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Translation of Tiruvarurp Pallu (Tiruvārūrp Paḷḷu)
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Tiruvārūrp Paḷḷu
Kamalai Ñāṉappirakācar
Editor: Tiru Comacuntara Tecikar
[All] rights reserved) (Price per copy 4 annas
(Nine copies Rs. 2.
Kamalai Ñāṉappirakācar's Tiruvārūrp Paḷḷu
Preface
Did any equal Pūmiyāṉai,
who possessed one of the riches
that thoughtfully and well brought forth
the sacred service performed by Karuṇākaran?
Delighting in the Vanmīka Tiyākarācap Paḷḷu of Tiruvārūr,
so that crowds [of devotees] bowed down, he inaugurated it
and established it in the Cōḻamaṇḍalam.
"Having spoken to the protector, saying, 'May he live long!'
she understood the unique labour of the wide fields"—
thus come these twice-five uḻattip pāṭṭu.
Setting the rare Sadāśiva as an āṇṭai,
the gracious Īśvara himself as the paḷḷaṉ,
the two Śaktis as the two paḷḷi,
the fitting Nandi spoken of as the accountant, and then
making the gracious Śaktis into two companions,
furnishing Māl for the labour of plowing,
and Brahman holding the cymbals in his hand,
they speak the prabandha called the Great Wisdom Paḷḷu.
And:
In the Cōḻa country surrounded by the Kāviri where the Mountain's Daughter dwells,
by the grace of Tiyākēcar of joyous Kamalai,
as the flood in the Maṇimuttā river strikes in surging waves,
roaring and overflowing its banks,
in order to plow so that our standing crops may thrive,
resolving and summoning the paḷḷaṉs, and further
to look after many important matters,
the kaṭṭiyakkāraṉ appeared in the assembly!
And:
Pallavi
O Lord, is there any other beside you?
Anupallavi
O Vasantatiyākēcar of Ārūr, praised by the world!
Caraṇam
Is there anywhere in the realm a great king like you?
Since you have become all eight directions,
salvation too rests only with you. (O Lord)
Lineage of the author of Ilakkaṇa Viḷakkam,
Tiru Comacuntara Tecikan.
1.1
To sing, in refined Tamil, the paḷḷēcal praised by the earth
for Tiyākar of Ārūr where glory spreads—
he who rules with Umā of strap-bound breasts, the Elephant-headed one, the Lance-wielder,
and Gaṅgā and Sarasvatī are our protection.
1.2
Vātāvi Vināyakar
As groves rich in areca forests
fragrant from the ponds where the Lady of the Lotus and great penance-performing sages bathed, flourish in splendour,
and to state many kinds of tunes of the paḷḷēcal in verse
that delights the heart of Tiyākar of Ārūr, whose fame spreads in all directions of the earth:
he whose nature is to wear upon his mountain-like shoulders
the gem of the hood [of the serpent] reaching up to the sky, like a single upper cloth,
the nephew of great Māl, he who arrives before,
with the face of a great rutting elephant of war—
the two feet of Vātāvi Vināyakar I shall never forget.
1.3
The God Murukaṉ
Above Vītiviṭaṅkap Perumāḷ, famed as the desirable Lord of the Dark Throat,
the Lord who desired the poison of the rolling ocean as if it were ambrosia,
the Lord Tēvarakaṇṭap Perumāḷ, the Lord whose throat spread with stain—
in order to sing in proper tune the paḷḷēcal that pleases [him],
Vaṭivēlaṉ, who guards the golden city of the celestials
upon his horse called the peacock of water-colored, golden plumage,
the noble lover who, eagerly taking fresh foliage in his hand, [courted] the maid of the hunters,
the golden feet of the six-faced one I shall utter with my tongue.
1.4
Kamalālaya Ammai
While Sanaka and others worshipped his pair of reddish feet,
he who is the Teacher reciting the rare Vedas in the shade of the banyan tree, he who rules the celestials,
he whom it was hard for the swan and the boar to seek out long ago,
the gracious one, Tiyākar—to swell the desire for the melodious tunes of the paḷḷēcal that delights his heart:
she whose beauty rivals ten million suns,
the trident-bearer, Manonmaṇī, Tripurā,
Umā who dwells upon the Himalayas, she who rules over us,
she whose breasts are golden mountains,
she who stands in rare, great tapas—
the two feet of Kamalālaya Nāyaki I shall never forget.
1.5
Innicai-k-kalippā
Grant your grace that I may not forget your feet, anklets, great shoulders, tinkling bells,
arms, and red-chrysanthemum ear-ornaments,
O Lord who rules his devotees with a face brimming with compassion,
O Perumāḷ of southern Ārūr!
1.6
The Arrival of Vanmīkanātap Paḷḷaṉ with Vanmīkap Paḷḷi and Cīraṅkap Paḷḷi - Cintu
While drops of sweat sprang forth on the sacred forehead resembling the bow resting in the hand of Kāma, master of warlike arts,
while her vine-like small waist, straight as the fine sharp lance of her eyes, grew faint and swayed,
while the bee, resembling dark rainclouds in her garlanded tresses, sang Tamil, humming 'tantanatanaṉā',
with Cīraṅkap Paḷḷi of strap-bound breasts,
Vanmīkanātap Paḷḷaṉ appeared.
