रामानुजीये विश्वासटिप्पन्यः | 16 Thirumazhisai Alvar - Nāmuhan Thiruvandāthi (2382

Nārāyaṇan created Nānmuhan. Nānmuhan created Shiva. O, heart! If we say this we will survive. Praise the feet of the poet Thirumzhisai.

Nārāyaṇan created Nānmuhan and Nānmuhan created the five-faced Sankaran. I composed andadi poems praising him. Learn and understand the deep meaning of each of these pāsurams without omission.
People say if one searches for a god, they will find only one god whose greatness no one knows. The search and the meaning of all things is the only our god. If the sages desire to find the lord, his grace will help them.
Who knows the god resting on the milky ocean, staying in Srirangam or sleeping on a banian leaf? Who knows the one unique thing in the world, the real truth for the gods in the sky as I know?
Every one knows the Ganges flows in Shiva’s matted hair, and that he shares half of his body with his wife Girija, but our dear lord, the real truth for the gods in the sky is alone in this world, without any one sharing him. I wish to praise him, the meaning of all words.
O dear mighty-armed Thirumāl, you split open the chest of Hiraṇyan who had received many boons. Never defeated by any of your enemies, you created the four Vedas in the world and hold inside yourself all the important gods, human, animals and plants.
The Jains are ignorant. The Buddhists are tired of trying to spread their religion. The devotees of Shiva are small people. Those who do not praise the Māyavan, Thirumāl, Mādhavan are not good people.
Whether it is today or tomorrow or even a little time after, your grace is always with me. I do not see refuge except you. O, Nāraṇa, see, I am not without you, and you are not without me.
O heart, there is no help for me except the lovely-eyed Thirumāl who conquered Shiva and took his bow and cut off the ten heads of the king of Lanka with his sharp arrows, destroying the pride of Lanka.
Let us worship the beautiful feet of the lord of the world who heard the request of Shiva, poured water from the pot of Nānmuhan, recited a mantra from the Vedas and made the skull of Nānmuhan fall from the palm of dark-necked Shiva.
Even Nānmuhan on a lotus and Shiva with long matted hair were not able to see the head or foot of the lord with a golden body resting on soft fire-spitting Adisesha. How can we see him? We can only worship him.
Fold your faultless hands and worship our ancient Thirumāl, adorned with a tall shining crown and thulasi garlands. Let your mouth praise him. Let your eyes see him. Let your ears hear him. Bend your crowned heads and worship him sprinkling cool flowers.
You made the sages who do not worship you have many births, you released the moon from his curse, and you freed the elephant Gajendra from the mouth of the terrible crocodile in the deep pond and gave them both moksha.
O sages, you do tapas, make your bodies weak as if they were small empty cages and you suffer. You do not know the path that leads to moksha. He, moksha, is the truth, the meaning of the ancient Vedas, the most excellent thing for the gods in the sky, Nārāyaṇan himself.
Nārāyanan, my ruler, saves me from entering hell. If people listen to the teachings of other religions like Jainism they will fall into hell and the world will not praise them.
If you place flowers on his feet, and praise and worship the highest lord of the world worshiped by many gods, you will find the way like Markaṇḍeyan to whom our god gave life when Shiva with the Ganges flowing in his hair went with the boy to see the lord.
My heart always worships the god of the gods who hid the bright hot sun with his discus in the Bharatha war and destroyed the many enemies of the Pandavas.
Shiva the lord of true tapas taught the path of dharma under the shadow of banyan tree to the four Nāyanmārs in the last yuga. He truly worshiped Thirumāl who measured the world, rests on Adisesha on the ocean, and rested on a banyan leaf as a baby at end of the eon.
If a devotee does a tapas worshiping him who came in the form of a man-lion and split open the chest of the Asuran Hiranyan with his sharp claws, that devotee will overcome the benefit of any tapas that his enemies have done.
You with a discus destroyed the boons that Hiranyan and other Asurans received doing tapas to Nanmuhan, and you are pleased to protect and save us. Since you are the protector of all creatures, even a fly that worships you will go to Vaikuṇṭam.
You are the world. and everything in the world abides through your grace. You are the god of gods that one achieves by tapas, the sacrificial fire, tall mountains, the eight directions, the bright sun and the moon.
When you took the form of a man-lion, did your cave-like mouth open and shoot out fire? Did your round eyes become red? Is this the beauty of the highest god of the gods in the sky who took the form of a lion that looked like blazing fire? Is this the beauty that all saw?
He was born as a child, he took the form of a fish, and he has the nature of all the seven worlds. When he, the seed that gives life to all, came as a man-lion, he was beautiful. You know him, and you worship his feet.
