddha, and Kaikl, who is still_ to conie, it is doubtful if
there are any references in the Alvars.

In addition to these stories which are common to aH
India and those of Rama and Krishna have of course been
elaborated in the fullest detail in popular story and imagina-
tion there are stories connected with particular manifesta-
tions of Vishnu or of one or other of his avataras at various
local shrines. The different names by which he is known
suggest different attributes ; for instance, Ranganatha of
Srirangam is the Lord of the World-Stage, in the all-
embracing repose that precedes creation ; while Varadara ja-
svami of Kanchi is the Giver of Boons. Many of the
poems of the Alvars are in praise of particular shrines and
images, and in the selection here given, the groves
and pools and streams in the immediate neighbourhood
of such temples as that of Venkatesvara at Tirupati
are the subject of loving description. For the ordinary
worshipper the image undoubtedly recalled God to memory
and stimulated emotion; but the exact relation of the
local deity to Vishnu is not always easy to understand. 1
In images the divine life needs to be induced, in the
pmnapratisihd ceremony, by means of mantras. Once life
is induced there is a god in the image who is to it as
the soul is to the body, and who by his loving devotees is
roused from slumber and bathed and fed. In the life of
Ramanuja there are two incidents which are of special
interest as vividly illustrating the reality of life in each
image. In early days the temple at Tirupati appears to
have been Bhagavata, and the image there combines the

3 Vishau exists In five modes : (I) Images and the like are Archa ;;
(ii) Incarnations are Vibhava ; (iii) his fourfold manifestations are
Vyuha ; (iv) the internal controller is Antaryamin ; (v) the supreme
Vasrdeva is Para.

By worshipping each of the former embodiments the votary becomes
fit to practise the worship of each of the latter.

24 HYMXS OF THE ALVARS

forms of Vishnu and. Siva. 1 In order to decide once for
all to which god worship was to be given, Ramanuja one
evening placed before the image, on the one hand, the
symbols of Vishnu, (the discus, the shell, and so forth), and
on the other Siva's symbols, (the trident, etc.), so that the
god himself might decide. In the morning 1 the god was
wearing the symbols of Vishnu, and from that time forward
the temple has been one of the great Sri-Vaishnava shrines.
Still more interesting and perplexing is the story of the dis-
pute that occurred between Ranganatha (Vishnu at ri-
rangani), and Varada (Vishnu of Kanchi), over Ramanuja ;
the one gcd sent to the other demanding that he should no
longer retain Ramanuja, as he was needed at Srirangam.
Here we are not far removed from indiscriminate poly-
theism, wiih the tmedifying: feuds of rival gods. Yet it is
clear that there is a recognised relation between the one
Supreme Being Vishnu and the various local gods, so that
loyalty to any or all of them is loyalty to him, while on the
other hand, no gcd outside this ring may receive worship.
There are, however, stanzas in the Alvar hymns in which it
is indicated that worship of Siva is in reality worship of
Vishim himself tinder that form. 2

In almost all the hymns that are here given, a yearning
after the divine fellowship stands out as the chief character-
istic. In comparison with this, the best that the world can
offer is valueless : wealth, sensual indulgence, the exercise
of kingly authority, the bliss of Svarga itself, are all treated
with contempt. 3 It is not a vague absorption into the
divine essence that is here desired; it is a personal
relationship, illustrated largely by the relation between a
man and the woman whom he loves. 4 The object of man's

1 cf, Pey Alvar (Third Tinnrandadi,63) * The two forms unite as one
on the sacred hill (Tarcpati), where the rushing mountain streams flow
round Mai (Vishnu), who appeats with matted locks, and high top-knot
^ad shining battle-axe and discus , girt with the snake. 3 cf. also Poykai
Alv8r (First Tirnvandadi. 98) * These two (Siva and Vishnu) for ever
change and unite in their limbs : the one is ever within the limbs of
the other-*

3 See, e.g., introductory note to Tiruviruttam, p. 58.
8 e.g. selections from Knlasikara, pp. 44-48.

4 e.g. s Tiruviruttam throughout.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 25

love is not a neutral abstraction, but Vishnu, Narayana
above all. This Supreme Being is known to men in his
overwhelming grace in his various avataras whether as
Boar, or Man-Bon, or Dwarf, or Rama, or Krishna, always
coming to the help of man. And with him always is
associated his consort, Lakshmi, or Sri, the embodiment of
his active grace and mercy, the mediatorial influence that is
continually with him. The nature of the relationship is
beyond definition, but generally its climax is ecstatic joy ;
the almost hysterical thrill of emotion is the sure evidence
of the divine presence: 'When one is overcome by the
bhakti exaltation, trembling in every cell of his being
he must freely and passively allow this influence to
penetrate his being and carry him beyond all known
states of consciousness. Never from fear or shame that
bystanders might take him for a mad man ought the
exhibition of his bhakti rapture that deluges his being
to be suppressed. The very madness is the distinguishing
character of the enraptured saint, distinguishing him from
the ordinary mortals to whom such beatific experience
is necessarily denied. The very madness is the bhakta's
pride " In that very madness, 31 the saint exhorts/' run, jump,
cry, laugh, and sing, and let every man witness it." ?1 Figures
drawn from the sex relationship are employed to illustrate
this extraordinary exhilaration and, especially in the later
developments of bhakti, this became the most dangerous
element of the movement. In the Alvars, speaking gener-
ally, the erotic expression is not too gross. Another
characteristic attempt at illustration (as in much other
Vaishnava poetry) is in the passion of a mother for a child, and
some of the most charming of the hymns are those in which
the child Krishna draws out the affection of his devotees in
the purest form of emotion that men can know. 2 The
emotion of love is stimulated especially by the avatara
stories, and the very points in the story of Krishna that have
been challenged by many critics his thieving, his im-

1 Govindachaiya, Divine Wisdom of the Dravida Saints (In-
troduction p. iii).

2 cf. the playful poem of Periyalvar translated on p. 37,

25 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

propriety v.ith the gopis are regarded as but supreme
examples of bis utter, condescending, grace.

On another line, bat aiming at the same end of giddy
exhilaration, is the practice of repeating the thousand names
of Vishnu, and sc by a kind of self-hypnotism losing
oneself in rapture. The true devotee sees God in e\^ery-
thing, and again and again in these poems, not only the
tulasi (Vishnu's peculiarly sacred plant), but trees and
flowers, mountains blue in the distance, birds and beasts and
human beings serve to recall the heart to its allegiance.
There is in these hymns more of unrealised desire than
of present satisfaction, and every reminder of God serves to
accentuate this pain of the home-sickness of the heart. 1

This relationship with God by means of loving devotion
is the way of escape from the ills of life, and is open to all.
Neither asceticism, nor ceremonial works, nor knowledge are
required ; -and such a story as that of Tiruppan Alvar is a
reminder that a man of any caste may be a guru, and that
thus in the sight of God birth is no recommendation. This
salvation is generally a personal matter, and there is not a
great sense of responsibility for the welfare of others in a
number of these hymns. Yet on the other hand it is to be
noted that the very use of Tamil opened the way to the
common man, and that still in Vaishnava temples the
recitation of the Nalayiram gives what has been called the
essence of the Vedas in the vernacular of the people. The
reading of the poems, which is possible for all, we are again
and again told, will deliver a man from rebirth. In the
Tirnppailandu and in a number of other poems there is a
definite call on the part of the poet for others to join with
Mm in Ms act of worship and in his service of God. The
life of Ramanuja supplies another illustration of the same
generous tendency. To learn a mystic secret from a guru
in the Madura District he travelled all the way from
Srlrangam ; but to test Ms worthiness the guru made Mm
return without the mantra. Eighteen times did Ramanuja
thus make the toilsome journey; until at last the guru,
persuaded of his fitness, disclosed the mystery, under a

1 For examples see Tirwiruttam, passim.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 27

strict pledge of secrecy. Immediately Ratnannja went
forth and proclaimed what he had learnt to a group of
men, preferring to be lost himself, if he might thus save
ethers.

The goal that is sought appears to vacillate between two
alternatives, as indeed is the case with many mystics in
every land and age. There is first, quite clearly, the normal
human longing for a relation of conscious love and trust
between man and God ; there is even the joyful anticipation
of unending service round God's throne. 1 The reality and
eternity of love can alone save these impassioned hymns
from being a mockery, and in the Visishtadvaita philosophy
the doctrine of the continued existence of the individual
soul finds its defence. But there is also the goal of_ complete
absorption, such as is suggested in the stories of Andal and
of Tiruppan the peace that is the peace of nescience.
Thought seems to be dominated by the ideas of Karma and
an impassible God, and the one cry is to be delivered from
rebirth. 2 Life itself still seems to be the evil, and not any
of the mere incidents of life, such as pain or misery or sin.
It is perhaps unwise to look for logical consistency in the
expressions of religious rapture ; it is to be found no more
in the hymns of the great German mystics than in those of
the Alvars.

Whatever the goal, and however varied the means by
which man may try to reach it, it is clear that his hope in
these hymns lies not in means, however suitable, but in the
character of God Himself. In one of the earliest of the
Alvars there occurs a stanza which may well be taken as
the expression of the bhakta's faith : l Let thy grace be for '
me to-day or to-morrow, or let it wait still for a little and
come later, I am sure, O Narayana, that I am not without
thee, nor art thou without me ! JS God's grace is unlimited ;
each avatara shows it, and supremely in the condescension
of Krishna's whole career, it is made sure for men. On this
unlimited grace the humblest and most unworthy may build.

1 e.g., Tiruppallandu, stanza 12, p. 37.

2 e.g., Tbnimarigai, Periyatirumoli xi, 8, p. 40.

3 TinnnaHsai, N&n-tntt&foan-Tiruvandadi, 7.

28 HYilXS OF THE ALVARS

Gcd's grace is unfathomable, all the wisdom of all the

sages has touched but the fringe of the knowledge of him,
their best light is only a flickering torch, 1 But such grace
demands an unlimited answering devotion, and salvation
comes when God's boundless grace is met by man's faith
and lore. The Question that inevitably arises at this point
is one of the great questions of the religious life ,* what is
the relation between that grace of God, and the answering
faith of man ? It is on this that the great division occurred
arccng the followers of Ramanuja, The Vadagalais, or
Xorthem schcol s whose great thinker and leader was
Vedania Besika, laid stress on man's share ; the Tengalais,
who are more directly in the line of succession to the Alvars,
emphasised God's grace, and God's responsibility, and
maintained that all that man has to do is to remain passive,
The two sects still divide the field of South Indian
Vaishnavism, with many differences of ceremonial obser-
vance and emphasis ; but the essential difference is as to
whether man's hold of God and God's hold of man are like
that of the monkey to its young, where the young one has
to exert itself to maintain its grip, or like that of the cat
and the kitten, where the kitten is merely passive in its
mother's mouth. The Tengalai view lends itself to
extravagant exaggerations, as does extreme Calvinism, with
a very similar creed ; but in the Alvar hymns there is little
or EO evidence of blaming God for man's failures, to the
shutting out of all responsibility from man.

God's character then, as here portrayed, is gracious, and
Ms grace is to be answered by man's loving faith. But
* grace ' is hardly a sufficient description of character ; it is
a description of God in his dealings with men. But what is
God in himself ? In particular, if salvation is eternal fellow-
ship with Mm, we need to know what manner of being it is
with whom we are to maintain fellowship ; for this deter-
mines the ideal of our own character and life. Now from
these hymns it is very difficult to form a consistent view of
God's character. What is Ms attitude to the great problems of
conduct which every man has to face ? It would almost seem

1 Tiruviruttam, 44, p. 73.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION 29

from these hymns that God is above morality, and that to
him it is an irrelevance. The Pnranic stories are taken for
granted. Krishna is a full incarnation of God, expressing
God in everything he does. It has been said above that
what in an ordinary man would be called his immoralities
are regarded in Krishna as so many signs of his infinite
condescension ; but if God can so condescend, morality is
indifferent to him. Similarly, in the easy theory of partial
incarnations in the various Alvars there is no recognition
of morality as a requisite. In the symbols at the great
Snrangam temple, as at other temples, there is much
of what anywhere else would have to be called inde-
osncy; but there is no suggestion that this is repugnant
to Vishnu. Morality is a category applicable only to men ;
and it is not surprising that in some later developments
of the bhakti movement, by a perverted emphasis, the
heaven that is held out as the goal of the bhakta consists
in sharing in the amorous sports of Krishna; to be with
God means to be freed from the vexatious limitations
of humanity. God is at any rate not essentially and
centrally righteous; and while it may be true that s the
pure in heart shall see God/ the same result can be
attained by other means. Apparently, as the stories of the
Alvars suggest, the power of a niantra, the repetition of
the sacred name, or even the use of the right ceremonial,
are as effective as right living and true thinking. 1 In other
words, there is no necessary connection between bhakti and
Character- Such a story as that of Tondaradippocli certainly
emphasises the ethical ; but on the other hand is the story
of Tirumangai where a startling and profound religious
experience left character entirely unaffected ; he is at least
as unscrupulous after his c conversion ' as before it, and there
is no hint of criticism on the part either of Vishnu or of the
later devotees of Tirurnaiigai. Deliverance from sin, after
all, is not what is chiefly desired ; sin is not the problem*
but life itself. It would thus appear that the type of devotion
that we are here considering gives no positive help to the
living of the moral life; the possession of a character

1 cf. the dosing stanzas of many of the hymns.

3) HYilXS OF THE ALVARS

**

formed en the model of God as revealed in his avataras cannot
bar men from that fellowship with him which is salvation.
On the other hand, this is inconsistent with the fundamental
karmic doctrine, that selfish action involves rebirth and is
thus a bar to salvation. Karma thus makes for unselfish,
thongh self-centred, morality; but the bhakta's religion
may quite well leave morality on one side. The ethical
prcblem is not central in the thought of the Alvars ; the
fervent glow o: emotion makes aG else seem trivial.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

7h=j literature in English dealing with the Alvars is very scanty.
Tus traditional stories of the Alvars, together with much _curious
information. :ray be found in The Holy Lives of the Azhudrs
r-r the Drlzfda Saints ty Alkondavalli Govindacharya (Mysore,
1902s. Of interest, too, is the same author's Divine Wisdom of the
Dr&iidz Sxifrfs. Frcm the standpoint of modern scholarship T.
Ra-agop&laczariar*s Faishnatite Reformers of India, S. Krishna-
swaziy Aiyangar's Early History of Vaishnavism in South India,
and T. A. Gopinatha Rao's Subrak?nanya Ayyar Lectures on the
History cf Sri Vaisnavas. are of special value. There are various
lives of Ramannjacharya. On the more general lines of bhakti,
Macxcol's Indian Theism is most useful, while Farqufaar's Outline
of the Religious Literature of India is indispensable for the clear
view that it gives of the historical development of thought and practice
in the bhakti movement, and for its placing of bhakti in relation to the
other elements of Indian religious life. For mythology, the standard
works on Hinduism are available, and in small compass Wilkins 1
Hindu Mythology is serviceable, though it is doubtful whether in
any one English book an account can be found of all the stories which
are taken for granted in the Alvar hymns. Of bhakti from the Christian
standpoint there is a valuable and suggestive treatment in J. L.
Johnston's Some Alternatives to Jesus Christ. The relevant articles
in Hastings' Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics may also be con-
sulted with advantage, especially Grierson on * Bhakti Harga,' and A.
Berriedale Keith on Rainannja. '

PART II

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES

TRANSLATIONS AND

I

A Hymn of Praise
PERIYILVAR : TIRUPPALLANDU

INTRODUCTION

Among the Alvar hymns a unique place is held by the
Tiruppallandu. For all Tamil Vaishnavites, both Vadagalai
and Tengalai, the Tamil hymns rank in importance with the
Sanskrit Veda and are recited on all occasions of worship,
both temple and private. (This of course does not include the
morning:, mid-day and evening Sandkya worship, incumbent
on Brahmins as such, which consists of meditation and the
recitation of certain set Vedic formulas). At the ten-day
annual festivals of the temples, all the four thousand stanzas
should be recited ; while in the daily worship there is time
only for selected stanzas. But in all cases, whether the stanzas
recited are many or few, the Tamil recitation is commenced
with the Tiruppallandu and is closed with it. This is not
confined to Brahmins ; Vaishnavites of all castes make this
use of the Tiruppallandu. Among the ceremonies at death,
some involve the recitation of Alvar hymns ; and on the
day of death, in the polluting presence of the dead body, the
Tiruppallandu is recited. So on the thirteenth day, when
all pollution ends, if possible all the four thousand stanzas
should be recited, though this involves time and money; but
in any case, however few stanzas are recited, the Tiruppal-
landu is included.

