107 Thenāli

  1. The dear lord whose chest is adorned with jewels shines like a golden hill and rides on the bird Garuḍa. He used Mandara mountain as a churning stick and the snake Vasuki as a rope, churned the milky ocean, took the nectar from it and gave it to the gods. If devotees have not seen him, their eyes are not truly eyes.

  2. The highest lord who is sweet to his devotees shines as a precious jewel that never loses its luster. He, the highest and incomparable one, went as a dwarf to Mahābali, begged for three feet of land and measured the world and the sky with his feet. If the ears of devotees have not heard of him they are not truly ears.

  3. The faultless god of Thennāli who is the divine Vedas drank the milk of Putana and killed her. If devotees have not worshiped and praised Māl’s greatness, whatever they say is not truly speech.

  4. The god of the gods with a chest adorned with a fragrant fresh thulasi garland took the form of a man-lion and split open the chest of Hiraṇyan with his sharp claws. If devotees do not sing his praise, the songs that they sing are not real songs.

  5. The lord who stays in the Thirumeyyam hills. and carries a conch in his hand has the color of the dark ocean, of a shining sapphire-like hill, of a dark cloud, of a kuvalai flower blooming on a branch and of a kāyām flower. If the hands of devotees have not worshiped him, they are not truly hands.

  6. When devotees see thulasi dripping with honey, fresh alari flowers, kuvilai flowers, thorny muḷari blossoms and ambal flowers, if they do not think in their hearts of the golden feet of him who took the forms of a swan to bring the Vedas to the earth and who became a boar that split open the earth to bring the earth goddess from the underworld, then their hearts are not truly hearts.

  7. If devotees do not bring flowers and worship with love and devotion the lord who has the color of the sounding ocean, of karuvilai flowers and of kāyām flowers and if they do not think of him, their hearts are not truly hearts.

  8. When he was a little child he stole and happily ate the fragrant butter that was kept in the uri by the cowherdesses with dark fragrant hair. If devotees do not think of the tall god whose eyes are beautiful and know him, they will never know him.

  9. The god of Thirumalirunjolai where bees drink honey and sing fought with seven bulls to marry Nappinnai whose eyes are as large and beautiful as flowers. If devotees do not become his slaves they are not real people. I am sure of that in my mind.

  10. Kaliyan who carries a spear in his hands composed ten musical pāsurams worshiping the feet of the lord who carries a discus. If devotees sing these pāsurams and dance all the results of their bad karma will go away.