Śrī Aruṇācala Aṣṭakam: Tamil text, transliteration and translation

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Śrī Aruṇācala Aṣṭakam: Tamil text, transliteration and translation

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In continuation of my translations of other works of Bhagavan, such as Nāṉ Ār?, Upadēśa Undiyār, Upadēśa Sāraḥ, Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu, Upadēśa Kaliveṇbā, Appaḷa Pāṭṭu, Āṉma-Viddai, Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu Anubandham, Aruṇācala Tattuvam and Dīpa-Darśaṉa Tattuvam, Śrī Aruṇācala Navamaṇimālai and Śrī Aruṇācala Padigam, this is my translation of ஸ்ரீ அருணாசல அஷ்டகம் (Śrī Aruṇācala Aṣṭakam), and in the coming months or years I hope to be able to revise and post here my translations of all his other original writings.

1. Verse 1: When, by its wonderful act of grace, Arunachala enchanted and pulled my mind close, I saw as this is acalam
2. Verse 2: When investigating within the mind who he who saw is, I saw what remained when he who saw was completely non-existent
3. Verse 3: When without thinking one thinks deeply of your form, one’s form will cease to exist like a salt doll touching the ocean
4. Verse 4: Seeking God leaving you, who exist and shine (in one’s heart), is just seeking darkness taking a lamp
5. Verse 5: Like grinding a gem, when one grinds the mind on the stone called mind for its blemishes to be removed, the light of your grace will shine forth
6. Verse 6: There is only you, the one substance, the heart, the light of awareness, but in you is an extraordinary power, from which series of subtle shadow thoughts have been seen as a shadow world-picture both inside and outside, like a shadow-picture projected by a lens
7. Verse 7: If the thought called ‘I’ does not exist, even one other thing will not exist, so until then, if other thought rises, merge investigating to whom; to me; what is the place from which I rose
8. Verse 8: The embodied soul, which rises from you, will not stop until it reaches you, so when it goes back the way it came, it will rejoin you, the ocean of happiness

Introduction

As I explained in the introduction I wrote for my translation of Śrī Aruṇācala Padigam, that song and this one, ஸ்ரீ அருணாசல அஷ்டகம் (Śrī Aruṇācala Aṣṭakam), arose in his heart and poured forth spontaneously without any volition or sense of doership on his part during a period of eleven or twelve days sometime between 1912 and 1916. The first nine verses of Śrī Aruṇācala Padigam flowed out at the rate of one each for the first nine days, and the last two flowed out on the tenth day.

On the eleventh day he started for giri-pradakṣiṇa (walking barefoot around Arunachala in a clockwise direction) accompanied by a devotee called Palaniswami, and as they were leaving Virupaksha Cave, where he was living at that time, another devotee called Aiyaswami gave Palaniswami some paper and a pencil saying that since Bhagavan had recently been composing verses every day, he may compose some more at any time, so Palaniswami should have the paper and pencil ready in case he did so. That day while walking round the hill Bhagavan composed six more verses, and when a devotee called Narayana Reddi came to Virupakshi either that evening or the next day and heard about these verses, he wanted to have them printed. Bhagavan then looked at them again, and seeing that the first eleven were composed in a metre called எழுசீர்விருத்தம் (eṙu-cīr-viruttam), which has seven feet (eṙu cīrgaḷ) in each line, whereas the other six were composed in a metre called எண்சீர்விருத்தம் (eṇ-cīr-viruttam), which has eight feet (eṇ cīrgaḷ) in each line, he named the first eleven verses ஸ்ரீ அருணாசல பதிகம் (Śrī Aruṇācala Padigam), because ‘பதிகம்’ (padigam) means a poem or song consisting of ten or eleven verses, and then to make the other six verses into an அஷ்டகம் (aṣṭakam), a song of eight verses, he composed two more verses in the same eṇ-cīr-viruttam metre and named those eight ஸ்ரீ அருணாசல அஷ்டகம் (Śrī Aruṇācala Aṣṭakam).

Just as each verse of Śrī Aruṇācala Padigam begins with the first one or two syllables of the final foot of the previous verse, the first verse of Śrī Aruṇācala Aṣṭakam begins with the first two syllables of the final foot of the last verse of Śrī Aruṇācala Padigam, and each subsequent verse begins with the first one or two syllables of the final foot of the previous one.

Though Śrī Aruṇācala Aṣṭakam is composed in the form of a stōtra (a hymn in praise of God) addressed to Arunachala (except for the first verse, which is sung in praise of Arunachala but referring to him or it in the third person neuter), in content it is primarily a jñāna-śāstra (a divinely authoritative text teaching spiritual principles and the means to attain jñāna, true knowledge, which is pure awareness), as I will try to make clear in my explanation of each verse, which I will post here as a series of eight separate articles as and when I complete each of them.

எண்சீர்விருத்தம் (eṇ-cīr-viruttam)

Verse 1:

அறிவறு கிரியென வமர்தரு மம்மா
      வதிசய மிதன்செய லறிவரி தார்க்கு
மறிவறு சிறுவய ததுமுத லருணா
      சலமிகப் பெரிதென வறிவினி லங்க
வறிகில னதன்பொரு ளதுதிரு வண்ணா
      மலையென வொருவரா லறிவுறப் பெற்று
மறிவினை மருளுறுத் தருகினி லீர்க்க
      வருகுறு மமயமி தசலமாக் கண்டேன்.

aṟivaṟu giriyeṉa vamardaru mammā
      vatiśaya midaṉceya laṟivari dārkku
maṟivaṟu siṟuvaya dadumuda laruṇā
      calamihap perideṉa vaṟiviṉi laṅga
vaṟihila ṉadaṉporu ḷadutiru vaṇṇā
      malaiyeṉa voruvarā laṟivuṟap peṯṟu
maṟiviṉai maruḷuṟut taruhiṉi līrkka
      varuhuṟu mamayami dacalamāk kaṇḍēṉ.

பதச்சேதம்: அறிவு அறு கிரி என அமர்தரும். அம்மா, அதிசயம் இதன் செயல் அறி அரிது ஆர்க்கும். அறிவு அறு சிறு வயது அது முதல் அருணாசலம் மிக பெரிது என அறிவின் இலங்க, அறிகிலன் அதன் பொருள் அது திருவண்ணாமலை என ஒருவரால் அறிவு உற பெற்றும். அறிவினை மருள் உறுத்து அருகினில் ஈர்க்க, அருகு உறும் அமயம் இது அசலமா கண்டேன்.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): aṟivu aṟu giri eṉa amardarum. ammā, atiśayam idaṉ seyal aṟi aridu ārkkum. aṟivu aṟu siṟu vayadu adu mudal aruṇācalam miha peridu eṉa aṟiviṉ ilaṅga, aṟihilaṉ adaṉ poruḷ adu tiruvaṇṇāmalai eṉa oruvarāl aṟivu uṟa peṯṟum. aṟiviṉai maruḷ uṟuttu aruhiṉil īrkka, aruhu uṟum amayam idu acalamā kaṇḍēṉ.

அன்வயம்: அறிவு அறு கிரி என அமர்தரும். அம்மா, அதிசயம் இதன் செயல் அறி அரிது ஆர்க்கும். அறிவு அறு சிறு வயது அது முதல் அருணாசலம் மிக பெரிது என அறிவின் இலங்க, அது திருவண்ணாமலை என ஒருவரால் அறிவு உற பெற்றும் அதன் பொருள் அறிகிலன். அறிவினை மருள் உறுத்து அருகினில் ஈர்க்க, அருகு உறும் அமயம் இது அசலமா கண்டேன்.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): aṟivu aṟu giri eṉa amardarum. ammā, atiśayam idaṉ seyal aṟi aridu ārkkum. aṟivu aṟu siṟu vayadu adu mudal aruṇācalam miha peridu eṉa aṟiviṉ ilaṅga, adu tiruvaṇṇāmalai eṉa oruvarāl aṟivu uṟa peṯṟum adaṉ poruḷ aṟihilaṉ. aṟiviṉai maruḷ uṟuttu aruhiṉil īrkka, aruhu uṟum amayam idu acalamā kaṇḍēṉ.

English translation: It is seated as if a hill bereft of awareness. Ah, its action is pre-eminent, difficult for anyone to know. Though from the young age bereft of knowledge Arunachalam shone brightly in awareness as what is exceedingly great, I did not know its poruḷ even having got to know from someone that it is Tiruvannamalai. When, enchanting the mind, it pulled close, at the appointed time of coming close I saw as this is acalam.

Explanatory paraphrase: It sits calmly as if a hill bereft of awareness [or knowledge], [but] ah, its action is pre-eminent [extraordinary or wonderful], difficult for anyone to know [understand, appreciate or recognise]. Though from [my] young age, [when I was] bereft of knowledge [of anything else], Arunachalam shone brightly [and clearly] in [my] awareness [or mind] as what is exceedingly great, I did not know [understand or recognise] its poruḷ [substance, essence, reality or what it actually is] even [after] getting to know from someone that it is Tiruvannamalai. When, enchanting [or possessing] [my] mind, it pulled [me] close, at [that] appointed time [proper or opportune moment] of coming close I saw as this is acalam [motionless, still, steady or a mountain].

Padavurai (word-explanation): அறிவு (aṟivu): awareness, knowledge | அறு (aṟu): cease, perish, be cut off, be severed, be separated, be rooted out, be removed {root of this verb, used here in the sense of an adjectival participle meaning ‘bereft of’, ‘devoid of’ or ‘without’} | கிரி (giri): hill, mountain | என (eṉa): as, like {particle of comparison, here implying ‘as if’} | அமர்தரும் (amardarum): it is seated, it remains, it rests, it resembles (implying ‘it sits calmly’) {compound of the verb amar, ‘abide’, ‘remain’, ‘be seated’, ‘become still’, ‘become tranquil’, ‘rest’, ‘repose’ or ‘settle’, and the auxiliary verb tarum, neuter third person future (but used generically as a continuous present) form of tā, ‘give’} >>> so this first sentence, ‘அறிவு அறு கிரி என அமர்தரும்’ (aṟivu aṟu giri eṉa amardarum), means ‘It is seated as if a hill bereft of awareness’, which implies:

It sits calmly as if a hill bereft of awareness [or knowledge].

<<< அம்மா (ammā): ah {an exclamation of surprise, wonder or joy} | அதிசயம் (atiśayam): excellent, pre-eminent, extraordinary, wonderful | இதன் (idaṉ): of this, its {inflectional base of the proximal demonstrative pronoun, idu, ‘this’ or ‘it’, used here in a genitive (sixth case) sense} | செயல் (seyal): doing, action {verbal noun, here implying aruḷ-seyal, ‘the action of grace’} | அறி (aṟi): know, understand, appreciate, recognise | அரிது (aridu): what is difficult, unattainable, rare, precious | ஆர்க்கும் (ārkkum): for whomever, for anyone, for everyone {ārkku means ‘for whom’, being a dative (fourth case) form of ār, ‘who’, and the suffix um here denotes universality} >>> so this second sentence, ‘அம்மா, அதிசயம் இதன் செயல் அறி அரிது ஆர்க்கும்’ (ammā, atiśayam idaṉ seyal aṟi aridu ārkkum), means ‘Ah, its action is pre-eminent, difficult for anyone to know’, which implies:

[But] ah, its action is pre-eminent [extraordinary or wonderful], difficult for anyone to know [understand, appreciate or recognise].