According to_the tradition, on one occasion Vishnu ap-
peared to Periyalvar in a vision. The Alvar, overwhelmed
with the sight of his infinite beauty, burst out into ecstatic
prayer, that that beauty should be preserved safe for ever.
His prayer is the Tiruppallandu.

34 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

The generally accepted scheme of the Tiruppallandu

may "be described as follows. In stanzas I and 2 the Alvar
sings the praises of God. He does not feel happy to sing
alone, and therefore he calls upon others, who reply to him,
and finally join with Mm in singing.

(a] In stanza 3 he calls to those who worship God, but
do so without any ulterior motive ; stanza 6 is their reply,
and in stanza 9 he s delighted with it, sings with them.

(b} In stanza 4 he calls upon those who worship God,
with the object of securing soul-realisation, and who having
gained it, forget God, and are content. Stanzas 7 and 10
give their response and the Alvar's singing with them.

(c) In stanza 5 he calls upon those who worship God ?
seeking the enjoyment of worldly pleasure, attached to
impermanent wealth and power. Stanzas 8 and 11 are their
response and the Aivar's singing with them.

(d) In stanza 12 he appeals to others, who are altogether
indifferent to God, and suggests that for them the way to
worship God is to join with him in singing this hymn, and
thai the reward of worship is unceasing worship round his
throne.

There is a play on the meaning of the word ' Pailandu,' which

adequate translation impossible. The word literally means

1 many years, 3 but it has also the sense of * adoration.' In the first

stanza both meanings are necessary, but for the rest the translation
* All Hail ' has teen adopted as perhaps the least open to objection.

TRANSLATION

1. Reverence, reverence be unto thee, O thou mighty
One, who didst overcome the Mailas, 1 thou like to the sap-
phire in glory!

Infinitely blest be the beauty of thy holy feet for many many
years, for thousands of years, for crores of years, for ever !

2 . All hail ! Oh may no rift come twixt thy slaves and thee !

All hail to Sri, who dwells, thy lustre, on thy right !
All hail, the glorious discus in thy fair right hand 1
All hail to Panchajanyam 2 sounding in the fight 1

1 Sent by Kamsa against Krishna.

- The conch won in conflict" with the demons ; this and the discus

r;re VJshnu's chief weapons.

VISHNU

(From a stone image in the Madras Museum)

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES 35

3. Take earzh and odours, 1 if to serve the Source of bliss

Ye wish : but we'll no worldlings have to join cnr

crew 1

Seven generations without Saw, we sing All hail ! '
To him who with his anny Lanka's demons slew !

4. Ere to the evil place 2 ye come, oh haste,

Ye who would join us, come, resolve to break these

bounds. 3

Oh, join the devotees who hymn Naray art's name, 4
Oh hasie, till town and country with your song
resounds.

5. Ye who have been among Irudikesan's 5 slaves,

The Lord who into one the crowded hosts of yore
Gathered and slew, demons and giants : leave the past, 5
And hail his thousand names; oh conae, his feet
adore !

6. For generations seven, grandsire and sire, we do

Our tasks aright : that we the evil eye may stay 7
All hail we sing to Hari, who his demon foe s
At TinivonamV sacred eventide did slay.

1 i.e. from the lord, as symbols of becoming his slaves. Earth Is
taken by devotees to mark the beginning of a ren-day festival, and In
it grains are made to sprotit.

3 The reference may be either to primordial matter, or to the
burning-ghat ; salvation must come -while we are in the body.

8 l5ey are bound in that their mind is set ou their own soul, not
on God.

_ 4 _Namonarayana has the surface meaning of 'Salutation to
Narayana,* but traditionally the meaning is, as handed down from his
gura to "Ramanujacfaarya, ' (I am) not for me ... but for Narayana."

5 A name of Vishnu, ' the lord of the senses * (Hrishikes"a).

6 The past for these had been spent in singing for wealth, etc.;
worship henceforth is to be without any ulterior motive.

7 God, because of his supreme excellence, is exposed to the evil eye,
in the protective thought of his devotees ; and their anxious prayer"
prompted by love has been directed to the warding off from .2110 of
: .ts power.

s Hiranyakas"ipu slain by Vishnu in the Narasimha avatara.

9 The twenty-second lunar asterism. There are twenty-seven,
corresponding to the twelve signs of the zodiac. It is 'sacred 11
because VIshati is its presiding deity.

33 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

7. AH of our race will serve, our sign the discus red,

Gleaming 1 more bright than fire 3 and sing all hail to

him,

Lord of the discus, that, from all his thousand arms,
Made Sow the blood of Vanan 1 in the struggle dim.

8. Him who the hooded snake's dread foe 2 as standard

bears,

And even me makes pure in life, I hail ! Oh sweet
Were rice and ghi, betel in hand, unceasing rite,
Necklet and ear-ring, sandal for the body meet ! 3

9. 'Tis we put on the golden robe thou takest off,

Eat thy bowl's orts, thy tulasi our coronal :
Where thou didst fix; our task, 'tis done ; now, hail to

thee,
Couch'd on thy snake, 4 at Tiruvonam festival !

10. Lord, when we calf d ourselves thy slaves, thou mad'st

us free.
And we have prosper 3 d ; now to thee who that fair

day

Appear J dst, in Mathura didst break the bow, and leap
On the five-hooded serpent's head, 6 i All hail ! ' we

say.

11. I, who like Selva proud, 7 of Kottiyur, all fair,

With nought unfit, am, Tinimal, of old thy slave,

Ecstatic sing thee, manifold in purity,
Namoaarayana ! thy names, with meaning grave.

1 Anirttdha, enticed by Usha, daughter of Vanan, king of the
Ascras (Banaura). secretly gained access to her. VSnan dazed him ;
Krishna came and rescued him, and married Usba to Anlradha.
* 2 Garada.

3 Tbese were the boons that had previously been satisfying the
son!, which now recognises that la God alone is satisfaction.

4 AidiSesba. 5 I.e., of Kamsa. c KSIyan.
T A TirukOttiynr king who was a devotee.

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES 37

They who repeat these words of Vishnu Chittar's 1

song

Praising the sacred Lord (Lord of the Bow, 2 on high
In heaven), and feel their luck this year, 3 round God

shall throng
And there, Namonarayatia ! ' unceasing cry.

II

Little Krishna and the Moon
PEROTALVAR: TIRUMOLI : I. 4

The Alvar under the figiire of Yagoda, Krishna's foster-mother,
descries how the child plays in the dost and calls for the moon.

1. He rolls round in the dust, so that the jewel on
his brow keeps swinging, and his waist-bells tinkle 1 Oh,
look at my son Govinda's play, big Moon, if thou hast eyes
in thy face and then, be gone !

2. My little one, precious to me as nectar, my blessing,
is calling thee, pointing, pointing, with his little hands 1 O
big Moon, if thou wishest to play with this little black one,
hide not thyself in the clouds, but come rejoicing !

3. Wert thou bright all over, with the wheeling of
thy orb of light, with all thou dost, thou canst not match my
son's face! O Moon, come quickly, so as not to tire
the hands that beckon thee, of the wondrous one who
dwells in Vengadam !

4. J Tis thee he points to from my hip, he with the discus
in his hand, gazing with bright wide eyes ! If thou knowest
what beseems thee, O Moon, vex him not; if thou art not
a childless one thyself, come now !

5. He calls thee in his baby speech, prattle unformed,
sweetened with nectar from his pretty mouth. O big
Moon, if thou heedest him not, whose name is Sridharan, 4

1 Another name of Periyalyar.

2 Sarngam, Vishnu's bow."

s i.e., they recognise that they are lucky in the time at which they
live, that they may thus sing.

4 ' He who carries Lakshinl in his heart. 1

38 HYMXS OF THE ALVARS

who is so friendly to all, when he calls and calls, 'twere well
for thee If tfaou wert deaf !

6. He who in his great hand wields club, and discus, and
bow, doth yawn for very drowsiness and if he sleep not,
the milk he has taken will upset MmS So, big Moon,
dwelling in the sky, make haste, and come I

7. Despise him not because he is a child ; he is the little
one who of old slept on the banyan leaf ! If he be wroth, he
will rise tip and leap on thee and seize thee ; disregard not
my lord, Mg Moon, but mn hither joyously !

8. Scorn not my lion whelp as a little one ; go ask King
Bali 1 of his youthful prowess. J Tis great Mai that calls for
thee to come quickly. If thon recognisest thy despising him
as a fault in thee, O full Moon, even thou wilt be fit to be
Ms slave I

9. See how he calls thee, my Lord, who filled his hands
full from the pot ? and gorged himself with ghi ! There is
20 doubt that he will sky thee with his discus, so if thou
wouldst live, run hither joyously !

Ill

4 Lord^ in the iulness of r/iy might
I would for Thee be $fro?ig- 3

TIRUMANGAI : PEKJYA TIRUMOLI, L 3

M*

1. Or ever age creep oa us, and we need
The staffs support ; ere we are double bent
With eyes fix*d on the ground in front, and feet
That totter, sitting down to rest, all spent :

We would worship Vadari 2

Home of Mm who mightily

Suck'd Ms feigned mother's breast

Till she died, ogress conf est 3

3 It was from King Ball that Vishnu in the Vamana avatara
obtained permission tc rake the three strides, which he did, "expanding:
to rise form of Tri-Vifcrama.

s ie, Badari, the Himalayan shrine of Vishnu.
3 Krishna in his childhood sucked the breast 'of the demon, Putana
fill she died.

TRANSLATIONS AXD NOTES 39

2. Ere youth can rail, (as with one band on back
We lean a-tremble on our staff, with eyes

A-roll, and deep heav'd breaths, and coughs) can say,
* What's this ? Why, what an old man Father Is ! '

We would worship Vadari,

Sung by the honey-drinking bee.

3. Ere all my veins stand out like hoops, my flesh
All loose, my mind ashamed, and tottering

I stand, with rolling eyes turn'd on the path ;
If sense I have, the thousand names I'd sing:

I would worship Vadari,

Sung by bees in ecstasy.

4. Before the rheum flows, and my eye grows dim,
And bile comes up, and I am old, and cough,

And my legs pain me and together knock.
And I can walk but tottering enough !

I would worship Vadari

Girt by pools where fishes play ;

Home of the Lad who calves did graze,

And en a day the hill did raise. 1

9. Ere in my body all my senses fail,
And I grow old and sit apart, my mind
Sunk in dejection ; gathered phlegm I spit,
And only babble of the things I find :

I would worship Vadari,

Sung by those who tulasi

Bear to wreath him, and round the shrine

Name the thousand names divine.

* Krishna, the cowherd, raised the bill, Govardhana, as an

umbrella, to protect the Socks from the rain seat In wrath by India.

40 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

IV

Who shall deliver me from the body of this death ?
TIRUMANGAI : PERIYA TIRUMOLI, XI. 8

*

1. Like tree that dwells on river bank

1 timid am
Lest in the pit of birth again

I plunged am.

Lord, who art smell and taste and touch
And hearing . . . I have dared thus much !

2. Like sailors caught in midst of storm

I timid am
Lest in the pit of birth again

I plunged am.

Lord of the Discus, though my word
Be cause for wrath, let it be heard !

3. Like sharing hut with, serpent-mate

I timid am
Lest into doleful births again

I plunged am.

Lord of the lotus eyes, my mind
Confus'd, no way to bear can find.

4. Like ant on firebrand blazing at both ends

I timid am.
Lest wandering, into changeful births again

I plunged am.

I bring to thee my melting heart :
Thou the Eternal Sovereign art !

5. Like pack of jackals caught in flood

I timid am,

Lest into pit of destined woe
I plunged am,

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES 41

Eternal Sovereign^ by thy hand
Thrust in, with all abatement bann'd.

7, The worm within the ?ieem' 1 eats nought

Save neem alone.
Thy rosy feet thy servant I

Will love alone,

Thou Light Supreme, on serpent bed,
Who waning moon delivered !

V
4 He condescends to them of low estate 5

TIRUMANGAI : FERIYA TIRUMOLI, V. 8

P

1. Thou didst not call him dull, or foe to life,

Or low of caste, but pitiedst him, 2
On him thy kindly grace didst pour, and say :

1 She with the shy deer's modest glance
Thy Mend is and my brother thine ' ; and when

He would not stay behind, for joy,
' Thou art my friend : stay here I * thou saidst. Such
words

So fit my heart that I have found
Thy feet, thou with the colour of the seas,

Lord of Srirangam with its beauteous trees.

2. Thou didst not spurn the great son of the Wind 3

As Ape, and of another race,
But, so that love and longing greater grew
Than ocean, thou didst love, and say :

1 The margosa tree. The worm enjoys even the bitter margosa-
leaf, because that is its environment : how much more must man love

God!

2 The reference is to the episode in the_Ramayana, when Guhan,
the fisherman king, was loath to leave Rama, Sita'and Lakshmana
on the banks of the Ganges. Rama finally persuaded Mm not to

accompany them when he provided them with a boat to cross the river.

3 Hanuman, the monkey hero of the Ramayana, was the son of

Vayu, the wind.

42 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

* *

* There cannot be a recompense for all

That thou hast done for me ; I will
Embrace thee, thou of faultless truth ! ' That such

A shining boon to me may come,
Longing, the refuge of thy feet I seize,

Lord of Srirangam with its beauteous trees.

3. When gathering lotus in a beauteous pool

By groves of fragrant flowers girt,
The elephant by mighty crocodile

Was seized, so that its end was nigh r 1
He thought upon the shelter of thy feet . . .

Knowing the mighty wrath thou hadst,
Such that the life of that beast, cruel-mouthed,

Was shaken, I, too, come to thee,
Thy slave, the refuge of thy feet I seize,

Lord of Srlrangam with its beauteous trees.

4. When came a poison-dropping angry snake 2

To Thee for refuge, terror-struck,

Thou didst become its refuge, and didst give
It for protection to the Bird,

Thy beauteous slave. Knowing this grace thou

show'dst,
I, fearing Yama's messengers

So harsh of speech, and cruelties which they,

Fierce ones, will do, have come to thee : *

Thy slave, the refuge of thy feet I seize,

Lord of Srirangam with its beauteous trees.