1.7
Binding his sash, drinking much cuḷḷu and kaḷ,
burping with intoxication, swaggering, eyes reddened,
flashing an admiring gentle smile, twisting his moustache,
smearing white ash across his face,
wearing a string of green beads, wearing a low hanging coral cord,
wearing a thick red waist-band and an ornate upper ornament,
carrying on his diamond-like, robust shoulders [his tools],
Vanmīkanātap Paḷḷaṉ appeared.
2.1
6. This verse is found with slight differences in Kurukūrp Paḷḷu 6.
Vanmīkap Paḷḷatti:
As sweat arose on her fresh-lotus holy face,
2.2
as anklets sounded on her flower-like feet,
2.8
as weapon-like lance-eyes fought with glancing corners,
as makara earrings swayed,
as slanting bangles swayed on flower-like soft hands,
as a lovely gentle smile shed radiance,
as the forest of her tresses loosened,
and swarms of bees hummed tunes over them—
the Perumāḷ who adorns his matted locks with the Gaṅgā,
the Perumāḷ who crushed Kāla with his foot,
the eye-on-forehead Perumāḷ who turned arrow-wielding Kāma's body to dust,
the Perumāḷ dwelling in the southern town of Kamalai,
Tēvarakaṇṭap Perumāḷ—
singing the holy names of him and dancing,
the paḷḷatti appeared.
2.9
As her twin breasts resembling elephant fronts swayed,
as multiple clusters of bright beads rolled,
as cinnabar on her shapely forehead lent beauty, as her vine-like waist bent,
as black-collyrium carp-like eyes warred with each other,
as the waterlily of her nectar-sweet speech blossomed,
as her many adorning jewelled ornaments swayed, and her bee-filled tresses loosened—
the Perumāḷ possessing a creeper-waisted maiden seated on the lotus,
the Perumāḷ the colour of the kāyā blossom,
the Perumāḷ who reposes on the serpent between the two branches of the Kāviri,
the Perumāḷ who granted the red-bowed god of desire [as his son],
Tiruvaraṅkap Perumāḷ—
singing the glorious holy name of him and dancing,
I am that paḷḷi!
2.10
4. The paḷḷattis appeared.
Veṇpā:
She says the mingling bow-wielding Madanavēḷ is the fierce god of death;
she says a single night is thirty yugas;
she calls on the throat-stained Lord, the eye-on-forehead Lord of Kamalai;
a woman longing for the Crescent-moon-crested Lord.
2.11
On the holy street overlaid with gold,
the Perumāḷ who dwells in the town of Kamalālaya that spread the fame established by the arrow-scattering archer Madana,
the Perumāḷ easily reached by devotees,
the precious Perumāḷ, the bodiless Perumāḷ who has on his hand the spotted deer,
the Perumāḷ who has in his body the Maiden of the mountain,
the Perumāḷ of the rows of holy windows through which the southern soft breeze blows,
the Perumāḷ whose lion-throne is beautiful, Tiyākap Perumāḷ,
Vanmīkap Perumāḷ, Vītiviṭaṅkap Perumāḷ—
singing the glorious holy name of him and dancing,
I am that paḷḷi!
2.12
Tirumāl who, when curds were churned by the vine-waisted maidens in the houses of the cowherds, was bound,
the Perumāḷ who softens his beautiful, genuine heart [with grace],
Tirumāl who, having swallowed the earth, the seven seas, the seven mountains,
and the seven worlds, reposed on a single banyan leaf in handsome form,
Tirumāl who released battling arrows to sever the ten heads and twenty arms of the demon fighting in fierce combat,
making the crowns of Khara and Dūṣaṇa fly as dust—
as white conches roar on rolling waves
and the holy Kāviri flourishes, the fertility-granting
Tiruvaraṅkap Perumāḷ—
singing his glory and dancing,
I am that paḷḷi!
2.13
7. The holy name of Tirumāl.
Kaṭṭaḷaik kalippā:
Behold the battle-arrays clash even as dusk falls!
Knowing my love, embrace my sandal-smeared breasts!
Knowing my good nature, will you not do me service?
Will you not come and daily stroke my fair feet?
O you whose locks buzz with roaring bees!
O you whose voice is like the loud-singing cuckoo!
O you whose contentious eyes are vast as the sea!
O you who resemble the mother of Kamalai belonging to Vītiviṭaṅkar!
2.14
The Perumāḷ easily reached by devotees,
the Perumāḷ beautiful in his evening protection-worship,
the Perumāḷ who dances and sways
so that his earrings sway on the moving pole,
the Perumāḷ adorned with earrings of fine gold,
the Perumāḷ who wears sevvanti earrings,
the Perumāḷ possessing in half his body her whose words resemble milk,
the Perumāḷ whose wire-pierced ears are handsome,
the golden spring Perumāḷ, the lofty
Perumāḷ of the skeleton garland, Tēvarakaṇṭap Perumāḷ,
the Perumāḷ of the red-gold lion-throne,
Tiyāka Vinōtap Perumāḷ—
singing the glorious holy names of him and dancing,
I am that paḷḷi!
