© Project Madurai 1999-2000
Project Madurai is an open, voluntary, worldwide initiative devoted to preparation of electronic texts of tamil literary works and to distribute them free on the Internet. Details of Project Madurai are available at the website http://www.tamil.net/projectmadurai

You are welcome to freely distribute this file, provided this header page is kept intact. Editorial Note on this release: Rev. Pope has used transliterated form with diacritical markers to cite many Tamil words with grantha characters (such as the first letter of Civan marked with C-cedilla). To render the English translation using lower case ASCII characters, we have used the following transliteration scheme with upper-case C for C-cedilla (for the first letter of Civan):
Vowels: a A i I u U e E ai o O au H;
Consonants: k ng c nj T N t n p m y r l v z L R n2
Grantha: j S s h kS SRI

tiruvAcagam or Sacred Utterances
of the Tamil Poet, Saint and Sage MAnikka-vACagar
by
Rev.G.U.Pope
Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1900
(part I - Hymns 1 -10 )

HYMN 1 (civapurANam)
Civan's way of Old (or)
Civan's Course from Everlasting

HYMN II . kIrttit tiru akaval
CIVAN'S FAME
THE SACRED SONG OF CIVAN'S RENOWNED ACTS

The sacred foot that danced in Tillai's city old
Is His, Who in all varied lives has energized;
Revealed in beauty of innumerous, varied qualities;
In earth, in sky, and in celestial worlds.
All ordered lore hath He revealed, and He made void. (5)
My darkness hath He driven for aye far off.
Within His servants' inmost soul that love o'erflows
He dwells, - His glory and His choice.
On great MahEndra's biding hill
In grace He caused the uttered Agamas appear. (10)
He came with the good goddess,
Pleasant and gracious, mingling with men at KallAdam.
With her whose words are milk in the 'fivefold couch,'
He caused sweet grace, that unfailing accumulates, to grow.
In guise of a woodman, of her whose lips are crimson, (15)
He sank in the lovely expanse of the swelling breast.
Becoming a fisherman He caught the shark.
And he received the Agamas, a rich spoil.
Moreover, on MahEndra seated, the self-same Agamas
From His five mouths He graciously spake forth. (20)
In our abode a BrAhman He became,
And as a deathless Guru dwelt in grace.
Assuming diverse forms, and diverse habitudes,
As hundreds of hundreds of thousands of natures,
I Can, Lord of the bull, that the world might be saved, - (25)
He and the Lady, His partner, - came in grace.
Bringing horses, in the Western land,
Right royally He rode in state.
In fair PuttUr, town of the dart, upon the bull He rode,
Made manifest His state and glorious pomp. (30)
In a mirror, at PuttUr of the santhal-wood,
Gave increase to the woodman armed with bow.
His form all flame, that held the 'gram-bag',
In magic beauty exquisite, of old he showed.
He whose extent to Hari and to BrahmA was not known, (35)
In goodness jackals into horse made,
To make him His, He of the sacred foot,
The chargers to the PAndiyan sold,
Nor deigned to take the heaped-up gold.
Our King made me His slave, and in the path of grace to keep, (40)
Made manifest the ancient brightening ray.
Becoming a BrAhman, graciously making me His own,
He showed the magic illusion.
Coming to Madura, the city great and fair,
He became a horse's groom. (45)
And therein too, for the female devotee
He condescended to carry earth.
In Uttara-KOca-Mangai abiding
He showed His special form.
In PUvanam he vouchsafed to appear in beauty, (50)
And showed His ancient spotless form.
In VAthavUr he came sweetly gracious
And caused the sound of His tinkling anklets to be heard.
In Perun-turrai's blissful home, a Blessed One He dwelt,
And guileful, in undimmed lustre hid Himself. (55)
In PUvalam, beauteous, sweet and gracious,
He sin destroyed.
A water-booth he placed, to gain the victory,
And graciously became an attendant who serves water.
He came a guest to VenkAdu. (60)
Beneath the Kurunthu tree He sat that day.
In royal Mangai, in fair beauty throned,
The eight great mystic powers in grace He gave.
Becoming a hunter, and assuming the form He desired,
In the forest with guile He lay hid. (65)
Exhibiting a body, assumed at pleasure,
He bore the fitting form.
In Jackal-town well pleased in grace
He became an earthly babe.
In PANTUr He came to dwell. (70)
In the resplendent island, in the south of DEvUr,
He assumed kingly state.
In sacred ArUr, famed for its honey-dripping groves,
He bestowed the gift of wisdom.
In Idai-maruthu, by hosts attended,
He planted His pure foot. (75)
Assuming the nature of Ekambam,
He became partner with his never-sundered queen.
In glory He dwelt in sacred VAnjiyam,
And delighted in the society of her of perfumed locks. (80)
He became an attendant bearing a mighty bow,
And assumed many various appearances,
He dwelt in a spacious home in KadambUr;
And showed Himself in beauty in the hill IngOy.
He became a Caivan in AiyAru. (85)
He abode with desire in Turutti.
In the 'town of the sacred palm' He dwelt desired.
In Karumalam He manifested His presence.
In the 'Vulture's Hill' He dwelt without a flaw.
In Purrambayam He taught virtues manifold. (90)
In KutRAlam He was for a sign.
Concealing His endless greatness in form of fire,
In beauteous disguise the only primal One assumed a form,
In magic splendour came in grace,
Took each one's nature into Himself,- (95)
Being the infinite Lord of grace, our king,-
Became a Sage as moonlight bright.
Thro' upper air descending to the beauteous LAND
He came in fairest form and filled with grace,-
Lord of the HILL MahEnthiram, mountain of mystic lore, (100)
The King of grace, immeasurably great !