1 Both the elephant and the crocodile were such because they had
been cursed by munis. The elephant had been the king Indradyunina
who was so absorbed fay devotion to Vishnu that he had failed to show
respect to the sage Agastya. Even as an elephant he continued to
gather flowers for the worship of Vishnu. Vishnu therefore was ready
to rescue him from the crocodile, which had been one Huhia, a
Gaodharva ,

a The snake was Sumiakha, afraid of Garuda, the sacred kite which
was Vishnu's vehicle. Garuda had eaten his father, and was shortly
going to eat Somukha. Vishnu put Ganida to shame by making him
carry Sunnokha on his shoulders. Yarns is the god of death.

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES 43

8* The SOE of that great sage who learned was

In the eternal Vedas four, 1
Feared crnel Yarns who esteemed him not,

And thy protection claimed : thou wast
His refuge, nor didst leave him after thou

Hadst raged at Kala merciless.
That the great grace thou further purposed him

Never to leave thy sacred feet
May also come to me, thy feet I seize,

Lord of Snrangam with its beauteous trees.

7. A Brahmin who aforetime gave to thee 2

The Truth for repetition, and
The birth of sacred thread, besought of thee :

* I know not where my darling son
Is hidden. Thou dost know. Oh, give him me i J

Thou with thy flawless truth didst cure
The lack for which he prayed to thee didst give

Him back his little one. And so
I come ; the refuge of thy feet I seize,

Lord of Srirangarn with its beauteous trees.

8. A Brahmin, adept in the Vedic truth, 3

Called on thee : ' Sire, I seek thy feet.
My wife her children dear has never seen
Since they were born ; a cruel god

* Markan^eya, the child of the old age of Mrikanda, the sage, was
to be perfectly virtuous, and die at the age of 16, rather than live an evil
tie to the age of 100. By doing penance to Siva he was able to evade
the resolute efforts of Yama to capture him. He was further given

ice gift of eternal life. * Kala ' is eith
the minister of death. (Note that a s
is by the Alvar assigned to Vishnu.)

2 The Brahmin Santhipini taught Krishna after the killing of Kamsa,
and made this request as for his fee. His son had been drowned
twelve years before. Krishna sought him out and restored him to Ms
tatoer. Sacred thread ' : this ceremony is regarded as a youth's
second birth, the entry on the life of manhood. Y

so disappeared. At the time of the birth of
i ******** to K P hl ? a > **o agteed to save it.

K.^^^?? actln ^ for Mm > faM to save the

Krishna therefore himself came, and restored all four.

44 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

Has taken them and hidden them away/

In presence of his enemies
Thou showedst kindly grace ; didst say to him

* These are thy children/ and didst give
Them back. And so I come ; thy feet I seize,

Lord of Srirangam with its beauteous trees.

VI
Renunciation

KULASEKARAN : PERUMAL TIRUMOLI : C. 3

m

1. No kinship with this world have I

Which takes for true the life that is not true.
4 For thee alone my passion burns/ I cry,
* Rangan, 1 my Lord ! '

2. No kinship with this world have I

With throngs of maidens slim of waist :
With joy and love I rise for one alone, and cry
c Rangan, my Lord ! *

3. No kinship have I with the devotees

Of Maran 2 with the cruel bow I
But mad for Rangan's wreathed breasts am I,

Narayanan, Eternal, Hell's dread Foe !

4. No kinship with this world have I,

Rejoicing in its round of food and fine array !
I am mad for Rangan, him whose mouth
Drained through her breasts the ogress 3 life away.

6. No kinship have I with the men who choose
The evil when the good unmixed is there.
Mad am I for the First, the Cowherd Groom 3
Of her 4 who sprang from out the lotus fair.

1 Tbe deity at Srirangam. 2 Kama, the Indian Cupid.
3 Krishna. * Lafcshmi.

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES 45

7. Cast out by red-eyed Vishnu Is the mind

That clung on every side to every one :
' Father, forsaken are they all, and I
With love for Rangan, for my Lord, fordone.'

9. No harm shall touch the man who mighty stands
In these the songs the Konkan king 1 has sung

Great in his lonely frenzy for the feet
Of Rangan with the discus in his hands !

VII-

' The worldly hope men set their hearts upon
Turns ashes . . /

KUL ASEKAR AN : PERUMAL TIRUMOLI : G. 4

mm

1. Flesh-pampering birth in body's not for me
Unless his slave I be,

Who tamed the seven bulls. 2 Oh, as a crane
May I be born again,

Whose home is in Koneri 3 upon Vengadam,
Of him who in his left hand holds the conch.

2. The wealth which rules in heaven is not for me,
With galaxy

Of nymphs 4 with charms immortal ; on the earth

No kingship ! May the birth

That is my lot be as a fish within the springs

Of Tiruvengadam, with groves of honeyed flowers !

3. Entrance into Vaiktmtiha's 5 portals high
Hard to be entered by

Him of the thickly matted hair, 6 and Brahm

And Indra, 7 come

1 Kulasekaran.

* Krishna won the daughter of the shepherd, Nagnachittu, by
taming seven bulls. 3 A small tank on Tirupati hill.

* Dancing girls in Indra's heaven, Svarga. 5 Vishnu's heaven.

6 Siva.

7 Indra is here ranked with Siva and Brahma : Vishnu is superior

to the triad. '

46 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

Close pressing I would gain, holding the golden bowl
For Vengad's Hng to spit in, 1 lightning discus-
armed!

4. Where humming beetles sing their song I'd be
A daainpak tree,

Standing at Tinivengadam, that I
The feet might spy

Of him, mysterious Lord, who slumbers 2 in the cool
Milk-sea, all tossing with its waves of coral bright !

7. I will not know the wealth men celebrate
To sit as lord, in state,

O'er kings, 'neath white umbrella like full moon
Which rules the sky. My boon
Be rather thoughts which like Kanaru 3 river flow
On Ml! of Vengadam with groves of honeyed flowers.

8* 'Mid Vengadam's cool scented groves I'd fain
My stand maintain
A road upon his hill who Ved-revealed

Himself fulfilled

The penance duly done by him with crescent moon

In matted hair, 4 by Brahma and by Indra ! 5

9. O Tirumal, who banishest strong deeds
That grow Eke weeds,
O mighty lord of Vengadam, that I
Thy coral iips might see, and lie,
A step, at threshold of thy temple, for thy slaves
And heavenly ones, and beauteous nymphs to pass
across !

1 In Vishnu temples a spittoon is provided for the deity, into
which is emptied the ceremonially offered water.

2 Vishnu is pictured as at Srirangam, a recumbent sleeping figure.
8 A stream on Timpati hill. 4 Siva.

5 Those who have gained the position of Siva, etc., by their pen-
ances have only done so by the help of the Supreme Being who is
revealed in tfce Veda.

TRANSLATIONS AXD NOTES

10. If J neath that canopy which rales above
I might attain the love
Of Urvasi 1 with girdle of ze gold,
To it I'm cold.

Oh to be anything: at all on Yengaelam,
The golden hill of him with lips of coral red !

VIII

* All My hope on Thee is stayed '
KULASEKARAN : PERUMlL TIRUMOU : C. 5,

1. If Thou wilt not my portion'd grief dispel,

I have no hope but Thee,
Vitruvakodu's 2 Lord,

Girt with its groves of flowers with fragrant smell
I'm like a babe, which weeps, yet thinks of mother's

grace,

Though she with anger fierce has thrast it from her
face.

2. Girt on all sides by walls that heaven touch,

Vitruvakochi's Lord,

E 3 ea like a well-born girl

Who only knows her husband, though deeds such
As men may mock her lover does, so will I sing,
Though thoult not be my Lord, Thy anklets tinkling.

3. Surrounded by wide lands which fishes see,

Vitravakodu's Lord,

E'en if Thou wilt not look
On me, I have no other hold but Thee-
Like subjects looking to the rod of wreathed king,
Though he regards them not and works deeds harrow-

ing.

One of tie dancing girls in Svarga, widely sitng in Indian poetry.
2 A place in the Cfaera country.

48 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

4. Though "by illusion from Thee woe I have

Without a remedy,

Yitrnvak6c!u 5 s Lord,

At Thy grace only win I look, Thy slave,
Like a sick man, who, though physician cut with knife
And brand, yet loves him with a love as long as life.

5. Slayer of elephant great and fierce of eye

Vitravakodu's Lord,
Where shall I go and live ?
Save for Thy feet, like a great bird am I
Which goes around and sees no shore and comes at

last
Back o'er the tossing sea and perches on ship's mast !

6. Though red fire conies itself and makes fierce heat,

The lotus red blooms not
Save for the fierce-rayed one
Who in the lofty heavens has his seat.
Vitruvakodu's Lord, though Thou will not remove
My -woe, my heart melts not save at Thy boundless
love*

7. E'en when forgotten wholly by the sky

The green crops only look,
(Vitravak6du T s Lord !)
At the great black clouds as they rise. So I,
Thy servant, more and more will set my mind on

Thee,
Though Thou wilt not remove my human misery.

8. With gathered waters all the streams ashine

Must spread abroad and run

And enter the deep sea
And cannot stand outside. So refuge mine,
Save in the shining bliss of entering Thee, is none,
Vitravakodu's Lord, thick cloud-hued, virtuous one !

ANDAL

I From a wood carving in the Madras Museum)

RANSLATIONS AND NOTES 49

IX

The Maiden s Vow.
ANDAL: TIRUPPAVAI

INTRODUCTION

The Tiruppavai Is one of the best-known and most used
parts of the Nalayira Prabandham* In It the poetess,

Andal, pictures herself as one of the gopis, the milkmaid

friends of Krishna, rising early la the morning, and per-
suading her friends to accompany her In order to arouse
the sleeping Krishna. Their aim Is to secure from him a
drum, as a pledge of bliss. (Possibly the drum is intended to
suggest the triumph of acknowledged love ; if he gives her
a dram, It Is so far a sign that he has commissioned her to
proclaim Ms praises.) The first five stanzas are a general
description of what those who have undertaken this vow of
waiting upon Krishna must do, and of the benefits that
will come to them. Stanzas 6 to 15 describe the attempts
of those who have already risen to awaken others who are
still asleep. In stanzas 16 to 22 all the maidens have
gathered together and are trying to rouse Krishna, waken-
ing first the gatekeeper, then Nandagopa and Yasoda,
Balarama and Krishna. In 18 they appeal to Nappinnai, or
Radha, and In 21 all together unite to call Krishna. In 25
they reply to the question that Krishna may be imagined to
put to them, as to what they want ; and in 27 they explain
what the benefits are which they expect. In 30 the Issue of
their desire Is stated, and the poetess speaking in her own
person promises eternal blessings to those who have made
her song their own.

(The refrain at the end of each stanza, 'Elorembavay/ is
of doubtful meaning, and Is best left untranslated. Kings-
bury and Phillips (Hymns of the Tamil Saivite Saints^lQI)
also leave it untranslated* and suggest the meaning ' Receive
and ponder what I say, O Lady.' Among other sugges-
tions is Hail s O thou unique lady ! } )

50 HYMXS OF THE ALVARS

TRANSLATION

1. Xovr 'tis the fair full moon of Margali. 1

Will ye go bathe, ye girls all zily dight,
Ye maidens rich of plenteous Aypadi 2
Bent on your vow ? For all the world to praise,
He, son of Nandagopal 3 with sharp sword
Fierce toiling ; fair-eyed Yasod's 4 lion-whelp :
He with the body dark and eyes of red, 5
With face like to the rays of sun and moon :
Narayanan, 6 he freely 7 _will on us
The dram bestow. Ah, Elorembavay !

2. Harken, ye happy dwellers in the world,
The deeds that we must do to keep our vow,
Singing the feet of him, the Lord supreme,
Who sleeps upon the hooded snake 8 within
The sea of milk. Bathing at break of day
Xor ghi nor milk we'll eat ; we will not paint

Onr eyes with black ; 9 flowers shall not deck our hair ;
No deeds unfit we'll do ; no evil words
Well speak 3 but give Jdnd alms, and muse with joy
Upon this way. Ah, Elorembavay !

3. If as we sing the name of him supreme
Who measured the mighty world, 10 we bathe,
And say s tis for our vow ; three rains each month
Will fall throughout the land, and bring no harm,
While kayal fishes leap amid the great

Red swelling grain, 11 and in the lily bud
The lovely bees shall slumber. Generous,
Great cows shall flood the bowls with milk, as soon
As we their udders press ; unfailing wealth
Shall fill the land. Ah, Elorembavay !

1 The month of December-January.

s Gokda, the home of Krishna's foster-parents,

3 Krishna's foster-father. " 4 Yagoda, Krishna's foster-mother.

5 Red Is the colour that shows passion, especially warm affection.

" Khcl, frequently used to heighten the beauty of the eyes.

10 In the Vamana avatara, lz There is such plentiful irrigation.

TRANSLATIONS AXD XOTES 51

4. Great as the sea, O Lord of rain, stint nought :
Enter the deep and drink and nil thyself ;
Then rise on high, with body growing black
Like to the form of the Primeval One ; I
Flashing like disc in Padmanabhan's 2 hand
His, of the fair broad shoulders Ilike the conch 3
Thundering^ rain on earth like pelting darts
Shot from relentless Sarngam,* so that it

May prosper,, andjve too, who happy bathe
In Margali. Ah, Elorembavay !

5. When thus aB pure we come, strewing fair flowers,
Adoring, and with songs upon our lips,

And meditating in our hearts on him

Mayan, 5 the child of Northern Mathura : G

The Ruler of great Jumna's sacred stream : 7

The shining lamp which in the shepherd caste

Appeared : 8 Darnodaran, 9 who brightly lit

His mother's womb 10 faults past and faults to come

Cease s like to cotton that within the fire

Flames into dust. Ah, Elorembavay !

6. Lo, birds are singing ! and hast thou not heard ?
Heard the white shell's deep sounding in the shrine
Of the Bird's Lord? 11 Child, wilt thou not arise?
Sages and Yogis (holding in their hearts

I Narayarta as the creator of all in the beginning.

~ Vishnu as the lotus-navelled. See Introduction, p. 22.

3 One of Vishnu's weapons. * Vishnu's bow.

5 The Mysterious One, sometimes appealing In ordinary form, as
the child Krishna, etc., sometimes revealing* himself as the Supreme
Being. (See p. 54, note 2.)

3 Literally* lasting Northern Mathura 3 * lasting' because Krishna's
birthplace.

7 Mathura and Gokula, where Krishna's boyhood was spent, are
both on the river Jumna.

5 The fact that Krishna was brought up among the shepherds
conferred great distinction on their caste.

9 A name of Krishna, because as a child he was tied by a cord
round his waist to keep him out of mischief.

10 It was a glory for her to have such a child.

II Vishnu, whose vehicle is the great kite* Garada.

52 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

Him who drained poison from the she-ghoul's breast 1
Lifted his foot and so false Sakadam 2

Confounded and destroyed who takes his rest
Upon the serpent in the Flood 3 ) have risen
Meekly, and in their hearts rejoice at sound
Of HariV name. Ah, Elorembavay !

7. Hast thou not heard the twittering everywhere,
And sound of Anaichattan's 5 mingling voice,
O simple maid ? Hast thou not heard the sound
Of churning buttermilk, while dairymaids
With fragrant hair their tinkling necklets toss
From side to side ? 6 Child, of the maidens queen,
Still dost thou He, when thou hast heard the song
To him, Narayanan ? to Kesavan ? 7
Oh, thou who mistress of the country art,
Open, I pray ! Ah ! Elorembavay !

