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Translation of Arunakiri Antati (Aruṇakiri Antāti)

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108 passages, 5,272 words
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p1

Aruṇagiri Antāti
Graciously composed by Guhai Namaccivāya Tēvar
(With explanatory paraphrase)
Editor: Vidvān Thiru. Aṭikaḷāciriyar, former Professor of Tamil,
Karandai Tamil College, Thanjavur.
Saraswathi Mahal 1992
Thanjavur Maharaja Serfoji's Saraswathi Mahal Library, Thanjavur.
Price: Rs. 12-00
Saraswathi Mahal Publication No. 118
Bibliographical Data
Title of the Book: Aruṇagiri Antāti
Editor: Thiru. Aṭikaḷāciriyar
Publisher: Director, Saraswathi Mahal
Publication No.: 118
Language: Tamil
Date of Publication: September, 1992
Edition: Second
Pages: 82
Printers: Saraswathi Mahal Library Press
Subject: Literature
Price: 12-00

p2

This work was edited by Professor Thiru. Aṭikaḷāciriyar and published by the Saraswathi Mahal Library in 1967.
I express my heartfelt gratitude to the Central Government for generously providing financial assistance as usual for bringing out this second edition.
This work coming out as a second edition is certain to receive the same warm reception as it did in its first edition.
Thanjavur, 14-9-92 T. Shanmugha Rajeswaran, I.A.S.,
District Collector and Director (in-charge)
Saraswathi Mahal Library.
Thanjavur, 25-10-1967. O. A. NARAYANASWAMI,

p3.1

Literature
Antāti
Kalampakam, mummaṇikkōvai, iraṭṭaimāṇimālai, iṇaimaṇimālai, mummaṇimālai, navamaṇimālai, paṉmaṇimālai, irupāvirupatu, aṭṭamaṅkalam,
Aruṇagiri and the greatness of the Aruṇagiri Antāti.
In the commentary on the verse of the Vairāgya Śatakam that begins:
"Worshipping, weeping, saying: ‘The feet of the moon-crested one / are the refuge!’ you have not recited His / name with your tongue; / you have wasted all your days in vain!"
the commentators have cited the following verse from the Aruṇagiri Antāti to illustrate the phrase "not recited the sacred five letters with your tongue":
"Sinful me, who did not eagerly contemplate the pañcākṣara / which is the seed of the supreme state! / Fitting for a hellish / rebirth, born, O Lord of Aruṇai, / I have become fit for death!" (59)
In the commentary on the verse of the Avirodha Untiyār that begins:
"The Lord alone holds authority over creation and the rest; without clinging, / let go of guarding the body! Fly unti!
Look unto Him ceaselessly! Fly unti!" (78)
because it is said, "let go of guarding the body",
by letting it go, the twofold duality that clings to it is also removed along with it. The authority for this is the verse of Guhai Namaccivāyar:
"O Lord, is the dancing of the wooden puppet due to the dexterity of the puppeteer’s / hand, or did the puppet learn it? / Is cruel karma my own desire, O Lord of Aruṇai, / or is it Your desire that creates and preserves? Tell me!" (Aruṇagiri-94)
Moreover:
"When You Yourself protect the body You created, saying 'I shall protect', / what responsibility is there for dog-like me, O Lord? / O wealthy Lord of Śoṇagiri who heeds the praise of the deep Vedas, / do trees stand asking for water from the one who planted them?"
And as seen in:
"If the vast, complete, spotless Lord, knowing all deeds / together, dispenses them, fly unti! / Who can avoid eating [their fruit]? Fly unti!" (77)
"Without knowing the Great Lord of a thousand names, / the insatiable nectar of Śoṇagiri, / when evil and good are perceived, O heart, / they will not come [to harm you]; just remain [knowing] everything is Him!" (Aruṇagiri-78)
and other such passages, they said.
"When that liberation is attained, one’s own suffering ends; / when others [are reached], 'I' is false! Fly unti!"