If one could tell the way He made me His:
He showed His sacred form of power and grace;
He exhibited His BANNER of sacred ashes;
The RIVER of rapture that straightway (105)
All human vileness sweeps away, in grace He gave:
The Partner of the DAME, in mercy great !
While the great NATHA-DRUM spake loud
He made me His, so that impurity touches not.
He bears the mystic SPEAR, (110)
The splendour He whose flame pure light emits,
Who cuts away the primal threefold bond;
A loving one, the lotus GARLAND blue
In fragrant loveliness He wore;
Hari and BrahmA knew not Him to mete; (115)
On prancing charger forth He rode.
He shows in grace the way knows no return;
The old dominion of the PAndi LAND is His;

He bears to bliss supern His pious saints
Uttara-KOca-Mangai is His TOWN; (120)
To the primeval Beings He gives grace,
The GOD OF GODS His sacred NAME;
His VEHICLE is gift of joy dispels the dark;
His the MOUNT of grace that greatness gives,
Fitted to each one's lofty nature, each one's power; (125)
Meetly in love He makes them His;-
Me, cur, in Tillai filled with good,
He bade draw nigh th'all-glorious company;
Yet, Ah ! He left me here.
That day His servants who gained grace to go with Him, (130)
Mingled in perfect union with Himself,
While those that gained it not leaped on the fire !
Then did bewilderment come over them,
On earth they rolled, they fell, they wailed,
They rushed with eager foot to reach the sea; (135)
'Our Lord, Our Lord', they wept and called.

While those who gained His foot pressed near,
And cried, 'Celestial Dancer, who to Patanjali gave grace,'
And yearned to gain satiety of bliss,
He dances 'mid the company of beauteous 'Tiger-town', (140)
That golden beauty like HimAlaya wears,
There to Umai, whose roseate mouth is filled with sweetness,
And to KAli grants the beauteous smile of His blest countenance.
Thus the King with His assembled saints
Joyous hath entered 'Tiger-town,' with garners filled, (145)
High Lord of Kailai that resounds with rapturous song.

HYMN III - thiruvanndappahudi
THE NATURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNIVERSE

HYMN VI - neethal viNNappam (prapanja vairakkiyam)
'FORSAKE ME NOT'

HYMN VII - thiruvempaavai
(Cattiyai viyantatu)
THE MAIDENS' SONG OF THE DAWNING

The mystic 'Song of the Maidens' forms a pendant to the 'Morning Hymn' (XX). It has always been attributed to Manikka-vACagar without any hesitation, though in many respects it is certainly unlike most of his other lyrics. It is said to have been composed for the use of the women at ArunACalam, among whom it is, and was, the custom to celebrate with great demonstrations of joy a festival in honour of the god Civan and the goddess Catti in the month of Margazhi, which corresponds to the second half of December and the first half of January. At that time the females of the city of all ages for ten successive days rise before dawn, and perambulate the precincts, arousing their companions from house to house, and proceeding to bathe (in rigidly decorous manner) in the sacred tank. There are passages in this poem which I have been obliged somewhat to veil, and modify, carefully preserving, however, the full and exact meaning of the original, as I conceive it. There is, however, connected with the Caiva worship, it must be said, a series of rites which is sometimes called the tantric, and sometimes the Cakti system. No doubt, in connection with this, many unspeakable abominations have been, and are at times perpetrated; and every thoughtful Hindu is sincerely anxious that all trace of these corruptions should be swept away. In all nations Similar things have existed, and it would be quite superfluous to enumerate the ancient rites of a similar character that have been enthusiastically celebrated. From such things the Caiva system must sever itself absolutely, which it can the more decidedly do, because they have no real root in the Caiva Siddhanta philosophy itself.

In one edition of these poems there is the introduction to the 'Maidens' Reveille,' which gives a mystic interpretation to a large portion of the lyric. According to this author, from the month of Adi to the month of Margazhi (i.e. from July 15th to January 15th) is the night season; the other half of the year being the daytime; the whole year forming a single day of the Gods. The former half of the year, in which there is rain with black clouds, is the representative of the secular period of involution or destruction, when all things have been re-involved in the ripple veils of darkness, which period precedes that of the recreation, or evolution. The other half of the year represents the period of creation, i.e. the time during which the phenomenal universe is re-evolved from its eternal elements as the sphere of the activities of all things that have life. The month of Margazhi is then the symbol of the awaking of the universe from its slumber of involution. It is the dawn of the new creation,Ñ of secular evolution. [NOTE XIII].