9, Cousin, on drowsy cushions fast asleep,
In brightly jewelled hall, with lamp alight
And incense rising now unloose the bars
Of thy bejewelled doors ! O aunt of mine !
Wilt thou not rouse her ? is thy daughter dumb ?
Or is she deaf ? Is it a slumber light,
Or through some incantation does she lie
In the deep sleep of stupor, while aloud
We cry great Mayan, Mathavan, Vaikunth,
The many names ? 8 Ah, Elorembavay 1

11. Thou golden tendril of the blameless herds,
Who many a time did milk the youngling cows

1 KrisSana as a baby drained the life from the breast of Putana,
who came to poison him, with her milk, seat by Karhsa.

s The demon who entered into the wheel of a cart under which the
infant Krishna was lying, with a view to crash him.

3 Vishnu reposing upon AdiSesha In the Sea of Milk.

4 Hari is Vishnu. 5 A bird.

fi The setting of Krishna's early life is among farm activities.

7 A name of Visfana : either * the beautiful one with thick hair/ or
* the slayer of the demon, Kesi. 3

^ Vishnu has 1,000 names. For Mayan see p. 51, note 2.
Matbavan Jord of the damsel, i e., Lakshmi. Vaikuntha is Vishnu's
heaven. The repetition of the thousand names is practised by devotees.

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES 53

And mighty were in fight to bring to nought
The power of foes ! Fair as a serpent, thou,
Bright as the peacock, come ! From every side
All thy girl friends are come and crowd thy courts
To sing the name of the cloud-coloured One 1
Ah s wealthy lady, still thorn stirrest not,
Still speakest not ? What i_s the value of
This sleep of thine ? Ah, Elorembavay !

12. O little sister of the wealthy lord

Of lowing milch-cows, yearning for their calves
So that the milk from out their udders flows
Till all the house is drenched and turned to mud r
Dew falling on our heads, we at thy gate
Sing our heart's darling, who in anger slew
The Lord of Lanka in the South ; 3 but thou
Remainest dumb ; e'en still thou dost not rise.
What a great sleep is this, when all among
The household know ! Ah, Elorembavay !

14. Lo, how within your garden pool behind,
The water-lily blossoms red, and how

The ambal* shrinks ! Ascetics, in their robes
Of saffron, and with teeth all white, 5 have gone
To sound the conch within their sacred shrine.

lady, who didst promise that betimes

Thou wouldst rouse ns, thyself art not yet risen.
Shameless, all tongue ! We sing to him who wields
In his great hands jhe conch and discus, Mm
Lotus-eyed ! Ah, Elorembavay I

15. ' Young parrot, 6 dearest, art thou sleeping yet ? '

1 Be still ! Call me no more, ye girls ; I come."

1 Krishna is always pictured as dark In colour.
8 A_pictnre of overflowing plenty.

3 Rama, who slew Rayana, Lord of Lanka (Ceylon).

4 A fiower that opens in the dark and closes in the light.

5 Ascetics do not chew betel, etc,, and their teeth are therefore not
oiseolGiireci ; a token of their purity.

8 A term of endearment.

54 HYMSS OF THE ALVARS

4*

' Thy promises and thy sharp tongue we know
Of old ! J ' Sharp-tongued yourselves, oh let me be ! *
1 Oh quickly come ! What other claims hast thou ? J
4 But have all come ? J ' Coine ? yes ; thou too must

corne

And count thyself among our band, and sing
Him who the mighty one 1 did slay, himself
Mighty to bring to nought his doughty foes,
Mysterious Lord ! 2 Ah s Elorembavay !

16. Warden of our lord Nandagopan's house,

Guard of the gate all decked with streaming flags,

Open the jewelled portals ! Yesterday

The Lord of Mystery, like to a gem ? 3

Promised a drum for us young shepherd girls

To beat We in our purity have come

That we may sing to rouse him from his sleep.

Deny us not our purpose with thy word.

But oh, do thou, we pray thee, open now

The well-barred door ! Ah, Elorembavay !

17, O Nandagopan, lord who graciously
Dost raiment, water, rice, bestow on us s
Arise ! And thcu ? our lady, Yasoda,
Queen among all the slender-waisted ones,
And glory of our tribe, arise ! Sleep not !
Awake, awake, King of the gods, 4 who pierced
The sky s and, swelling, measured out the world ; 5
Arise ! And dear lad, Baladeva, 6 thou

With golden anklets on thy feet,_asleep,

And thy young brother ! T Ah, Elorembavay !

1 The reference is to Krishna's slaying of the elephant stationed by
Kaihsa at the gate of the tournament enclosure to Mil 'him when he
came to destroy Kamsa.

2 The personal noun from Maya, which in the ViSishtadvaita
philosophy is equivalent to ' matter/ from the way in which it deceives*
Tt s also frequently used in the sens -* " ' T " "^ A - *--

ished from the sense of * illusion r ii

3 Krishna, the sapphire-coloured.

* Vishnu is supreme over all the gods.

s Vishnu in the Vainana avatlra See Introduction, pp. 22, 25.
6 Balarania, Krishna's elder brother, himself a semi-incarnation
of Vishnn. 7 Krishna.

TRANSLATIONS AXD NOTES 55

18. Daughter 1 of Nandagopal, ?;hc is like
A liisiy elephant, who deetfa not 3
With shoulders strong : XapplnnaI 3 2 thon with hair
Diffusing fragrance, open then the door !
Come see how eveywhere the cocks are crowing,
And in the mdtka^f bower the KnyiT* sweet
Repeats its song. Thon with a ball in hand, 5
Come, gaily open, with thy lotus hands
And tinkling bangles fair, that we may sing

Th c

ousin's name ! 6 Ah, Elorembavay !

20* Thou \vho art strong to make them brave in fight/
Going before the three and thirty gods s
Avv ake rrom out thy sleep ! Thou who art just,
Thou who art mighty, thou, O faultless one,
Who burnest up thy foes, awake from sleep !
O Lady Xappinnai with tender breasts
Like unto little cups, with lips of red
And slender waist, Lakshrni, awake trom sleep !
Prefer thy bridegroom fans and mirrors now,
And let us bathe ! Ah, Elorembavay !

21. Son of the mighty lord of fruitful cows

Which milk unceasing pour, so that the bowls

Held to receive it troth and overflow :

Thou who possessest knowledge, Lord of Strength,

Thou great one, thou the sun, where in this world

Thou standest visible : 8 arise from sleep !

As foes, whose strength before thee all is gone,

Corne humbly to thy gates, and at thy feet

Obeisance do, so we to adore thee corne,

And sing our praise ! Ah, Elorembavay !

1 Literally * daughter-in-law. 3

2 ' The one -with beautiful hair 'Radlia, Krishna f s gopl devotee.
She is regarded as an Incarnation of Vishnu's consort, NIla-DevI* as be
himself is of Vishnu.

* ____

" A flowering creeper. 4 The Indian hawk-cuckoo.
s Because she was playing- with Krishna.

e She was having a playfel quarrel with Krishna, and they offer to
take her side in song, if she will open to them.

7 In the event of any conflict between gods and demons.

8 Krishna, as foster-son of Nandagopal, is here apostrophised and
identified with the Supreme Being.

56 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

22. Like monarchs of the beautiful great world
Who coine with broken pride up to thy couch
In a great company, we crowd to thee !
Little by little will not thy red 1 eyes

Open upon us like to lotus flowers

Fashioned on tinkling anklets ? If on us

Thou wilt but glance, with both thy beauteous eyes

Like to the rising of the moon and sun,

The curse that rests uponjis is removed

If thou but glance ! Ah, Elorembavay !

23. As a fierce lion, which throughout the rains
Within his mountain lair has lain asleep,
Awakes, and Hashes tire from his eye,
And angrily with bristling inane he moves
All of his body, shakes himself and stands
Upright, and roars, and lordly issues forth :
So thou who flowerlike art, come graciously
Forth from thy shrine ; in grace, upon thy throne 2
Of cunning craftsmanship, search out the cause
That brings us here. Ah } Elorembavay !

25 . Thou, born one woman's son, and in one night
ConceaTd and reared as another's child, 3
Thou mighty Mai 4 who wast as very fire
In Kamsa's heart stirred unendurably ;
Thwarting the evil purpose that he plann'd :
With longing after thee we've come, and if
The drum thou but bestow, then we will sing
Thy bounty, that is worthy Lakshmi's self.
Sing too thy might ; and all our trouble gone
We will rejoice ! Ah s Elorembavay !

27. Govinda 2 , whose nobility is such

As conquers e'en thy foes, by singing thee

1 See p. 50, note 5.

s In the original there Is a play on words, s throne ' being- literally
Eon-seat, 1

a Krishna born to Devaki and transferred the same night to
YaSSda to escape the fury of Kanasa, bis uncle. 4 Vishnu.

8 A favourite name for Krishna' Cowherd/

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES 57

With the cram, what Is the glory that we gain
By the prize that aH the country deems a boon ?
Many a jewel we put on bracelets
Wristlets and armlets, Sowerlike ornaments
For ears, and anklets ; beauteous robes we wear.
Thereafter, plenteons meals of rice with milk.
And elbow-deep in ghi \ In_company
With thee, what bliss ! Ah, Elorembavay !

28* After the cows we to the jungle go

And eat there cowherds knowing nought are we,
And yet how great the boon we have, that thou
Wast bom among us ! Thou who lackest nought,
Oovinda, kinship that we have with thee
Here in this place can never cease ! If through
Our love we call thee baby names, in grace
Do not be wroth, for we, like children, we
Know nought O Lord, wilt thou not grant to us
The drum we ask ? Ah, Elorembavay !

29, Dost ask the boon for which at earliest dawn
We come to give obeisance and to praise
Thy golden lotus feet ? It is not fit that thou
Born in the tribe that lives by herding cows
Withdraw, rejecting us who fain would serve.
To gain the drum, not ior today alone

Have we become thy slaves ; but, Govinda,
For aye, for sevenfold births ! Only to thee
We'll service give ; from us do thou remove
All other loves. Ah, Elorembavay !

30. To Mathavan who churned the navied deep, 1
To Kesavan, 2 the moon-faced jewelled maids
Went and obeisance did, and gained their drum !
This wreath, these thirty (sung in classic verse 3
By Godai, 4 Puduvai 5 Pattarpiran's, 6

1 See Introduction, p. 22. By churning, Visfarra obtained Lakstai

3 Seep. 52, note 7.

3 Literally * Sangana Tamil, 'I.e., Tamil sncb. as is approved by tins
academy : probably the famous Madura academy, the board which
exercised a kind of literary autocracy, recnrrmgly, throughout the
classical period of Tamil literature. 4 Andal.

^P Jh ,^_ _ * * *

5 SrivilliputtTar, Andal's home. See Introduction, p. 14 f .

6 Or Periyalvar, Andal's reputed father.

58 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

With cool fresh lotus garlands) they who say
Unfailing, everywhere 1 shall gain from Mai
(His arms like mountains four, his face kind-eyed,
And wealthy Lakshmi jby him) sacred grace,
And bliss enjoy ! Ah, Elorembavay !

X

NAMMILVAR

to

INTRODUCTION

Exigencies of space make it impossible to give any
selection from the Tiruvaymoli ; and the Tirumruttam
must therefore stand as the representative in this selection
of poems of the work of Naminalvar. 2 It would be easy to
illustrate Ms wholehearted devotion. In one place he sings

* If thus I speak, it means hostility ;
Yet speak I will, so hark to me !
While he, my lord, my elephant, my sire,
Is here, of Vengadarn, with choir
Of buzzing beetles, ne'er to man shall be
The gift of my lips' minstrelsy/ 3

He refuses to degrade his God-given gift in order to
please men, however powerful or wealthy they may be.
Elsewhere we find his sublime confidence in the absolute
supremacy of the Vishnu whom he sings : ' If with your
sweet songs you praise each Ms own favourite god, all will
come to my Tirumal, with his crown of bright-shining
rays. H In another series of stanzas, after enumerating many
ways of trying to name Krishna, he asks, * Am I to speak
of my lord of mystery, who for the joy of deliverance
created ail the worlds, who wears his sweet blossoming
tolas! for the worlds to praise, as the one with colour like a
shining jewel, or as him who wears matted hair and the cool
crescent moon (Siva), ever to be praised as the unique
One, or as the four-faced god (Brahma) ? ' 5 Whatever the
form, Vishnu, Siva, or Brahma, the object of worship is

1 I.e., in every birth. 2 See Introduction, p. 13.

3 TiTMvaymoli III, 9:1. * ibid., iii, 9 : 6. 5 Ibid., Ill, 4 : 8

XAMilALVAR, WITH MATHURAKAVI AT HIS FEET
i From a bronze In the Madras Museum )

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES 59

one. And again, 4 Even those who have forsaken their
homes and the many beauties they have long enjoyed, who
have subdued the nve senses, and have tortured the body
though they gain Svarga as their sweet abode, if they are
without him, they will return. Draw near the feet of the
Lord who has the bird (Garuda) as his standard : then
there is no return/ *

The Tiruviruttam of Nammilvar is said to contain the
Quintessence of the Rig Veda. In form_it is a poem of one
hundred four-line stanzas, in which the Alvar expresses the
longing of his soul for union with God, under the figure of
the love of a maid for a man. The persons of the poem
are not consistently maintained. In general the ' lord *
represents the god Vishnu, and the Alvar pictures his
own yearning as that of the mistress for her absent lover,
with his attendant devotees playing the part of the confiden-
tial maid, and sometimes of the foster-mother go-between.
In some stanzas, however, the parts are changed, and the
Alvar's longings find expression in the words of the lover
speaking of his mistress. There is no consecutive action in
the poem, and no progress of thought ; but we must imagine
the lover as corning and going in the intervals of the verse.
Sometimes the poet seems almost to forget his fignre } and to
speak in his own person (e.g., stanza 48). The language of
the original is close-packed and frequently obscure and
ambiguous. An attempt has been made to provide a running
analysis, and some hints as to the esoteric meaning ; but
nothing can make it easy reading. The Tamil student
himself requires pages of commentary on each stanza.

The note of the Tirnviruttam is one of almost tin relieved
yearning for God, that is at first sight difficult to reconcile
with the doctrine of His grace. In the Bhagavata Parana
(Book x, chapter 32) Krishna justifies this, in words which
may be taken as a commentary on this poem : ' I do not
attach myself to those who are devoted to me, in order to
make their devotion to me the more intense-' And again,
* la order to intensify your affection for me I disappear,
forsaking you who have for my sake renounced your sense
of right and wrong, your relatives and your duty/

li iv, 1:9.