<<< அறிவு (aṟivu): awareness, knowledge | அறு (aṟu): bereft of, devoid of, without {as explained above} | சிறுவயததுமுதல் (siṟu-vayadadumudal): from young age {compound of siṟu, ‘small’, ‘little’, ‘tender’ or ‘young’; vayadu, ‘age’ (a Tamil form of the Sanskrit vayas, ‘age’); adu, ‘that’ (distal demonstrative pronoun, here serving together with mudal, ‘from’, as a case-marking suffix to vayadu, ‘age’); and mudal, ‘beginning’ or ‘beginning from’, used here as an ablative (fifth case) ending and therefore meaning ‘from’} >>> so ‘அறிவு அறு சிறு வயது அது முதல்’ (aṟivu-aṟu siṟu-vayadu-adumudal) means ‘from young age bereft of knowledge’, thereby implying ‘from [my] young age, [when I was] bereft of knowledge [of anything else]’ <<< அருணாசலம் (aruṇācalam): Arunachala | மிக (miha): very much, greatly, abundantly, extremely, exceedingly {infinitive of mihu, ‘exceed’, ‘surpass’, ‘be great’, ‘be excellent’ or ‘be superior’, used here as an adverb} | பெரிது (peridu): what is great | என (eṉa): as | அறிவின் (aṟiviṉ): in awareness, in mind {inflectional base of aṟivu, ‘awareness’, ‘knowledge’ or ‘mind’, used here in a locative (seventh case) sense} | இலங்க (ilaṅga): to shine brightly {infinitive of ilaṅgu, ‘shine’, ‘be bright’ or ‘shine brightly’, used here in the sense of ‘though it shone brightly’} >>> so ‘அருணாசலம் மிக பெரிது என அறிவின் இலங்க’ (aruṇācalam miha peridu eṉa aṟiviṉ ilaṅga) means ‘though Arunachalam shone brightly in awareness as what is exceedingly great’, thereby implying ‘though Arunachalam shone brightly [and clearly] in [my] awareness [or mind] as what is exceedingly great’ <<< அறிகிலன் (aṟihilaṉ): I did not know, I did not understand | அதன் (adaṉ): of that, its {inflectional base of the distal demonstrative pronoun, adu, ‘that’ or ‘it’, used here in a genitive (sixth case) sense} | பொருள் (poruḷ): substance, essence, reality, truth, import, meaning, significance (implying ‘what it actually is’) >>> so ‘அறிகிலன் அதன் பொருள்’ (aṟihilaṉ adaṉ poruḷ) means ‘I did not know its poruḷ [substance, essence, reality or what it actually is]’ <<< அது (adu): that, it {distal demonstrative pronoun} | திருவண்ணாமலை (tiruvaṇṇāmalai): Tiruvannamalai | என (eṉa): that {conjunction} | ஒருவரால் (oruvarāl): by someone {instrumental (third case) form of oruvar, ‘someone’, but used here in a context in which we would say ‘from someone’ in English} | அறிவுற (aṟivuṟa): to be aware, to know, to understand, to recognise {compound of aṟivu, ‘awareness’, ‘knowledge’, ‘wisdom’ or ‘understanding’, and uṟa, infinitive of uṟu, ‘gain’, ‘acquire’ or ‘experience’} | பெற்றும் (peṯṟum): even getting, even having got {peṯṟu is an adverbial participle that means ‘getting’ or ‘having got’, and the suffix um here means ‘even’} >>> so ‘அது திருவண்ணாமலை என ஒருவரால் அறிவுற பெற்றும்’ (adu tiruvaṇṇāmalai eṉa oruvarāl aṟivu uṟa peṯṟum) means ‘even having got to know from someone that it is Tiruvannamalai’, thereby implying ‘even after getting to know from someone that it is Tiruvannamalai’, and hence this third sentence, ‘அறிவு அறு சிறு வயது அது முதல் அருணாசலம் மிக பெரிது என அறிவின் இலங்க, அறிகிலன் அதன் பொருள் அது திருவண்ணாமலை என ஒருவரால் அறிவுற பெற்றும்’ (aṟivu aṟu siṟu vayadu adu mudal aruṇācalam miha peridu eṉa aṟiviṉ ilaṅga, aṟihilaṉ adaṉ poruḷ adu tiruvaṇṇāmalai eṉa oruvarāl aṟivuṟa peṯṟum), means ‘Though from the young age bereft of knowledge Arunachalam shone brightly in awareness as what is exceedingly great, I did not know its poruḷ even having got to know from someone that it is Tiruvannamalai’, which implies:

Though from [my] young age, [when I was] bereft of knowledge [of anything else], Arunachalam shone brightly [and clearly] in [my] awareness [or mind] as what is exceedingly great, I did not know [understand or recognise] its poruḷ [substance, essence, reality or what it actually is] even [after] getting to know from someone that it is Tiruvannamalai.

<<< அறிவினை (aṟiviṉai): mind {accusative (second case) form of aṟivu, ‘awareness’ or in this case ‘mind’} | மருளுறுத்து (maruḷ-uṟuttu): enchanting, possessing {compound of maruḷ, ‘bewilderment’, ‘delusion’, ‘wonder’, ‘possession’ (as by a spirit or deity) or ‘enchantment’, and uṟuttu, an adverbial participle meaning ‘gaining’, ‘acquiring’, ‘undergoing’ or ‘experiencing’} | அருகினில் (aruhiṉil): near, close {locative (seventh case) form of aruhu, ‘nearness’, closeness’ or ‘proximity’} | ஈர்க்க (īrkka): when it pulled {infinitive of īr, a transitive verb that means ‘pull’, ‘drag’, ‘attract’, ‘draw towards’ or ‘carry away’} >>> so ‘அறிவினை மருளுறுத்து அருகினில் ஈர்க்க’ (aṟiviṉai maruḷ uṟuttu aruhiṉil īrkka) means ‘when, enchanting the mind, it pulled close’, thereby implying ‘when, enchanting [or possessing] [my] mind, it pulled [me] close’ <<< அருகுறும் (aruhuṟum): reaching close, coming close, when coming close {compound of aruhu, ‘nearness’, closeness’ or ‘proximity’, and uṟum, an adjectival participle meaning ‘approaching’, ‘reaching’ or ‘gaining access’} | அமயம் (amayam): time, proper time, right moment, opportune moment, appointed time, occasion, opportunity {a Tamil form of the Sanskrit samaya} | இது (idu): this, it {proximal demonstrative pronoun, here referring to Arunachala} | அசலமா (acalamā): as acalam {compound of acalam, Tamil form of the Sanskrit acala, ‘unmoving’, ‘motionless’, ‘immovable’, ‘still’, ‘fixed’, ‘steady’, ‘permanent’ or ‘mountain’, and the adverbial suffix ā (the root of a verb meaning ‘be’), used here in the sense of ‘as’, which in this context applies not just to ‘acalam’ but to ‘idu acalam’, so ‘idu acalamā’ means ‘as this is acalam’} | கண்டேன் (kaṇḍēṉ): I saw {first person singular past tense form of kāṇ, ‘see’} >>> so ‘அருகுறும் அமயம் இது அசலமா கண்டேன்’ (aruhuṟum amayam idu acalamā kaṇḍēṉ) means ‘at the appointed time of coming close I saw as this is acalam’, thereby implying ‘at [that] appointed time [proper or opportune moment] of coming close I saw as this is acalam [motionless, still, steady or a mountain]’, and hence this final sentence, ‘அறிவினை மருளுறுத்து அருகினில் ஈர்க்க, அருகுறும் அமயம் இது அசலமா கண்டேன்’ (aṟiviṉai maruḷ-uṟuttu aruhiṉil īrkka, aruhuṟum amayam idu acalamā kaṇḍēṉ), means ‘When, enchanting the mind, it pulled close, at the opportune moment of coming close I saw as this is acalam’, which implies:

When, enchanting [or possessing] [my] mind, it pulled [me] close, at [that] opportune moment of coming close I saw as this is acalam [motionless, still, steady or a mountain].

Detailed explanation and discussion:
(To be posted when completed)

Other explanations and discussions:
2022-12-24: The silent presence of Arunachala in Bhagavan’s heart as his own svarūpa is what eventually drew his mind inwards so deeply that it absorbed him into itself as itself
2022-04-28: To save him from this worldly māyā and its root cause, namely ego, from his earliest childhood, even before he knew any other thing, Arunachala entered and occupied his mind, making him think of it as something supremely great, so for Bhagavan there is no greater wonder than the grace of Arunachala and the way it works from within our heart to draw our mind inwards and thereby to save us by devouring us entirely
2022-04-14: Even before Bhagavan knew anything else, Arunachalam was shining in his awareness (his heart or mind) as something exceedingly great, so it had already entered his mind by the power of its name even before he knew what that name actually signified
2022-03-10: The செயல் (seyal), ‘doing’ or ‘action’, of Arunachala is just to be in our heart as it is, but by its mere being it does all that is necessary to draw our mind back within, because its being as ‘I am’ has a powerful magnetic attraction, which may seem imperceptible to us so long as our mind is facing outwards, but which we will become increasingly aware of to the extent to which we turn back within to face our real nature (ātma-svarūpa), which is Arunachala itself
2017-03-24: Neither Bhagavan nor Muruganar ever said directly ‘I have known myself’, ‘I have lost my ego’ or any such thing, but they spoke or wrote in a way that enables us to infer that this was the case, as we can see, for example, from what Bhagavan wrote about his experience in the first two verses of Śrī Aruṇācala Aṣṭakam, which contain the most reliable account of his spiritual journey up to the age of sixteen, when he reached his final destination, ceasing to be anything other than Arunachala, the one infinite space of pure self-awareness

Verse 2:

கண்டவ னெவனெனக் கருத்தினு ணாடக்
      கண்டவ னின்றிட நின்றது கண்டேன்
கண்டன னென்றிடக் கருத்தெழ வில்லை
      கண்டில னென்றிடக் கருத்தெழு மாறென்
விண்டிது விளக்கிடு விறலுறு வோனார்
      விண்டிலை பண்டுநீ விளக்கினை யென்றால்
விண்டிடா துன்னிலை விளக்கிட வென்றே
      விண்டல மசலமா விளங்கிட நின்றாய்.

kaṇḍava ṉevaṉeṉak karuttiṉu ṇāḍak
      kaṇḍava ṉiṉḏṟiḍa niṉḏṟadu kaṇḍēṉ
kaṇḍaṉa ṉeṉḏṟiḍak karutteṙa villai
      kaṇḍila ṉeṉḏṟiḍak karutteṙu māṟeṉ
viṇḍidu viḷakkiḍu viṟaluṟu vōṉār
      viṇḍilai paṇḍunī viḷakkiṉai yeṉḏṟāl
viṇḍiṭā duṉṉilai viḷakkiḍa veṉḏṟē
      viṇḍala macalamā viḷaṅgiḍa niṉḏṟāy.

பதச்சேதம்: கண்டவன் எவன் என கருத்தினுள் நாட, கண்டவன் இன்றிட நின்றது கண்டேன். ‘கண்டனன்’ என்றிட கருத்து எழவில்லை; ‘கண்டிலன்’ என்றிட கருத்து எழுமாறு என்? விண்டு இது விளக்கிடு விறல் உறுவோன் ஆர், விண்டு இலை பண்டு நீ விளக்கினை என்றால்? விண்டிடாது உன் நிலை விளக்கிட என்றே விண் தலம் அசலமா விளங்கிட நின்றாய்.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): kaṇḍavaṉ evaṉ eṉa karuttiṉ uḷ nāḍa, kaṇḍavaṉ iṉḏṟiḍa niṉḏṟadu kaṇḍēṉ. ‘kaṇḍaṉaṉ’ eṉḏṟiḍa karuttu eṙa-v-illai; ‘kaṇḍilaṉ’ eṉḏṟiḍa karuttu eṙum-āṟu eṉ? viṇḍu idu viḷakkiḍu viṟal uṟuvōṉ ār, viṇḍu ilai paṇḍu nī viḷakkiṉai eṉḏṟāl? viṇḍiḍādu uṉ nilai viḷakkiḍa eṉḏṟē viṇ talam acalamā viḷaṅgiḍa niṉḏṟāy.

