(i) The Āzhvār does not straightaway say what he intends to preach, in this decad. He begins by stating his own case, namely, that his tongue shall sing exclusively the glory of the Lord at Tiruvēṅkaṭam. the holy Mount and its fauna and flora. The individual Soul is as good as non-existent, when it does not turn its thoughts on God and sustain itself by singing His glory. + Read more

(i) The Lord’s wealth and His auspicious traits are unlimited, in dire contrast to the petty wealth possessed, for a short while, by the mortals who still think no end of themselves and their so-called possessions. It provokes the righteous indignation of the Āzhvār when he finds people running after the petty men and their equally petty wealth, as good as non-existent, + Read more

(i) In his address to the poets of the world, the Āzhvār appeals to their good sense and discriminative faculty, to discern for themselves that the Supreme Lord, served and adored by the whole lot of them in the high spiritual worlds, the repository of innumerable auspicious qualities, is alone praiseworthy and one can praise Him till the end of time and still cannot exhaust + Read more

To the question put by the Āzhvār what the Earthly poets would gain by praising the petty humans, the poets say that their patrons do give them gifts, in appreciation of their composition. The Āzhvār, however, questions them again and asks them how long the wealth, they so obtain, will last. As a matter of fact, it takes the scholar quite some time to write out a book + Read more

(i) It is indeed, a deplorable exercise in futility to compose songs glorifying the fellow-beings who, far from being praise-worthy, will only have their many drawbacks exposed in the process, like unto the scrutiny of the contents of the dust-bin. Apart from not getting anything tangible and everlasting, from their mis-directed efforts, the poets lose their veracity by + Read more

(i) Come, Ye, poets: The Āzhvār beckons the poets in the same way as a person invites persons caught up in a forest fire to come and have a dip in a pond full of water, cool and deep. The poets, however, submit that they have

to eke out their livelihood by lauding the humans. The Āzhvār emphasises that they should not debase their talents and they might as well earn + Read more

(i) In the preceding songs, the Āzhvār addressed the world around but his advice fell on deaf cars, as before. In sheer disgust he withdraws unto himself, satisfied that he could get back from the earthly poets, uncontaminated, like unto a person clearing a dacoit-infested area, without getting robbed.

(ii) Thousand names: Doesn’t mean exactly thousand. Actually, it + Read more

(i) Even as the Lord cut out the impediments in the way of attaining the charming Nappiṉṉai, He destroyed all the obstacles confronting the Āzhvār in attaining Him. When, at last, the material body is shaken off, the Āzhvār will acquire non-physical (ultra-mundane) body and serve the Lord, staying at His feet all the time. How could such a one ever think of singing the + Read more

(i) The Āzhvār will not sing the praise of any but the extremely generous Lord. Although several Sages and Saints including the other Āzhvārs have sung the Lord’s glory, Nammāḻvār’s poems are hymns with a difference, of peerless excellence.

(ii) Although the Āzhvār has expressed his abhorrence of this hairowing abode with its evil propensities, in several places, earlier, + Read more

(i) At a time when the individual soul was lying defunct, just as inert as the non-sentient matter, devoid of the capacity to lament or enjoy, it was the Lord’s boundless grace that put the Souls back on their feet, by endowing them with body, limbsand sense-organs, foreking out their progress. Against this background, the Āzhvār queries how the limbs, designed for the + Read more

(i) Those that recite these ten stanzas will not run the risk of being born again and hankering after the earthly patrons, lauding them.

(ii) The Lord is praiseworthy, as the Supreme Master of all the worlds.

The Āzhvār is praiseworthy, as the Lord’s poet, an appellation which fits him admirably;

Tiruvāymoḻi is praiseworthy, as the ‘Dramiḍa Veda’, truly reflecting + Read more