He fought and killed the seven bulls to marry Nappinnai. Does one need to sow seeds to reach moksha in the good land of the farmer, our lord? The sky that pours rain has the color of the divine body of the dark cloud-colored Thirumāl.
You have the colors of milk, gold, green and a dark cloud and you fought with the two wrestlers and destroyed them. You drove the chariot for Arjuna, advised him to fight the Bharatha war bravely and helped the Pandavas win the war.
It was not right for you to come as a dwarf, cheat Mahābali, take his lands, and destroy the pride of the king who took a potion made of diamonds and thought no one could conquer him. What do you get by this sort of deed that destroys others?
You are the ocean colored Thirumāl. Shiva with thick matted hair is my witness that I do not want to worship anyone but you. Give me your grace always so I may know and worship only you.
O ignorant ones, our Thirumāl has entered my innocent heart— how can I worship any other god? I tell you that I am able to see the divine feet of him decorated with garlands that even Shiva with the Ganges in his matted hair could not to see.
See, this is the Sethu bridge that he built to destroy the pride of Lanka. See his power that killed Vāli, the monkey king. See, his pride that destroyed with his arrows Rāvaṇa, the king of Raksasas making his body tremble.
Our lord shot his one arrow and killed Kumbakarnan with long eyebrows. He will be happy if you praise him whose form is brightness and joy.
The god of Srirangam who rests on the flood on the snake bed Adisesha stands, sit and reclines in my heart always and saves me from all my troubles.
O, devils, Nāraṇan removed the curse that Nānmuhan gave Shiva and if you do not worship him, the god of the gods in the sky where stars shine, that is just the same as believing a story that is not true.
Even though it is a story that when Thirumāl swallowed the world all the creatures survived because he kept them in his stomach and protected them, if someone does not praise him and doubts his power how could he reach his feet and be saved?
The purpose of the lord who came to the earth and grazed the cows was to kill Sakaṭāsuran, to dance on the heads of Kālingan, to catch the tusks of the elephant and kill it, and to drink poison from the breasts of the devil Putana. He fought with the seven strong bulls to embrace the arms of Nappinnai whose mouth is as beautiful as coral.
My aim is to praise the god of Thirukkoṭṭiyur. and receive good life from him. Will I ever hate the lord of Thiruveṇkaṭam? I will worship his feet, for he saves me from any sickness that I may have and removes the results of my bad karma.
The divine one of Thiruvallikkeni, as beautiful as a peacock, who rests on the five heads of the snake Ādisesha where the large waves of the dark ocean roll and dash on the shores is quietly lying now without opening his mouth. Is he tired because he measured the world with his feet?
The ancient Neḍumāl lovingly rests on the snake bed in Kudanthai, in Thiruvekka, in Thiruyevvul, in Srirangam and on the milky ocean. If devotees embrace him, he will enter their hearts too.
The wind, the sky, the wide oceans, the tall mountains, the hot sun that moves across the sky, the cool moon, the clouds that float in the sky, the eight directions and the earth all flourish through the wish and grace of Thirumāl.
The ocean-colored lord created six religions for the people by his grace. If he becomes angry he will destroy at once any evil gods who create troubles or do bad deeds.
She says, “I call the god of Thiruvenkatam hills where the large waterfalls descends like rain, bringing bright jewels, and elephants are frightened when they hear the sound of the water and snakes are scared and hide when they see the brightness of the jewels. I wish to see him and make a divine kuḍal to get his love.”
I praise Thiruvenkaṭam, the hill that is my home and where I stay. See, I always think of the lord of this hill. I fell into the net that is the divine feet of the beloved of Lakshmi, the goddess praised by all the sastras.
O lord, you stay in my heart and in Thiruvenkaṭam hills where the waterfall that descends scatters pearls and roars as loud as the Onam festival. I am anxious to go and see you in the Thiruvenkaṭam hills.
Thiruvenkaṭam hill has the power to destroy his devotees’ karma. Go and worship that tall hill that rises to the sky where Nānmuhan on the fragrant lotus and the three- eyed Shiva come and worship the lotus feet of the lord.
Shiva wearing the crescent moon in his matted hair and Nanmuhan on a lotus enter in the night the northern Thiruveṇkaṭam hills that touch the clouds in the sky and worship him, offering him pearls and other things.
In ancient times when he was young, with his toes he counted the ten heads of Rāvaṇa who had a mighty army. O young ones, go to the Thiruvenkaṭam hills surrounded with groves where Kaṇṇan stays, remaining always young.
O, devotees, place flowers with love, on the lotus feet of the lord of Thiruvenkaṭam hills where a cool waterfall descends. He is the refuge for the gods in the sky and the people on the earth.