60 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

The object of the AlvaYs desire is the god Vishnu, especial-
ly as manifested in the great Venkatesvara temple at Tinipati. 1

(The understanding of sacred erotic poetry is simplified if the
generally-accepted esoteric meaning of recurring symbols is held in
mind. The analysis of the states of the love-sick soul is carried to an
extreme. A stanza in Sanskrit says :

'Love carries parted souls through ten successive states: I. The
eve is drawn ; 2. The heart is attacked ; 3. The will is resolved ; 4.
Sleep is gone ; 5. The frame pales ; 6, All is loathed ,- 7. The soul is
mad ; 8. It becomes senseless ; 9. It swoons ; 10. It dies.' Devotees
can of course develop the interpretation as far as they wish, and
individual interpretations vary ; but the following general key may be
taken as typical of the esoteric method of interpretation. By the
mother is meant either the devotee's own state of mental composure,
or friends who keep their mental composure. By the bride is meant
the paroxysm of love for God, and galaxy of God-loved souls. Female
friends mean the circle of well-wishers. The bridegroom is God, and
the company of God-loved souls. The messengers are holy ones who
lead the devotee to God, etc. The beauty of the eye indicates the
perfection of discerning wisdom, which determines aright the proper
object of love. The beauty of the breast means the development of
devotion or holy love, manifested by complete obedience the sine qua
non of the soul 'sen joying and being enjoyed by God. The slimness
of the waist denotes freedom from every encumbrance in the shape
of ungodly ties. Beauty of walk is righteous conduct. Soft flowing
kair, that adornment of the head which is constituted by ever bowing
reverently to God and the godly galaxy. Beauty of dress means
equipment for the heavenly journey in the shape of firmness of faith.
The bracelet* the badge of a married woman's chastity, suggests the
incompatibility of the existence in the devotee of any object of
attachment other than the Lord. Darkness stands for ignorance. The
wind, the anril bird, etc., which are named as causes of pain, are all
objects of sense which call to mind the cause of grief to the soul, sepa-
rated from the Lord, and are thus unbearable so long as that separation
lasts. The length of the night suggests the impatience of the soul to
reach the Lord, and the grief that is accentuated by non-enjoyment
of him, at a time specially associated with enjoyment. The moonlight
being unbearable indicates the pain which the conscious state brings
to the devotee when he does not realise God's presence. Sunshine is
the wisdom wMch teaches patience and so gives solace. The roaring
of the sea Is the unreasonable rage of those who are sinning in estrange-
ment from God.)

3 Tirapati s in the Chittoor District, or Tiravengadam, to the devout
Vaishnava is simply * Tirnmalai,' * the holy hm. 3 Its" temple on the top
of the toll, approached by long and toilsome flights of steps, seven miles
from Tinipati town, is one of the great places of pilgrimage in India.

2 For the substance of this note, including the translation from the
Sanskrit, I am indebted to MS. notes kindly lent me by M. R. Ry. A-
Govindacfcarya Svamin, of Mysore,

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES 61

TIRUVIRUTT AM 3 TRANSLATION

1. Invocation : ike Alvar prays' to be delivered from
rebirth*

Be gracious. Lord of all the heavenly ones, 3
Born in all births 4 to save all lives, and hear
Thy servant's plea. Grant, not again may I

Such nature win as this ray body ionl,
Wisdom unsound, and character denied. 5

2. The maid speaks, seei?ig the state of her mistress,
unable to endure separation irowi her lard, who has left ker
(Here tke_ maid sta?ids for the Alvars disciples^ the mistress
for the Alvdr 3 the lord for Vishnu).

Long may she love, this girl with luring locks,
Who loves the feet 6 that heavenly ones 7 adore,
The feet of Kannan, s dark as rainy clouds :
Her red 9 eyes all abrim with tears of grief.
Like darting Kay a! fish 10 in a deep pool.

1 Tiruviruttam : sacred messages from the Alvar to God. cf.
stanza I.

- The whole poem is the Alvar's prayer, cf . stanza 100,

Literally ' the unwinking ones,' I.e., the devas. Here probably used
of the Nityas. See p. 73, note 2.

4 The reference is to Vishnu's avataras, as fish, tortoise, etc.

5 la lines 4 and 5 the three bars to salvation are named. Vishnu is
approached as the one means of deliverance from aH of them,

'" The contrast frequently emphasised, between the devotee's bead
and the lord's feet, suggests that the devotee's highest glory is the
service of God.

7 i.e., the Nityas, who have never been in bondage and never
needed release.

s Kannan or Krishna, who is always represented as dark in colour.
The word may be a pet dimintrtive, or it may mean ' he who has eyes r
('like the lotus,' understood).

* Red is the colour that shows tie passion of love : the English
association of 4 red with weeping * must be banished.

10 The comparison of the eye with the fish is frequent* the resem-
blance being in the swift and gleaming movement of both.

62 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

3. The. mistress, unable to endure separation, loses
heart and speaks to her maid, doubting if her heart ', which
has gone after the lord, will ever return to her*

WilTt stay or come again, my lonely heart

(Which has pursued the "bird 1 flame-angry, driven
By the lord of tulasi, 2 arm'd with fatal wheel,
Whom gods adore!) The piping cowherds' girl ?
Bhudevi, Sri, 3 his shadows, it perceives 1

What room is there for the devotee when Vishnu has the unceasing
devotion of his three consorts? The Alvar distrusts his own power of
devotion when he thinks of theirs.

4. Plaint of the mistress deserted by her lord, and
unable to endure the wind which reminds her of him.

Wind that art talasi-poisoned, blowing thoughts
Of him who drain'd the traitress demon's breast, 4
Oh, shame to come and fill with trembling me,
Me, whom his bird ere now of her one heart
Has reft ! No heart for tulasi remains.

The wind, which should be comforting, is filled with memories that
make it painful The devotee's heart has already been drawn by the

Vedas (v._note 1 infra) to make a complete surrender to God and
thus the wind is merely whetting an appetite that it cannot satisfy, cf .
stanza 5 , etc.

1 * The bird* is Garada, the vehicle of Vishnu, This generally symbo-
lises the Veda with its twofold course of learning and discipline. See
Introduction, p. 22.

2 4 The lord of tujasi ' is Vishnu. Tulasi ' cool and fair ' is tjie
small plant venerated in every orthodox Hindu household. It is akin
to the ' Basil * of Keats 1 poem. In poetry it symbolises chastity, and
it is distinctively Vishnu's, as he wears a garland of it.

3 The three consorts of Vishnu ; in his incarnations one or other of
these took appropriate form to be his companion. In this passage
Sri orLakshmi, the goddess of prosperity, and Bhudevi, the earth
goddess, are fitly named as they are the consorts of Vishnu himself :
4 the piping cowherds' girl, 1 however, is Nappinnai (She of the Beautiful
Hair), the form that Nila took to be the companion of Vishnu in the
Krishna avataxa.

* The infant Krishna sucked the life out of the demon* Putana, who
came in the guise of a nurse and offered him her poisoned breast. She
was one of the many agents sent by Kamsa, to kill Krishna.

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES 63

5. The pity of the maid on seeing her mistress loss of
colour through grief because of ike hostile wind.

Hot in this village now doth blow the breeze
Whose nature coolness is. Hath he, this once,
The rain-cloud lined, his sceptre turned aside
To steal the love-glow from my lady, lorn
For tulasi, with wide eyes raining tears ?

The character of the wind seems changed because of the absence
of the beloved lord ; the justice even of God is doubted by a devotee
yearning for fuller union.

1, The mistress is troubled at the coming of the rainy
season, which should have -brought her lord back to her in
fulfilment of Ms promise. (* Mistress * stands for Alvar,
'lord 3 for

Is this the sky in which the strong dark bulls 1
Pawing the ground till Earth shakes, sweat and fight ?
Is this the cool fair time that takes the form
Of Tirtimal, 2 and sounds Ms harshness who
Is gone ? Sinful, I know not what I see.

t The clouds of passion confuse the spiritual apprehension, and make
it impossible to be sure of the signs of the Lord's coming.

9. The lord speaks of the difficulty of parting from his
mistress.^ ( l Lord* stands for the Alvars devotees, t mistress '
for the

Ah, who can leave her, like a creeper hung

With glorious flowers, like unto Vishnu's 3 heaven ?

Are these but eyes ? Nay, lotus, HHes red,

Wide petals, lined in black, and all abrim

With pearls* of white wide, Eke a shy deer's eyes.

The devotees having heard the Alvai's words and seen the great-
ness of his devotion are unable to leave Mm ; In his company^they feel
that they are experiencing the bliss of heaven itself.

1 The bulls are a figure for rain-clouds.

- Tirainal the lord of Tint (or Sri or Laksfamf), is Vishnu, whose
colour is dark like a cloud.

3 ^Vishnu 'in the original this is * he_ who wields the strong*
beautiful, bright sharp discus.' His heaven is Vsikuatha.

4 The pearls are of course tears.

64 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

11. The U'ords of the lord on seeing his mistress* eyes

fill with tears at the thought of separation* (' Lord' stands
for devotees , * mistress' for Alvar*)

Oh rare the vision of today ! Thou maid
That givest bliss like Kannan's heaven, I say
He that seeks wealth must needs go far 'and lo !
Thy fish-like 1 eyes, large as a hand, with pearls 2
Asbine, and gold s a ransom for the world 1

The hint that his devotees might leave him to seek for other
spiritual wealth has brought to light hitherto unsuspected qualities in
the Alvar.

12. The mistress parted from her lord laments her

inability to endure the separation. (' Mistress ' stands for
Alvar , lord > for Vishnu}.

Love's glow is paling, and instead, a dark
And sickly yellow 3 spreading ; and the night
Becomes an age I This is the matchless wealth
My good heart gave me when it yearned and sought
Keen discus-wielding Kannan's tnlasi cool I

14. The lord praises the beauty of the eyes of his

mistress, ( c Lord' 1 stands for the Alvar s devotees, t mistress*
for

This cleaving lance, this beauteous Sel 4 . . they leap
Upon my life, and leave it not : they flash
Lustre of Mayan's 5 shafts : they 'd match his sky
Whose form gives forth the sapphire's 6 flame. Are

these,
These Kayal plump^ thine eyes, thou goddess-like ? 7

1 cf. stanza 2, note. The fish referred to here is the Kendai, larger
than the kayaL Hote also that Vishnu's fast incarnation was a fish,
for the saving of the world.

- * Pearls 'tears as in stanza 9. She weeps at the thought of
parting-.

3 Her jaundiced colour shows her disconsolate state : and night
the time when loneliness is most poignantly felt, seems like an eternity
of pain 1 * The Sei is a fish.

s Maran, the Indian Cupid : Kama.

* Vishrni Is of the bine colour of the sapphire.

1 The goddess referred to, though not actually named s is Mohini, the
type of seductive beauty.

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES 65

18. The mistress parted from her lord marvels at the

darkness to her friend, ('Mistress* stauds for Alvar,

* lord' for Vislmu],

Thon, fair as Kannan's heaven, when he's away
What ages long It Is ! He here, a span !
Whether friends stay for many days, or go,
We grieve. Yet, be this spreading darkness blest 1
In spite of many a cunning trick it has.

Times of conscious communion with God seem all too short, times
of separation insufferably long, so that In any case the soul suffers
from the vagaries of time.

17. The mistress gases at the sea and speaks of the
vanished track of the lord's chariot*

Hail, stormy sea, where, on his serpent conch,
Rests Perumal, 2 Hke to a bright black sun
Of sapphire, pouring forth glowing darkness !
Make not a dusk with thy full waves, nor hide
Track of his car who left me in the dark,

18, The maid speaks in pity for her mistress who is

dejected because ike rainy season has come and her lord has
not returned.

The sky has gripped the sea and risen : the sea

In turn has taken hold of sky. 3 Is this

That time 4 when ocean seizes Kannan's earth

And heaven and rises high, or but the time

Of showers ? . . . Her tears are flowing like the sea.

1 Ironical praise.

2 Pemmal : Vishnu, who rests always on Adis"esfaan, the primeval
serpent on the sea of milk. The sea Is a figure for the worldly life
which tends to obscure the Alvar's thought of his fellow devotees ; the
track of the car possibly indicates his memory of them.

cf . for the description of the indistingtushabillty of sea and sky
A Winters Tale, HI, Hi.

* i.e., the time of Pralaya, the great deluge that ends an age. * Is
this the complete absorption of the temporal in the eternal, or a more
ordinary occasion ? '

66 HYMXS OF THE ALVARS

19. The foster-mother's lament : the lord has not come
a?id there is much milage, scandal.

E'en when the black clouds rank on rank thus rise
Challenging l Who of maids will keep her pure ? J1
Her lord, the swizt bird's rider, 2 called her not,
Xor tulasi gave ! My girl with her few words
The village tongues now rend ! Oh, comfort her !

Even when God's grace is so overflowing chat It draws meek souls
to him, the devotee has received no mark of favour from him. His
words have been few, because surely God does not need any persua-
sion to be gracious.

20. A foolish attempt is made by means, of a devil-driver
to rid tke mistress of her frenzy ; but the devil- driver is
dismissed ; her frenzy comes from too august a source for
such treatment,

Her pain is from a god exceeding great
From no slight god who lists to wheedling words ! 3
Yon with the trident, 4 stop ! Ye mothers, hark !
Naming Ms name who swallow J d the seven worlds 5
Garland her head with fair, cool tulasi.

Severance from false gods and their influence is the necessary
condition for reaching the bliss of communion with the Supreme
Lord.

21. His friend reminds the lord of his subduing the
bulls to show his prowess to Ms mistress.

While heavenly ones to wreathe thee held pure flowers,
SprinHed fresh water, offered incense sweet,
There thon by mystery 5 rare didst go to steal

1 The implication is that the rainy season is peculiarly fatal to
self -control.

2 Vishnu rides on Garuda as his vehicle.

* The minor gods are susceptible to bribery or cajolery or coercion ;
not so Vishnu himself.

4 The devil -driver has a trident.

s Vishnu shallowed the worlds to preserve them at the time of the
Flood.

a Maya, God's incomprehensible greatness and grace ; cf. p. 54 K
note 2.

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES 67

And eat the butter stored, and dance 1 mid hump'd
Hcrn'd oxeiij for the cowherds' willowy girl.

Ever, though in heaven God is worshipped by the heavenly hosts,
he rejoices tc condescend and show fcis interest in the things that hold
en's rhcf.eht en earth.

24. The mother laments ike absorption of ike mistress,
unable to endure separation from ike lord. ( { Mistress 5
stands for the Alvar, * mother ' for devotees, ( lord ' for
Vishnu?)

What will befall ray girl with bracelets fair
With tearful eyes like gleaming kayal big,
Who wanders with a secret pain at heart
For blooms of tulasi fresh from the Bird's Lord*
Who with that hill protected flocks in storm ? 2

The devotees are concerned at the utter absorption of the Alvar in

the thought of Vishnu.

25. Tke words of t lie mistress, marvelling at tke wonders
that izilasl iL'orks. (' Mistress 5 stands for the Alvar, lord
for Vislnm.]

What in this world 3 will tulasi not do

(Plant of the king ; the king of mighty gods, 4
Lord of all heavenly ones, 3 onr lord !) since it

1 Krishna as a youth did what the caste custom of the cowherds
demanded by dancing for the bride, Nappinnai ; and no less most be
demanded of him now.

2 Krishna protected the cowherds from the angry rain of Indra, by
Holding over them the mountain, Govartihaaa.

3 Literally * fourfold world * jungle, motmtain, cultivated Iand }
sea ; there is also a fifth division, referred to in stanza 26, of barren
land, without water and shade,

4 Vishnu is superior to Brahma, lord of Satya, who was bom from
his navel*

5 Heavenly ones, who are higher than the gods mentioned in 1. 2 ;
ihrotigh their devotion they have secured emancipation. The minor
gods, like men, are still in bondage ; of these Brabma is chief, cf .
stanza 43, note.

68 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

Has loos'd my bracelet 1 and has crooked turn'd
The rod that rales o'er Kannan's earth and heaven ?

The Alvar complains of the pain of devotion, leading him to doubt
the righteousness of God's universal sway, because h!s own oass^on is

a^"a".rT "^"^ r t * rtj *"*- \JjL,L IS,

not being satisfied.