p3.2

Saying in commentary: "The Lord is master over creation and the rest; / other than by clinging [to him], it will not alter, fly untī!" (78), / he stated, "See this from the song of Guhai Namaccivāya Tēvar: / 'Will Śoṇācala's holy feet be gained for nothing? / That Māl and Viriñci do not know! If by our doing, / sitting [idly], we tell tales, what comes of it, O mind, / when one does not meditate so as to unite?' (Aruṇagiri-64), / and other such verses." / "Just as unwanted suffering comes, joy also comes / even if unwanted, fly untī! / Know it is the way of fate, O mind, and fly untī!" (91) / "Except as established by the Lord of Aruṇagiri / who created and abides in all the world, / even if the weak mind aches in a hundred thousand ways, / it will neither increase nor decrease by a sesame seed." (22) / And he adds, "See this from other such verses." The above verse is not in the Aruṇagiri Antāti. It is found in the Tiruvaruṇait Taṉiveṇpā. / 'By learning, will ancient karma be severed? / By gaining noble birth, will the disease of rebirth depart? / It is the path of not cherishing in the heart the lotus-feet of the Lord of Aruṇai / who gladly partook of the ocean poison.' (Aruṇagiri-52) / "O radiant flame of wisdom hard to speak of! / O Father of Śoṇagiri! Even if one knows good scriptures, / what is the use of those who do not hold their chosen guru as real wealth in this world, / having learned in vain whatever they saw?" (Aruṇagiri-51) / This song is also cited. / [Introduction] finishes. / The Life of Guhai Namaccivāyar: / "Do not despise me, thinking: 'He has no honor, he is a liar, / a man devoid of melting in heart, lacking in devotion.' / O form of wisdom! O Aruṇagiri! / O guru Om Namaḥ Śivāya, take me as your own!" / "To garland the world-praised Śoṇācala with a flower garland, / to crown him with a garland of verse, / and many a time singing thousands of melodies with our garland of speech, / to stand and gaze at him, I, a dog, need a thousand eyes indeed!" / "Worshiping well him who wears the venomous serpent, / dwelling according to his will, / receiving alms, eating, and coming / to sleep at his sacred doorway—that itself is bliss!" / One can learn this from these veṇpās. / "Because he made him, who had wandered through towns and forests, / abide in the heart of the vast mountain,

p3.3

I saw a great fame everywhere radiant, / saying, 'Guhai Namaccivāya the illustrious!'" / "Are all three of your forehead-eyes asleep, O Śoṇeśa? / Has the battle-axe and trident you grasp been snatched away? / Do you have not the least affection? / Should your devotees all be cursed and perish?" / "If you, O Aruṇeśa, are better than a mother and even better than a sweet father, / will you let this servant suffer pain in this mortal body? / Even if I live a hundred years, will you allow me to die even a little?" / —thus he sang this veṇpā. / "He who had learned no art other than Kannada / was made by him, exalted among those who know Tamil, / to speak veṇpās possessed of admirable excellence! / What will my Hara not do, when he thinks it in his heart?" / —(Guhai Namaccivāyar Purāṇam 14) / "The mountain that the great ascetic Namaccivāyan / worships daily, adorning it with a garland of veṇpā verses." (7) / "The mountain that ripens as a harvest of veṇpā / in the mind of Namaccivāyan in his beloved cave." (14) / "Though this great sage composed / countless verses in veṇṭaḷai meter, / the songs continuous from beginning to end / on the Primal One of Śoṇagiri are only a hundred," / say the authors of the Pulavar Purāṇam. / "Being a nest for three hundred and sixty diseases, / I can no longer bear this perishable body! / O Aruṇeśa, whose matted hair is adorned with water and the waning moon, / remove this birth from this lonely wretch from now on!" / "Taking refuge, we reached the feet of the Father of Śoṇagiri; / we crossed the ocean of the final birth! / We pay no heed to that Lotus-born one who creates; / behold, we pay no heed even to the fierce destroyer who rides the mighty male buffalo!" / Historical Inquiry.

p4

God's Grace. / Invocation: / It gives accomplishment; it gives intellect; it brings the union of the auspicious Goddess of Fortune; / it gives devotion; it bestows true wisdom, / when one worships with hands folded the elephant-faced one, / granted by Aruṇeśa who smote the lion-faced demon. / (Variant readings) [1]. cēruvikkum; [2]. meyññāṉam; [3]. arimakaṉai. / Text.

2

If you, O Lord who abide in glorious Aruṇagiri, / do not desire it and show compassion, / who in this wide earth can comprehend and describe the greatness / unseen by the cloud-hued one and the Lotus-born one? / Variant reading: ār koṇṭu.