Now this creation is the work of Catti, the manifested energy of Civan:Ñhis wife, who is the author, not of life indeed, but of the whole phenomenal system in which and by which life exerts its energy, and achieves its destinies. Civan himself can come into no personal relation with matter and its veiling delusions and darkness. It is, therefore, Catti that accomplishes the work; she is an energy of activity, of knowledge, and of desire; and through her alone the Supreme evolves all things. But this tantric system, like the gnostic systems of old, does not permit Catti as the Partner of the Supreme, to accomplish directly the work of evolution. This would be far too simple and direct for Hindu philosophy. There is a long chain of feminine manifestations (aeons evolved in succession, each coming into a relation to the Supreme that constitutes a distinct stage in the process; and it is only at last that BrahmA and Vishnu are evolved, to be respectively the fashioned and the maintainer of the cosmic world. The writer here enumerates nine of these Cattis amongst whom are numbered the chief female divinities that, under various names and epithets, are worshipped or propitiated in various parts of India. Among them is the dreaded KAli. No doubt there are hints of all this in this poem, but its plain and obvious interpretation is the only one known to the majority of those that use it, and I imagine the composer himself was innocent of anything like the gnosticism and mysticism that his interpreters have given him credit for. As the hymn stands it is a beautiful composition, but in some parts it will seem to be somewhat obscure. I have tried to give a version that still be as literal as possible, but only the Tamil reader can feel how great a poet its author was; and only the student of the South-Indian Caiva philosophy can expect to enter into its spirit.

Metre: veNTanaiyAnvanta iyaRRavinaik koccackalippa


I. The temple worship
(The waits sing at the door)
The Splendour rare and great, that knows nor first nor end,

----

The Mother of KaraikAl :

Some of the legends in the Tamil periya PurAnam relate to the period between the first and second great revivals of Caivism, and a few are anterior to both. It seems pretty certain that, while the Jains and Buddhists were active and apparently triumphant everywhere, there were a great multitude of the faithful Caivites who, like the Covenanters in Scotland, were rendered more zealous by the persecutions to which they were exposed. Among these was the 'Mother' of KArai-kAl, who was a poetess, many of whose verses are still preserved. The legend gives a most interesting picture of some phases of South-Indian life a thousand years ago. The Mother 'was the wife of a rich merchant of KArai-kAl', whose name was, Paramadattan ('Endowed with heavenly gifts'). Her own name was PunithavathiyAr ('the pure'). She was very devout, and especially careful to entertain all Caiva devotees that came to her door. One day her husband received from some persons who had come to him on business a present of two mangoes, of a very superior kind, which he got home to his wife. Soon afterwards, a holy devotee arrived at the house as a mendicant guest but she had nothing ready to offer him except some boiled rice. This she set before him, and having no other condiment to present, gave him one of the aforesaid mangoes At noon her husband returned, and atter his meal ate the remaining mango, which pleased him so much that he said to his wife, 'There were two; bring me the other.' She went away in dismay; but remembering that the god to whose servant-because he was His servant she had given the fruit, never deserts those who serve Him, she offered a mental prayer, and straightaway found a mango in her hand, which she carried to her husband. Being A divine gift, it was of incomparable sweetness, and he said to her, 'Where did you obtain this?' She hesitated at first to reveal the wonder that had been wrought on her behalf, but reflected that she ought to have no concealments from her husband and so told him everything. He gave no credence to her words, but roughly replied, 'If that is so, get me another like it.' She went away, and said in her heart to the god, 'If thou givest me not one more fruit, my word will be disbelieved'. Forthwith she formed another fruit still more lovely in her hand. When she carried this to her husband he took it in astonishment; but behold ! it forthwith vanished. Utterly confounded by these wonderful things, he came to the conclusion that his wife was a supernatural being, and resolved to separate at once from her. He revealed the matter, however, to no one, but quietly equipped a ship in which he embarked a great part of his wealth and then on a lucky day, worshipping the god of the sea, with sailon end a skillful captain, he act sail for another country, where he made merchandise, accumulated a fortune, and after some time re-embarking, came back to India to another city in the PAndiyan land, where he married a merchant'. daughter, and lived in great luxury. A daughter was born to him, to whom be gave the name of the wife with whom he had feared to remain, but for whom he retained exceeding reverence.