26. The lord s/i&ws Ms city to his mistress, at ike end
of a lon_g a?id weary journey .__ (' Lord * stands for friends
of the Alvar * * mistress ' for Alvar).

O golden girl, the barren land 2 Is past,
Spat out as refuse when the lord_ of heat
Chewed dry 3 the lands r Vehka 5 is nigh, of him
Whom heavenly ones adore, their feet on earth : c
And there, sweet groves, wealth for ail barrenness !

The Alvar is encouraged to persevere through a period of
4 dryness 3 in h:s soul.

28. The mistress parted from her lord sorrows at the
breeze ', which vainly stirs her passion,

Tulasi has stofn my bracelets : let them go !
But now a breeze 7 stalks feeling for my bloom . . .
Srirangam's lord (where waves play, so that shells
Are pecked not by the sharp-beaked birds), 8 show grace !
In olden days were ever hearts so sad ?

Congous with a fresh vividness of separation, the Alvar wonders If
at any time others can have known such agony of unsatisfied yearning
for^God ; he appeals to God by a reference to his grace as manifested
in Sriraiigam.

1 The bracelet has slipped oS because she has grown thin through
the wind that has made her lovesick with the scent of the tulasi;
Vishnu is accused of partiality because of his apparent harshness :" the
tulasJ upsets aE the government of God, from a trifle like a lover's
trinket to the universe itself. * See note on stanza 25.

s The sun \vith his rays sucks all the goodness from the land.

* The fourfold lands as in stanza 25 ; every kind of soil.
s Vehka, one of the 32 Vishnu shrines at Conjeeveram.

* On earth, i.e., at the shrine. Ordinarily their feet do not touch
earth : tins shows their humility and the glory of this shrine.

7 The tulasi and the wind are both her enemies again, the one
making: her thin, the other robbing her of her colour.

8 The great temple at grirangam is on an island in the Kavexi
River : the river is so full that the shells on its banks are covered by
the water, and thus protected from birds. This is a manifestation of
God's grace even to shells.

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES 69

29. The mistress speaks with hatred of the swans whom
she has asked in vain to lake a message to her lord.

4 Lacking an envoy, us she begs to go

Her errands ! s and the swans the base-born birds !

No message took, gone with their hens 1 Alas !

Have women's messages no right ol way

In the world of Vishnu, blue and lightning bright ?

The Alvar tries In vain to reach God through mediators ; those^fae
approaches are wrapped tip In their own interests and fail to help him.

30. The mistress pleads with swans and herons to take

her message* {The swans having failed her , she now includes

a lower order in her appeal^)

The flying swans and herons I did beg 1 ,
Cringing : * Forget not, ye who first arrive*
If ye behold my heart with Kannan there 2
Oh, speak of me, and ask it * Sir, not yet
Hast thou returned to her ? And is it right ? 3

The Alvar finds at last some who are directing their course to God
and pleads with them not to forget the need of others ; he urges his
own crying 1 need as a first claim on them. He suggests that if his
devotion brings no enjoyment of God, it will be better for his affection
to be withdrawn, that so he may at least be free from the pain of
unrequited love.

31- The mistress laments tkat the clouds will not take her
message.

The clouds that take their way till lightnings flash
On pinnacles of strong-based Vengadam
With lightning back of gold and precious stones.
Refuse me when I ask them bear my word . . .
Would they, if asked, my head beneath their feet ? 3

The messengers having failed him, doubting the propriety of such
a message as he has given, he approaches others (clouds) already
familiar with the sacred mount of God at Tirupati.

1 The swans with their mates despise her, as she is alone.

2 i.e., in heaven : Vaiknntha.

3 They refuse for mere asking : would they perhaps agree if I put
rny head nnder their feet ?

70 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

*

32. The mistress speaks of a resemblance between the
clouds and her lord.

Tell me, ye clouds, how have ye won the means
That ye are thus like Tirumal's blest form ?

Bearing good water for protecting life, 1

Ye range through all the sky. Such penance, 2 sure,

As makes your bodies ache, has won this grace !

The sight of those who give themselves In service to others lifts tip
the Alvar's heart to God, of whom they remind him.

33. The friend rebukes the lord^ on seeing her mistress
inconsolable because of Ms absence.

With gracious discus thou thy sceptre wieid'st,
And dark deeds perish in broad heaven and earth,
Thou serpent-couched ! But (whether scorning worth
Of girls, or thinking she's outside thy field,
I know not) thou destroy s st my lady's bloom.

Friends impressed by the effects of unsatisfied yearning in the
Alvar plead with God to be merciful ; as In his own abode he rests on
a faithful servant, the serpent, so let him favour his faithful devotee
on earth.

34. The friend seeing her mistress* state of distress

speaks to the lord.

* The rings have spoilt it all ! ' 3 she pettish cries
And spurns the rings with angry little feet
Her heart is on a garland set, of cool
Fair tujasl, full of thy unfading blooms. . . .
O Mai, 4 I know not what to do for her.

The Alvar is impatient of all self-help, rinding it useless, and sets
his heart resolutely on God's grace alone.

* The clouds are dark Eke Vishnu's body* and, like Vishnu, benefit
aU the world.

* The popular belief is that the greater the boon the greater must
have been the penance that has won it.

s The reference is to a game, similar to the ' He loves me, loves
me not 1 played in England with petals of flowers. Concentric circles
are drawn in the sand and then counted, an odd number meaning" one
tiling, an even another. In this case the answer they had given was not
auspicious to ber. * Vishnu.

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES 71

35. The mistress laments at the evening and the breeze
conspiring against her, as if Hie coming of tJie darkness
were not sufficiently painhiL

That Eve (maid of the western sky, in grief

At parting sun with milky-mouth J d young moon
Like babe on hip) may snatch all good from those
That love the tulasi of Hal who strode
The world, now conies a chill wind searching me !

The Alvar, cut off from enjoyment of God at the time associated
with enjoyment, is yet further pained by the sight of those outward
things which give transient joy to others, but are barriers to enjoying
God.

36. The friend speaks of tJie callousness of the lord.

E'en in this age-long time of so-called night
When men must grope, he pities not that she
Stands in her deep immitigable grief
Naming his tulasi Ah, his cruelties, 1

Who once destroyed Lanka's crowded halls ! 3

The friends cannot understand God's failure to relieve the numb
grief of the Alvar, and speak in criticism of Mm : the Alvar is utterly
dependent on him, and is unable to make any personal efforts.

37. The pity of ike mistress* mother at the dangers of
the jungle through which her daughter has passed, f Mis-
tress* stands for Alvar.)

The jungle traversed by the fawn-eyed girl
With fragile waist, whom sinful I brought forth
After long praise of Randan's lotus-feet, 3
Is full of drumbeats hunters with tent bows,
Raiders, and murderers, and young warriors swift !

The senses make continual assaults on the Alvar in his search after
God. His persistent devotion excites the admiration of his followers.

1 He is cruel in that he allows her none of the many consolations
she might have.

2 Rama for the sake of Sita did this and yet now the Lord seems
to ignore Ms mistress' need.

* Penance is the means by which boons to any extent may be won
from the gods. Note in stanza 38 the different types of tordship that
are suggested, each characteristic of ascetic practice,

72 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

38. The mistress parted from far lord sees a likeness w
him in the blue water-lilies.

Is It by penance, passing by rough ground,

Your stems 5 strength entering pools, and standing

there

For days, that ye have won, blue flowers, the hue
Of sprightly Penman, who pot-dance danced 1
And, earth and heaven a-tremble f 2 strode the worlds ? 3

39, The mistress sees the repealing- of the lord's form
everywhere*

AH places, sMning like great lotus pools
On a blue mountain broad* to me are but
The beauties of his eye the lord of earth
Girt by the roaring sea, heaven's lord, the lord
Of other good souls/ black-hued lord and mine !

The devout soul of the Alvar sees God in everything.

41. The ?nis tress speaks in sorrow of the wind that
torments her.

I knew the wind was harsh, but ne'er have seen
A shape or hint of cruelty so great !
Now (while no grace he grants who rides the bird
So that proud demons die) the harsh wind spreads
Scandal abroad persists in crushing me !

The intensity of the soul's longing for God, increased by every-
thing that gives a transient joy to others, is misunderstood and made
the object of derision.

1 TheYeference is to Vishnu's killing of the demon, Banastira, in the
story of Anirudha. A custom among sbepherds, in times of special pros-
perity, is to dance with rows of pots on their heads and shoulders,
and in their hands,

3 i-e., with awe. 3 In the Vamana avatara.

4 ' Other good souls/ such as are neither in earth nor in heaven.
The word translated * heaven * refers to a state below the position of
the ' other good souls/ who are the fully emancipated ; cf. stanza 43,
note 2.

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES 73

2. The mistress is absorbed in the beauty of her lord's
eyes graciously bent on her,

Like pools of soft-stemmed lotus, as they lie
A-bloom, on one side, bent by blasts, they shine
My lord's great eyes on me, who at the sky
Gazing, bow at his feet, who seems to say
For my stride, earth and heaven do not suffice ! * l
The Alvar is conscious of God's grace.

43. The mistress speaks of ike beauty of her lord's
beatific form.

Can they who wiser are than heavenly ones,
Can those of higher grade, or higher still, 2
The colour of the beauty of my Lord
Compute like a great mountain black with eyes
Like lotus red, like lotus hands and feet ?

The Alvar is led to contemplate God In fuller attributes but
confesses that to estimate these is beyond the powers of any created
intelligence.

44. The mistress speaks of the greatness of her lord*

Sages with wisdom won by virtuous toil
Assert 'His colour, glorious beauty, name*
His form are such and such/ But all their toil
Has measured not the greatness of my lord :
Their wisdom's light is but a wretched lamp.

Many have tried to sum up God in a formula, but in no one
particular have they succeeded, each being limited by his own powers
of perception.

45. The mistress seeks to reassure kerself by recalling

the help given by the lord in ike time of the great flood.

Peace, timid heart ! The boar with lotus eyes
In that time perilous gazed steadily

1 In the Tri-Vikrama avataxa Vishnu strode over earth and sky
in two strides.

2 The three grades are :

(a) Devas in heaven, but still in bondage s of whom Brahma

is the head.

(6) Emancipated souls.
(c) NityetsiteasG who have never been in bondage.

74 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

On us i 1 have others such a bond ? Of old
We companied with him. Oh say, can births
That men beset, come near to us again ? 2

The Alvar seeks to reassure himself by the thought that he lias once
been saved and can never lapse from that state of grace.

46. The mistress mourns because she has lost her heart,

Vain thought of those who count their heart their own
And guileless, fain would send it messages !
When mine I sent up to the feet of him
Who cleft the golden-named one's mighty breast, 3
It left me, and still haunts him stubbornly !

The Alvar speaks 'of Ms heart set wholly on God.

48. The mistress is cheered by a good omen and speaks to
her friend, who asks her whether her cJieer fulness is due to
anything her twd had said to her.

The feeble insect showing in a sore

There goes its way : what knows it of the world ?
Or I of cunning Mai's deceitful words
Which made me, shameless, speak of him? Always
A lizard's chirps have been a valued word ! 4

The Alvar is reminded in his despondency that the songs he sings
are modes" of expression for God, who uses even the humblest and
most ignorant creatures for his purposes. How can he understand
God's words to Mm, which have inspired Ms song ?

50. The lord speaks to his charioteer.

Drive, charioteer, that paleness may not touch

The glowing lustre of the bright-browed girl !
Swiftly our car must reach the mountain 5 where

1 The mistress here identifies herself with one of Vishnu's consorts,
Bhudevi, who at the time of the deluge was rescued by Vishnu in the
Boar avatara. The lord is thus in a special way pledged to her.

3 The haunting fear of rebirth comes to the front.

3 cf . stanza 30 : Vishnu in the Narasimha avatara slew the asura
Hiranya * golden-named '.

4 The utmost importance is attached to the sounds of the lizard,
wMcb are auspicious or inauspicious according to the time, direction,
etc,, in which they are heard.

ffi Tirupati, the mountain par excellence for Srl-Vaishnavas.

2;- a

"

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES 75

Bees hum and streams descend like white pearl

wreaths ,

Upon the lofty crown of heaven's lord.

Friends seeing the Aivar's despondency speak to their own minds
4 car of the mind, 1 Imagination) to hasten to cheer him,

51. The mistress laments^ unable to bear the sound of
the sea.

The sea, that could not nectar win again,
Got by the lord of mystery, 'mid tossing waves
With hill for churning-rod, serpent for rope *
Joins with sweet tulasi clamours for its right 2
In shells 3 which seamen gave me for a price !

The Alvar is conscious of the attempts made by those who do not
care for God to divert him from his devotion, and to rob him of its

fruits. The ' sea J stands for irreligious men, the ' churning rod * for
faith, the ( rope J for spiritual eagerness, the ' seamen ' for sages who
have crossed the dangers of life and are now fixed on the truth, the
' shells ' for the purity that comes in their disciples when they pay the
price of full obedience.

52. The friend tries to console tJne mistress by suggesting
that this is not really the rainy season, when her lord is
expected again , but that the appearance of it is due to
Bhildems tears.

When shyly, lotus-lipped with rain-cool eyes,
CalTd by dark ocean,* by its white waves led,
Sri 5 climbed the seipent couch* Bhidevi wept :

1 Vishnu in the churning of the ocean from winch, among other
gifts, nectar emerged, used the mountain, Mandaragiri, as churniEg-rod
and the serpent, Vasuki, as rope.

2 The sea and the tulasl seem alike to be her enemies. * Right * ie.,
like a litigant with a claim for joint ownership.

3 Shells, which now form her treasured bracelet.

4 The sea of milk, grown dark because of the colour of Vishnu who
lies on it. Its waves are pictured as hands and fingers.

3 Sridevi (Lakshmi) and Bhudevi are Vishnu's consorts. Lakshmi
was born in the Sea of Milk (at the time of the chnming of the ocean)
in which lies Adiesha, the serpent on whom Vishnu reclines. She is
therefore at home there, while Bhudevi is not. Btmdevi therefore weeps
for jealousy.

76 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

Cried in high heaven Cruel Tirumal ! s

While tears rained rivers on those hills, her breasts.

The Alvar's friends console him by reminding' him that even Earth,

who as a goddess might be expected to enjoy God continually, has to
suffer the pains of parting, though but for a time.

53. The prophet ess ) called in for advice ', gives her judg-
ment as to the frenzy of the mistress and its cure.

The pain of her with girdled breasts is good

From love of the glory of the heavenly lord !
Fan her with garlands of fair tulasi
Divinely cool, or with a leaf of it,
A twig, its root e j en dust wherein it grows !

In pain of heart that is caused by desire for God can only be
cured by God. The tulasi i? a figure for the companies of devout
souls, contact with any of whom, in however slight a degree, will help
to assuage the Alvar's grief,

54. The mis I res s sends beetles on a message to the lord.

Beetles, who'll take me to the flowery feet

Of him who stole and ate the ghi, and did

Such deeds as men may blame, 1 my lord, and heaven's^

Fly with your whirring wings (easy your way

To heaven 1) tell me what ye will say, and go !

The Alvar seeks the aid of others who in familiar access to God can

intercede for him, and he asks for the solace of knowing what they
will say to God on his behalf.

56. The mistress tells her friend that the lord has msited

her*

By grace of him who swallowed the broad worlds 2

Safety and bliss we've won \ Friend, no more fear !
A cool south wind 3 has come and secretly,
With honey sweet of tulasi 's fair bloom,
Rain-like 4 caressed my Hmbs and ornaments.