2.15
He who made the four-faced bee [Brahman] sit upon his lotus navel
and chant the words of the primordial Veda;
he who, as the loving one, once became Mohinī to delight the gods
and distributed the rare nectar to them;
he, the mysterious lord, who willingly dwelt with illusive power
in the waterlily pond and on the beautiful stake like a bee;
the king of Cīraṅkam surrounded by ponds of clear rolling waves—
singing the holy name of him and dancing,
I am that paḷḷi!
2.16
Praise of God - Viruttam
Must she wither from the cuckoo, from the moon's long rays,
and from the cruelty of Lord Māra?
Cannot she, whose grace resembles a peacock,
be clasped to your chest without falling into lovesickness,
O Lord of the mountain, whose feet wear snakes,
who sent Tamil as a messenger,
O Tiyākar of Kayilai, golden Tiyākar,
O Tiyākar of Kamalai?
2.17
The Coming of the River
Dense clouds gathered together,
troubled and encircled the ocean,
turned black, drank the water, climbed close to the sky,
swelled and poured upon the great hills of Kuṭaku in the forest,
overflowed, pressed against the banks,
uprooted and struck the shores with wild millet, familiar teak, and aṟam trees,
so that in the clearing of the mountain-dwellers, their lofts
and the huts they had raised floated away;
rushing, roaring, speeding along as a cataract,
terrifying the birds of the stubble,
praising the feet of Lord Vēḷ, who is immersed in love
for the Kuṟatti woman resembling a swan,
the blossoming waterfall of the blooming Kuṟiñci tract
roared and met the Pālai tract.
2.18
Kalittuṟai
In the mountain of Kamalai where dwells the Sharer of Umā whose words are sweet as sugarcane,
the cloud-topped grove, the millet field, and the place of sand-castles,
the deer, the empty sling, and the watch-tower were their only true kin;
asking, “What fault did they commit?”, the women departed.
2.19
Seeking its way, it entered the Pālai land,
uprooted clusters of white-flowered pālai and kura trees,
gathered and swept iluppai trees together into whirlpools;
so that kites, parrots, and vultures flying swift
sank in the eddies,
shaking the stability of the whole world
and establishing its own power,
like the glory of the lofty Gaṅgā of Kamalai's Tiyākar,
who wears her shining on His head,
subduing the hunting dogs that chased herds of wild boars
roaming all around,
praising the Maiden who danced upon the head of Mahiṣa
whom all seek and praise,
it overflowed the bank in haste, making the fertile Mullai tract tremble.
2.20
On the holy mountain of Kamalai adorned with clear water,
He gave the white ashes and gave leave; alas, with His beautiful
hands clasped in worship, He has brought together a host
of women resembling peacocks of the dark rainy season, alas, against us.
2.21
She withers, seeking a parrot
to fetch your garland, O Tiyākar of Ārūr!
The doe, burning as Ananga pours arrows
and the wind ladles out fire,
is distressed at heart and has lost her garment.
2.22
Overflowing, it entered the Mullai land,
gushed into the homes of the cowherds,
consumed fresh ghee, aged curd,
and fitting milk,
so that the wild elephants that came in the flood,
practicing stealth, fled like the bull of Kamalai's Tiyākar
whose broad matted locks are adorned with basil;
so that the roes and hares leaping swiftly
rose and sank into the waves,
and the tōṉṟi, kuruntu, and tāṉṟi trees with their branches
whirled about within the eddies;
praising and bowing before the two matching feet
of the King of birds,
flowing over loving basil and cerunti trees,
it rushed and joined the Marutam tract.
2.23
Kalippā
It is the rainy season when a bird sleeps in its nest, making a blanket
with its handsome wings against the biting cold for its beloved mate, full of affection;
in the fertile land of Ārūr's Tiyākar of lasting fame,
because the coming of the lover failed while the clouds arrived, it has become an age of distress.
2.24
Mingling, it entered the Marutam tract,
shattering the groves of areca palms,
turning back the bees in the sugarcane
where many melodic sounds are pondered,
stirring the deep pools of blossoming lotuses,
making the adorned varāl fish bow low,
while the bunches borne by adjacent plantains
shed honey resembling a river,
crowding the jackfruit trees bearing abundant fruit,
snatching and dashing mango fruits,
relentlessly bending the well-grown pomegranates
so that they drooped like coral branches;
bowing to the feet of Purandara
who bears the shining thunderbolt,
making ginger, turmeric, and vañci creepers tremble,
it reached the Neytal tract that holds the sea.
2.25
Kalippā
Did He, without minding the marks of our breasts,
wipe away the red sandal paste that hid the marks of His red hands?
O One with Gaṅgā on your matted locks, who gave a half to a maiden
as her very life, O Lord of the fertile land of Kamalai!
2.26
Reaching and running into the regions of the neytal tract,
mingling in the homes of salt-makers,
sweeping and frolicking among the fish in the net
that come with the waves where they stand,
cracking in the waves, bursting, as shells
scatter the pearls they shake out,
the lofty tāḻai and spreading ñāḻal trees
sinking down as they face the flood all together,
submerged fishing-boats, many sampans,
and heavy merchant vessels floating along,
jumping, as makara-sharks arrive and rush
into the hollow of the deep boat to destroy it,
with well-formed pearls and corals
adorned at the feet of Varuṇa,
as the Maṇimuttā river swells and comes—
look at the wonder, O Paḷḷi!