After awhile his return and prosperity became known to his friends In KArai-kAl, who resolved to compel him to receive again his first wife, their kinswoman, whom he had deserted. They accordingly proceeded to his new residence, carrying with them in a litter his saintly spouse, the 'Mother' of KArai-kAl. When he heard that she had arrived and was halting in a grove outside the town, he was seized with a great dread, and proceeded with his second wife and daughter to where the 'Mother' was encamped surrounded by her kindred. He at once prostrated himself with profoundest reverence before her, saying, 'Your slave is happy here and prosperous thorough your benediction. To my daughter I have given your sacred name, and I constantly adore you as my tutelary goddess'. Poor PunithayathiyAr, utterly confounded by this salutation and worship, took refuge among her kinsfolk, who all cried out, 'Why is the madman worshipping his own wife!' To this Paramadattan replied, 'I myself beheld her work as miracle, and I know that she is no daughter of the human race, but a supernatural being, and so I have separated myself from her, and I worship her as my tutelary divinity, and have dedicated this my daughter to her, and therefore have I worshipped her and call upon you to do the same.' But PunithavnthiyAr pondered the matter and prayed within herself to Civan the Supreme, saying: 'Lord, this is my husband's persuasion. Take from me then the beauty that I have hitherto cherished for his sake alone. Remove from this burthen of the flesh, and give to me the form and features of one of the demon hosts who evermore attend on Thee, and praise Thee.' That very instant, by the grace of the god, her flesh dried up, and she became a demoness, one of Civan's hosts, whom the earthly worth and heavenly world hold in reverence. Then the gods poured down a rain of flowers, heaveny minstrelsy resounded, and her relative fearing, paid her adoration and departed. So she had now become a demoness, and her abode was the wild jungle of AlankAdu; but through the inspiration the god she sang several sacred poems, which are preserved. Afterwards there came upon her an irresistible desire to behold the Sacred Hill of KailACam, and with inconceivable speed she fled northwards till she arrived at the foot of the Mountain, and reflecting that it was not right with feet to tread the heavenly ascent, she threw herself down and measured the distance with her head. The goddess UmA, Civan's bride, beheld her thus ascending, and said to her spouse, 'Who is that in this strange fashion draws near, A gaunt fleshless skeleton, sustained only by the energy of love? To which Civan replied, 'She that cometh is the "Mother" devoted to my praises, this mighty demon-form she has obtained by her prayers.' When she drew near he addressed with words of love, calling her by the name of 'Mother,' which she for ever bears. As soon as heard the word she fell at his feet worshipping, and ejaculating 'Father !' Civan then said to her What boon dost thou ask of me?' She worshipped and replied, 'Loni, to me your slave give love which is undying, and infinite blessedness. I would fain be born on earth no more; but if I must so born, grant me at least that I may never, in any form, at any time, forget Thee, my God; when thou dost perform thy sacred mystic dance, beneath thy feet in rapture may I stand and sing thy praise', To which the God replied, 'In AlankAdu thou shall see my dance, and with rapture thou shalt sing.' Then the sacred 'Mother' of KArai-kAl returned, measuring the distance still on head to holy AlankAdu, where she beheld the God's sacred dance, and sang her renowned lyric his praise.
---
This legend illustrates a remarkable feature in the Caiva worship of the south, where devotees are not infrequently adored as having become demons. Doubtless, this is connected with pre-Aryan usages, and the poems attributed to the 'Mother' of Karaikaal present the most vivid picture demon worship with which I am acquainted. It is not difficult to imagine the source of tradition. We have the picture of a devout and enthusiastic worshipper of Civan, who sacrifices everything to the performance of her supposed duties to the god. She is misunderstood by inappreciative husband, who forsakes her, and finally, with scorn, repudiates her. She has herself a chapel in the jungle, where she spends her days and nights in prayers and austerities on her death is worshipped. The legends would soon accumulate, and the poems represent dramatic form the artistic view of all the circumstances.
-----------


XVI The Cloud*, an Allegory

Erewhile thou didst the sea diminish, rising like the Queen;

HYMN VIII - THE SACRED AMMANAI.
RAPTUROUS JOY.

--
Civan cast His net, is a fisherman. This refers to a story in the fifty-seventh of the ÔSacred sports'. PArvathi was one day inattentive while Civan was expounding to her the VEdic mysteries, for which she was condemned by her angry husband and preceptor to be born on earth as a wife of a fisherman. Accordingly one day she was discovered lying as a tender infant under a Pinnai tree(or Punnai, Calophyllam Inophyllam)by the headman of the Paravar, a great clan of fisherman found everywhere along the coasts of the Tamil lands. By him she was adopted, and grew up a maiden of surpassing beauty. At this time Nandi the Chamberlain of Civan, in order to bring about the accomplishment of the god's purpose with regard to the banished PArvathi, assumed the form of a monstrous shark; and in various ways annoyed the poor fishermen, breaking their nets and wrecking their boats. On this the headman of the paravars issued a proclamation that whoever should catch the sea-monster should be rewarded with the hand of his beautiful adopted daughter. Civan forthwith made his appearance as a youth of noble aspect who had come from Madura, and at the first throw of his net caught the shark and brought it to land. He accordingly, having himself become a fisherman, received the fisherman's daughter in marriage. The god now assumed his ancient form, and restored pArvathi to hers, and with many gracious words took the foster father with Him to KailACham, the paradise of Silver Hill.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