3

O pure one who consumed the ocean poison! / For me, a dog who knows not how to scatter morning flowers with intent, / O supreme dweller, guru of Śoṇagiri who grants sight and brings life, / you alone are my refuge!

4

There is no other refuge except your sacred will, / O Īśa who burned the god of love armed with a sugarcane bow! / O pillar of Śoṇagiri who swallowed the great poison! / Tell me: is there anyone else for this dog besides you?

5

O wondrous master of Śoṇagiri, whose fame spreads across the world, / saying that you sever the deceitful rebirth of those who speak your praise! / O spotless lord of Aṇṇāmalai! / Look with your eyes so that I may not become a foetus formed in a mother’s womb!

6

If you do not look upon me, who is there for this dog upon the earth, / O lord of Śoṇagiri, O Piññaka, / to drive away unceasing rebirth / and to remove the surrounding death this day?

7

Will not the twofold karma and the three impurities depart today, / without persisting to torment this solitary self, / O good Vedic lord, father of Śoṇagiri, / primal cause sought by Māl, if only you think of me?

8

O my heart, what reason is there to fear Yama? / If you lovingly meditate upon the form of Aruṇeśa / who took pleasure in the halāhala poison, / the supreme one will wholly destroy the bondage that unceasingly torments you.

9

Worshipping and melting, saying “You are the supreme one!”, / singing with hands folded and tears streaming from my eyes, / according to every desire with which I sought a boon, you granted it; / O king of Aruṇai, I see no return I can offer for this!

10

O wondrous master of valiant Śoṇagiri, / who thwarted all the desires of hostile Dakṣa! / O one with red matted hair bearing the river! / Before cataracts cover my eyes, lovingly grant that I may behold you!

11

Praise the forms that belong to Aruṇeśa, / who removes mighty karma that presses closely, / knowing the white ash he lovingly wore, the serpent, the fiery eye, / and the beauty of his garland of severed skulls!

12

O heart, the primal form which could not be seen though sought and called upon, / taking the form of a guru, has arrived! / Śoṇeśa, the lord who bore the poison, / the lord who grew wrathful and burned Kāma, has arrived! What wonder is this?

13

I know not what fruit of tapas it was for this wretched soul! / O three-eyed one whom the ancient Vedas could not see! / O guru of Śoṇagiri, it is the fruit obtained / both for seeking you and for singing your praise!

14

We have obtained the fruit of being born, O heart! / Has not the boon to praise the generous lord of Aruṇagiri / who drives away the evil karma that distresses the mind / constantly taken hold in our heart?

15

The boon will bear fruit; the life of true wisdom will bear fruit; / steadfastness will bear fruit; wealth will bear fruit; strength will bear fruit! / But what is the mind of those / who do not see in their heart the Lord of Śoṇācala?

16

Will the cruelty of the disease of rebirth, which daily pursues / and torments the many living beings established in this world, / ever afflict those who place the lotus blossom sacred feet of Aruṇeśa / firmly in their thoughts and meditate on him?

17

In the mighty current a stone floated; the open-mouthed crocodile gave back the child; / the soft bones became a beautiful maiden; / such was the supreme power heard in the song / of the three devotees of the Lord of Śoṇagiri, the guru established for lovers!

18

We have seen that for those who do not bow to the holy feet of the supreme Aruṇeśa, / their undertakings are ruined forever, / because, in the sacrifice of cruel Dakṣa, / his cherished human head was severed and replaced by a goat’s head.

19

Seeing the poison coming, terrified, the host of immortals / fled in great bewilderment; at that moment, / when they cried “Refuge!”, the King of Śoṇagiri, / whose love for his devotees never diminishes, stood firm for all the world to know.

20

When ten million Brahmās perish, the lotus-eyed Viṣṇu / runs and sleeps upon the banyan leaf; / when, upon examination, ten million such Viṣṇus perish, / the grace of the naked lord of Aruṇagiri smiles just a little.

21

O Lord of Aruṇai who holds the leaping deer! / O pure one who protects me from entering rebirth! / Tell me, who else in this wide world is a fitting companion / for this dog, other than you who are my rightful refuge?

22

To chant [the praise of] Śoṇācala, who consumed the sea's poison, / is your duty, O mind! If you chant it, / we can attain his holy feet; our disease, old age, and death / will be severed, and we can reach the shore.