In union with God the Alvar enjoys the consciousness that God
also rejoices in him.

1 The reference is to Krishna's childhood and youth.

2 cf. note on stanza 20.

a Shy to say directly that he has come, she speaks of a south wind
from him. * Coolly and bounteously.

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES 77

57. The lord excuses his passion by speaking of the beauty
of his mistress eyes y in answer to his friends* criticism.

Like fighting fish, by creeper kept apart 1
In lotus-face fair ear-ringed, do they move
And spear-like gaze ! No one \vill blame who saw
Me moved by them that day Hke to the sea
Foaming with nectar, churned by Kannan's hand ! 2

Only those who have never had the vision of God can scoff at the
devout, and those who see him are themselves converted to a like
devotion. (The e fighting J of the fishes S5 T mboIises the conflict within
the mind between different Interpretations of the vision that the Alvar
has. They are saved from final inconsistency by the preponderance of
some thought which is able to solve all doubts.)

58, Her friend consoles the mistress by speaking of the
greatness of the lord : her ca,se> difficult though if seems to
her, is easy for him to solve.

One foot ganged all the earth ; one filled the sky
Overshadowing all ! 3 What Is there here for him
To measure on high in heaven, the radiant lamp
Of all-pervading wisdom, unsurpassed,
With eyes like lotus blooming 1 in the inire ?

Friends console the Alvar by reminding Mm of the manifold
greatness of God.

59. The foster-mother pities, the mistress^ unable to
endure the length of the night*

This child of sinful me, with well-formed teeth,
Round breasts and rosy mouth, keeps saying" * These
Fair nights eternal are as my desire
For tulasi ! O Lord of great rich plains
With swelling sea, O Madhnsudana!* 4

Friends are fitted with sympathy at the length of the Alvarts * dark
night of the soul. 3 The teeth symbolise the growing purity of Ms life,
the red lips the ardour of Ms love.

1 Her eyes are like fish in their quick and beautiful movement.
The creeper that separates them is her nose-

2 For the churning of the ocean by Vishnu, see note on stanza 51.
z In the Tri-Vikrama avatara.

4 Vishnu slew the demon, Madhu, and is hence called Madhtisu-
dana.

7

78 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

60. The f osier-mother pities the mistress' youth ; it is too

soon for her to he thinking of a lord ; she is love-sick while
sfill but a child.

Breasts not yet full, and short her tresses soft ;
Skirt loose about the waist ; with prattling tongue
And innocent eyes r 1 (so that one says The world
A price for these \ J2 ) is't right that she repeats

* Is Vengadam the hill of Perumal ? ' 3

The Alvar is reminded by Ms friends that he has not yet reached
the state of spiritual maturity which makes possible the full union
with God for which he longs.

61. Her friend consoles the mistress by speaking of the

greatness and condescension of the lord.

How can we speak ? Our king; is lord of those
In ancient heaven : 4 him all heaven's lords 5 adore :
He in two strides the whole globe measured
So that no stick-point's space escaped : 6 'twas he
Who came to birth among the cowherd folk ! 7

It is not for men to presume to criticise God, so great and so

gracious in his manifestations.

62. Her friend speaks to the lord of the mistress' in-
consolability and pleads with him to be gracious.

Howe'er one pleads that she Is but a girl, 8

The black sea pities not but roars on still !

O thou cloud-coloured, serpent-couched, is't meet

1 All marks of immaturity, though each is beautiful enough in

Itself.

- Contrast stanza 11, where her beauty is spoken of as equal in
value to the world. The reference is to her eyes.

3 She can do nothing but repeat the name of her lord and think of
his abode, Tirupa-ti.

4 i.e,, of emancipated souls : cf . p 73, note 2.
a Brahma etc. minor gods still in bondage.

B In the Tri-Vikrama avatara there was not room even for a thin
stick to stand. T In the Krishna avatara.

* V

8 The idea here is not of immaturity as in stanza 60, but of her
being a woman and therefore claiming consideration.

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES 79

For tfaee to slight her here, who by thy grace
Alone can henceforth keep her chastity ?

Those who are worldly (symbolised by the sea) persist in their
disturbing clamour, and yet God.jrfao became incarnate to be accessible
to inan> does not respond to the Alvar's cry : be Is in danger of bein^
overpowered, and his friends intercede for lain.

63. The mistress speaks to her friend ^ who /ins criticised
the lord*

Eat his red eyes, 1 with gaze so kind that heaven
Is glad, bright like a cool, soft lotus pool,
Enter my heart and kindle there my love
For the fair face of Kanrtan, Lakshmi's lord,
And even now abide with me, Ms slave !

When the Alvar hears God criticised he is stirred to recall the
grace winch he actually enjoys.

64. The mistress speaks wistfully to her friend of
she finds some solace in uttering the name of her lord
during his absence.

In Vedic hymns earth's gods 2 give worship due
To the sacred feet of him who strode the world. 2
So I with untamed passion, and in grief
At deeds and self, 4 repeat his sacred name,
Like one who lacking ripe eats fruit unripe. 5

Deprived of the bliss of perfect union with God, the Alvar yet finds
corsolation in the repetition of his sacred name*

1 Eyes are red with love : cf, stanza 2, note 9.

2 I.e., Brafamacs. s In the Tri-Vikrama incarnation,

* ' In grief at deeds, 5 i.e., his past karma ; * and self/ ie., bis preset^
birth.

5 There is perhaps here in Hne 5 an apologetic reference to the use
of Tamil, as contrasted with the Sanskrit of the hymns an L I : cf.
staaza 94 (cf . Erishnaswamy Aiyangar, Early History of Vaishna-
vtsm in South India, p. So). Or the reference may be to Ms own
limitations of birth as a Sndra, txsakicg it impossible for hint to tse
the Vedic expressions.

8

80 HYIdXS OF THE ALVARS

66. The lord replies to a friend's criticism of his iniatua-

s

for his mistress. \ Lord $ta?ids for ike Aliar
friends, ' mistress 3 for ike Ahar.}

Those lilies red, which are the life of me a
The eyes of her who 3 s like the heaven of him
Who fire and water is, wind, sky and earth 2
So shine that even meditating seers, 3
Who neither eat nor sleep, must think of them. 4

The Alvar's power of vision of God Is so fine that even ascents
habituated by long discipline to disregard objects that appeal to the
senses, are compelled to give their admiring attention to him ; It is not
only his friends who find life in association with him.

69. Her friend consoles the mzstress, who is miserable
at the approach of night*

The bull of darkness by the red stm-bull
Worsted, is out for victory ! Grieve not
If bracelets slip 3 oh thou with swelling breasts !
Will he who strode the earth, our lofty lord,
Leave thee, this wretched eve, without his grace ?

His friends console the Alvar, who is grieving for lack of conscious

fellowship with God ; God's character as shown in the Dwarf
incarnation is a pledge of his grace.

70. The mistress laments the length of the night.

Like days, months, years, and ages crowding- nights
Have come, to make me pale for tulasi
Sweet garland on the head of heaven's lord
With the curved discus I Now to destroy me quite
Comes this one night, a thousand ages long !

In spite of his Mends, the Alvar cries out impatiently at the length
of time he is cut off from enjoyment of God.

1 * Of me *; literally, f who am bound by sinful actions. 7

2 God pervades all the elements, which form a body for him.

8 Yogis, who by austerity have gained immunity from the snares
of the senses.

* The strength even of their mental concentration cannot guard
them from her charms.

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES 81

71. The mistress urges her friends to intercede, for her
with her mother ^ who suspects her unreasonably.

i spake not of him as the lord of time/
World-swallowing. Seeing: a kalam fruit I said
1 Its colour *s like the sea ! ' * Ah, shameless one ! '
My mother cried : ( Like the world-swallower

Yon mean 1 J Oh, clear my name to her, my friends !

The Aivar wishes his friends to understand that If he has spoken in
praise of God'? attributes, it is not that lie is attaching undue importance
to them, or depending on them or his own efforts : he has not forsaken
the v;ay of utter dependence on God himself for any other way.

72. The mistress* unable to endure the darkness ^ is yet
further vs&ed by the appearance of the moon*

Oh, let the crescent moon which cleaves the dark
Encompassing of night, cleave me as well !

Ah, does it issue forth in brightness now*
That happy bloom may come to desolate me
Who only long for flowers of tulasi 1

1..U1.

asperating knowledge.

74. The mistress speaks to Jur friend of her joy at the
scent of tulasi r , betokening the lord* $ approach.

A soft south breeze is "blowing; that has played
On tulasi upon his head who knows
All things, Ms great eyes closed in sleep* 2 reclined
On breaking waves ; the lord who gulped the world :
Who did a mount uproot and hold for shade P

The Alvar is filled with joy as he receives a fresh reminder of the
grace and power of God.

1 He is not affected by time as everything in this world is.

2 As in the recumbent form at Siirangam ; or as the babe Krishna
redining on the leaf of the banyan.

3 When as Krishna he protected the cowherds from the wrath of
Icdra with Mount GovarShana.

82 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

75. The lord expresses his wonder at the beauty of
Ms mistress. ('JLord 3 stands for the Afoars devotees , i ?nis-
tress J for the Alvar.)

Ye bright-faced ones, 1 with crael bow that darts
Arrows like shining nsh, to pierce my life :
Is your abode the heaven where dwell the thralls
Of him whose bed's the sea with fragrant waves
That toss curved shells ? Or is your home this earth ?

The Aivar's devotees are amazed at his joy, and wonder whether
he Is not more than man.

76. The mistress not having received the garland far
which she longs, speaks with loathing of the moonlight.

Oh, crazy for a wreath of tulasi ! Heart !

Full of his beauty who, pervading space,

Measured the world ! is't strange that the white moon

That shuts the lotus fine and opes the lily

In poison spreads for my white bracelet's sake ?

The Alvar again grieves because his knowledge of God without
union with him brings no satisfaction.

77. The mistress complains that the pain of evening time
is unendurable*

While her fair moon-child wails, sad Evening 2 stands

Beside the blood-red battle field where fell

Her lord red-sceptred : helped by tulasi

(My heavenly lord's, who fought in Southern Lanka I)

She tortures me, to snatch away my bloom !

The Alvar again complains that at a time when everything conspires
to fill him with passionate desire for union with God, he should be left
desolate.

78. The mistress grieves as she thinks of the might of

the lord who has parted from, her.

Not mine to sound the mighty power which slew
Tormenting Naraka, and Vanan's 3 arms

* The Alvar and Ms companions.

3 Evening is pictured as a widow mourning the loss of her lord the
son, -with the moon as her child.

3 Demons slain by Vishnu (Vanan rr BanaSura).

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES 83

Destroyed ! My foolish heart, on tulasi bent,
(Worn by my lord who shines like a black hill)
Has gone and left me nothing: but this pain !

The Alvar could reconcile himself in despair to his present condi-
tion, but his heart is beyond his control and thus causes his pain.

79, The mistress speaks wistfully of the bliss of those
who never part from the lord.

More blest than heavenly ones are they who praise
The Lord who's mighty in the Veda wears
The sacred thread whom heavenly ones adore ;
Who gulped the world, and over-strode the earth ;
Whose cool couch is the snake i the milky sea !

The Alvar covets the unbroken felicity of those who are ccn-
tinnaily with God, even in this world.

80. TJie mistress in her lonelimss laments the coming
of the darkness.

Like a great king who rules for his brief day

Of glory, and is dead, the sun is hidden.

O King: who strode the earth, thou Lord of heaven,

Unequall'd, though thou'st left me guilefully ;

Tormenting night has come. Ah, show thy grace!

The Alvar again complains that knowledge without union is tor-
ment.

82. The mistress recalls the beauty of the lord's glance
with sorrow as she realises the pain it now causes her.

Like to the rising on the hill of dawn

Of two red fiery suns at once, his eyes

Even on us 1 blaze down as if again

The giants 2 fell into the burning red !

Can this be he who makes the xvhole world bloom ?

The Alvar man-els that the very quality ia God which won Us
devotion now catses him stich anguish.

of the worship of the stm by Biahnslns, a Sre was created into which
they fell.

84 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

**

83. The mistress friend despairs at sight of her languish-
ing,

The deep-toned annf 1 cherishes Its mate

Ever before her eyes, in a thorny nest -

On the courtyard palm. Ah ! as she sobs and lisps

The cloud-hued's names, I know not if shell live

Or If her frame and spirit mild must pass !

His friends wonder if the Alvar can survive lack of conscious conz-
ETiirJon with God, reminded as tie is by common tilings of the bliss he
is losing.

84. The mistress pleads for sight of her lord, even if
she may not be alone with him.

E'en among groups of beauteous girls, or in

The festivals of the great or anywhere

'Tis thee that I would gaze upon, with disc

Of gold and conch all white within thy hand,

Thou dark-hued one, thou Sapphire, Pearl my Gem !

The Alvar prays that If he cannot continue to enjoy personal
commtniion with God he may at least see him, even if it be among
others.

85. The mistress niourns the coming of night.

Thou who didst stride the world, Gem, Emerald,
Thou Gold well-tried, incomparable One,
At evening" when the golden sun has gone.
Fighting the dark a ruby 'gainst an ape I"
Thy slave, my life, thine own, I bring to thee !

The Alvar seeks protection from God.

86, The mistress grieves at her separation from the
lord,

He rescued Hara 3 when he begged with bowl
Unsavoury skuH of Brahma lotus-sprung !

1 A bird famed as a type of marital devotion.

3 The precious sunlight seems at nightfall to have been thrown
away for nought in conflict -with the darkness.

3 'Siva, condemned to beg with Brahma's skull as his begging bowl,
was delivered by Vishnu's grace.

TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES 85

He wields the disc and conch : 'twas he who wept
When his nurse 1 beat him butter-thief ! one day ! 2
How then shall I of him make my complaint ?

The Alvar comforts himself by recalling God's extraordinary acts
of grace to others, and his extraordinary condescension to man's
weakness.

87. The friend rebukes the lord for Ms neglect of his
mistress,

The parted anrif^ mournful note, the roar
O' the foaming sea, flooding the flowery marsh
This thing and that, grieving this girl divine
Who sings the virtues of thy mighty bird
Is this thy work, for all the world to blame ?

The Alvar's friends are critical of God for leaving his devotee
without the consolation of his presence, and allowing him to be
tormented by common sights and sounds.

88. The mistress grieves on being reminded of the lorcfs
form.

Mount Meru's like the Lord of Bliss : the sun
On it, the discus blest in his blest hand !
How can sin hinder me, who seeing but
These likenesses of him, lisp of his form
And tokens, with unparalleled desire ?

The Alvar reassures himself that he must be delivered from sin
the barrier between himself and God in that, debarred though lie
is from sight of God, he yet sees symbols of hiro on every hand, and
Is thereby stirred to praise him.

39. The mispress cries impatiently for union with the
lord.

When shall I join my lord, who poison is
For evil deeds, and nectar for the good ? 4
Husband of her who haunts the lotus-bloom/

1 Literally, ' foster-mother, 1 i.e., YaSoda.

2 An episode of Krishna's childhood. 8 cf. stanza 66.

4 i.e., he destroys the evil (the results of previous activity) and
develops the good in his devotee (his present love to God).

