Thiruvaimozi-1-3-9,10,11

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9.valatthavan thiripuram eritthavan idampera tthundhi

thalatthezu dhiSaimukhan padaittha nallulagamum thanum

pulappadappinnumthan ulagatthil agatthanan thane

solapugil ivai pinnum vayitRuLa ivaiyavan thuyakkE

The maya of the Lord is too wonderful to describe. Rudra, who burnt the three cities, is on the right half of Him, valatthavan thiripuram eritthavan idampeRa,, while the Creator Brahma has risen from His navel, thundhi thalatthezu dhisaimukhan Yet the Lord manifests Himself in the worlds created by Brahma, padaittha nallulagamum thaanum pulappada. Also He has all the worlds together with the creator , Brahma and annihilator, Rudra with in Him, pinnum vayitRuLE(His stomach.)

The power of all the devas and also of Brahma ,the creator and Rudra, the annihilator comes from the Lord, who is the self of all beings. Hence Rudra was able to burn the three cites owned by the three asuras with His help only , the story actually being that Lord Vishnu was the arrow with the tip being agni and feathers being vayu. Not only that, but the Lord also gave Rudra place in His right half of the body in His manifestation as Sankaranarayana, Brahma also originated from His navel and acquired the power to create from the Lord . The maya of the Lord makes the Azvar exclaim is that, not only He gave place to Rudra and Brahma on His body to enable them to perform their allotted functions but also takes part in the world created by Brahma posing as one of his creations.

This idea is beautifully brought out by Desika in Yadhavabhyudhaya.

Namyasya namathaH kshudhraan varadhasya varaarThinaH

puthraiH pithrmathaH kreedaa kaTham the kena varnyathe

(Yad.1-48)

 

` Who can describe your leelaa, by which you bow down to lesser mortals who should worship You, beg favours from those who should be asking You for boons, You act like a son to your own children.'

At the same time while He is appearing in the world in different roles put on by Himself , He is preserving the whole cosmos with all the beings in His stomach including Brahma and Rudra. This indeed is the indescribable maya of the Lord.

 

10.thuyakkaRu madhiyil nal jnaanatthuL amararaitthuyakkum

mayakkudai maayaaigaL vaanilum periyavan vallan

puyaRkkaruniRatthanan perunilam kadandhanalladippOdhu

ayarppilan alattRuvan thazuvuvan vaNanguvan amarndhE

The enchanting maya of the Lord, mayakkudai maayaigaL who is greater than even the space, vaanilum perian, deludes even the devas, amararaitthuyakkum, who are supposed to have clear conception, madhiyil nal jnaanatthuL, of His glory. I will enjoy Him alone incessantly, amarndhE ayarppilan, and shout His glory,alattruvan, embrace Him, thazuvuvan, and bow down, vaNanguvan, to Him, of the hue of the cloud , who placed His foot on all without discrimination.

The maya of the Lord is so powerful that even the devas and nithyasuris like Garuda and Anantha are not exceptions and they also become deluded at times even though they are endowed with clear perception of the real nature of the Lord. Azvar further says that the Lord is only merciful to all and does not want to delude anyone but they become so, due to their own ignorance. He put His foot on all beings equally when He took the form of Thrivikrama and hence Azvar declares that He is the greatest, vaanilum periyan.

The reference here is to the instances when even the devas became deluded . Indra during the govardhanoddharaNa and parijaathaapaharaNa episodes, Brahma during vatsapaharana and Rudra, fighting Krishna in support of Banasura and feeling desire for the mohini form of the Lord etc.

The words ayarppilan, alattRuvan , thazuvuvan and vaNanguvan denote the various ways in which Azvar experienced the Lord. The feelings of an ardent devotee is pictured thus in these words.

ayarpilan- Continuous contemplation of nothing else but Him, amarndhE.

alattruvan- the outburst of feeling in being separated from Him and speaking about Him aloud, irrespective of the impression on others, meaning, not being afraid of ridicule or censure.

thazuvuvan- When the Lord comes the devotee embraces Him as Azvar says in a latter section `ini unaippoga viduvadhundO,' "Will I ever let You go again?"

vaNanguvan- total surrender.

 

11.amarargaL thozudheza alaikadal kadaindhavan thannai

amarpozil vaLam kurugoor sadagopan kuttREvalgaL

amarSuvai aayiratthavattRinuL ivai patthum vallaar

amararodu uyarviRsenRu aRuvar tham piravi anjiRaiyE

Those who learn these ten verses out of the thousand by the azvar that stand as the verbal offering to the Lord , who churned the ocean to save the devas who prayed to Him, will join the retinue of the Lord consisting of the immortals, being freed from the bondage of samsara.

In mentioning the benefit of reading these ten verses, Azvar remembers the extreme mercy of the Lord in helping the devas when they prayed to Him, amarargaL thozudheza alaikadal kadaindhavan, during the AmrthamaThana. He helped in lifting the mountain, supporting it and also churned along with them and entered into them to give them strength making them free of fatigue. Hence worshipping such an ocean of mercy, it is no wonder that His devotees attain a status equal with the immortals and cut their shakles of karma that creates bondage.

In the first decade Azvar showed the supremacy of the Lord.

In the second, he showed that,

One should cast off the attachment to sense objects and surrender oneself to Him by perceiving the faults of the sensual pleasures, give up the concept of I and mine. Attaining the Lord alone is free of defects as compared even to the kaivalyamukthi. The Lord is attached to one and all and all belong to Him only. Worshipping Him with body, mind and speech, (kaayena, manasaa vaachaa) is the means to attain Him and the end also. Finally the Lord is identical with the ashtaaksharamanthra.

In this decade Azvar shows that even though the Lord is supreme and beyond comprehension, He could be attained easily through devotion. He has made Himself accessible through His incarnations, though He retains His supremacy . He cannot be known by His enemies and by those who are indifferent. To know Him is possible through His own words and He should be considered as being above the trinity of Brahma, the creator, VishNu, the protector and Rudra, the annihilator, whose power comes only through Him. It is enough if one realizes this at least at the time of death and bow down to Him, not deluded by His maya during His incarnations, which is so powerful that it deludes even the clear intellects at times.