23

Trusting that it is so, if one praises him day after day, / clinging [to him] as reality, desiring goodness, / and meditates upon wise Śoṇagiri, / cruel karma will depart and leave the heart.

24

Except for the songs of the devotees of the Lord of Śoṇagiri, / who uproots cruel rebirth, / will a child come forth from a pure crocodile's mouth, / will stone float upon the cool sea, or a male palm bear fruit?

25

Before the body collapses, before the eyes darken, / before the teeth in the mouth fall out, / and before Yama comes rushing looking at this body, / O mind, seek Śoṇagiri and walk, saying “Obeisance!”

26

Those who say, “Prevalent caste and learning are ours,” / do not know the slightest way to curb desire; / will the treatises they weave reveal Śoṇeśa? / Will caste unite [one] to the pair of his lotus blossom sacred feet? Speak!

27

Even if they have no caste, no virtuous quality of generosity, / and no excellence of learning, it is still well: / those who circumambulate and become the servants of the Lord of rare, holy Aruṇai / are beings superior even to the greatest.

28

Those who desire fame, great life, and children / should not forget the glory of Aruṇeśa, / praised by all, even in sleep; if one speaks [of it], / he will never have to be born again.

29

I know not what comes after, I know not what came before; an ignorant fool, / I know not what garland of verses [to weave], O Lord of Śoṇagiri! / My intention only seeks out the sign / that speaks taking hold of your grace, and does not speak of what it sees.

30

O Lord of Śoṇagiri who comes upon a white bull / before the very eyes of true devotees who know your intention! / Seeing the great and ornate four-faced Brahmā, / without agitation you severed one among his five heads.

31

Let the minds and tongues of those who say you were not seen flourish, / O King of the celestials, Lord of Aruṇai! / In your red hand is Brahmā's head, / while the eye of Viṣṇu, holder of the conch, is offered at your feet.

32

The Lord sought by the rare, great Vedas, / wearing a garland of skulls, joyfully riding the bull, / the primal Lord praised by crowds of great arriving sages, / Aruṇeśa, will no longer join us to suffering.

33

O Lord of Śoṇagiri who rules over us! / Bestow your grace so that I may see / that form in which you abide with joy / along with Umā who shares your side, at all times!

34

What is the use of wandering off into hills, / forests, and caves, eating many medicines, / and living through Śiva's era or not living, / for those who do not ever trust the two feet of Aruṇeśa?

35

A pillar [of fire] beyond the reach of both the boar and the swan / that searched for his pair of feet and glorious crown, / the Leader whose form showed the fire of wisdom is Aruṇeśa; / those who have seen his ankleted feet will never see the womb.

36

The great Lord unreachable to the one colored like a dark raincloud and to Brahmā, / the Sire who mounts the bull, / the King of Śoṇagiri who holds the battle-axe and a deer: / can there be sorrow for me who worships his devotees?

37

For me, a dog who grows weary in endless rebirth, / bearing sorrow day after day, can it be possible? / Speak at once of the thought of reaching / the lotus blossom sacred feet of Aruṇeśa, praised by all of high tapas!

38

O Father of Śoṇagiri, incomparable water, / beyond the reach of the minds of ineffable Māl and Brahmā! / Behold, your great beauty that never departs from the Woman / never departs from my eyes at any time.

39

Though Hari and Brahmā could not see the pair of lotus blossom sacred feet, / seeking to see them without any shame, / O Lord of Aruṇācalam, whose praise is examined by the gods of heaven! / The mind of this solitary one is perishing.

40

Knowing the fear in their minds, for the sake of the great sages, / the Noble Lord burned the triple cities in fury; / the Pillar of fire who severed the head of Dakṣa with his fiery grace— / trust in the aid of the naked ascetic of Aruṇagiri, O mind!

41

Abide in faith, O mind! Always trusting in the truth / that the king of celestials of Aruṇagiri spoke long ago: / “Even if he ruins [us], it is Śoṇeśa; / even if he raises us up without ruin, it is Śoṇeśa.”

42

“When will you joyfully bestow it, on what day shall I receive it? / Tell this lonely soul today, / O cloud that yields good! O Lord of Śoṇagiri! / O rider of the bull vehicle!—the boon of deathlessness.”