3 Vishnu's consort is Lakshini, who springs from the lotus.

86 HYMXS OF THE ALVARS

Cowherd who thought no scorn to graze the cows : 2
Who overpaced the world in his two strides I s

The Alvar cannot understand why he Is barred from union with
God so gracioiis.

90. The mistress is unable to endure separation from the
lord*

Lord of the Disc which demons put to flight,
When I review my wond'rous penance wrought
To win a body fit for thee, thy feet

Upon my head, yet see that still no hold
Have I of thee, time seems eternity 1

The Alvar considering- how all his efforts in previous births have
still not brought him to full union with God is filled with dismay as he
faces the future.

91. The mistress asserts her unbroken fidelity to Uie lord.

None my heart longs for save the thief who touch 'd
And ate the butter in the dosepacked hoops
Him of the belly huge who at a gulp
Swallow'd the world : the trickster who as Dwarf,
Gain'd the three steps great Bali granted him.

Though he has not yet attained full bliss, the Alvar can nevertheless

give himself to none other than God who showed his grace in sundry
incarnations.

94. The lord's friend* having seen the mistress, apolo-
gises to him for having spoken critically to him of his
cmiduct.

O thou with body black, red-lotus-eyed,
None save the learned seers of pious life
Can touch thy sacred feet e'en with their heads.
* Like village cows, so lows the blind cow too : J
And I have spoken : what else can I say ?

The Alvar is humble about his own knowledge of God : after all he
can only repeat what holy men have said, Possibly there is a refer-
ence to the inferiority of Tamil to Sanskrit as a medium for the
highest truth, cf. stanza 64, note 5.

1 In the Krishna avatara. 2 la the Vamana avatara.

RANSLATIONS AND NOTES 87

96. The mistress determines to proclaim her passion for

the lord.

Many a different way of worshipping"

And many clashing creeds from different minds,

And in the many creeds their many gods

Thou'st made, spreading abroad thy form ! O them

Matchless, I will proclaim my love for thee !

The Alvar Is resolved to proclaim God everywhere, as the One who
in the various sects is partially expressing himself, and who is to be
worshipped supremely by the way of love.

97. The mistress parted from the lord suffers from
sleeplessness.

There's nought but grief for those whoVe looked and

looked
At dawn and sunset, age succeeding age

But can sleep ever come to those who gaze
Joyful with mighty passion rare, at Mai
Eternal, whom adoring gods surround ?

There is no real joy for those who give their attention even to the
rnost beautiful things of this world. The Alvar, however, in the vision
of God finds a joy that banishes even sleep.

93. The mistress* friend speaks to Jier comfortingly of
ike lord's wonderful condescension.

From sleepless seers and others who adore
He takes away the pain of endless births :
The mystery of the mighty form of him,
Unique and self-dependent * butter-thief * !
Hard e'en for gods to grasp that slighting word !

His friends remind the Alvar of God's amazing condescension : the
one who is beyond all understanding took upon him the form of a
mischievous child, even to the extent of stealing. The esoteric meaning
of his pilfering baffles even the gods ; "but at least it shows infinite
condescension to man's weakness,

99. The mistress assures her friend of her constancy.

If slighting words there be, what matters it ?
Nought else that's good have I beheld save him
Who boar-shaped saved the mighty earth from flood,

88 HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

And wisdom gave to those who dwell where grows
The Karpak tree, 1 to men and all beside.

The Alvar asserts again his faith in God, the saviour of the

world : his faith is proof against all sneers.

100. Conclusion, wherein appears the fruit of meditation
on this kymn,

Who scan these hundred flowers, the wreath of words,

The prayer of Maran. of famed Knrukur

Whose wreath's the feet of saints who name Mai's

names

They In deceptive matter shall not sink
Thick with the mire of deeds that lead to birth !

The poet having laid the tribute of his verse at God's feet says that
those who follow what he has said will Hud deliverance from rebirth.

1 A tree in Indira's heaven, yielding all that men desire.

APPENDIX I

SYSTEM OF TRANSLITERATION AND PRONUNCIA-
TION OF TAMIL LETTERS

1 1
Tamil Sanskrit ' English

f H

Pronunciation (approsdmate)

c^v 3f | a

u In punch

SM "STT i o

T- "--I i &

a In rather

if2> J r , 1
*> *

i in sit

ff | ! 1 :

i in clique

a, ; u

u In full

*pr -_ ' u

u in ntle

GT 6 |

e in fed

_ i
T n j e !

a In fable

ffi 'n , ai !

i

^ , , o

ai in aisle, but much shorter
o In mobility

5^ t 3JJ 6 j

o In noble

anv^ *~*fir ^iTT ^^-^

ow in cow

CONSONANTS

The Tamil alphabet is not fully phoneth, 3 are the Sanskrit
and the other Dravidian, alphabets. Several letters indicate
different sounds in different connections.

]1. When mnie
;2. In tjiebeg^n-

Letter , ninff of a word
,3. After a hard
1 consonant

_

a sof t In other 1
consonant ; places 1

Remarks

U

ch

* ft)

t

P

V i a

ft) : p

Guttural.

This is prcnousced as a

palatal sibilant.
Cerebral, far back in tie

palate,
Dental purer than English

dentals.

Labial.

Hani palatal r peculiar to
Tarnl as proisotinced after
a scft consonant

90

HYMNS OF THE ALVARS

Tamil Sanskrit Tra ^ tera

i

Pronunciation
(approximate) Remarks

B " n ( before g

) n in singing Guttural n

1JT) f3T 5.

n in ginger Palatal n

533T El n

n stopped as far , Cerebral n
back as possi-
ble

' J& * -r _

/o Oc &3ST <n H

as in English

tu [ m

as in English

IU tCf y

! as in English

T T r

as in English '
(when soft)

as in English ;

1

as in English, !
but not so firm

r pronounced
with the
tongue as far
back in the
throat as pos-
sible.

1 pronounced by
the -oalate

Peculiar to
Tamil

Palatal 1

Sanskrit words, tnaless they have become modified by long Tamil
usage, are transliterated according to Sanskrit pronunciation, on the

system used in other books in this series, the Sanskrit alphabet being

represented as follows :

k

kh

g

gh

n

ch

chh

i

jh

n

t

th

d

dh

n

i

th

d

dh

n

P

ph

b

bh

m

y

r

1

V

s

sh

s

h

ri

m

h

INDEX

DI-gESHA, 22, 36, 50, 52, 65,

75.

Advalta, 7, 8.
Agastya,_42.
Alavandar, IS.
Alvarrlr-nagarl, 12.
Amalan-adi-piran, 16.
Anazchattan, 52.
Andal, 14, 21, 27, 49-57.
Anirudba, 36, 72.
Artaryamin, 23.
Araiyar, 20.
Archa, 23.
Arjiina, 43. '
Asuras, 4.
Aypadi, 50.

DADARI 1 3S.

*-* Balarama, 50, 54.

Bali, 4, 22,23,38, 85.

Bana (Banasura), 22, 36, 72, 82.

Bhagavad Git a, 3-7.

Bhagavata, 23.

Bhagavata Pnrana, 18, 19, 59.

Bhakti Marga, 6

Biradevi, 62, 74, 75.

Bhutattalvir, 11.

Brahma, \ 22, 45 S 58, 67, 78, 84.

Brafaman-Atman, 5.
Brahmanas, 4.
Buddha/10, 17, 23.

Buddhism, 7 , 12, 15.

, 10-
Calxinism, 23.
, 14.

Chera, 47.
Conjeevaram, 11, 17, 6S,

? 51.
Devadevi, 15.

Devaki, 56-
Devaram, 4.

Devas, 73.

PARQUHAR, Dr. j. N., is.

Ganges, 41.
Ganida, 17, 22, 38, 42 r 51, 59, 62,

66."

Godai, 57.
Gokula, 50,51.
Goplnatha Rao, T. A v 11.
Govardhana, 39, 67, 31.
Govinda, 37, 56 S 57 ._
Go\iac3acharva Svamin, A., 25,

60.
Gillian, 41,

OAXOIAN,41.
^ Hara (Siva), 84.
Hari (Vishnu), 35^ 52.
Hiranya. 74.
KiranyakaSip-Z, 22, 35.
Hrishike5a 17, 35.
Hubn, 42.

INDRA, 45,67, ..
1 Indradynmna, 42,

(Hrfefcikega), 35.

IAINS t 712 r 15.

*f -fc * ___ > it* ^ *^*

* Jnaca Marga, 5.
Jamrsa* 51.

KALA, 43.
Kalfei, 23.

Kalj^aa, 36.
Kama, 15, 44, 64.
Kaiiisa, 22, 23, 34, 43, 52, 54, 56,
62.

INDEX

-T * 4 i-V

*v OT D*^^ Jl^i

jri.ct^ ct* *-*-j ^tJ

K "* - * H -# ^ O ^
ancT-i, iZ, -/ , 2o.

Kanzan (Krishna), 61, 64, 65. 63,

"

Mylapore, 11.

Kanna, 27, 30

Karpak, S3.
Kaveri, 15, 17, 63.
Kesavan, 52, 57.

!n5ri 45.
Krishna, 3, 5, 3, 14, IS, 20, 23, 25,
"27, 29 34,37,38,39,43,44,45,

49-56,58,59,61,62, 67 S 76, 78,

81,85,86.
Krisbnaswamy Aiyangar, Prof.

S., 11, ~9-

Masekara Alvar, 13, 24, 44-48.
Xiimbakonam, 12.
Krmnda Valll, 16.

T-nrmQ 99

ixwliiicl, <

Ku-okur. 12 SS.

! AKSH^LANA, 41,

L* Lakshnri, 17, 22, 24, 37, 44,

55-58,62,63,75,79,85.
Laiika (Ceylon), 35, 53, 71, 82.
Loka Saranga Haha Muni, 15, 16.

\AADHU, 22, 77.

i1 dan

, 77.

Madura, 14,26,57.
Mai (Vishnu), 24 S 37, 56, 57, 70,

71,74,87.
Mallas, 34.

Mamallai (Mahabalipuxazn), 11.
Mandangudi, 15,
Mandaragiri, 75.
Mayan, 12, 13, 88,
Maian, 44 } 64.
MargaH, 50, 51.
Maxfcandeya, 43.
Mathavan, 52, 57.
Matbnra, 36, 51.
Matbnrakavl, 12, 13,18.
Matsya, 22.

MACCHIYAR TIRUMOL1,
1 ^saa-chittn 4.

, 85.

Moami, 64,

_ _ , 45.

Nallyira Prabandham, 10. 13, 17-

20,' 26, 43.
Nanrnalvar, 12-13, IS, 21, 5S-

SS.

Namonarayana, 35, 37.
Nandagopa, 49, 54, 55.
Nanmukham-Tiruvandadi, 12, 27*
Nappinnai, 49, 54, 55, 62, 67.
Naraka, 82.
Narasimha, 22, 35, 74.
Narasimhavarman I., 11.
Narayana, 9, 17, 25, 27, 35, 44,

50,~52.

^atbannmi, 10.
Negapatam, 17 .
Nila, 16.
Nila Devi, 55.
Kityas, 61, 73.

DANCHAJANYAil, 34.

* Pancharatra, 9 .

Pandya, 14.

Parakalar, 17.

ParankuSam, 12.

Parasnraina, 23.

Pattar-piran, 14, 57.

Pera, 23.

Periyalvar, 14, 15, 20, 25, 33, 37 :

57. "

Periya TImmadal t 17.
Periya T!rainoli ) _l7 J 27, 38, 40.
Periya Tiruvandadi, 13.
Pertrmal, 65, 78.

Perumal Tlrumoli, 14, 44, 45, 47,
Peruman, 72.
Pey Alvar, 11, 24,
Polytheism, 9,
Poonarnailee, 12.
Poykai Alvar, 11, 22, 24.
PraMada, 22.
Pralaya, 65.

Pundarikaksba, 18

INDEX

93

Puranas, 9, 18, 20.

Putana, 38, 52, 62.

DADHA,49,55,
^ Rama, 3, 13, 14, 23, 25, 41,
53,71.

Ramamigra, 18.

Ramanujacnarya, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10,
18,_2Q, 23, 24, 26, 28, 35.

Ramayana, 13, 41.
Rangaaatha, 15-17, 23, 24, 44.
Ranganayaki, 17.
Ravana, 23, 53.
Rig Veda, 59.

-eAIVISM, 9, 15, 20.

Sakadam, 52.

Sambandhar, 17.

Sandhya, 33.

Sankaracfaarya, 3, 6, 7, 54.

Santhipinl, 43.

garnga J 22,37,51.

Sathagopan, 12.

Satva, 67.

Selva, 36. ^

Sesbagiri Sastri, 10.

Sifaall, 17 .

Siriya Tlnimadal, 17.

Sita, 14, 41, 71.

Siva, 4, 5, 12, 24, 43, 45, 46, 58,

84.

ri (Lakshmi), 22, 25, 34, 62, 63,
75,

Snrangam, 14, 15, 17, 19, 23, 24,

^26,29,41-44,46,68,81.

Sntaran, 37.

ri-Vaishnavas, 10, 19, 24.

gri-vatsa, 22.

grivfflipntttir, 14, 57,

Sumukha, 42.

Svarga, 24,45,58.

23, 33.

* TIni-Cchanda-Viruttam s 12.
Tirukkumngndl, 18
Tirukottiyu^se.
Tiruktirun-Tandaliam, 17.

Tirurnal, 63, 70, 76.

Tirumalai, 15.
Tirumalisai Alvar, 12, 27.
Tirumangai A"lvar, 16, 17, 27, 29 S

38, 40.

TirumoM, 14,_37.
TirDnedun-Tandaham, 17.
Tirupati, 19, 23, 45, 46, 59, 69 7

74, 78.
TiruppaUandu, 14, 19, 26, 27, 33-

37.

Tiruppalli-_Yeluchi, 15.
Tiruppan Alvar, 15, 16, 26 S 27.
Tiruppavai, 15, 19, 21, 49-57.
Tiruvachakam, 4.
TirnvaH, 16.
Tirnvabdadi, 12, 22, 24.
Trravasiriam, 13.
Timvaymoli, 13, 58.
Tiruveruktitrirakkai, 17.
Tirtrvirottain, 13, 19, 21, 24, 28,

58-88.

Tiravonam, 35, 36.
Tondaradippodi AJvar, 15, 29.
Travancore, 13.
Triplicane, 12.
Tri-Vikrama, 4 S 23, 38, 73, 77, 78,

79.

T IPANISHADS, 5, 6, 8.
^ Urvasi, 47.

Usha, 36.

WADAGALAI, 28, 33.
v Vadari, 38, 39.
Vaikuntha, 22, 45, 52, 69.
Valiabha Deva, 14.
Vamana, 4, 22, 38, 50 T 54, 72,

86.

"Vanan, 36, 82.
VaradazajaSviini, 17, 23, 24.
Varaba, 22.
Vamna, 4.
Vasadeva, 23.
VastiM, 75,
Vayn, 41.

Vedanta Deika f 28.
Vehka, 6B.

43111,37,45,46,58, 69, 78,

4

INDEX

Venkatcsvara, 23, 55.
VIbbava, 23.
Vipra Narayana, 15,
Vishnu, passim.
Vishnu-cbittar, 14, 36
ViSisfatadvaita, 6, 8, IS, 25.
Vitruvakodu, 47, 48.

Vraia, 19.
; Vyuha. 23.

S.

_ .

pda, 37 49,54,56,85
, 17.

V WHS'," ," 1^114,

WESLEYAK Mosras PRESS,

IXY 1929