In Thiruvenkaṭam hills elephants raise their trunks to the sky thinking they will touch the moon and make it as a bright light for our lord Thirumāl, and gypsies dance as they go around those hills, bending their bows and trying to catch the elephants. If people also will go around those hills and dance that would be wonderful.
The Venkatam hills filled with aaḷis, lions, gold, jewels, pearls, blooming trees, waterfalls that are mixed with many jewels, forests, monkeys and hunters are where the sapphire-colored lord stays.
Thiruvenkaṭam that removes the sufferings of karma is the hill where the gods in the sky come and worship Thirumāl and where our lord with the discus abides, protecting the gods in the sky and killing the Asurans.
To praise the divine name of the wonderful god, who churned the milky ocean using Mandara mountain as a churning stick and the snake Vasuki as the rope is the only thing that all devotees should do.
Māyan is in my heart and Yama will not come to me, cruel karma will not come to me and fire will not destroy me. Kaṇṇan who rests on the water on the bank of Kaviri river is in my heart that praises him.
O my dear lord colored like a kāyām flower, there is no one to match you except yourself, my only refuge. Now that my mind has known you, it will not be content even with the heavens, for it understands you who are not understood by others.
Those of other religions who wear garlands of skeletons will sell themselves for a price and beg for food. If they do not worship our lord who drank the poisonous milk of Putana, they are ignorant and what they drink is dirty.
I will not worship any other god except Rama, the destroyer of Lanka, the land of the ignorant Raksasas. Do not accept and worship evil gods who are not divine and cannot give their grace.
All that a person has learned is a waste if he does not worship Neḍumāl the only god, the most ancient of the all the three gods.
If people stand at the doors of some gods worshiping their feet, they will be happy only at that time. O Neḍumāl colored like the ocean rolling with waves, how could they be capable of worshiping your feet?
Someone may say this one is god or that one is god, but there is no one equal to the father of Kama, the beautiful prince. Neḍumāl fought and conquered Shiva who drank the poison from the salty ocean and his escort when they came to help Vānanāsuran and they all lost the battle with Thirumāl.
The lord himself is good karma and bad karma. If I wanted to describe him who killed the Asurans when they came as Kurundam trees, I would say he is the stars, the gods, the Asurans and he is in my heart. Is there anything that he is not?
He measured the world in ancient times as the king Mahābali saw his large form in terror. He is in my heart and has removed all my troubles. I give my love to the cowherd who took away the curse of the bull-rider Shiva.
I am your devotee and you are my love and sweet nectar joy for me and everything else. You, the beloved of the goddess Lakshmi as beautiful as a golden statue are my Kesavan, my shining light. You protect me so that troubles do not come to me. I am your devotee and your servant.
Devotees know that you will give moksha to those who deserve it and they approach you and worship your feet. You are Rangan, a precious thing for the devotees who worship you and ask for your help. My mind will not stop loving you.
The lord, the ruler of the world fought with the seven bulls to marry Nappinnai. He is my treasure and I am with him. If you ask Madhusudan, the refuge for all, for refuge he will protect you and you will not have any trouble in your mind.
The devotees of Thirumāl wear thulasi garlands swarming with bees as their god does. They will tell the other ignorant ones that the only god is Shridharan on whose chest Lakshmi stays.
I have spent all my time reading about you, hearing about you, writing about you understanding you, praising you, worshiping you, and doing pujas for you who created the stars, and rest on Adisesha, the snake on the ocean,
Real praise is to praise him only. Place flowers at his feet and worship the ancient god, the lord of the gods. The mantra that destroys all seven births is the names of Nāraṇan, the good lord.
I praise Thirumāl, Madhavan, the mother of all with my poetry and in my heart. Is there not a place in Vaikundam for me who think always of him only? Tell me.
My heart is the place of Neḍumāl resting on a snake bed. I will not think that Shiva wearing the crescent moon or Nānmuhan is equal to my god. I will not serve them or worship them.
Even if I cannot circle the temple of god, or am not from a good family, if I praise the lord of the people Nāraṇan, the god of wisdom with good words, that will give me strength.
Yama calls his messengers and tells them, “Listen to what I say. There are people who do not worship the divine feet of our god ever. Even if they bow to you as if they were saintly people, do not go away from them.”
Sweet to ears is the name of the lovely-eyed god whose name is the refuge for all the people of the world. I worship him, the full meaning of all poetry. If one considers, the meaning of all the Vedas is only his praise.
It is not just today that I have come to know the strength of the young lord, who measured the world and the sky and went to underworld as a boar, split open the ground and brought up the earth goddess on his tusk.
The Māyan, the king of Dwaraka who was born as a cowherd is far away and is near, small and large. Those who do not know the words that the god said to Arjuna will live in the world without any true knowledge and will not be loved by others.