43

The boon of deathlessness can be attained: seeking always / the sacred feet of the one adorned with snakes at Śoṇagiri, / taking up the rudrākṣa rosary that attains solitude, / contemplate the five-letter mantra with the tongue to your fill, never forgetting.

44

They do not reflect on the fruit gained [by this birth] or the twofold karma; / they do not know the Śivapūjā that approaches him; / those humans who do not know the devotees / of the eternal one of Śoṇagiri, who is the instituted path, are merely axle-pins [of clay].

45

When all the axles [of human frames] are made of the same kind, / why are they formed into two sorts, O generous lord of Śoṇagiri?— / that some people dwell living in desires, / while some people dwell bowing low, covering their mouths and folding their arms.

46

He alone owns the worlds; his very vibration moves every life; / he alone is the father to everyone; / if one says, “Aruṇeśa protects every life,” / the distress of the mind departs and perishes.

47

If you desire the needed medicine to dispel / the great malady of dying, being born, and wandering, / without desiring the words of worthless lords here in this world, / O mind, utter “Śoṇeśa!” just once.

48

Meditating precisely as told by the four Vedas hard to express, / stand lovingly in the rare worship; / O mind, without forgetting, / [cling to] the lotus-like holy feet of the Lord who graciously bore the venom hard to overcome.

49

You alone must come! When one seeks, who else is a companion / like you for dog-like me, / O father dwelling in maternal Aṇṇāmalai, / when you dispel the ulcer of my rebirth, which is like a mountain?

50

Pure one who wears the crescent moon! / Consort of the Goddess who birthed the earth! Lord of Aṇṇāmalai! / Hold tightly, O mind, to his holy feet; / then Yama will be afraid ever to approach you.

51

Yama stays beneath the fore-foot; declare that on the back of the foot / Māl’s eye is placed at all times; / on the spoken hand is Viriñci's skull; / say, who is equal to the red shoulders of the Lord of Aṇṇāmalai?

52

O rich flame of wisdom hard to describe! / O father of Śoṇagiri! Even if one knows the good scriptures, / if one does not hold the guru one has taken as the true reality in this world, / what is the use of studying in vain all that one sees?

53

By mere learning, will the bond of ancient karma be cut? By obtaining / a good clan, will the disease of rebirth depart? / For him who joyfully took the sea-born venom, the Lord of Aruṇai, / how can there be a path for the heart that does not joyfully take his lotus feet?

54

A path will emerge; a good standing will emerge; / the mark of wisdom will emerge; all thoughts will be fulfilled; union will emerge! / Recite the five-letter mantra of the primordial lord of Aruṇagiri, / O foolish mind, and contemplate!

55

There is a mind to contemplate you; there is a tongue to speak of you; / there are many Śiva scriptures to expound; / yet, accumulated sin does not allow me to bow before the two sacred feet / of the Lord of Śoṇagiri, whom the ancient Vedas could not reach.

56

O king who remains the highest among all the highest! / O Lord of Śoṇagiri of cherished fame! / How is it that they count you—who consumed the poison / which the frightened gods could not consume—among those who die?

57

What kind of birth have they taken upon this earth? / They do not give food; they do not know pleasant words; / they do not say, “O Consort of Uṇṇāmulai who burned the enemy cities long ago!”; / nor do they apply the sacred ash.

58

I do not wear the ash; I do not lovingly contemplate / and utter the five-letter mantra; / is it not the burden of the wise one of Śoṇagiri, whose matted hair bears the river, / who holds the victorious battle-axe in his hand, to take even me as his servant?

59

Because of the sin of not eagerly reciting / your pañcākṣara, the seed for the supreme state, / I have become fit for hellish birth, / and fit for death, O Lord of Aruṇai!

60

Why do you stay, O mind, punishing the body night and day?
By our Father, the pillar of Śoṇagiri who delights in the deer,
the disease of twofold karma is removed; for a mind that meditates [on him],
what else is my doing?

61

Is it my doing? Except as Śoṇeśa has ordained,
even if one broods until the whole heart is wounded,
will a great life come exceedingly by one's own power?
Will our great greed grant it, O mind?

62

Himself becoming tapas for me, and the fruit of tapas,
himself becoming my mother and father, he himself
joins me to his ineffable holy feet, O Father of Śoṇagiri
upon whom mounts the deer!