அன்வயம்: கண்டவன் எவன் என கருத்தினுள் நாட, கண்டவன் இன்றிட நின்றது கண்டேன். ‘கண்டனன்’ என்றிட கருத்து எழவில்லை; ‘கண்டிலன்’ என்றிட கருத்து எழுமாறு என்? பண்டு நீ விண்டு இலை விளக்கினை என்றால், விண்டு இது விளக்கிடு விறல் உறுவோன் ஆர்? விண்டிடாது உன் நிலை விளக்கிட என்றே விண் தலம் அசலமா விளங்கிட நின்றாய்.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): kaṇḍavaṉ evaṉ eṉa karuttiṉ uḷ nāḍa, kaṇḍavaṉ iṉḏṟiḍa niṉḏṟadu kaṇḍēṉ. ‘kaṇḍaṉaṉ’ eṉḏṟiḍa karuttu eṙa-v-illai; ‘kaṇḍilaṉ’ eṉḏṟiḍa karuttu eṙum-āṟu eṉ? paṇḍu nī viṇḍu ilai viḷakkiṉai eṉḏṟāl, viṇḍu idu viḷakkiḍu viṟal uṟuvōṉ ār? viṇḍiḍādu uṉ nilai viḷakkiḍa eṉḏṟē viṇ talam acalamā viḷaṅgiḍa niṉḏṟāy.

English translation: When investigating within the mind who he who saw is, I saw what remained when he who saw was completely non-existent. The mind did not rise to say ‘I saw’; in what way would the mind rise to say ‘I did not see’? Who has the power to elucidate this speaking, when in ancient times you elucidated without speaking? Only to elucidate your nature without speaking, you stood shining as a sky-earth hill.

Explanatory paraphrase: When investigating within the mind who the seer is, I saw what remained when the seer was [thereby found to be] completely non-existent. The mind did not rise to say ‘I saw’, [so] in what way could the mind rise to say ‘I did not see’? Who has the power to elucidate this [by] speaking, when in ancient times [as Dakshinamurti] [even] you elucidated [it] without speaking? Only to elucidate your nature [or state, namely pure, silent and motionless being-awareness] without speaking, you stood shining as a hill [or motionlessly] [between] sky and earth.

Padavurai (word-explanation): கண்டவன் (kaṇḍavaṉ): he who saw, the seer {masculine third person singular pronominal noun formed from kaṇḍa, the past adjectival participle of kāṇ, ‘see’ or ‘perceive’} | எவன் (evaṉ): which man, who | என (eṉa): that, thus, as {infinitive of eṉ, ‘say’, used here as a conjunctive adverb, but in this context not necessary to translate} | கருத்தினுள் (karuttiṉuḷ): within the mind {locative (seventh case} form of karuttu, ‘mind’, in which the locative ending uḷ means ‘inside’ or ‘within’} | நாட (nāḍa): when investigating {infinitive of nāḍu, ‘investigate’, ‘examine’, ‘search’ or ‘seek’, used idiomatically in the sense of ‘when investigating’} | கண்டவன் (kaṇḍavaṉ): he who saw, the seer | இன்றிட (iṉḏṟiḍa): when being completely non-existent, when [it] was completely non-existent, when [it] was [found to be] completely non-existent {infinitive of iṉḏṟiḍu, compound of iṉḏṟu, ‘not be’ or ‘not exist’, and the auxiliary verb iḍu, which in this case conveys the intensifying force of the adverb ‘completely’, used idiomatically in the sense of ‘when being completely non-existent’} | நின்றது (niṉḏṟadu): what stood, what remained {neuter third person singular pronominal noun formed from niṉḏṟa, the past adjectival participle of nil, ‘stand’, ‘stop’, ‘stay’ or ‘remain’} | கண்டேன் (kaṇḍēṉ): I saw {first person singular past tense form of kāṇ, ‘see’} >>> so this first sentence, ‘கண்டவன் எவன் என கருத்தினுள் நாட, கண்டவன் இன்றிட நின்றது கண்டேன்’ (kaṇḍavaṉ evaṉ eṉa karuttiṉuḷ nāḍa, kaṇḍavaṉ iṉḏṟiḍa niṉḏṟadu kaṇḍēṉ), means ‘When investigating within the mind who he who saw is, I saw what remained when he who saw was completely non-existent’, which implies:

When investigating within the mind who the seer is, I saw what remained when the seer was [thereby found to be] completely non-existent.

<<< கண்டனன் (kaṇḍaṉaṉ): I saw {first person singular past tense of kāṇ, ‘see’} | என்றிட (eṉḏṟiḍa): to say {infinitive of eṉḏṟiḍu, compound of eṉḏṟu (the adverbial participle of eṉ, ‘say’) and the auxiliary verb iḍu, which conveys an intensifying force} | கருத்து (karuttu): the mind | எழவில்லை (eṙa-v-illai): did not rise {negative past tense form of eṙu, ‘rise’, ‘arise’ or ‘appear’} >>> so this second sentence, ‘கண்டனன் என்றிட கருத்து எழ இல்லை’ (kaṇḍaṉaṉ eṉḏṟiḍa karuttu eṙa-v-illai), means:

The mind did not rise to say ‘I saw’.

<<< கண்டிலன் (kaṇḍilaṉ): I did not see {negative first person singular past tense of kāṇ, ‘see’} | என்றிட (eṉḏṟiḍa): to say {as explained above} | கருத்து (karuttu): mind | எழுமாறு (eṙum-āṟu): rising way, way to rise, way in which [it] will rise, way in which [it] would rise {compound of eṙum, neuter third person future adjectival participle of eṙu, ‘rise’, and āṟu, ‘way’, ‘road’, ‘path’, ‘means’ or ‘manner’} | என் (eṉ): what {interrogative pronoun} >>> so this third sentence, ‘கண்டிலன் என்றிட கருத்து எழுமாறு என்?’ (kaṇḍilaṉ eṉḏṟiḍa karuttu eṙum-āṟu eṉ?), means:

In what way would the mind rise to say ‘I did not see’?

<<< விண்டு (viṇḍu): saying, telling, speaking {adverbial participle of viḷ, ‘open’, ‘unfold’, ‘blossom’, ‘expand’, ‘open mouth’, ‘say’, ‘tell’, ‘speak’, ‘reveal’, ‘make known’ or ‘make clear’} | இது (idu): this {proximal demonstrative pronoun} | விளக்கிடு (viḷakkiḍu): making clear, explaining, elucidating {root of this verb, which is formed from viḷakku, ‘light’, and iḍu, ‘put’, ‘distribute’ or ‘give’, used here in the sense of an adjectival participle} | விறல் (viṟal): strength, power {so ‘viḷakkiḍu viṟal’ means ‘elucidating power’ or ‘power to elucidate’} | உறுவோன் (uṟuvōṉ): he who has, one who has {pronominal noun formed from the verb uṟu, ‘be’, ‘happen’, ‘be attached to’, ‘join’, ‘touch’, experience’ or ‘gain access to’} | ஆர் (ār): who {interrogative pronoun} | விண்டிலை (viṇḍilai): not speaking, without speaking {compound of the adverbial participle viṇḍu, ‘speaking’, and ilai, poetic abbreviation of the tenseless verb illai, ‘no’ or ‘not’} | பண்டு (paṇḍu): former time, ancient time | நீ (nī): you {second person singular pronoun} | விளக்கினை (viḷakkiṉai): made clear, explained, elucidated {second person singular past tense form of viḷakku, ‘make clear’, ‘explain’ or ‘elucidate’} | என்றால் (eṉḏṟāl): if saying, if said {conditional form of eṉ, ‘say’, used in the sense ‘if so’, ‘if such is the case’ or ‘if it is the case that’, but here implying ‘when [or since] it is the case that’ or simply ‘when’ or ‘since’} >>> so this fourth sentence, ‘விண்டு இது விளக்கிடு விறல் உறுவோன் ஆர், விண்டு இலை பண்டு நீ விளக்கினை என்றால்?’ (viṇḍu idu viḷakkiḍu viṟal uṟuvōṉ ār, viṇḍu ilai paṇḍu nī viḷakkiṉai eṉḏṟāl?), means ‘Who has the power to elucidate this speaking, when in ancient times you elucidated without speaking?’, which implies:

Who has the power to elucidate this [by] speaking, when in ancient times [even] you [as Dakshinamurti] elucidated [it] without speaking?

<<< விண்டிடாது (viṇḍiḍādu): not speaking, without speaking {negative adverbial participle of viḷ, ‘say’, ‘tell’ or ‘speak’} | உன் (uṉ): your {inflectional base and genitive (sixth case) form of the second person singular pronoun} | நிலை (nilai): nature, state, standing, enduring, permanence, firmness | விளக்கிட (viḷakkiḍa): to elucidate {infinitive of viḷakkiḍu, ‘throw light upon’, ‘illumine’, ‘make clear’, ‘elucidate’ or ‘explain’, as explained above} | என்றே (eṉḏṟē): only saying, just {intensified adverbial participle of eṉ, ‘say’, used here in the sense ‘only’ or ‘just’} | விண் (viṇ): sky | தலம் (talam): earth {Tamil form of the Sanskrit sthala, ‘ground’, ‘dry land’, ‘earth’ or ‘place’} | அசலமா (acalamā): motionlessly, as a hill {compound of acalam, Tamil form of the Sanskrit acala, ‘motionless’, ‘immovable’, ‘hill’ or ‘mountain’, and the adverbial suffix ā, ‘being’ or ‘as’, which is often used in the same sense as the English suffix ‘ly’} | விளங்கிட (viḷaṅgiḍa): shining, shining forth, being clear {infinitive of viḷaṅgiḍu, ‘shine’, ‘shine forth’ or ‘be clear’ (compound of viḷaṅgu, ‘shine’, and the auxiliary verb iḍu, which in this case conveys the intensifying force of the adverb ‘forth’), but used here in an adverbial sense, ‘shining’ or ‘clearly’} | நின்றாய் (niṉḏṟāy): you stood {second person singular past tense form of nil, ‘stand’} >>> so this final sentence, ‘விண்டிடாது உன் நிலை விளக்கிட என்றே விண் தலம் அசலமா விளங்கிட நின்றாய்’ (viṇḍiḍādu uṉ nilai viḷakkiḍa eṉḏṟē viṇ ṭalam acalamā viḷaṅgiḍa niṉḏṟāy), means ‘Only to elucidate your nature without speaking, you stood shining as a sky-earth hill’, which implies:

Only to elucidate your nature [or state, namely pure, silent and motionless being-awareness] without speaking, you stood shining as a hill [or motionlessly] [between] sky and earth.

Detailed explanation and discussion:
(To be posted when completed)

Other explanations and discussions:
2022-11-25: Arunachala is mauna-svarūpa, the one whose very nature is silence, so it is to reveal his real nature through silence that he stands as a hill on earth, as Bhagavan explains in this verse
2019-03-22: Our real nature cannot be revealed by any means other than silence, which is what remains when we look within to see who the seer is
2017-03-24: Though he said ‘கண்டவன் இன்றிட நின்றது கண்டேன்’ (kaṇḍavaṉ iṉḏṟiḍa niṉḏṟadu kaṇḍēṉ), ‘I saw what remains when the seer ceased to exist’, the ‘I’ that saw what remained was not the mind but only what remained, which is the pure, infinite and indivisible self-awareness that we always actually are, because the mind or ego is the seer, which is what ceases to exist when it investigates itself to see who or what it actually is, so when it has ceased to exist, what sees what remains is only what remains

Verse 3:

நின்னையா னுருவென வெண்ணியே நண்ண
      நிலமிசை மலையெனு நிலையினை நீதா
னுன்னுரு வருவென வுன்னிடின் விண்ணோக்
      குறவுல கலைதரு மொருவனை யொக்கு
முன்னுரு வுனலற வுன்னிட முந்நீ
      ருறுசருக் கரையுரு வெனவுரு வோயு
மென்னையா னறிவுற வென்னுரு வேறே
      திருந்தனை யருணவான் கிரியென விருந்தோய்.

niṉṉaiyā ṉuruveṉa veṇṇiyē naṇṇa
      nilamisai malaiyeṉu nilaiyiṉai nīdā
ṉuṉṉuru varuveṉa vuṉṉiḍiṉ viṇṇōk
      kuṟavula halaidaru moruvaṉai yokku
muṉṉuru vuṉalaṟa vuṉṉiḍa munnī
      ruṟusaruk karaiyuru veṉavuru vōyu
meṉṉaiyā ṉaṟivuṟa veṉṉuru vēṟē
      dirundaṉai yaruṇavāṉ giriyeṉa virundōy.

