TVM 8.1.5

O God of Gods! Where Can I Come to Attain You?

தேவதேவா! எங்கு வந்து உன்னைப் பெறுவேன்!

3567 ஆருயிரேயோ! அகலிடமுழுதும்
படைத்திடந்துண்டுமிழ்ந்தளந்த *
பேருயிரேயோ! பெரியநீர்படைத்து அங்குறைந்தது
கடைந்தடைத்துடைத்த *
சீரியரேயோ! மனிசர்க்குத்தேவர்போலத்
தேவர்க்கும்தேவாவோ! *
ஒருயிரேயோ! உலகங்கட்கெல்லாம்
உன்னைநானெங்குவந்துறுகோ?

TVM.8.1.5

3567 ār uyireyo akal iṭam muzhutum *
paṭaittu iṭantu uṇṭu umizhntu al̤anta *
per uyireyo pĕriya nīr paṭaittu * aṅku
uṟaintu atu kaṭaintu aṭaittu uṭaitta **
cīr uyireyo maṉicarkkut tevar
polat * tevarkkum tevāvo *
or uyireyo ulakaṅkaṭku ĕllām! *
uṉṉai nāṉ ĕṅku vantu uṟuko? (5)

Ragam

Bhairavi / பைரவி

Thalam

Ādi / ஆதி

Bhavam

Self

Divya Desam

Thiruppārkadal

Simple Translation

3567. You are my life, dear Lord! You created the spacious worlds, pulling them from the deep waters during the deluge. You, the Supreme Lord, spanned the worlds, reposed on the vast sheet of water, churned the ocean, bunded it, and later broke the bund. You are to the Devas what they are to men. Oh, great One, unique Soul of all the worlds, where shall I attain You?

Explanatory Notes

(i) In the preceding song, the Āzhvār would appear to have provoked the Lord into questioning him, how one, so ill-equipped as he, could think of attaining Him and on the top of that, doubt His greatness and bonafides. The Āzhvār’s answer is that he is but the body and the Lord, the life within, whose bounden duty it is to take care of him. There was hardly any question

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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.)

ஆர் உயிரேயோ! — ஆர் உயிராயிருப்பவனே!; அகல் இடம் — விசாலமான உலகம்; முழுதும் — முழுவதையும்; படைத்து — படைத்து; இடந்து — பிரளயத்தில் அழியாமல் இடந்து எடுத்து; உண்டு உமிழ்ந்து — உண்டு உமிழ்ந்து; அளந்த — மகாபலியிடம் நீரேற்று அளந்து கொண்ட; பேர் உயிரேயோ! — பேர் உயிரேயோ!; பெரிய நீர் — மஹாஜலமான ஏகார்ணவத்தை; படைத்து — படைத்து; அங்கு உறைந்து — அங்கு கண்வளர்ந்தாய்; அது கடைந்து — பாற்கடலைக் கடைந்தவனும்; அடைத்து — அடைத்தும்; உடைத்த — உடைத்தும் அணை கட்டினவனுமான; சீர் உயிரேயோ! — சிறந்த குணமுடையவனே!; மனிசர்க்கு — மனிதர்களுக்கு; தேவர் போல — தேவர்கள் போலவும்; தேவர்க்கும் — தேவர்களுக்கும்; தேவாவோ! — தேவதேவாவோ! நீ!; உலகங்கட்கு எல்லாம் — உலகத்தவர்களுக்கு எல்லாம்; ஓர் உயிரேயோ — ஒரே ஆத்மாவாக இருப்பவனே!; உன்னை நான் — உன்னை நான்; எங்கு வந்து — எந்த சாதனத்தைக் கொண்டு; உறுகோ? — வந்து அடைவேன்?

idam — world; muzhudhum — all; padaiththu — created; idandhu — dug it out (without getting destroyed in deluge); uṇdu — protected it by placing it in stomach; umizhndhu — spit it out (to let it see outside); al̤andha — measured and accepted (to eliminate the claim of ownership by others); pĕruyirĕ — being the lord who is greater than all; periya nīr — the singular [causal] ocean which is a huge water body; padaiththu — created; angu — there; uṛaindhu — mercifully rested; adhu — kshīrārṇavam (milk ocean, which is a transformed state of that causal ocean); kadaindhu — churned; adaiththu — built a bridge (across another ocean which is of the same kind); udaiththa — broke (to provide fresh water for samsāris (worldly people) by his dhanushkŏti (edge of his bow)); sīriyarĕ — being the best (like the soul, in protecting his devotees); manisarkku — for humans et al; thĕvarpŏla — like dhĕvas who are desirable [object of worship]; thĕvarkkum — for dhĕvas; dhĕvā — being the (desirable) refuge; ulagangatkellām — for all the creatures (which are sustained by prāṇa); ŏruyirĕ — ŏh singular āthmā!; unnai — ŏther than you (who are the singular āthmā [paramāthmā] unlike the jīvāthmās who are many in count and who remain the dhāraka (one who sustains), ṣĕshi (lord), parivan (caretaker), udhdhĕṣya (desirable) for their bodies); nān — ī (who am dhārya (sustained), ṣĕṣhabhūtha (servitor), rakshya (protected), āṣraya (depend on), niyāmya (controlled) by/for you only); engu — where; vandhu — come; uṛugŏ — will attain you?; ennai — me; āl̤vānĕ — (to reach up to this stage) oh one who ruled!

Detailed Explanation

In this fifth pāsuram of the chapter, a profound theological dialogue unfolds between Nammāzhvār and Emperumān. When the Lord suggests, "As the fruit of spiritual endeavor is for you, should not the effort also be yours?", echoing the Pūrva Mīmāṃsā principle śāstrapalam prayoktari (the fruit of the śāstra accrues to the doer), the Āzhvār responds with impassioned

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TVM 8.1.4 TVM 8.1.6