III. The Initiation in Perun-turrai

Inthiran, MAl, all the other heavenly ones,
Stood round in upper air; - Civan in grace to earth came down,
Made those like us His own. His arm the sacred ashes shows;
All-glorious Perun-turrai's Lord, who comes our hearts to thrill;
To loose our bonds He on a charger rode, and gave
Unending raptures; SING the bliss ! AMMAANAY, SEE! (18)

IV. He chose not the ascetics, but me !

The gods who filled the heavens, - MAl, Ayan, Indra too,
Sore penance did, like anthills stood, yet know Him not !
To me a cur He came, with mother-love He lent His aid;
In flesh He came, with trembling rapture thrilled me through -
Honied ambrosia's Essence pure; the jewell'd foot
That trends the skies in gleaming light SING we ! AMMAANAY, SEE ! (24)

V. His grace to me all unworthy.

The Mighty One, the South-King, Perun-turrai's Lord,
Me vilest cur, of mind untaught, with frenzy filled;
Kneaded the stone, made it sweet fruit; plunged in the flood
Of mercy; all my sin destroyed. To Him, the Sage,
Who Tillai's city entering, in the sacred court abides,
The ancient Rider of the Bull, SING we ! AMMAANAY, SEE ! (30)

VII Civan, a 'false' mendicant

And hast thou heard, my friend, how-one with falsehood came?
The Lord of Perun-turrai's southern shrine begirt
With storied walls, showed things ne'er shown before, showed bliss,
Showed us His lotus foot, and honey of His grace; -
While rustics laughed, - that we the heavenly home might gain,
He made us His; SING we this grace ! AMMAANAY, SEE ! (36)

VII. Civan's ten epithets.

Indweller in the heart of those who ceaseless ponder Him;
The Faroff-One; the Warrior; ever-loving habitant
Of Perun-turrai's southern shrine; the Sage; half of Whose form
The Lady shares; the Love'd-One Who made me, mere cur, His own;
With mother-love Who visits men; the sevenfold world
Whose essence is; Ruler of souls; SING we ! AMMAANAY, SEE ! (42)

VIII. Seven aspects of Civan.

Half of the Queen, whose grace accepts our melodies,
The mighty Lord, the King of Perun-turrai's shrine; -
He rules the expanded sphere of renowned of upper heaven;
The Godwith eye in midmost of His brow; in Madura
Distreat, He carried earth for hire; was smitten by the King, -
SING we His golden form that bore the wounds ! AMMAANAY, SEE ! (48)

IX. Ten mythic ideas of Civan

His the crescent; His the mystic word; Perun-turrai's King;
He wears the twisted thread; He rides the glorious bull;
Black is His throat; His body red; He smears the ashes white;
First in all worlds is He, the rapture without end
As in the days of yore to ancient saints in grace He gives !
That all the worlds may wonder, SING ! AMMAANAY, SEE ! (54)

X. Various praises, six topics.

The Sage above the gods that rule the heavens; Who stands
In majesty above the kings that rule this earth;
The pleasant PAndi-land, whose gift is Tamir's pleasant speech, is His;
The Bridegroom of the Queen; in Perun-turrai, His delight,
He showed His gracious feet, made me, a dog, His own;
AnnAmalai's His shrine, SINE we ! AMMAANAY, SEE ! (60)

XI. Praises.

The fair Queen's Half; of southern Perun-turrai Lord;
Whose Nature thrills the souls that cling around His feet;
The Sire who made that Paandi-land the Civa-world;
Adown Whose braided lock the waters flow; Whose blissful jewell'd foot
Abides within their souls, who rightly render them to Him;
Beyond the furthest limits praise uplift ! AMMAANAY, SEE ! (66)

XII. The Supreme and Absolute.

Listen, O damsel with the jet-black eyes ! MAl, Ayan, IndrA too,
Through every 'birth' sought Him, me, with sweet grace, in this one births
He made His own; guards me that I may suffer 'births' no more;
In all that's real, manifest; the true His biding-place;
The Self in all that is, is He; of everything the Home;
Our Civan, Who that essence is, SING we ! AMMAANAY, SEE ! (72)

XIII. Praises, six epithets.

While bracelets tinkling around, - while ear-rings wave - while jetty locks
Disheveled fall, - while honey flows, and beetles hum;
The Ruddy-One Who wears the ashes white, Whose home
None reach or know, who dwells in every place, - to loving ones
The True, the Sage Whom hearts untrue still deem untrue,
Who in Ai-Aru dwells, SING we and praise ! AMMAANAY, SEE ! (78)