The proverb may say, “If one has not had a family life, he cannot be a sage,” but that is not dharma. Good dharma, the four Vedas and tapas are all only the god Nāraṇan himself. Who can say this is not right?
Who can understand the power of the god with a discus in his hand who swallowed the earth and spat it out? Dark-necked Shiva and eight-eyed Nānmuhan could not find the god’s feet or head.
My tongue will not praise anyone but the dark cloud-colored Māyavan who gave his grace to the shining snake Sumugan when it came and asked for refuge because it was being chased by a hostile bird.
I will not praise any human with my tongue, I will praise only the divine feet of the god of Vaikuṇṭam whom fire-bearing Shiva with his red matted hair comes and worships with flowers.
Songs, literature, stories, the Puranas, fire, the large sky, the laws of Manu that all the world follows, and the four Vedas are only the creation of Māyan’s māyā.
When the ocean-colored god who built a bridge with stones over the wide ocean wished to remove all my bad karma even though I do not know all the things I have done wrong, I worshipped him and all my sins went away.
When Shiva who burned Madan’s body was doing tapas and Uma told him the name of Thirumāl, the god adorned with garlands, even Shiva’s tapas was disturbed. What will happen to people if they really see Māl and worship him?
If devotees searching for Thirumāl understand the ancient lord with love in their minds and think of their bodies as a burden and wish to leave them they will quickly go to Vaikuṇṭam.
When a terrible flood came in ancient times Kaṇṇan protected the world and gave it his grace. If you listen to the songs of this wide world and dance and praise him, that will save you from falling into a terrible hell. and will open the door to moksha.
I thought that if I could open the door of my mind and see you there, all my bad karma would go away. You planted the seed of good Tamil in my heart and made it grow. You became that language itself that I have learned.
The father of the beautiful Kama has entered my heart and lives there. Is there anything better than this could happen to me? Shiva and Nanmuhan sprinkle fresh flowers and worship the god, the king they cannot hope to equal.
The dark-colored god with a discus in his hand, is the king of the gods in the sky, he is the sky, compassion, the people of the world, our mother and all things. He will give wonderful things to those who approach him.
I do not want any wonderful thing to happen to me. I will not be a devotee of Shiva— he will not be the right god for me. I will only worship Kaṇṇan every day, the king whose feet are adorned with sounding anklets. Loving and worshiping him is my only duty.
If I have any other duties, they are merely vexations. All I need is the time when I praise the names of Thirumāl, the god with a bow, who destroyed the pride of Vaali the angry, strong king of monkeys and who abides in my heart.
See, my good heart, he is in you, the Uthaman is always in you, and if devotees think of him, he is in their hearts. He, the matchless one, is the Esan for those who are lonely, and for devotees like me.
The lord ate the puja food served for Indra in a pile as large as the majestic Himalayas, he protected the cowherds from the storm, he created all the religions, and he protected the dark necked Shiva and Nānmuhan. He is the life of the world.
When the messengers of Yama come and take someone’s life our god is the one who will come and save him. If devotees praise Thirumāl with songs and think of him always, they will live happily. The life of those who belong to other religions is a waste.
I know for certain that to worship the divine feet of the god resting on the milky ocean is not a mistake. If devotees worship the god every day without unfailingly the results of their karma will not come to them and they will go to Vaikuṇṭam and stay there happily.
Those who want to go to heaven will worship Thirumāl with flowers and live a good life, loving and serving others. They are the real devotees of the lord.
I will sprinkle flowers on the lotus feet of all devotees, and the feet of the gods in the sky, of Nānmuhan who stays on a lotus, and of Shiva adorned with a snake, and I will worship them and ask them to give me their grace only so I may attain the lotus feet of the dark-colored lord.

2473 I do not ever forget Neḍumāl who abides in my heart and will stay there for ever. I am a devotee of Sridharan with Lakshmi on his chest and he has protected me from the time I was in the embryo in my mother’s womb.

I never forget that he protects me, I just say, “You are my Kaṇṇan” and stay quiet. You, the king, give bodies and your grace to all lives. You have the highest good nature. If devotees understand what truth is they will never leave you, the highest lord.
O god resting on the snake bed, you destroyed the enemies of Pandavas and helped them on the battlefield. If you want, even neem leaves can be made into a delicious curry. Give your grace to me, your slave.
I, your slave, was born in a low family and suffered. I do not want to worship gods other than you. I want to reach heaven, leaving this earth without my karma.
I know now the lord of Shiva and Naanmuhan. I know you, my dear god. I know you are the reason for all. I know all I have learned is from you. I know all I will be knowing is from you. You are Nāraṇan and all your deeds are good. I know that very well now.

Nanmuhan Thiruvandathi ends.