3.1
The black sea, the backwaters of neytal, surrounding Kamalai of the Lord who swallowed the venom of the great ocean—nearby are the chief [fish]:
4.1
The scabbard-fish, ray-fish, shark, toḻuttai-fish,
vañciram, and little pañciram;
4.2
mullet, ulla, mayirai, catfish,
makara, kuravai, eel-fish;
4.3
tēḷi, uḷuvai, caṉṉam, mayaṟu;
4.4
whale, timiṅgalam, and sea-horse.
4.5
Rains fell in due season across every village;
the croaking from a crore of toads' mouths resounded with vigour;
4.6
the water of the glorious Maṇimuttā river rushed,
4.31
and leaping up in fury, dashed against the banks;
over all the fields matted with creeping roots of sedge-grass,
the white kārs streamed so that the floods did not recede.
To summon our master who oversees the paṇṇai of the Lord of Ārūr to bind the dykes,
come along, O Paḷḷi!
4.32
Arrival of the Paṇṇai Headman
The beauty of his upper arm adorned with a tied, empty straw rope,
the beauty of his body like a charred ember from a burnt house,
the beauty of his belly shaped like the nest of a weaver bird,
the beauty of his bent, stick-like legs held high,
the beauty of his eyes afflicted by fly-bites and filled with rheum,
the beauty of his strut and haughty pride,
the beauty of his mouth that has never tasted betel nut—
the paṇṇaikkāraṉ appeared and arrived!
4.33
Is it the night? Or the battling God of Love?
Or the cooing of the cuckoo that contends with me?
Or he who left without embracing me
in the fair, blossoming country of Kamalai belonging to the Supreme Lord?
Whom am I to blame today?
4.34
Holding a golden bracelet on her forearm, holding a bangle,
wearing a sari with golden letters, binding her flower-decked hair,
applying kohl to her victorious, argumentative eyes,
applying sandalwood to her breasts, adorning herself,
in the southern country of Kamalai belonging to the Lord with tinkling anklets on his dancing feet and the dancing serpent, who shares his half with the Lady—
to happily behold and bow before the master who oversees the wealthy paṇṇai,
come along, O Paḷḷi!
4.35
O one of beautiful black body, I bow to you! / O one of beautiful blunt-dumpling nose, I bow to you!
O one of beautiful scabby head, I bow to you! / O one of beautiful protruding bloated belly, I bow to you!
O one of beautiful plucked-out eyes, I bow to you! / O one of beautiful mossy, needle-like teeth, I bow to you!
O one of beautiful clipped ears, I bow to you! / O master of the paṇṇai, O master, I bow to you!
4.36
O swans, go before the Pure One who lovingly dwells
in Kamalai and in my stony heart, [and say:]
‘Madan of war scatters dense, sweet pakaḻi arrows;’
say: ‘She has remained ever alive holding onto her precious life.’
4.37
Come and tell, O Vanmīkap Paḷḷa,
the varieties of many kinds of seed tied in kōṭṭais,
the types of ploughshares held with wedges,
the long yoke hitched and the rope,
the varieties of golden plough-poles and ploughs,
and the kinds of cattle that ploughed in the fields of the paṇṇai
belonging to Vītiviṭaṅkat Tiyākar of true, celebrated fame,
just as they are!
4.38
Of the tender seed, the kārpacāṉ seed,
rats ate ninety kōṭṭais;
in the threshing-floor erected in the estate, impounded stray
cattle ate seven hundred kōṭṭais;
shortfall in measurement was six hundred kōṭṭais;
what the moths ate was five hundred kōṭṭais;
what was stolen was four hundred kōṭṭais;
the kōṭṭais actually found are only three hundred, O āṇṭai!
4.39
Among the cattle of various breeds that stood there, Rudra's
cattle were ten or eleven;
I saw not a single male buffalo that runs in confusion
to strike down the contentious Yama;
in the place where he ploughed all over the world,
one huge bull stood sleeping;
for Tiyākar of Ārūr, who is adorned with the crescent moon,
the bullock that remained was just a single bullock, O āṇṭai!
4.40
For the renowned Tiyākar, in the sacred service
rendered by Pūmiyāṉ of the southern Ala;
at the place where the arch-stones were bound,
a crore of yokes broke;
among the countless precious ploughs
that ploughed the wide earth entirely,
there is one plough that remains in the hand
of contentious Balabhadra, O āṇṭai!
5.1
On the fair slopes of Kamalai of the One who shares His body with the Woman, / desiring and admiring affection, becoming kin, / in the sandalwood grove dark and luminous like rainclouds, / when intercourse ended, the carp-eyed women
5.2
Wrapped their slipping garments in confusion, / and tossed about, remembering their lost shame;
5.41
Gathering and tying their tresses with fair hands, / it cannot be forgotten in the heart at all.