XIV. The story of his conversion

As elephant, as worm, in human shapes, in forms divine,
In other births diverse, - I lived and died, - was wearied sore;
He stood in flesh revealed, melted my soul; and joyous drove
My sin away; with every sweetness filled; and as a king
In grace appearing, in His service me received;
That Heavenly One's foot-flower SING we, AMMAANAY, SEE ! (84)

XV. Civan's triumph at Dakshan's sacrifice.

He made the moon grow dim in Dakshan's sacrifice;
He Indra's shoulder crushed; cut off the 'Ecchan's head;
Teet of the bright-beamed sun, that rides the sky, He broke;
Dispersed the gods, and drove away to every point;
Lord of South Perun-turrai's shrine with flow'ry groves
Begirt; the Fragrant-garlanded, SING we, AMMANAAY, SEE! (90)

XVI. The sweetness of His Presence.

His Presence mingled in my body, and thought;
As honey, rare ambrosia, every choicest sweet
He gave His grace, in ways the heavenly ones know not;
The Warrior crowned with cassia's honied flowers; as glorious light
Of wisdom known, with souls in number infinite,
Their King He dwells, this tell we out! AMMAANAY, SEE ! (96)

XVII. Ectasy of adoration.

I'll wear the flow'ry 'cassia' wreath, and wearing join myself
To Civan's mighty arm; and joining cling in rapture lost;
Then shrinking shall I melt with love of His red lip;
I'll seek Him,- seeking I'll ponder Civan's jewell'd foot;
I'll faint and droop, and yet again revive. The ruddy foot
Of Him who dances there 'mid fire SING we! AMMANAAY, SEE ! (102)

XVIII. Civan appeared as a BrAhman

In light He gleams, Her Half whose words as Parrot's note are soft,
The Sage whom MAl and Ayan coming forth could not discern;
In glorious Perun-turrai's grove with honied fragrance filled,
In mercy affable, and sweetest grace transcending thought,
In light He came, caused light within my soul to shine;
The BrAhman full of tenderness SING we! AMMANAAY, SEE ! (108)

XIX. Praise with eleven epithets.

The Primal One, End of the Three, beyond the End
The After One, with braided lock, of Perun-turrai which He guards
The King, the Heavenly-One, the Partner of the Queen;
Who dwells in southern Anai-kA, the southern PAndi-land
Who owns, Ambrosia sweet to those who call Him theirs,
To such as one, the Father, SING we praise ! AMMANAAY, SEE ! (114)

XX. Clinging to the Guru.

The mighty Lord whose nature others know not, - Perun-turrai's King
In grace upon victorious charger riding came;
His servant's faults removed; gave virtue, cleansed from stain;
Severed the clinging cords of earthly ties ! His praises old
We cling to, - so may earthly bonds be loosed; the mighty bliss
Of Him to whom we cling, SING we !, AMMAANAY, SEE ! (120)
----------------

HYMN IX - thiruppoRcuNNam (Ananthamanolayam)
THE SACRED GOLD DUST.
THE MERGING OF THE SOUL IN RAPTURE.

Hymn X- tiruk kOttumpi
THE HUMMING BEE

The image of this renowned South Indian devotee stands in the temple at KAlahasti (Calastri) near the Pulicat Hills. He was a rAja of UduppUr, and of the Shepherd caste ( a vEdan or Hill-men, perhaps a Kurumban). The story represents his ancient clan as possessing great wealth and authority in a wild hilly district, where their whole occupation was hunting. There is a ZamindAr, who lives there now in feudal state. The old chieftain, the father of Kannappan, whose name was NAgan (the Dragon-man) is represented to us as moving about attended by fierce hunting dogs, armed with every kind of rustic weapon; a skillful archer, around whose mountain-dwelling innumerable forest animals of every kind had their home, and where the cries 'shoot' 'hurl' 'strike' were mingled from morning to night with the howlings of wild beasts, the barking of dogs, and the sound of the horns and drums of the hunters. He had no son, and therefore he and his wife went to the temple of Subrahmanyan ( a son of Civan) - the favourite deity of mountaineers, and probably a pre-Aryan deity of the South, an object of worship, under many names and forms, in every Tamil hamlet. To him they offered cocks and peafowl, made good feasts with copious libations of strong drink, performed wild dances; and in fact, according to the legend, seem to have worshipped much after the rude fashion of the demon worshippers of the present day. The result was that by the favour of their tutelary deity a son was born to them, who from his early childhood shared in his father's pursuits, being brought up, it is expressly said, like a tiger's cub. The proud, happy father used to carry him about on his shoulder, but finding him one day too heavy to be thus borne, gave him the name of 'Tinnan' ('the sturdy man') which remained his pet household name. He was erewhile to bear a more honourable and enduring title! Soon after this the old chief, finding himself unable any longer to conduct the hunting expeditions of the tribe, made over his authority to his son, with whom alone this history is concerned.