பதச்சேதம்: நின்னை யான் உரு என எண்ணியே நண்ண, நிலமிசை மலை எனும் நிலையினை நீ தான். உன் உரு அரு என உன்னிடில், விண் நோக்குற உலகு அலை தரும் ஒருவனை ஒக்கும். உன் உரு உனல் அற உன்னிட, முன் நீர் உறு சருக்கரை உரு என உரு ஓயும். என்னை யான் அறிவுற, என் உரு வேறு ஏது? இருந்தனை அருண வான் கிரி என இருந்தோய்.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): niṉṉai yāṉ uru eṉa eṇṇiyē naṇṇa, nilamisai malai eṉum nilaiyiṉai nī-tāṉ. uṉ uru aru eṉa uṉṉiḍil, viṇ ṇōkkuṟa ulahu alai tarum oruvaṉai okkum. uṉ uru uṉal aṟa uṉṉiḍa, muṉ-nīr uṟu sarukkarai-y-uru eṉa uru ōyum. eṉṉai yāṉ aṟivuṟa, eṉ uru vēṟu ēdu? irundaṉai aruṇa-vāṉ-giri eṉa irundōy.

அன்வயம்: யான் நின்னை உரு என எண்ணியே நண்ண, நீ தான் நிலமிசை மலை எனும் நிலையினை. உன் உரு அரு என உன்னிடில், விண் நோக்குற உலகு அலை தரும் ஒருவனை ஒக்கும். உன் உரு உனல் அற உன்னிட, முன் நீர் உறு சருக்கரை உரு என உரு ஓயும். என்னை யான் அறிவுற, என் உரு வேறு ஏது? அருண வான் கிரி என இருந்தோய் இருந்தனை.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): yāṉ niṉṉai uru eṉa eṇṇiyē naṇṇa, nī-tāṉ nilamisai malai eṉum nilaiyiṉai. uṉ uru aru eṉa uṉṉiḍil, viṇ ṇōkkuṟa ulahu alai tarum oruvaṉai okkum. uṉ uru uṉal aṟa uṉṉiḍa, muṉ-nīr uṟu sarukkarai-y-uru eṉa uru ōyum. eṉṉai yāṉ aṟivuṟa, eṉ uru vēṟu ēdu? aruṇa-vāṉ-giri eṉa irundōy irundaṉai.

English translation: When I approach thinking of you as a form, you yourself have settled as a hill on earth. If one thinks of your form as formless, one is like someone who wanders the world to see the sky. When without thinking one thinks deeply of your form, form will cease to exist like a salt doll touching the ocean. When I know myself, what else is my form? You who were as the great Aruna Hill have been.

Explanatory paraphrase: When I approach [you] thinking of you as a form, you yourself have settled [standing firmly] as a hill on earth. If one thinks of [or meditates upon] your form [or nature] as formless, one is like someone who wanders the world to see [or look at] the [omnipresent] sky [or space]. [But] when without thinking one thinks deeply of your form [that is, when one firmly fixes one’s attention only on ‘I am’, which is your true form or svarūpa], [one’s own] form [namely ego] will cease [to exist] like a salt doll touching [coming in contact with, joining or immersing in] the ocean. When I know myself, [other than you] what else is my form? You who were [or have been] as the great Aruna Hill [alone] have [always] been [or have remained (now that the appearance of my seemingly separate form and everything else has ceased to be)].

Padavurai (word-explanation): நின்னை (niṉṉai): you {accusative (second case) form of the second person singular pronoun} | யான் (yāṉ): I {first person singular pronoun} | உரு (uru): form | என (eṉa): as, as if, like {infinitive of eṉ, ‘say’, used as a particle of comparison} | எண்ணியே (eṇṇiyē): thinking, considering {intensified form of eṇṇi, adverbial participle of eṇṇu, ‘think’ or ‘consider’} | நண்ண (naṇṇa): when approaching, when [I] approach {infinitive of naṇṇu, ‘approach’ or ‘come near’} | நிலமிசை (nilamisai): on Earth {nilam means ‘ground’, ‘land’, ‘earth’, ‘soil’, ‘field’, ‘world’ or ‘Earth’, and misai is a locative (seventh case) ending} | மலை (malai): hill, mountain | எனும் (eṉum): as | நிலையினை (nilaiyiṉai): [you] have settled {second person singular past tense form of nilai, ‘settle’, ‘stay’, ‘stand firmly’ or ‘remain permanent’} | நீதான் (nī-tāṉ): you yourself {compound of the second person singular pronoun nī and the intensifying suffix tāṉ} >>> so this first sentence, ‘நின்னை யான் உரு என எண்ணியே நண்ண, நிலமிசை மலை எனும் நிலையினை நீ தான்’ (niṉṉai yāṉ uru eṉa eṇṇiyē naṇṇa, nilamisai malai eṉum nilaiyiṉai nī-tāṉ), means ‘When I approach thinking of you as a form, you yourself have settled as a hill on earth’, which implies:

When I approach [you] thinking of you as a form, you yourself have settled [standing firmly] as a hill on earth.

<<< உன் (uṉ): your {inflectional base and genitive (sixth case) form of the second person singular pronoun} | உரு (uru): form, nature | அரு (aru): formless | என (eṉa): as | உன்னிடில் (uṉṉiḍil): if thinking, if [one] thinks {conditional form of uṉṉu, ‘think’, ‘consider’ or ‘meditate’} | விண் (viṇ): sky, space | நோக்குற (ṇōkkuṟa): to see, to look at {infinitive} | உலகு (ulahu): the world | அலைதரும் (alai-tarum): wandering, who wanders {compound of alai, ‘wander’, ‘roam’ or ‘move about’, and the adjectival participle tarum, used here as an auxiliary} | ஒருவனை (oruvaṉai): a man, a person, someone {accusative (second case) form of oruvaṉ, masculine third person singular pronominal noun formed from the adjective oru, ‘one’} | ஒக்கும் (okkum): it resembles, it equals, it is like {future (but used generically as a continuous present) neuter third person form of o, ‘resemble’, ‘equal’ or ‘be like’, so in this context it can mean ‘it is like’, ‘that is like’ or ‘one is like’} >>> so this second sentence, ‘உன் உரு அரு என உன்னிடில், விண் நோக்குற உலகு அலை தரும் ஒருவனை ஒக்கும்’ (uṉ uru aru eṉa uṉṉiḍil, viṇ ṇōkkuṟa ulahu alai tarum oruvaṉai okkum), means ‘If one thinks of your form as formless, one is like someone who wanders the world to see the sky’, which implies:

If one thinks of [or meditates upon] your form [or nature] as formless, one is like someone who wanders the world to see [or look at] the [omnipresent] sky [or space].

<<< உன் (uṉ): your {inflectional base and genitive (sixth case) form of the second person singular pronoun} | உரு (uru): form, nature | உனல் (uṉal): thinking {verbal noun, poetic abbreviation of uṉṉal} | அற (aṟa): without | உன்னிட (uṉṉiḍa): when thinking deeply, when [one] thinks deeply {infinitive of uṉṉiḍu, ‘think’, compound of uṉṉu, ‘think’, and the auxiliary verb iḍu, which in this case conveys the intensifying force of the adverb ‘deeply’} | முந்நீர் (munnīr): sea, ocean {compound of muṉ, ‘three’, and nīr, ‘water’, so called because it forms, protects and destroys the land, and because it consists of river water, spring water and rain water} | உறு (uṟu): touch, come in contact with, join {root of this verb, used in the sense of an adjectival participle, ‘touching’ or ‘joining’} | சருக்கரையுரு (sarukkarai-y-uru): sugar form, salt doll {compound of sarukkarai, ‘sugar’, and uru, ‘form’, but implying a salt doll, because in some Tamil communities sarkkarai or sarukkarai, ‘sugar’, is used as a polite euphemism for salt} | என (eṉa): like {infinitive of eṉ, ‘say’, used as a particle of comparison} | உரு (uru): form | ஓயும் (ōyum): will cease {future neuter third person form of ōy, ‘cease’, ‘come to an end’, ‘expire’ or ‘die’} >>> so this third sentence, ‘உன் உரு உனல் அற உன்னிட, முன் நீர் உறு சருக்கரை உரு என உரு ஓயும்’ (uṉ uru uṉal aṟa uṉṉiḍa, muṉ-nīr uṟu sarukkarai-y-uru eṉa uru ōyum), means ‘When without thinking one thinks deeply of your form, form will cease to exist like a salt doll touching the ocean’, which implies:

[But] when without thinking one thinks deeply of your form [that is, when one firmly fixes one’s attention only on ‘I am’, which is your true form or svarūpa], [one’s own] form [namely ego] will cease [to exist] like a salt doll touching [coming in contact with, joining or immersing in] the ocean.

<<< என்னை (eṉṉai): me, myself {accusative (second case) form of the first person singular pronoun} | யான் (yāṉ): I {nominative (first case) form of the first person singular pronoun} | அறிவுற (aṟivuṟa): when knowing, when coming to know {infinitive of aṟivuṟu, ‘know’, ‘come to know’ or ‘wake up’, which is a compound of aṟivu, ‘knowledge’ or ‘awareness’, and uṟu, ‘be’, ‘happen’ or ‘come to mind’} | என் (eṉ): my inflectional base and genitive (sixth case) form of the first person singular pronoun} | உரு (uru): form | வேறு (vēṟu): other, different, else | ஏது (ēdu): what {interrogative pronoun} >>> so this fourth sentence, ‘என்னை யான் அறிவுற, என் உரு வேறு ஏது?’ (eṉṉai yāṉ aṟivuṟa, eṉ uru vēṟu ēdu?), means ‘When I know myself, what else is my form?’, which implies:

When I know myself, [other than you] what else is my form?

<<< இருந்தனை (irundaṉai): [you] have been, [you] have remained {second person singular past tense form of iru, ‘be’, ‘exist’ or ‘remain’} | அருணவான்கிரி (aruṇa-vāṉ-giri): Aruna-great-hill, great Aruna Hill {compound of aruṇa, ‘Aruna’, vāṉ, ‘great’, and malai, ‘hill’ or ‘mountain’} | என (eṉa): as | இருந்தோய் (irundōy): you who were, you who have been {second person singular pronominal noun formed from irunda, the past adjectival participle of iru, ‘be’ or ‘exist’} >>> so this final sentence, ‘இருந்தனை அருண வான் கிரி என இருந்தோய்’ (irundaṉai aruṇa-vāṉ-giri eṉa irundōy), means ‘You who were as the great Aruna Hill have been’, which implies:

You who were [or have been] as the great Aruna Hill [alone] have [always] been [or have remained (now that the appearance of my seemingly separate form and everything else has ceased to be)].