5.42
The paḷḷi’s muṟaippāṭu / He went softly and courted Cīraṅkap Paḷḷi, / and gave four hundred kōṭṭais; / to the relatives who are paḷḷars, / he gave half the cattle of the paṇṇai; / drinking liquor along with cuḷḷu, / he counted and slaughtered ninety cattle; / bind the deceitful paḷḷaṉ in detention, / o respected paṇṇaikkāraṉ āṇṭai!
5.43
Kalippā / You who resemble the fertile country of Kamalai of Him who stood hard to behold, / sought by the Four-faced One abiding on high and by red-eyed Māl! / I will never forget, never forget / the blushing face, the upturned face, and the tender bright smile / shedding fine moonlight.
5.44
Cīraṅkap Paḷḷi’s muṟaiyīṭu / Why do I stand seeing your cruelty and weep? / You committed faults and sat in prison; / Vanmīkap Paḷḷatti, who constantly quarrels, / accomplished her deceit just as she said; / without knowing this slave, the paṇṇai / āṇṭai himself listened to her words; / the fate decreed by Raṅkēcar upon the venomous serpent, / no one can avert.
5.45
The mutton offered to the hero standing beneath the banyan tree, and cooked cuḷḷu, / and the liquor brought in an earthen pot / after filtering what is called the medicinal herb, / and the cooked rice prepared in milk / along with the pot, seeking to enjoy— / while both feet are in the toḻu, / both hands worship, o paḷḷi!
5.46
If I worship, will there be any disgrace? / In what words spoken did I refuse? / Even if one commits a crore of faults, / should a wife make an exhibition of it? / Concerning the ploughed manure, the kalappais, and the varieties of seeds, / I will state the permission exactly as it is; / without weeping, o Vanmīkap Paḷḷatti, / speak to the āṇṭai and take me back!
5.47
Out of vexation toward the resident Cīraṅkap Paḷḷi, / I made a complaint that day; / even if we commit a thousand faults, / who else will bear with us except the āṇṭai? / Granting bounding cattle and seed, / we will cultivate the crop together for the paṇṇai; / with this worthless servant as piṇai, / release Vanmīkanātap Paḷḷaṉ, o āṇṭai!
5.48
Lord of the four Vedas spoken aloud! / Possessor of the half occupied by the unending Antarī! / In the good country of Kamalai surrounded by paddy fields / where mature pearls fall along the banks! / You who dwell in the red lotus temple / in the sacred milk ocean tossing with waves! / In the grove of fresh fragrance lifted up as a mountain, / what wonder is this wonder that you have come and stood?
5.49
Varieties of cattle / Knock-kneed, castrated buck, blunt-horned black bull, / hornless ox, lute-horned bull, elephant-skinned, / flat-horned, long-legged, round black bull, / bell-tied white ox, short red bull, / cut-legged, blind-eyed, cloud-coloured one, / cut-tailed, stake-horned, white-hoofed, / areca-nut-spotted, short-tailed, joined-horned bull— / I have enumerated the kinds of cattle taken for the paṇṇai, o āṇṭai!
5.50
The cutting blade made of diamond and ruby, / the mēḻi and nukam of hard coral branches, / the koḻu inlaid with praised gold, / the rope let down of soft white silk thread, / the high shaft of freshly cut green sandalwood, / and the driving goad inlaid with ruby— / for southern Kamalai of the One who shares the breast adorned with a bodice, / taking a thousand kalappais, I have yoked them, o āṇṭai!
5.51
8. And the plough-shaft fitting with sandalwood. 9. And the driving goad. / Varieties of paddy / Ariyanāyakam, kuṟuvai, poṟcāli, / the precious tiny grain called aruccuṉam, / tiruvaraṅkaṉ, aḻakiyavāṇaṉ, / tillaināyakaṉ, cīrakaccampā, / iraṇavāri, karppūram, poṟpāḷai, / iraṅkamīṭṭāṉ, kuṟuvaikkiḷaiyāṉ, / curuṇaivālaṉ, karuvālaṉ, campā, / and corikurumpai are the seed varieties, o āṇṭai!
5.52
Viruttam
He has Māl on one side; he shares his body with the Lady;
he wears on his matted locks the intoxicated, dancing snake;
he has conquered the arrow of Kāma who scorches [the world];
Kanakavalli who dwells in Kamalai—
the arrow is an equal to her red, sharp eyes;
what adorns her ear is a koppuvāḷi ornament;
her grace resembles Kamalai [Lakṣmī];
the breasts she bears resemble lotus buds [kamalai] too.
5.53
They said this time is Pūcam; they said it is Pañcami;
they said it is an auspicious Monday; they said it is Śobhana.
In this muhūrta, which is an auspicious time,
as the ibis swiftly flies to the right,
yoke the golden plough, churn the mire of the field,
spread plenty of leaf manure, level it with the harrow,
and go, O paḷḷaṉ, to scatter the red paddy seeds
for southern Kamalai of him who shares his body with the sweet-voiced woman!
5.54
For Cuntaraṉ of lucid, classical Tamil,
he went as an envoy along the street to Paravai;
in the fields of Kamalai belonging to the Lord of the kaṭukkai garland,
where jubilant, winged bees hum their music,
releasing the gleaming dewy water,
flooding the fertile field with white sediment,
and yoking the radiant golden plough,
just as I was ploughing, the ploughshare struck [a stone], O āṇṭai!