Henceforth our young hero is ever in the dense jungle with his veteran huntsmen. One day a wild boar, of gigantic size, that had been caught in their nets, escaped and made off with prodigious speed to the mountain side. Tinnan pursued it with two faithful attendants, but it let them a weary chase and did not stop till, exhausted with fatigue, it fell down in the shade of a tree on the slope of a distant hill. There Tinnan with his sword cut it in two. His attendants came up and were astonished and delighted at his success and said, ' We will roast the boar here, and refresh ourselves'. But there was no water at hand, so they took up the carcase of the boar and carried it some distance onward, till they came to sight of the sacred hill of 'KAlahasti'.

At the view of the mountain one of the attendants cried out, that on that mountain summit there was an image of the 'God with flowing hair' (Civan). 'If we go thither we may worship him' added he. Hearing this the young giant Tinnan again shouldered the boar and strode on, exclaiming, 'with every step that I advance towards the mountain the burden of the boar diminishes. There is some miraculous power here; I must find out what it is'. So saying he rushed on with great eagerness till he came to the bank of a river, where he deposited his burden, bade his companions make a fire and prepare the feast, while he himself hastened onward till he beheld on the slope of the hill, on the further bank of the stream, a stone lingam, the upper part of which was fashioned into a rude image of the head of the god. The moment he beheld it, as the magnet draws the iron, it drew his soul, which had been somehow prepared by the merit of good deeds and austerities performed in some former birth; and his whole nature was changed, every feelng being swallowed up the intense love for the god, whom for the first time he now beheld. As a mother, seeing her long lost son return, tarries not, but rushes to embrace him, as he threw himself upon the image, tenderly embraced it, and fervently kissed it. With tears of rapture, his soul dissolving like was n the sunshine, he cried out, 'Ah, wondrous blessedness! to me a slave this divinity has been given! But how is that the god remains here alone in a wilderness where lions, elephants, tigers, bears, and other wild beasts dwell, as though he were some rude mountaineer like me?'.

Then, examining the image more closely, he saw that water had been recently poured upon it and green leaves strewn over it. 'Who can have done this?' said he. His attendant, who had in the meantime has come up, replied: 'In the olden time, when I came here on a hunting expedition with your father, a BrAhman, I remember came, poured water and placed leaves upon this image, repeating some mysterious words;- perhaps he is still here. So it dawned upon the mind of Tinnan that these and other services, which he himself could render, might be acceptable to the god. 'But,' said he, 'there is no one here to supply him with food. He is alone, and I cannot leave him for an instant, yet I must perforce go and bring for him some of the boar's flesh cooked for our feast'. So, after much hesitation and unwillingness to lose sight for a moment of his new found treasure he went back, crossed the stream, where he found the food already prepared and his servants wondering at the delay in his return. Tinnan regarding them not, took some of the boar's flesh and cutting off the tenderest portions, roasted them on the point of an arrow; tasted them to ascertain that they were savoury; carefully selected the best, putting them into a cup of teak leaves which he had sewn together; and prepared to return to the woodland deity with his offering.

The servants seeing all this, very reasonably concluded that their master had suddenly gone mad, and hastened off home to take the news, and to ask the priestess of their tribe to return with them and exorcise the evil spirit that they supposed had taken possession of their lord. Tinnan unconscious of their departure, hastened back with the food in one hand, and his bow and arrow in the other. As he crossed the river, he filled his mouth with water, with which coming before the image he besprinkled it. He then took the wild jungle flowers from his own hair, and put them over it, and presented the coarse boar's flesh he had brought, saying: 'My Lord, I have chosen for thee the daintiest portions, have carefully prepared them with fire, have tasted them, and softened them with my own teeth. I have sprinkled thee with water from the stream, and have put on thee flowers thou mayest love. Accept my gifts!' [ This presentation of the food to the lingam and other images is often referred to in these stories, and the impression is given that the worshippers believed that the idol itself consumed the offering; but it is never expressly said that the food disappeared before the shrines, though this is sometimes implied.] Meanwhile the sun went down and during the whole night Tinnan with his arrow on the strung bow kept watch and ward around the god and at dawn went forth to the mountain to hunt, that he might provide for the daily wants of his new master.

While he was gone on this errand the BrAhman in charge of the lingam, who was a learned ascetic of renowned virtue and holiness, CivagOchariyAr, came at daybreak, and having performed his own ablutions in the river, provided himself with a vessel of pure water for the purification of the divine image, and a basket of sacred flowers and fresh leaves for its adornment and uttering the mystic Five Syllables, devoutly drew near. A scene of unutterable pollution met his horrified gaze. Flesh and bones were strewed around, and the image itself had been defiled with filthy water and common wild flowers! With trembling horror he sprang aside, exclaiming, 'Oh, god of gods!what an unhallowed impious hands of mountaineers have brought these pollutions here. How didst thou permit them thus to profane thy presence?'. So saying, he wept, fell down, and rolled in anguish before the god. But, reflecting that at any rate it was wrong to delay any longer the sacred service, he carefully removed the unhallowed things from the precincts, and proceeded to perform worship according to the Vedic rites: and having sung the appointed Hymn, and many times gone round the right image, and prostrated himself in adoration, departed to his hermitage.