Detailed explanation and discussion:
(To be posted when completed)

Other explanations and discussions:
2022-03-10: We cannot know God or Arunachalam as formless so long as we are aware of ourself as ‘I am this body’, and hence it is appropriate to worship and adore him in form
2014-05-05: So long as we experience ourself as a form (a physical body), we cannot experience God as formless but can only conceive of him as a form, and if we try to think of him as formless, we cannot do so (just as we cannot get any closer to the sky no matter where we may wander on earth), so if we want to worship God as something other than ourself, we can only think of him as a form

Verse 4:

இருந்தொளி ருனைவிடுத் தடுத்திட றெய்வ
      மிருட்டினை விளக்கெடுத் தடுத்திட லேகா
ணிருந்தொளி ருனையறி வுறுத்திடற் கென்றே
      யிருந்தனை மதந்தொறும் விதவித வுருவா
யிருந்தொளி ருனையறி கிலரெனி லன்னோ
      ரிரவியி னறிவறு குருடரே யாவா
ரிருந்தொளி ரிரண்டற வெனதுளத் தொன்றா
      யிணையறு மருணமா மலையெனு மணியே.

irundoḷi ruṉaiviḍut taḍuttiḍa ṟeyva
      miruṭṭiṉai viḷakkeḍut taḍuttiḍa lēkā
ṇirundoḷi ruṉaiyaṟi vuṟuttiḍaṯ keṉḏṟē
      yirundaṉai madandoṟum vidhavidha vuruvā
yirundoḷi ruṉaiyaṟi hilareṉi laṉṉō
      riraviyi ṉaṟivaṟu kuruḍarē yāvā
rirundoḷi riraṇḍaṟa veṉaduḷat toṉḏṟā
      yiṇaiyaṟu maruṇamā malaiyeṉu maṇiyē.

பதச்சேதம்: இருந்து ஒளிர் உனை விடுத்து அடுத்திடல் தெய்வம் இருட்டினை விளக்கு எடுத்து அடுத்திடலே காண். இருந்து ஒளிர் உனை அறிவு உறுத்திடற்கு என்றே, இருந்தனை மதம் தொறும் வித வித உருவாய். இருந்து ஒளிர் உனை அறிகிலர் எனில், அன்னோர் இரவியின் அறிவு அறு குருடரே ஆவார். இருந்து ஒளிர் இரண்டு அற எனது உளத்து ஒன்றாய், இணையறும் அருண மா மலை எனும் மணியே.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): irundu oḷir uṉai viḍuttu aḍuttiḍal deyvam iruṭṭiṉai viḷakku eḍuttu aḍuttiḍalē kāṇ. irundu oḷir uṉai aṟivu uṟuttiḍaṟku eṉḏṟē, irundaṉai matam toṟum vidha vidha uruvāy. irundu oḷir uṉai aṟihilar eṉil, aṉṉōr iraviyiṉ aṟivu aṟu kuruḍarē āvār. irundu oḷir iraṇḍu aṟa eṉadu uḷattu oṉḏṟāy, iṇai-y-aṟum aruṇa-mā-malai eṉum maṇiyē.

அன்வயம்: இருந்து ஒளிர் உனை விடுத்து தெய்வம் அடுத்திடல் விளக்கு எடுத்து இருட்டினை அடுத்திடலே காண். இருந்து ஒளிர் உனை அறிவு உறுத்திடற்கு என்றே மதம் தொறும் வித வித உருவாய் இருந்தனை. இருந்து ஒளிர் உனை அறிகிலர் எனில், அன்னோர் இரவியின் அறிவு அறு குருடரே ஆவார். இணையறும் அருண மா மலை எனும் மணியே, எனது உளத்து இரண்டு அற ஒன்றாய் இருந்து ஒளிர்.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): irundu oḷir uṉai viḍuttu deyvam aḍuttiḍal viḷakku eḍuttu iruṭṭiṉai aḍuttiḍalē kāṇ. irundu oḷir uṉai aṟivu uṟuttiḍaṟku eṉḏṟē matam toṟum vidha vidha uruvāy irundaṉai. irundu oḷir uṉai aṟihilar eṉil, aṉṉōr iraviyiṉ aṟivu aṟu kuruḍarē āvār. iṇai-y-aṟum aruṇa-mā-malai eṉum maṇiyē, eṉadu uḷattu iraṇḍu aṟa oṉḏṟāy irundu oḷir.

English translation: See, seeking God leaving you, who exist and shine, is just seeking darkness taking a lamp. Only to make yourself, who exist and shine, known, you have been as various forms in every creed. If there are those who do not know you, who exist and shine, such people are just blind people without knowledge of the sun. Gem called the peerless great Aruna Hill, exist and shine in my heart as one without a second.

Explanatory paraphrase: See, seeking God [while] leaving [letting go, forsaking or neglecting] you, who exist and shine [eternally in one’s heart as pure being-awareness (sat-cit), ‘I am’, which is God as he actually is], is just [like] seeking darkness taking a lamp. Only to make yourself, who exist and shine [eternally as the sole reality], known [to those who fail to recognise you shining in their heart as they own being], you have been [appearing] as various forms in every mata [creed or system of religious beliefs]. If there are those who do not know you, who exist and shine [as the light that illumines the mind, enabling it to know other things], such people are just [like] blind people without knowledge of the sun. Gem [of pure awareness] called the peerless great Aruna Hill, exist and shine in my heart as one without a second.

Padavurai (word-explanation): இருந்து (irundu): being, existing {adverbial participle} | ஒளிர் (oḷir): shine {root of this verb, used here in the sense of an adjectival participle, ‘shining’ or ‘who shine’} | உனை (uṉai): you {poetic abbreviation of uṉṉai, accusative (second case) form of the second person singular pronoun} | விடுத்து (viḍuttu): leaving, letting go, abandoning, forsaking, neglecting {adverbial participle} | அடுத்திடல் (aḍuttiḍal): approaching, being near, joining, depending on, taking refuge in (but used here in the sense of ‘seeking’) {verbal noun} | தெய்வம் (deyvam): God {Tamil form of the Sanskrit daiva, ‘divine’ or ‘diety’} | இருட்டினை (iruṭṭiṉai): darkness (accusative (second case) form of iruṭṭu) | விளக்கு (viḷakku): light, lamp | எடுத்து (eḍuttu): taking, holding, carrying {adverbial participle} | அடுத்திடலே (aḍuttiḍalē): just seeking {intensified form of the verbal noun aḍuttiḍal (see above)} | காண் (kāṇ): see {root of this verb, used here as an imperative} >>> so this first sentence, ‘இருந்து ஒளிர் உனை விடுத்து அடுத்திடல் தெய்வம் இருட்டினை விளக்கு எடுத்து அடுத்திடலே காண்’ (irundu oḷir uṉai viḍuttu aḍuttiḍal deyvam iruṭṭiṉai viḷakku eḍuttu aḍuttiḍalē kāṇ), means ‘See, seeking God leaving you, who exist and shine, is just seeking darkness taking a lamp’, which implies:

See, seeking God [while] leaving [letting go, forsaking or neglecting] you, who exist and shine [eternally in one’s heart as pure being-awareness (sat-cit), ‘I am’, which is God as he actually is], is just [like] seeking darkness taking a lamp.

<<< இருந்து (irundu): being, existing {adverbial participle} | ஒளிர் (oḷir): shine {root of this verb, used here in the sense of an adjectival participle, ‘shining’ or ‘who shine’} | உனை (uṉai): you, yourself {poetic abbreviation of uṉṉai, accusative (second case) form of the second person singular pronoun} | அறிவுறுத்திடற்கு (aṟivuṟuttiḍaṟku): for making known {dative (fourth case) form of aṟivuṟuttiḍal, a verbal noun that means ‘making known’, which is a compound of aṟivu, ‘knowledge’ or ‘awareness’, and uṟuttiḍal, ‘causing to be’, ‘causing to happen’ or ‘causing to obtain’} | என்றே (eṉḏṟē): only saying, just {intensified adverbial participle of eṉ, ‘say’, used here in the sense ‘only’ or ‘just’} | இருந்தனை (irundaṉai): [you] have been, [you] have remained {second person singular past tense form of iru, ‘be’, ‘exist’ or ‘remain’} | மதந்தொறும் (matandoṟum): in each creed, in every creed, in all creeds {compound of matam, a Tamil form of the Sanskrit mata, ‘what is thought’, ‘what is believed’, ‘opinion’, ‘tenet’, ‘doctrine’ or ‘view’ (particularly a creed or system of religious beliefs), and the suffix toṟum, ‘in all’, ‘in every’ or ‘in each’ (formed from toṟu, a distributive suffix, and um, a suffix that in this context implies completeness, wholeness, totality or entirety)} | விதவிதவுருவாய் (vidha-vidha-v-uru-v-āy): as various forms {compound of vidha-vidham, reduplication of vidham (Tamil form of the Sanskrit vidhā, ‘sort’ or ‘kind’), implying ‘different kinds’ or ‘various’; uru, ‘form’; and āy, adverbial participle and suffix meaning ‘being’ or ‘as’} >>> so this second sentence, ‘இருந்து ஒளிர் உனை அறிவு உறுத்திடற்கு என்றே, இருந்தனை மதம் தொறும் வித வித உருவாய்’ (irundu oḷir uṉai aṟivu uṟuttiḍaṟku eṉḏṟē, irundaṉai matam toṟum vidha vidha uruvāy), means ‘Only to make yourself, who exist and shine, known, you have been as various forms in every creed’, which implies:

Only to make yourself, who exist and shine [eternally as the sole reality], known [to those who fail to recognise you shining in their heart as they own being], you have been [appearing] as various forms in every mata [creed or system of religious beliefs].

<<< இருந்து (irundu): being, existing {adverbial participle} | ஒளிர் (oḷir): shine {root of this verb, used here in the sense of an adjectival participle, ‘shining’ or ‘who shine’} | உனை (uṉai): you {poetic abbreviation of uṉṉai, accusative (second case) form of the second person singular pronoun} | அறிகிலர் (aṟihilar): those who do not know | எனில் (eṉil): if said {conditional form of eṉ, ‘say’, implying ‘if so’, ‘if such is the case’ or ‘if it is the case that’, so ‘aṟihilar eṉil’ implies ‘if those who do not know are the case’ or simply ‘if there are those who do not know’} | அன்னோர் (aṉṉōr): such people | இரவியின் (iraviyiṉ): of the sun {inflectional base and genitive (sixth case) form of iravi, Tamil form of the Sanskrit ravi, ‘sun’} | அறிவு (aṟivu): knowledge | அறு (aṟu): cease, perish, be cut off, be severed, be separated, be rooted out, be removed {root of this verb, used here in the sense of an adjectival participle meaning ‘bereft of’, ‘devoid of’ or ‘without’} | குருடரே (kuruḍarē): just blind people {intensified form of kuruḍar, ‘those who are blind’ or ‘blind people’} | ஆவார் (āvār): [they] are >>> so this third sentence, ‘இருந்து ஒளிர் உனை அறிகிலர் எனில், அன்னோர் இரவியின் அறிவு அறு குருடரே ஆவார்’ (irundu oḷir uṉai aṟihilar eṉil, aṉṉōr iraviyiṉ aṟivu aṟu kuruḍarē āvār), means ‘If there are those who do not know you, who exist and shine, such people are just blind people without knowledge of the sun’, which implies:

If there are those who do not know you, who exist and shine [as the light that illumines the mind, enabling it to know other things], such people are just [like] blind people without knowledge of the sun.