63

What if they go and bathe in a thousand rivers that grant excellent boons?
What if they give all the sixteen kinds of gifts?
Those whose hearts do not contemplate the Lord of Śoṇagiri, who has five faces,
standing on this earthly realm [gain nothing].

64

Standing, do not perform tapas, O mind; go to the holy temple
and perform Śivapūjā as virtue!
Will the lotus sacred feet of Aruṇeśa, the Lord who grants victory and the inner thinker,
be attained for nothing? Speak!

65

Will the holy feet of Śoṇācala be attained for nothing?
That Māl and Viriñci do not know [them].
If we sit and tell stories, what will come of it, O mind,
when one does not meditate fittingly?

66

The father of the great hero who knocked out Pūṣan's teeth
and on that day cut off the nose of the woman called the consort of the Lotus-born one,
wearing the crescent moon with desire, bearing a white skull-bowl,
remains today as Aruṇeśa.

67

The sorrow of [begging for food] for today, for tomorrow, and for the night—
when will it go, O Lord of Aruṇai?
O you with the forest of matted locks adorned with golden shower, crescent moon,
punnai, and calotropis flowers! These [sorrows] oppress me.

68

These many afflictions and diseases that oppress my life,
surrounding it without leaving—I saw the way
to dissolve them all: I held in my mind the lotus blossom sacred feet of Aruṇeśa;
what want is there for me?

69

There is no want henceforth when one speaks of it; to Śoṇeśa,
the Sovereign of the celestials, we have entered as refuge forever.
When one looks, O mind, Yama does not pursue and seize [us]
with the victorious spear in his hand.

70

To the flower-like holy feet of the stainless Aruṇeśa, who drank the ocean poison,
whose chest is adorned with garlands, the celestials above
performed worship as virtue, and in the supreme state
they attained every good.

71

The birth and death of all people we have clearly understood
through the words of natural poets; but as for our Śoṇeśa,
we have not heard the story of his birth in a house,
nor have we heard the story of his living in the wide world, eating, and dying.

72

Those who do not praise by scattering magnificent flowers
at the feet of the devotees of the glorious Lord of Śoṇagiri,
becoming hunters who dwell forever with cruel minds,
will daily fear treacherous Yama.

74

O Lord of Aruṇai, not to be counted among the gods
who are born, die, and perish on earth!
This servant has one petition:
when will you grant me [the grace] to remain without ever being separated from you?

75

Having taken delight, grant me your two sacred feet,
O King who burned the cities of enemies!
Becoming the guru, removing previous karma,
O embodiment of divinity, Aruṇeśa, taking me as a worthy thing!

76

He who lifts up, he who protects, he who accepts,
he who gives when requested, and he who gives nothing—
behold, it is you alone now, O holy one of Śoṇagiri,
who drank poison and destroyed the fear of many!

77

Saying 'Not now, later' and never turning away those who beg,
having pity on them, on what day shall I worship you at the three twilights,
O pure one of Śoṇagiri,
and on what day shall I love and meditate on you?

78

I do not meditate; I do not stand in your sacred temple, drenched
with streaming tears; I do not seek to cut off rebirth;
I do not weave a flower garland for your golden feet with praise, O Aruṇeśa!
Who will help this person for the footstep hereafter?

79

Without knowing our Lord of a thousand names, / the insatiable nectar of Śoṇagiri, / nothing comes to pass. / When you discern good and evil, O mind, / know that everything is Him alone!

80

Removing the twofold karma of those who sit and contemplate, / and expelling distressing poverty in this very life, / is it not the medicine, / the single five-letter mantra of our Lord of Aruṇagiri, the pillar of all souls?

81

Dreading those who recite the five-letter mantra, / the Lotus-born one wipes away the death-script upon their brow, / fearing: “Śoṇeśa, who cut off one head leaving four, / may sever today the one remaining!”

82

Ever summoning his messengers before they act, / Yama stands and commands them as counsel: / “Bow before those who have today become devotees / of the eternal Lord of Śoṇagiri, and depart far away!”

83

To those who praise the golden feet of Śoṇeśa who bestows intellect, / He grants devotion, confers true wisdom, and gives liberation; / He transforms unbearable evil karma. / O heart, difficult to praise, wear the five-letter mantra!