5.55
Seeing you weeping today,
the paṇṇaikkāraṉ is taking us as surety [ciṅki]!
When you went away, did the paḷḷi women of the hamlet
cast their evil eye upon your beauty?
Or was it a potion administered by the second wife [iḷaiyāḷ]?
Or has infatuated desire for her taken hold of your head?
Or is it the fault of the warrior standing in the common hall [maṉṟu]?
You have swooned, O Vanmīkanātap Paḷḷaṉ!
6.1
Look upon your own child; look upon your own
6.2
father's lineage too!
6.6
"O handsome one in your cloth! O Tēvarakaṇṭā, handsome
6.7
with the red water-lily garland upon your holy chest!—Handsome
6.59
with your evening protection!"—For chanting this with melting devotion,
my tongue has no practice; what shall I do?
6.60
As the maiden dances, as the coiled serpent dances on the matted locks of the Lord of Kamalai,
as the red water-lily upon his chest and his jewel-set golden earrings dance and swing,
as the Gaṅgā dances, as the crescent moon dances, he who dances on the golden shaft,
within the fields where carps wander, belonging to the pure Lord dwelling in Kamalai—
as red hands dance, as bangles dance, as gathered pearls dance,
as waistcloths dance, as garlands dance, as carp-like eyes dance,
as breasts dance, as ear-ornaments dance, as creeper-like waists bend and dance,
as dark clouds of hair dance and flutter—dance, unite, and come transplant seedlings, O paḷḷi women!
6.61
2. So that the forest of curls dances.
3. Transplant.
With Tīttāḷ, with Kāttāḷ, with the Lady ruling the world,
with Tiruvāḷ, with Iruvā, the younger girl,
with Civantāḷ, Vantāḷ, Kuḷuntāḷ,
Cinnāḷ, Periyāḷ,
with the dancing woman, Eḻuvāḷ, Viḻiyāḷ,
with Kuḻaiñcāḷ, Kuḷuntāḷ, Toṭarntāḷ,
Kuyilāḷ, Mayilāḷ, Taiyalāḷ,
as they raise the kuravai song—
while his flower-garlanded crown of matted locks swayed,
while his pair of lotus feet grew weary,
while sweat rose upon his lotus-like holy face,
while his golden ear-ornaments swayed,
at the bidding of the poet praised by all tongues,
he who walked the street as an envoy in the dead of night—
in the fields of Kamalālaya, come transplant seedlings, O paḷḷi women!
6.62
So that Cuntaraṉ of learned, classical Tamil poetry
could go to Paravai at night,
the Supreme Lord walked as envoy until his feet turned red;
in his Kamalai fields,
as their braided tresses loosen, roaring the kuravai song,
stirring the mud of the fields,
ladling and drinking toddy, so as to swiftly complete
the transplanting of the seedlings—
mingling with blossomed lotuses, approaching blue lilies,
joining water-lilies,
springing opposite them, desiring the season, as the bees turn back,
not departing when struck away,
showing their spreading flower-dressed tresses,
behold the wonder, O paḷḷi women, of many swarms of bees rising in delight!
6.63
Ālasundarar, the Lord of Kamalai,
he who burnt the mighty Kāma,
he who bears the trident and bracelets, Śaṅkara holding the drum,
within the fields of his radiant farm—
so that their rows of cloud-dark locks fall long down their backs
during transplanting,
they of beautiful topknots would give a thousand to Paravai;
look, O paḷḷi women!
6.64
Around Kamalai belonging to him with the fragrant kaṭukkai upon his matted hair,
all the crops,
like wealth accumulated by a father,
flourished without any decline;
like the embryo within sages of foremost grace,
it grew full with grain,
and ripened like the radiant fame
of Pūmiyāṉ of Nālai, who practices wonders.
6.65
For our god of Kamalai surrounded by tanks of southern Kamalai,
the blue-throated one who consumed poison from the rolling waves, Tēvarakaṇṭap Perumāḷ,
I cut and brought in the rich ears of grain using the golden sickles as directed;
I measured them out by the brimmed marakkāl of the hired paṇṇai.
I heaped a thousand stacks reaching the face of the universe like Mount Meru,
stacking them together as seed-stacks;
to winnow and measure the heap seen before us,
you must supervise it, O āṇṭai, farm steward!
6.66
She stays not even a moment in the house, but wanders all around;
Vanmīkap Paḷḷi heeds not even my words;
she serves neither rice nor stew without slackening;
can pregnancy be hidden from one's mother? Is there any other refuge?
That deceitful woman does not even look after the household wealth in abundance;
to whom else can I make my complaint, if not to you, master?
Since the day he took that younger wife, out of bitter enmity,
all these days I remained bashful to tell you, O āṇṭai!
6.67
Since the very day that deceptive, thieving Cīraṅkap Paḷḷi arrived,
the paḷḷaṉ's mind has completely changed;
he does not even irrigate the field left to bake in the sun;
he will not deliver the grain bundles or the threshed share due to the threshing floor;
he lies upon the ridge of the threshing floor like a mat spread out;
if rations are allotted, he heaps them generously for her and measures them out;
is it not by clever craft that kinsmen are conquered?