Meanwhile the servants, having taken the news of Tinnan's madness to old NAgan, his father returned with him and the priestess of their demon temple. They both attempted to reason with the young enthusiast, and to recall him tot he worship to which he had been accustomed; but its wild orgies delighted him no more. His whole affection was centered upon the new found Civan so they regarding him as hopelessly mad, returned sorrowing to their village.

[One object of this legend seems to be the reconciliation of the orthodox Civa worship and the ruder forms of demon worship then in use. The contrast is exceedingly striking when the refined and thoroughly instructed BrAhman, with his scrupulous attention to all the minutiae of vEdic worship, who regarded the slaying of animals as a crime, and the eating of their flesh as an unspeakable abomination, and considered that whatever had touched a man's mouth was polluted and that the wild human inhabitants of the jungle were a lower order of creation is brought face to face with the youthful chieftain of an almost savage tribe, whose chief delight is how to hunt down, slay and devour the birds and beasts of the forest; who brings boar's flesh for the unpolluted Civan to eat, and carries water in his mouth wherewith to besprinkle the image; who actually uses his leathern slippers to brush away the refuse leaves from the head of the god, who know no sacred texts; and who worships the same god, indeed, but has nothing to commend him save a rude uninstructed though zealous devotion.]

Meanwhile the mountaineer guards the god by night, returns at eventide to Offer his gifts and perform his rude service, and spends the day in providing flesh of beasts for the god's repast.At dawn, when the young woodman has departed, duly comes the pure and exclusive BrAhman having scrupulously made his own ablutions, cleanses the precincts, and performs his ceremonious worship. These men so different serve by turns before the same lingam, which they both regarded with equal reverence! But this cannot long continue so. The BrAhman makes a passionate appeal to Civan to guard himself from these pollutions, the author of which he cannot trace. He then return to his hermitage sad and utterly perplexed. But in the night the god appears to him, and then addressed him: ' That which thou dost complain of is to me most dear and acceptable! Thy rival ministrant is a chieftain of the rude foresters. He is absolutely ignorant of the VEdas and the Caiva texts. He knows not the ordinances of worship. But regard not HIM, regard the spirit and motives of his acts. His rough and gigantic frame is instinct with love to me, his whole knowledge - in thine eyes craze ignorance - is summed up in the knowledge of Me! His every action is dear to me; the tougch of his leathern slipper is pleasant to me as that of the tender hand of my son Skanda. The water with which he besprinkles me from his mouth is holy to me as the water of the Ganges. The food he offers me - to thee so abominable - is pure love. I regard not the externals of worship. He utterly loves me, even as thou dost; but come to-morrow when thou shalt see his worship, and I will give thee proof of his devotion to me'.

The BrAhman slept no more that night, but at daybreak was put in hiding behind the lingam by the god himself. And now Civan, who knows the hearts of worshippers, in order that Tinnan's truth might be manifest, caused blood to trickle down from the right eye of the image. The young worshipper drawing near beheld this, and exclaimed : ' Oh, my master, who hath wounded thee? What sacrilegious hand, evading my watchfulness, has wrought this evil?' Then seizing his weapons he proceeded to scour the neighbourhood to see if any mountaineer or wild animal could be detected as author of the mischief. Finding none, he threw himself on the ground in despair; but at length reflected that he had heard of remedies which would staunch the flow of blood. So he went and sought out in the jungle some herbs of virtue, and applied them; but the wound bled all the more copiously. Then a happy idea struck him; ' for a wounded eye the remedy is another eye applied,' said he; and pausing not an instant, with his arrow he scooped out his own right eye, and applied it to the bleeding eye of the image, from which at once the blood ceased to flow! At this his rapture knew no bounds. He sang and danced, and poured forth uncouth expressions of ardent thanksgiving; but on looking at the image once more, alas! blood was seen issuing from the other eye. After a moment or two of bewildered sorrow, his countenance was lit up with a radiant light of gladness; for he has still one eye left, and the efficacy of the remedy has been tried already; so he raises himself up, puts his one foot close up to the image's suffering eye, that he may be able to feel, when he no longer can see, where to apply the remedy; and proceeded to scoop the other eye. But this last sacrifice is too much for Civan to permit to be consummated; from out the lingam he puts forth a sacred hand, and grasps that of the youthful enthusiast, who still holds the arrow ready to accomplish his pious intention, and says: 'Stay, Tinnan, stay thine hand, my loving son! Henceforth the place for ever shall be at my right hands, on my holy mount'. CivagOchari had learnt the lesson that LOVE AND SELF-DEVOTION AND MORE THAN CEREMONIAL PURITY, and fell prostate; while the choirs of heaven chanted the beatification of the Saint, who is from age to age adored while his title of Kann-appan - the devotee who gave his eyes for the service of his God.
---
V. The only god.

Those gods are gods indeed, - These others are