<<< இருந்து (irundu): being, existing {adverbial participle} | ஒளிர் (oḷir): shine {root of this verb, used here as an imperative} | இரண்டற (iraṇḍaṟa): without two, without a second {compound of iraṇḍu, ‘two’, and aṟa, ‘without’} | எனது (eṉadu): my {genitive (sixth case) form of the first person singular pronoun} | உளத்து (uḷattu): in heart {poetic abbreviation of uḷḷattu, inflectional base and locative (seventh case) form of uḷḷam, ‘heart’} | ஒன்றாய் (oṉḏṟāy): as one {compound of oṉḏṟu, noun meaning ‘one’, ‘one thing’ or ‘the one’, and āy, adverbial participle and suffix meaning ‘being’ or ‘as’} | இணையறும் (iṇai-y-aṟum): peerless {compound of iṇai, ‘likeness’, ‘resemblance’ or ‘pair’, and aṟum, adjectival participle meaning ‘without’} | அருணமாமலை (aruṇa-mā-malai): Aruna-great-hill, great Aruna Hill {compound of aruṇa, ‘Aruna’, mā (Tamil form of the Sanskrit mahā), ‘great’, and malai, ‘hill’ or ‘mountain’} | எனும் (eṉum): called, which is called, which is said {future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle of eṉ, ‘say’, ‘utter’ or ‘express’} | மணியே (maṇiyē): Gem, O Gem {vocative (eighth case) form of maṇi, ‘gem’ or ‘jewel’} >>> so this final sentence, ‘இருந்து ஒளிர் இரண்டு அற எனது உளத்து ஒன்றாய், இணையறும் அருண மா மலை எனும் மணியே’ (irundu oḷir iraṇḍu aṟa eṉadu uḷattu oṉḏṟāy, iṇai-y-aṟum aruṇa-mā-malai eṉum maṇiyē), means ‘Gem called the peerless great Aruna Hill, exist and shine in my heart as one without a second’, which implies:

Gem [of pure awareness] called the peerless great Aruna Hill, exist and shine in my heart as one without a second.

Detailed explanation and discussion:
(To be posted when completed)

Verse 5:

மணிகளிற் சரடென வுயிர்தொறு நானா
      மதந்தொறு மொருவனா மருவினை நீதான்
மணிகடைந் தெனமன மனமெனுங் கல்லின்
      மறுவறக் கடையநின் னருளொளி மேவும்
மணியொளி யெனப்பிறி தொருபொருட் பற்று
      மருவுற லிலைநிழற் படிதகட் டின்விண்
மணியொளி படநிழல் பதியுமோ வுன்னின்
      மறுபொரு ளருணநல் லொளிமலை யுண்டோ.

maṇigaḷiṯ caraḍeṉa vuyirdoṟu nāṉā
      matandoṟu moruvaṉā maruviṉai nīdāṉ
maṇigaḍain deṉamaṉa maṉameṉuṅ galliṉ
      maṟuvaṟak kaḍaiyaniṉ ṉaruḷoḷi mēvum
maṇiyoḷi yeṉappiṟi doruporuṭ paṯṟu
      maruvuṟa lilainiṙaṯ paḍidagaṭ ṭiṉviṇ
maṇiyoḷi paḍaniṙal padiyumō vuṉṉiṉ
      maṟuporu ḷaruṇanal loḷimalai yuṇḍō.

பதச்சேதம்: மணிகளில் சரடு என உயிர்தொறும் நானா மதந்தொறும் ஒருவனா மருவினை நீ தான். மணி கடைந்து என மனம் மனம் எனும் கல்லில் மறு அற கடைய நின் அருள் ஒளி மேவும். மணி ஒளி என பிறிது ஒரு பொருள் பற்றும் மரு உறல் இலை. நிழல் படி தகட்டின் விண்மணி ஒளி பட நிழல் பதியுமோ? உன்னின் மறு பொருள் அருண நல் ஒளி மலை உண்டோ?

Padacchēdam (word-separation): maṇigaḷil saraḍu eṉa uyirdoṟum nāṉā matandoṟum oruvaṉā maruviṉai nī-tāṉ. maṇi kaḍaindu eṉa maṉam maṉam eṉum kallil maṟu aṟa kaḍaiya niṉ aruḷ-oḷi mēvum. maṇi-y-oḷi eṉa piṟidu oru poruḷ paṯṟum maru uṟal ilai. niṙal paḍi tagaṭṭiṉ viṇmaṇi-y-oḷi paḍa niṙal padiyumō? uṉṉiṉ maṟu poruḷ aruṇa-nal-l-oḷi-malai uṇḍō?

அன்வயம்: மணிகளில் சரடு என உயிர்தொறும் நானா மதந்தொறும் நீ தான் ஒருவனா மருவினை. மணி கடைந்து என மனம் மனம் எனும் கல்லில் மறு அற கடைய நின் அருள் ஒளி மேவும். மணி ஒளி என பிறிது ஒரு பொருள் பற்றும் மரு உறல் இலை. நிழல் படி தகட்டின் விண்மணி ஒளி பட நிழல் பதியுமோ? அருண நல் ஒளி மலை, உன்னின் மறு பொருள் உண்டோ?

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): maṇigaḷil saraḍu eṉa uyirdoṟum nāṉā matandoṟum nī-tāṉ oruvaṉā maruviṉai. maṇi kaḍaindu eṉa maṉam maṉam eṉum kallil maṟu aṟa kaḍaiya niṉ aruḷ-oḷi mēvum. maṇi-y-oḷi eṉa piṟidu oru poruḷ paṯṟum maru uṟal ilai. niṙal paḍi tagaṭṭiṉ viṇmaṇi-y-oḷi paḍa niṙal padiyumō? aruṇa-nal-l-oḷi-malai, uṉṉiṉ maṟu poruḷ uṇḍō?

English translation: Like the thread in gems, you alone have shone as he who is one in every soul and in every diverse creed. Like grinding a gem, when one grinds the mind on the stone called mind for blemishes to be removed, the light of your grace will shine forth. Like the light of a gem, attachment to any other thing will not come near. When sunlight touches a photographic plate, will an image be imprinted? Aruna, hill of sublime light, is there another thing than you?

Explanatory paraphrase: Like the thread in [a string of] gems, you alone have [forever] shone [or been embedded] as oruvaṉ [he who is one and incomparable, namely the one real substance or God] in every soul and in every diverse mata [creed or system of religious beliefs]. Like grinding a gem [to polish it, removing its flaws], when one grinds the mind on the stone called mind for [its] blemishes to be removed, the light of your grace will shine forth. Like the light of a [polished] gem [whose brightness and colour are unaffected by nearby objects], attachment to any other thing will not come near [a mind that has thus been polished]. When sunlight touches a photographic plate, will [any] image be imprinted [on it ever again]? Aruna, hill of sublime [intense or abundant] light, is there anything [any poruḷ or thing that actually exists] other than you?

Padavurai (word-explanation): மணிகளில் (maṇigaḷil): in gems {locative (seventh case) form of maṇigaḷ, plural of maṇi, ‘gem’ or ‘jewel’} | சரடு (saraḍu): thread, twine, cord, string | என (eṉa): like {infinitive of eṉ, ‘say’, used as a particle of comparison} | உயிர்தொறும் (uyirdoṟum): in each soul, in every soul, in all souls {compound of uyir, ‘life’ or ‘soul’, and the suffix toṟum, ‘in all’, ‘in every’ or ‘in each’} | நானா (nāṉā): diverse, different, various, many | மதந்தொறும் (matandoṟum): in each creed, in every creed, in all creeds {compound of matam, a Tamil form of the Sanskrit mata, ‘what is thought’, ‘what is believed’, ‘opinion’, ‘tenet’, ‘doctrine’ or ‘view’ (particularly a creed or system of religious beliefs), and the suffix toṟum, ‘in all’, ‘in every’ or ‘in each’} | ஒருவனா (oruvaṉā): as the one {compound of oruvaṉ, ‘he who is one’ or ‘he who is incomparable’ (masculine third person singular pronominal noun formed from the adjective oru, ‘one’, ‘unique’ or ‘incomparable’), and the adverbial suffix ā, ‘being’ or ‘as’} | மருவினை (maruviṉai): [you] have shone, [you] have been embedded {second person singular past tense form of maruvu, ‘combine’, ‘join’, embrace’, ‘appear’, shine’, ‘encase’ or ‘embed’} | நீதான் (nī-tāṉ): you yourself, you alone {compound of the second person singular pronoun nī and the intensifying suffix tāṉ} >>> so this first sentence, ‘மணிகளில் சரடு என உயிர்தொறும் நானா மதந்தொறும் ஒருவனா மருவினை நீ தான்’ (maṇigaḷil saraḍu eṉa uyirdoṟum nāṉā matandoṟum oruvaṉā maruviṉai nī-tāṉ), means ‘Like the thread in gems, you alone have shone as he who is one in every soul and in every diverse creed’, which implies:

Like the thread in [a string of] gems, you alone have [forever] shone [or been embedded] as oruvaṉ [he who is one and incomparable, namely the one real substance or God] in every soul and in every diverse mata [creed or system of religious beliefs].

<<< மணி (maṇi): gem, jewel | கடைந்து (kaḍaindu): grinding, polishing {adverbial participle of kaḍai, ‘churn’, ‘turn on a lathe’, ‘shape on a potter’s wheel’, ‘grind’ or ‘polish’} | என (eṉa): like {infinitive of eṉ, ‘say’, used as a particle of comparison} | மனம் (maṉam): mind | மனம் (maṉam): mind | எனும் (eṉum): called {adjectival participle of eṉ, ‘say’} | கல்லில் (kallil): on the stone {locative (seventh case) form of kal, ‘stone’} | மறு (maṟu): blemish, defect, flaw | அற (aṟa): to be severed, to be removed, to cease, to perish {infinitive, here implying purpose, so maṟu-v-aṟa means ‘for blemishes to be removed’} | கடைய (kaḍaiya): when grinding, when one grinds {infinitive of kaḍai, ‘grind’ or ‘polish’} | நின் (niṉ): your {inflectional base and genitive (sixth case) form of the second person singular pronoun} | அருளொளி (aruḷ-oḷi): grace-light, light of grace {compound of aruḷ, ‘grace’, and oḷi, ‘light’} | மேவும் (mēvum): will shine forth {neuter third person future form of mēvu, ‘abide’, ‘dwell’, ‘manifest’, ‘appear’ or ‘rise up’} >>> so this second sentence, ‘மணி கடைந்து என மனம் மனம் எனும் கல்லில் மறு அற கடைய நின் அருள் ஒளி மேவும்’ (maṇi kaḍaindu eṉa maṉam maṉam eṉum kallil maṟu aṟa kaḍaiya niṉ aruḷ-oḷi mēvum), means ‘Like grinding a gem, when one grinds the mind on the stone called mind for blemishes to be removed, the light of your grace will shine forth’, which implies:

Like grinding a gem [to polish it, removing its flaws], when one grinds the mind on the stone called mind for [its] blemishes to be removed, the light of your grace will shine forth.

<<< மணியொளி (maṇi-y-oḷi): gem-light, light of a gem {compound of maṇi, ‘gem’ or ‘jewel’, and oḷi, ‘light’} | என (eṉa): like {particle of comparison} | பிறிது (piṟidu): what is other, other thing, other | ஒரு (oru): one, any | பொருள் (poruḷ): thing | பற்றும் (paṯṟum): even the least attachment {paṯṟu is both a verb and a noun, but here it is a noun that means ‘hold’, ‘grasp’, ‘clinging’ or ‘attachment’, and in this context the suffix um implies ‘even the least’} | மருவுறலிலை (maru-v-uṟal-ilai): will not come near {compound of maru, ‘combining’, ‘embracing’, ‘arising’, ‘appearing’, ‘approaching’ or ‘coming near’, the verbal noun uṟal, ‘being near’, ‘coming near’ or ‘approaching’, and ilai, ‘not’} >>> so this third sentence, ‘மணி ஒளி என பிறிது ஒரு பொருள் பற்றும் மரு உறல் இலை’ (maṇi-y-oḷi eṉa piṟidu oru poruḷ paṯṟum maru uṟal ilai), means ‘Like the light of a gem, attachment to any other thing will not come near’, which implies:

Like the light of a [polished] gem [whose brightness and colour are unaffected by nearby objects], attachment to any other thing will not come near [a mind that has thus been polished].

