The Flower of my Dreams

He who holds the universe by its seams,

Descended at dawn in my dreams!

Majestic and radiant, the Perpetuator stood mighty and tall,

With the radiance of a million suns, He did enthrall!

Like a glimmer of a wave in a dark ocean,

Sporting a serene smile that my spirit emboldened!

The slayer of demons, the upholder of civilisations:

Slayed my inhibitions, and upended every ounce of imagination!

Akin to a beautiful black mountain ,

The handsome chest of He who has Lakshmi smitten!

Over His handsome torso, like a tornado pulled in,

Was Adorned a lone garland with little flowers pink.

Overflowing with mercy, His eyes my meagre heart enamoured,

In my shaking hands were thrusted, His very flowers!

Even in silence, a million messages seemed to be spoken,

Gushing with gratitude, as all distances seemed to be broken!

Thenthiruperai-1

Bearing a white conch, whirled and pristine,
Adorning the other hand is the auspicious wheel;
Enchanting in all His splendour, with eyes like the lotus flower,
Mounting the divine bird, He rides my heart, unencumbered!
O mothers! In what words can I possibly surmise?
The beauty I wish you witness with your own eyes!
In that land where the Vedic chants are relentless,
And the music of celebrations endless:
Therein He sits, the epitome of bliss blemishless;
Enjoying the sounds of the kids’ games that never cease!
To that Thiruperai, this lost girl shall reach!

A liberal translation of Parangusa Nayaki’s (Nammazhwar’s) pining for the Lord of Thenthiruperai! Even as her mother and other ladies try to convince her otherwise, she explains that she is already lost to Him.(From Tiruvaymozhi 7.3.1)

The Dark Hue of the Flowers

O dark-hued monsoon flowers!  

Where is He, endowed with the blue of the dark ocean’s waters,  

By whom you are sent;

He who created you as warheads aimed for my personal torment?

To whom else shall I further lament ?

Running behind the  One adorned with the tulsi garland,

O! What can I do; even my hapless heart is in His command ?

Andal sees the lilies blooming in the monsoon, and even their colour reminds Her of  Her dark coloured lover. And so she begins lamenting her helplessness in this maddening love.

A liberal translation from Nachiyar thirumozhi 10.1

Sand Castles

The Majestic Lion reclining in the ocean endless,

Who saved from the crocodile’s clutches the elephant maddened and hapless;

With your sideways glances, you trouble our lovelorn hearts,

We, who yearning for you , are already torn apart!

As we work tirelessly, our bangles jingle;

Shaping this labour of love, our sand castle!

O Lord reclining in the ocean with waves of milk,

Do not destroy the castles we so deliberately built!

Another day, another liberal translation from Andal’s Nachiyar Thirumozhi (2.3). 

Kothai and her fellow gopis were building sand castles to offer to worship to the God of love, which Krishna keeps on destroying and goes about effortlessly interfering with their worship.

She then chides Him for doing so, again and again, and tiring them out.

It’s beautiful that this is very similar to the Gopis’ plight in Vrindavan, and on reading about Sant Sakhu Bai, a similar tale repeats there.

Of Bumbling bees and Lotus Flowers

Surrounded by fragrant flowers and abundant gardens,

Stands tall and majestic the Lord of the mountain!

Oh bees bumbling around the blossoming  flower, pleasuring one another;

Indeed, show me a path to thus surrender!

Dark complexioned like the clouds struck by lightning and thunder, 

And His eyes a reddish hue like you O! Lotus flower:

 Show me how to surrender unto my Lover! 

-A liberal translation from Andal’s Nachiyar Tirumozhi, in which She describes her pining and unrequited love for Kallazhagar (literally, the Beautiful One) of Thirumaliruncholai.