2329 நீ அன்றே நீர் ஏற்று * உலகம் அடி அளந்தாய்? * நீ அன்றே நின்று நிரை மேய்த்தாய்? ** நீ அன்றே மா வாய் உரம் பிளந்து * மா மருதின் ஊடு போய் * தேவாசுரம் பொருதாய் செற்று? 48
2329. Didn’t you make Mahābali pour water on your hands
and promise to give you three feet of land
when you went to him as a dwarf
and measured the world and the sky with your two feet?
Didn’t you graze the cows?
Didn’t you split open the mouth of the horse?
And didn’t you go between the marudu trees and fight with Devāsuran?
Word by Word (WBW) meaning
(The words may be rearranged to facilitate conversion from poetry to prose (Aṉvayam). Please read the meanings (in black) continuously to form the sentence and understand the simplified meaning based on the Divyārtha Dīpikai for the verse.)
nīr ĕṝu — accepting water as symbolic of alms (from mahābali); ulagam — all the worlds; adi al̤andhāy nī anṛĕ — was it not you who measured with your divine feet?; ninṛu — being focussed on protection; nirai — herds of cows; mĕyththāy nī anṛĕ — was it not you who graśed them?; mā — the demon kĕṣi who came in the form of a horse; vāy uram — the strength of his mouth; pil̤andhu — destroying it; mā marudhin ūdu pŏy — going between the twin arjuna trees and uprooting them; dhĕvāsuram — in the war between celestial and demonic entities; seṝu — destroying (the demons); porudhāy nī anṛĕ — was it not you who waged the war!