84

While fitting gems and pearls exist for all ornaments, / and fine gold flourishes as much as desired, / You wore untouchable raging snakes, hide, and bones! / What is this, O Śaṅkara of Aruṇai, bearer of the Gaṅgā?

85

O bearer of the Gaṅgā! On what day will You call me, the lowest one, / with loving compassion for my frame? / On what day will You look upon our longing, O Śoṇeśa, / and looking, unite me with the supreme state? Tell me!

86

If I speak of it: twofold karma, destructive threefold impurities, / and incomparable agitation I drove away just now, / holding within my heart as guru / the Lord of Aruṇagiri who stands formless.

87

O King of the gods who dwells in the hearts of those whose discipline never falters! / O Lord of Aruṇai! To Your devotees, / their mind is never troubled by twofold karma, / nor obstructed forever by the mire of sevenfold rebirths.

88

Other than Him, I know no deity; even if I knew, / I would not seek them in my heart thinking them good— / save the Lord who abides on ineffable Aṇṇāmalai, / and Uṇṇāmulai who shares the Lord's left half.

89

Except for those who melt contemplating You, / and contemplate Śoṇeśa Himself, / is it easy for all to behold in this world / the dance praised by the virtuous upon the earth?

90

What is gained by torturing the body / for those who bear no love for the Trustworthy One of Aruṇai who destroys afflictions and rules? / Will bondage cease by reciting books of knowledge? / If one strikes an ant-hill, will the serpent die?

91

I am not free of delusion, O embodiment of Śoṇagiri! / I am not free of thirst in the threefold impurities, nor do I know Your greatness! / Seizing this body which people thirstily claim as their own, / look, the jackal on this earth claims it as its own!

92

I have wearied carrying packed food for the jackal, / O Hara, rare even for Hari! / O Śoṇagiri's forehead-eyed Lord whom the revealing Vedas / fail to see! Having been born, this dog did not cherish Your holy feet!

93

[Variant reading: of You / of Himself]

94

Burning the Tripura of the asuras, You relished poison / for the sake of the celestials, O generous lord of Śoṇagiri! / When the Boar fondly sought Your lotus feet, / why did You remain a towering pillar of fire, O Lord?

95

O Eternal One who relished the ocean poison! / O insatiable nectar of Śoṇagiri! O Father! / O Parent who rules the world! / For this fool who wanders without knowing worship and virtue, who will there be hereafter?

96

There is no other refuge in the wide world, / O Lord of Aruṇai who bestows food! / To lift me up, to protect me, / and to destroy my disease of rebirth, You alone are my refuge!

97

O taintless One with water in Your matted hair! / Who will destroy my long cycle of births, if not You, when examined? / O virtuous One who grants unfailing boons upon the earth, / O Father of Śoṇagiri, ocean of compassion!

98

Abode of compassion! I cannot bow down to your ankleted feet; / I do not call out, "O Aruṇācala!" / At the time that ends in death, I shall know nothing in my thought; / and I do not set my eyes attentively upon your beautiful form.

99

I do not aim for your two feet; I do not know / at all how to praise [them]; I offer nothing to those who suffer; / I do not hold fast [to you]! O Lord of Aṇṇāmalai, hard to find even for the examining Vedas! / My mind is dying within me, O Lord!

100

O Lord! When a wooden puppet dances, / is it the skill of the puppeteer’s hand, or did the puppet learn it? / Is [this] cruel karma my own desire, O Lord of Aruṇai? / Is it not your own desire, [you] who create and preserve? Speak!

101

So that the crop of lives of his praising devotees does not wither, / it fills the earth with a flood of bliss: / the rain cloud called the nectar sweet to the eyes of Aruṇagiri, / our Father who burned the triple cities of his enemies.

102

Beholding those who learn with compassion / the hundred beautiful veṇpās of the Aruṇagiri Antāti, / the Lord of Aruṇai will joyfully grant them the radiant golden world, / transforming them into its king, and keep them there forever.

103

For those who deeply fix in their hearts and constantly meditate upon / the antāti uttered by examining Śoṇeśa, the embodiment of the five-letter mantra, / the state of ruling the superior worlds can be attained, / and even the sacred feet, unreached by Hari that day, can indeed be attained.

104

He composed this antāti to uplift the devotees, / [praising] the Lord of Aruṇai, who is without beginning or end— / the true one, the master Namaccivāya, / who eternally resides in the cave on Aruṇagiri.