<<< நிழற்படிதகட்டின் (niṙaṯpaḍidagaṭṭiṉ): on an image-settling plate, on a photographic plate {compound of niṙal, ‘shade’, ‘shadow’ or ‘image’, paḍi, ‘settle’, ‘gather, ‘rest upon’ or ‘be joined’ (the root of this verb used in the sense of an adjectival participle, ‘settling’), and tagaṭṭiṉ, the inflectional base of tagaḍu, ‘plate’} | விண்மணியொளி (viṇmaṇi-y-oḷi): sunlight {compound of viṇmaṇi (compound of viṇ, ‘sky’, and maṇi, ‘gem’), ‘sky-gem’ or ‘sun’, and oḷi, ‘light’} | பட (paḍa): when it touches {infinitive of paḍu, ‘touch’, ‘hit’ or strike against’} | நிழல் (niṙal): shadow, image | பதியுமோ (padiyumō): will it be imprinted {interrogative form of padiyum, ‘it will be imprinted’, neuter third person future form of padi, ‘be imprinted’, ‘be impressed’ or ‘sink in’} >>> so this fourth sentence, ‘நிழல் படி தகட்டின் விண்மணி ஒளி பட நிழல் பதியுமோ?’ (niṙal paḍi tagaṭṭiṉ viṇmaṇi-y-oḷi paḍa niṙal padiyumō?), means ‘When sunlight touches a photographic plate, will an image be imprinted?’, which implies:

When sunlight touches a photographic plate, will [any] image be imprinted [on it ever again]?

<<< உன்னின் (uṉṉiṉ): than you {inflectional base of the second person singular pronoun, used here in a comparative sense} | மறு (maṟu): other, another | பொருள் (poruḷ): thing, substance, essence, reality, what actually exists | அருணநல்லொளிமலை (aruṇa-nal-l-oḷi-malai): Aruna-sublime-light-hill, Aruna, hill of sublime light {compound of aruṇa, ‘Aruna’, nal, ‘good’, ‘benign’, ‘fine’, ‘excellent’, ‘sublime’, ‘abundant’ or ‘intense’, oḷi, ‘light’, and malai, ‘hill’ or ‘mountain’} | உண்டோ (uṇḍō): is there {interrogative form of uṇḍu, ‘there is’} >>> so this final sentence, ‘உன்னின் மறு பொருள் அருண நல் ஒளி மலை உண்டோ?’ (uṉṉiṉ maṟu poruḷ aruṇa-nal-l-oḷi-malai uṇḍō?), means ‘Aruna, hill of sublime light, is there another thing than you?’, which implies:

Aruna, hill of sublime [intense or abundant] light, is there anything [any poruḷ or thing that actually exists] other than you?

Detailed explanation and discussion:
(To be posted when completed)

Other explanations and discussions:
2019-11-18: As Bhagavan points out in verse 3 of Śrī Aruṇācala Pañcaratnam, in order to be so keenly அகமுகம் (ahamukham), ‘selfward-facing’ or ‘self-attentive’, that we clearly know அகவுரு (aha-v-uru), ‘the real nature of I’, and thereby merge forever in Arunachala, the mind needs to be அமலம் (amalam), ‘blemishless’, so in this verse he explains how to make the mind blemishless: ‘மணி கடைந்து என மனம் மனம் எனும் கல்லில் மறு அற கடைய நின் அருள் ஒளி மேவும்’ (maṇi kaḍaindu eṉa maṉam maṉam eṉum kallil maṟu aṟa kaḍaiya niṉ aruḷ-oḷi mēvum), ‘Like grinding a gem [to polish it, removing its flaws], when one grinds the mind on the stone called mind for [its] blemishes to be removed, the light of your grace will shine forth’
2019-05-08: If the film reel in a cinema projector stops whirling in the middle of a film, it will be melted by the heat of the arc-lamp, after which light alone without any pictures will appear on the screen, so likewise, if we turn our entire attention within and thereby bring the whirl of destiny to a standstill, our viṣaya-vāsanās will be destroyed along with their parent, ego, by the clear light of pure self-awareness, after which that light alone will shine without any world-pictures, as Bhagavan indicates in the final two sentences of this verse: ‘நிழல் படி தகட்டின் விண்மணி ஒளி பட நிழல் பதியுமோ? உன்னின் மறு பொருள் அருண நல் ஒளி மலை உண்டோ?’ (niṙal paḍi tagaṭṭiṉ viṇmaṇi-y-oḷi paḍa niṙal padiyumō? uṉṉiṉ maṟu poruḷ aruṇa-nal-l-oḷi-malai uṇḍō?), ‘When sunlight touches a photographic plate, will [any] image be imprinted [on it ever again]? Aruna, hill of intense light, is there anything other than you?’
2018-09-01: Here the term மறு (maṟu), which means blemish, defect or fault, refers to all the blemishes or impurities of the mind, namely its viṣaya-vāsanās, and as he implies these can be removed by ‘மனம் மனம் எனும் கல்லில் கடைதல்’ (maṉam maṉam eṉum kallil kaḍaital), ‘grinding the mind on the stone called mind’, or in other words, by keeping the mind fixed firmly on itself, because when the mind (namely ego) faces anything other than itself it accumulates dirt in the form of viṣaya-vāsanās, but when it turns back to face itself alone it sheds that dirt and like a polished gem its natural inner clarity begins to shine forth, as Bhagavan implies by concluding this sentence with the main clause: ‘நின் அருள் ஒளி மேவும்’ (niṉ aruḷ-oḷi mēvum), ‘the light of your grace will shine forth [or manifest]’.
2016-02-28: Just as a gem is polished by rubbing it on a special kind of grindstone to remove all its blemishes and thereby make it shine brightly, we must polish our mind, and the grindstone on which we can polish it most effectively is only itself, as Bhagavan implies by saying ‘மனம் மனம் எனும் கல்லில் மறு அற கடைய’ (maṉam maṉam eṉum kallil maṟu aṟa kaḍaiya), ‘when one grinds the mind on the stone called mind for [its] blemishes [or impurities] to be removed’, thereby indicating that to remove all our mind’s blemishes in the form of its desires for or attachments to anything other than ourself we must polish it by making it attend only to itself, the ‘மனம் எனும் கல்’ (maṉam eṉum kal) or ‘stone called mind’.

Verse 6:

உண்டொரு பொருளறி வொளியுள மேநீ
      யுளதுனி லலதிலா வதிசய சத்தி
நின்றணு நிழனிரை நினைவறி வோடே
      நிகழ்வினைச் சுழலிலந் நினைவொளி யாடி
கண்டன நிழற்சக விசித்திர முள்ளுங்
      கண்முதற் பொறிவழி புறத்துமொர் சில்லா
னின்றிடு நிழல்பட நிகரருட் குன்றே
      நின்றிட சென்றிட நினைவிட வின்றே.

uṇḍoru poruḷaṟi voḷiyuḷa mēnī
      yuḷaduṉi laladilā vatiśaya śatti
niṉḏṟaṇu niṙaṉirai niṉaivaṟi vōḍē
      nikaṙviṉaic cuṙalilan niṉaivoḷi yāḍi
kaṇḍaṉa niṙaṯcaga vicittira muḷḷuṅ
      kaṇmudaṯ poṟivaṙi puṟattumor sillā
ṉiṉḏṟiḍu niṙalpaḍa nihararuṭ kuṉḏṟē
      niṉḏṟiḍa seṉḏṟiḍa niṉaiviḍa viṉḏṟē.

பதச்சேதம்: உண்டு ஒரு பொருள் அறிவு ஒளி உளமே நீ. உளது உனில் அலது இலா அதிசய சத்தி. நின்று அணு நிழல் நிரை நினைவு அறிவோடே நிகழ்வினை சுழலில் அந் நினைவு ஒளி ஆடி கண்டன நிழல் சக விசித்திரம் உள்ளும் கண் முதல் பொறி வழி புறத்தும், ஒர் சில்லால் நின்றிடும் நிழல்படம் நிகர். அருள் குன்றே, நின்றிட சென்றிட, நினை விட இன்றே.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): uṇḍu oru poruḷ aṟivu oḷi uḷamē nī. uḷadu uṉil aladu ilā atiśaya śatti. niṉḏṟu aṇu niṙal nirai niṉaivu aṟivōḍē nihaṙviṉai suṙalil a-n-niṉaivu oḷi āḍi kaṇḍaṉa niṙal jaga-vicittiram uḷḷum kaṇ mudal poṟi vaṙi puṟattum, or sillāl niṉḏṟiḍum niṙal-paḍam nihar. aruḷ-kuṉḏṟē, niṉḏṟiḍa seṉḏṟiḍa, niṉai viḍa iṉḏṟē.

அன்வயம்: அறிவு ஒளி உளமே நீ ஒரு பொருள் உண்டு. உனில் அலது இலா அதிசய சத்தி உளது. நின்று அணு நிழல் நினைவு நிரை அறிவோடே நிகழ்வினை சுழலில், ஒர் சில்லால் நின்றிடும் நிழல்படம் நிகர், நிழல் சக விசித்திரம் உள்ளும் கண் முதல் பொறி வழி புறத்தும் அந் நினைவு ஒளி ஆடி கண்டன. அருள் குன்றே, நின்றிட சென்றிட, நினை விட இன்றே.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): aṟivu oḷi uḷamē nī oru poruḷ uṇḍu. uṉil aladu ilā atiśaya śatti uḷadu. niṉḏṟu aṇu niṙal niṉaivu nirai aṟivōḍē nihaṙviṉai suṙalil, or sillāl niṉḏṟiḍum niṙal-paḍam nihar, niṙal jaga-vicittaram uḷḷum kaṇ mudal poṟi vaṙi puṟattum a-n-niṉaivu oḷi āḍi kaṇḍaṉa. aruḷ-kuṉḏṟē, niṉḏṟiḍa seṉḏṟiḍa, niṉai viḍa iṉḏṟē.

English translation: There is only you, the one substance, the heart, the light of awareness. In you is an extraordinary power, which is not other. From, together with awareness, series of subtle shadow thoughts in the whirling of destiny have been seen, the mirror, that thought-light, a shadow world-picture both inside and outside via the sense organs beginning with the eye, like a shadow-picture that stands out by a lens. Hill of grace, let them cease, let them go on, apart from you they do not exist at all.

Explanatory paraphrase: There is only you, the one poruḷ [real substance, vastu or thing that actually exists], the heart, the light of awareness. In you is an atiśaya-śakti [extraordinary, wonderful or pre-eminent power], which is not other [than you]. [Appearing] from [that atiśaya-śakti], together with awareness [which is like the light by which pictures are projected on a screen], series of subtle shadow-like thoughts [being spun like the series of picture-frames on a film reel] in the whirling of destiny have been seen [on] the mirror [namely the mind, which is like the screen on which pictures are projected and seen], [being illumined by] that thought-light [namely ego, the reflected light of awareness in whose view all thoughts appear and disappear], [as] a shadow world-picture both inside and outside via the sense organs beginning with the eye, like a shadow-picture [a movie film] that stands out [being projected] by [passing through] a lens [which is like the five senses, the windows through which the seemingly external world is projected and perceived]. Hill of grace, let them cease [or] let them go on, [because] apart from you they do not exist at all [or: Hill of grace, whether they cease or whether they go on, apart from you they do not exist at all].

Padavurai (word-explanation): உண்டு (uṇḍu): there is {finite verb denoting existence, used in common for all genders and persons and both numbers} | ஒரு (oru): one {adjective} | பொருள் (poruḷ): thing, substance, essence, reality, what actually exists {the Tamil equivalent of the Sanskrit vastu} | அறிவொளி (aṟivoḷi): awareness-light, light of awareness (implying ‘the light that is awareness’) {compound of aṟivu, ‘knowledge’ or ‘awareness’, and oḷi, ‘light’} | உளமே (uḷamē): heart alone {intensified form of uḷam, poetic abbreviation of uḷḷam, ‘heart’, in which the intensifying suffix ē implies ‘only’ and ‘alone’, which applies not only to uḷam but to the entire phrase ‘oru poruḷ aṟivu oḷi uḷamē nī’, ‘only you, the one substance, the heart, the light of awareness’} | நீ (nī): you {second person singular pronoun} >>> so this first sentence, ‘உண்டு ஒரு பொருள் அறிவு ஒளி உளமே நீ’ (uṇḍu oru poruḷ aṟivu oḷi uḷamē nī), means ‘There is only you, the one substance, the heart, the light of awareness’, which implies:

There is only you, the one poruḷ [real substance, vastu or thing that actually exists], the heart, the light of awareness.