I have declared my harsh plight in utter disarray, O āṇṭai!
6.68
5. [The two wives exchange abuse.]
1. What is this, what did you tell in the presence of the āṇṭai, girl?
You should not even speak with that paḷḷaṉ who reviled you, girl!
2. Whether he reviles or speaks kindly, Cīraṅkap Paḷḷi, does the desire
for love-potions cast on you exist anywhere else on earth?
Because of the desire for love-potions on earth, Vanmīkap Paḷḷi,
you could never bring the paḷḷaṉ under your sway, girl!
6.69
3. "Who is capable like you to cast a spell of subjugation? / Did not the Wondrous One [Māl] give medicine [ambrosia] to the celestials, girl?" / "You say the Wondrous One gave medicine—did he, like your āṇṭai, / work wonders turning treacherous jackals into horses? / 4. Stealing the clothes of the cowherd girls of slender waists, / did not your dark rain-cloud climb the kuruñtai tree, girl?" / "In the Tāruka forest, did not your Pillar [Śiva] / destroy the modesty of the noble ascetics' wives, girl? / 5. Did not your Wondrous One take Sītā who came in woman's form, / and also his mother-in-law, girl?" / "While loving Umā stayed by his side, did not your Dark-throated One / display Gaṅgā atop his matted hair, girl? / 6. Sitting upon the chariot mounted by Vijaya [Arjuna] of rising fame, / did not your āṇṭai urge on the horses, girl?" / "As a groom for horses, did not your Lord / go to Madurai for the peerless Māṟaṉ [Pāṇḍya king], girl? / 7. Becoming a servant to a poet, / did not your Pillar carry a mat, girl?" / "And for a poet of leaping fame, did not your Pillar / carry cow dung as well as mud, girl? / 8. Without minding in the least the sin of slaying the woman Tāṭakā, / did not your āṇṭai leap and dance in combat, girl?" / "To make her downcast face blush with shame, did not your Lord / wage a dancing contest with a woman [Kālī], girl? / 9. When the five [Pāṇḍavas] sent him to the sons of the blind king [Dhṛtarāṣṭra], / did not your āṇṭai go as a messenger that day, girl?" / "When Cuntaraṉ dispatched him, did not your Light / go as a messenger in that very night, girl? / 10. Without any shame, did not your dark rain-cloud / take the breast-milk and life of Pēcci [Pūtanā], girl?" / "Saying, 'If it is called a reproach, let it happen,' did not your Lord / eat the spit-touched offering the hunter offered, girl? / 11. Did not your Kaṇṇaṉ steal from house to house / the milk boiled and the butter churned by the cowherd women, girl?" / "In the house of the famed Amar Nīti, / did not your āṇṭai steal a loincloth, girl? / 12. Did not your Kaṇṇaṉ make the god of love [Kāma], / who overcomes even the learned, vanish into thin air, girl?" / "Did not your Lord grant a bandicoot rat / as a fitting mount for the elephant-faced god [Gaṇeśa] he fathered, girl? / 13. Without a single mat to lie upon, / did not your Kaṇṇaṉ slumber on a serpent, girl?" / "Without a cloth to wrap around himself, / did not your Īśa don the skin of a tiger that day, girl? / 14. Committing unrestrained mischief, did not your wanton one / get beaten with a churning stick by Yaśodā, girl?" / "Carrying earth for the sake of sweet cakes [piṭṭu], did not your Lord / get struck with a cane by the Pāṇḍya's hand, girl? / 15. Craving a moving foot [Śiva's foot], did not your āṇṭai / go searching that day as a high-backed boar, girl?" / "Becoming a mother sow that day, did not your Liberated One / give suck to the piglets, girl? / 16. With staff in hand to protect and graze the herds of cattle, / did not your generous one become a cowherd, girl?" / "Without shame on this wide earth, did not your wanton one / become a hunter, and also a fisherman, girl? / 17. Looking on when the Dark-throated One in fury / burned the god of love to death, did not your Viṣṇu stand by, girl?" / "Rejoicing in heart to eat the son of Ciṟuttoṇṭar / after chopping him up, did not your Śiva do so, girl? / 18. Upon the stake of the one dwelling in the pond, / did not your Viṣṇu take the form of a beetle, girl?" / "Entering into the ant-hill of southern Kamalai where flowers blossom, / did not your naked beggar stay there without leaving, girl? / 19. Becoming Vāmana before the booned Mahābali, / did not your Wondrous One beg for earth, girl?" / "Holding Brahman's skull in his hand, / did not your madman beg for alms, girl? / 20. Did not your Wondrous One kill / his uncle Kaṁsa, who had been a refuge on that day, girl?" / "At the great sacrifice in the past, did not your Pillar / sever the head of his father-in-law named Dakṣa, girl? / 21. Did not your Lord raise / an unruly army of monkeys that caused havoc, girl?" / "Surrounded by tall ghouls, did not your Eternal One / stand and dance in the burning ground, girl? / 22. "Just as Umā's consort once knocked out the teeth of the Sun [Sūrya], / I will knock out your teeth, girl!" / "Just as Lakṣmī's consort shattered the tusks of the elephant [Kuvalayāpīḍa] / out of pride, I will smash you, girl! / 23. Just as the consort of the parrot-voiced one [Śiva] tore open the jaws of the fierce tiger that day, / I will tear open your mouth, girl!" / "Just as the Wondrous One, taking the form of a child, tore open the beak of the bird [Bakāsura], / I will split open your mouth, girl! / 24. Just as the unspeakable Īśa tore open Dakṣa's belly that day, / I will rip open your belly, girl!" / "Just as Keśava ripped open Hiraṇya with his nails so that all trembled, / I will rip open your belly, girl! / 25. Just as the victorious one severed the nose / of the demoness [Tāṭakā / Śūrpaṇakhā] so that she lost, I will sever your nose, girl!" / "Just as the Wondrous One, skilled in sin, sliced off the nose / of Cūraṉ's sister [Durmukhī], I will slice off your nose, girl! / 26. Just as our King plucked out the eye of Bhāskara [Sūrya / Bhaga] / at the sacrifice so it was ruined, I will ruin your eye, girl!" / "Just as glorious Keśava destroyed the eye of Śukra in the past, / I will ruin your eye, girl! / 27. Just as the Supreme Lord stood and trampled / upon Muyalakaṉ that day, I too will trample upon you, girl!" / "Just as the Wondrous One with dense locks / pierced through Khara that day, I too will pierce through you, girl! / 28. Just as Īśa mounted by wrath kicked Yama with his foot that day, / I will kick you in the chest, girl!" / "Just as Keśava kicked the noisy cart [Śakaṭāsura] in former days, / I will kick you in the chest, girl! 68 / O Lord of Tiruvārūr, the primal support, desiring justice, / the Vedas, and the Āgamas! / Having conquered Kāma without boasting of love, / is it proper for you to go as a messenger for the sake of a woman?"
6.70
Was it not Kaṇṇaṉ who hurled the discus held in his hand / and hid the sun, girl? / Would even that be caught in the mouth of the snake in the hand / of Kamalai’s Lord, surrounded by devotees, girl? / 2. Was it not our Māyaṉ who shaped / a well-trodden stone into a woman, girl? / Was it not our Lord who turned the perishable bone / into [the living] Pūmpāvai, girl? / 3. Was it not Māyaṉ who became a fish in opposition / and reached into the ocean, girl? / And was it not our short sage [Agastya] / who drank that spoken-of great ocean, girl? / 4. Have you not understood the sacred grace / of red-eyed Māl on that day when he protected the elephant, girl? / And have you not heard of the greatness of Cuntaraṉ / who retrieved the child swallowed by the fierce crocodile, girl? / 5. To protect the distress-crying cattle, my āṇṭai / lifted the mountain and stopped the rain; / My āṇṭai held high Mount Meru / to shine in his lotus hand. / 6. My āṇṭai destroyed Laṅkā / at the sea made firm like a vajra; / My āṇṭai, sprouting a slight smile, / burnt the hostile Tripuras. / 7. Waging the fierce Bhārata war here, / my āṇṭai gave life to the five [Pāṇḍavas]; / Dancing the tāṇḍava and bearing the trident, / my āṇṭai performed the universal destruction. / 8. Crowning Vibhīṣaṇa on that day, / my āṇṭai bestowed ancient Laṅkā; / In the unceasing Veṭāraṇyam, / my āṇṭai gave the three worlds to a mouse. / 9. What is this reviling of Keśava? Tell me, girl! / If we look closely, are they not dear friends to each other, girl? / What is this reviling of Īśa? Tell me, girl! / Between the two, is there enmity rather than kinship? / 10. Sister-in-law, on that day, our elder brother gave his sister / who was suited to our Śaṅkara, girl! / Tēvarakaṇṭan of southern Kamalai, who gladdens the earth, / bestowed red Tirumakaḷ upon Māl on that day, girl! / 11. Our Lord who ate the universe became the chariot-driver, / and Mahādeva slew the enemies, girl! / Without doubt, in those days our Lord / gave a discus to your Māl, girl! / 12. Becoming Īśa’s grace, our Keśava of old / was raised in the unique side [of Śiva’s form] that was assumed, girl! / Running as the bull, Māyaṉ bore / Īśa himself upon the chariot of sounding bells, girl! / 13. Forget my fault with overflowing love, / do not bear malice, Vanmīkap Paḷḷi! / Splendidly, we two should dance together, / unite, and live together, see, Cīraṅkap Paḷḷi!
6.71
Long live Ñāṉappirakācaṉ, who narrated the Paḷḷu genre / with good poetry! Long live the good earth! / Long live the true renown of Vittiyātipati Mutali, / with a bow-curved mark, whose hand holds a great deer! / Long live the good town of Kamalai! Long live Cāmantaṉ! / May gifts and royal plates flourish and live long! / Long live Mallaiya Pūpaṉ, of strong wrestler-shoulders! / Long live Pūmiyāṉai, long live for ever and ever!
6.72
O Father of Kamalai of ruling renown, when struck by the bow / strung by battle-famous Vijaya, you bore it patiently— / even if here it is despicable, is it not your renown / to bear patiently the poor words of your true servant?