<<< உளது (uḷadu): is, exists {poetic abbreviation of uḷḷadu, neuter third person singular form of the tenseless verb uḷ, ‘be’ or ‘exist’} | உனில் (uṉil): in you, than you {poetic abbreviation of uṉṉil, ablative (fifth case) and locative (seventh case) form of the second person singular pronoun, so in this case it serves a double function, because ‘uḷadu uṉil’ means ‘in you is’ and ‘uṉil aladu’ means ‘other than you’ or ‘except as you’} | அலது (aladu): if not, or else, except as, other than, besides {poetic abbreviation of alladu} | இலா (ilā): which is not, which does not exist {poetic abbreviation of illā, negative adjectival participle denying existence} | அதிசயசத்தி (atiśaya-śatti): extraordinary power {compound of atiśaya, ‘extraordinary’, ‘wonderful’, ‘excellent’ or ‘pre-eminent’, and śatti, Tamil form of the Sanskrit śakti, ‘power’} >>> so this second sentence, ‘உளது உனில் அலது இலா அதிசய சத்தி’ (uḷadu uṉil aladu ilā atiśaya-śatti), means ‘In you is an extraordinary power, which is not other’, which implies:

In you is an atiśaya-śakti [extraordinary, wonderful or pre-eminent power], which is not other [than you].

<<< நின்று (niṉḏṟu): from {adverbial participle, ‘standing’, often used as an ablative (fifth case) ending, and therefore in this context implying ‘from [that atiśaya-śakti])} | அணு (aṇu): subtle, fine, minute, atom | நிழல் (niṙal): shadow | நிரை (nirai): row, column, line, series, array, collection | நினைவு (niṉaivu): thought | அறிவோடே (aṟivōḍē): with awareness {aṟivu means ‘awareness’, ōḍu is a sociative (third case) ending, ‘with’, and ē is an intensifying suffix, so ōḍē implies ‘together with’} | நிகழ்வினை (nihaṙviṉai): ‘occurring karma’, fate, destiny, prārabdha {compound of nihaṙ, ‘present’, ‘current’, ‘occurring’ or ‘happening’, and viṉai, ‘action’ or ‘karma’} | சுழலில் (suṙalil): in the whirling {locative (seventh case) form of suṙal, ‘whirling’ or ‘revolving’} | அந்நினைவொளி (a-n-niṉaivoḷi): that thought-light {compound of the distal demonstrative prefix a, ‘that’, niṉaivu, ‘thought’, and oḷi, ‘light’, which implies ego, the reflected light of awareness in whose view all thoughts appear and disappear} | ஆடி (āḍi): mirror | கண்டன (kaṇḍaṉa): [they] were seen, have been seen {neuter third person plural past tense form of kāṇ, ‘see’} | நிழல் (niṙal): shadow | சகவிசித்திரம் (jaga-vicittiram): world-picture {compound of jagam, Tamil form of the Sanskrit jagat, ‘world’, and vicittiram, Tamil form of the Sanskrit vicitra, ‘diversified’, ‘variegated’, ‘many coloured’, ‘painted’, ‘manifold’, ‘marvellous’ or ‘wonderful’, here implying a ‘painting’ or ‘picture’} | உள்ளும் (uḷḷum): both inside {uḷ means ‘inside’ or ‘within’, and the suffix um appended to uḷḷum and puṟattum connects them in the sense ‘both … and …’} | கண் (kaṇ): eye | முதல் (mudal): beginning with | பொறி (poṟi): sense organs | வழி (vaṙi): way, path, via, through | புறத்தும் (puṟattum): and outside {puṟattu is the inflectional base of puṟam, ‘outside’, and the suffix um here means ‘and’, connecting this word with uḷḷum} | ஒர் (or): one, a {poetic abbreviation of the adjective ōr, ‘one’, ‘a’ or ‘an’} | சில்லால் (sillāl): by [a] lens {instrumental (third case) form of sil, ‘lens’} | நின்றிடும் (niṉḏṟiḍum): which stands out, that stands out {future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle of niṉḏṟiḍu, ‘stand out’, compound of niṉḏṟu (the adverbial particle of nil, ‘stand’) and the auxiliary verb iḍu, which in this case conveys the intensifying force of the adverb ‘out’} | நிழல்படம் (niṙal-paḍam): shadow-picture {compound of niṙal, ‘shadow’, and paḍam, ‘picture’} | நிகர் (nihar): comparison, likeness, equal, comparable, like >>> so this third sentence, ‘நின்று அணு நிழல் நிரை நினைவு அறிவோடே நிகழ்வினை சுழலில் அந் நினைவு ஒளி ஆடி கண்டன நிழல் சக விசித்திரம் உள்ளும் கண் முதல் பொறி வழி புறத்தும், ஒர் சில்லால் நின்றிடும் நிழல்படம் நிகர்’ (niṉḏṟu aṇu niṙal nirai niṉaivu aṟivōḍē nihaṙviṉai suṙalil a-n-niṉaivu oḷi āḍi kaṇḍaṉa niṙal jaga-vicittiram uḷḷum kaṇ mudal poṟi vaṙi puṟattum, or sillāl niṉḏṟiḍum niṙal-paḍam nihar), means ‘From, together with awareness, series of subtle shadow thoughts in the whirling of destiny have been seen, the mirror, that thought-light, a shadow world-picture both inside and outside via the sense organs beginning with the eye, like a shadow-picture that stands out by a lens’, which implies:

[Appearing] from [that atiśaya-śakti], together with awareness [which is like the light by which pictures are projected on a screen], series of subtle shadow-like thoughts [being spun like the series of picture-frames on a film reel] in the whirling of destiny have been seen [on] the mirror [namely the mind, which is like the screen on which pictures are projected and seen], [being illumined by] that thought-light [namely ego, the reflected light of awareness in whose view all thoughts appear and disappear], [as] a shadow world-picture both inside and outside via the sense organs beginning with the eye, like a shadow-picture [a movie film] that stands out [being projected] by [passing through] a lens [which is like the five senses, the windows through which the seemingly external world is projected and perceived].

<<< அருட்குன்றே (aruṭkuṉḏṟē): grace-hill, hill of grace, hill which is grace {vocative (eighth case) form of aruṭkuṉḏṟu, compound of aruḷ, ‘grace’, and kuṉḏṟu, ‘hill’ or ‘mountain’} | நின்றிட (niṉḏṟiḍa): let [them] stand still, let [them] stop, let [them] cease {infinitive of niṉḏṟiḍu, ‘stand still’, ‘stop’ or ‘cease’ [compound of niṉḏṟu (the adverbial particle of nil, ‘stand’, ‘stop’ or ‘cease’) and the auxiliary verb iḍu, which in this case conveys the intensifying force of the adverb ‘still’], used either in an optative sense, ‘let [them] cease’, or in the sense ‘when [they] cease’ or ‘whether [they] cease’} | சென்றிட (seṉḏṟiḍa): let [them] go on {infinitive of seṉḏṟiḍu, ‘go on’ or ‘continue’ [compound of seṉḏṟu (the adverbial particle of sel, ‘go’) and the auxiliary verb iḍu, which in this case conveys the intensifying force of the adverb ‘on’], used either in an optative sense, ‘let [them] go on’, or in the sense ‘when [they] go on’ or ‘whether [they] go on’} | நினை (niṉai): you {poetic abbreviation of niṉṉai, accusative (second case) form of the second person singular pronoun} | விட (viḍa): when leaving {infinitive of viḍu, ‘leave’, ‘separate from’, ‘abandon’ or ‘forsake’, implying here ‘apart from’ or ‘other than’} | இன்றே (iṉḏṟē): [they] do not exist at all {intensified form of iṉḏṟu, ‘are not’ or ‘do not exist’, the intensifying suffix ē implying ‘at all’ in this context} >>> so this final sentence, ‘அருள் குன்றே, நின்றிட சென்றிட, நினை விட இன்றே’ (aruḷ-kuṉḏṟē, niṉḏṟiḍa seṉḏṟiḍa, niṉai viḍa iṉḏṟē), means ‘Hill of grace, let them cease, let them go on, apart from you they do not exist at all’, which implies:

Hill of grace, let them cease [or] let them go on, [because] apart from you they do not exist at all [or: Hill of grace, whether they cease or whether they go on, apart from you they do not exist at all].

Detailed explanation and discussion:
(To be posted when completed)

Other explanations and discussions:
2023-12-07: பொருள் (poruḷ) is a word that has a very deep significance, so it is often used by Bhagavan, and in most contexts the equivalent term in Sanskrit is वस्तु (vastu), because it means the ultimate substance, the one thing that actually exists, the sole reality underlying and supporting the appearance of all other things, as he implies in the first sentence of this verse: ‘உண்டு ஒரு பொருள் அறிவு ஒளி உளமே நீ’ (uṇḍu oru poruḷ aṟivu oḷi uḷamē nī), ‘There is only you, the one poruḷ, the heart, the light of awareness’
2022-09-06: Since māyā and all its progeny seem to exist, even though they do not actually exist, they cannot be anything other than Arunachala, who alone is what actually exists, so it is Arunachala alone who appears in the form of māyā and its progeny, as Bhagavan implies in the first two sentences of this verse, ‘உண்டு ஒரு பொருள் அறிவு ஒளி உளமே நீ. உளது உனில் அலது இலா அதிசய சத்தி’ (uṇḍu oru poruḷ aṟivu oḷi uḷamē nī. uḷadu uṉil aladu ilā atiśaya śatti), ‘There is only you, the one poruḷ [real substance], the heart, the light of awareness. In you is an atiśaya-śakti [extraordinary power], which is not other [than you]’, and as he further confirms in the final sentence, ‘அருள் குன்றே, நின்றிட சென்றிட, நினை விட இன்றே’ (aruḷ-kuṉḏṟē, niṉḏṟiḍa seṉḏṟiḍa, niṉai viḍa iṉḏṟē), ‘Hill of grace, let them [namely everything that appears from that atiśaya śakti called māyā] cease or let them go on, apart from you they do not exist at all’
2022-04-14: Since Arunachala alone is what actually exists, as he implies in the first sentence of this verse, ‘உண்டு ஒரு பொருள் அறிவு ஒளி உளமே நீ’ (uṇḍu oru poruḷ aṟivu oḷi uḷamē nī), ‘There is only you, the one substance [the one thing that actually exists], the heart, the light of awareness’, whatever else seems to exist cannot actually be anything other than it, and hence in the clear view of Arunachala, the light of pure awareness, there is nothing other than itself, so it loves everything as itself, and its infinite and all-embracing love is what we experience as its grace
2022-02-08: What we see as the world, and consequently as the body also, is only thoughts, as he points out not only in this verse, ‘அணு நிழல் நிரை நினைவு […] கண்டன நிழல் சக விசித்திரம் உள்ளும் கண் முதல் பொறி வழி புறத்தும்’ (aṇu niṙal nirai niṉaivu […] kaṇḍaṉa niṙal jaga-vicittiram uḷḷum kaṇ mudal poṟi vaṙi puṟattum), ‘series of subtle shadow-like thoughts […] have been seen [as] a shadow world-picture both inside and outside via the sense organs beginning with the eye’, but also in the fourth paragraph of Nāṉ Ār?, ‘நினைவுகளைத் தவிர்த்து ஜகமென்றோர் பொருள் அன்னியமா யில்லை’ (niṉaivugaḷai-t tavirttu jagam eṉḏṟu ōr poruḷ aṉṉiyam-āy illai), ‘Excluding thoughts, there is not separately any such thing as world’, and in the fourteenth paragraph, ‘ஜக மென்பது நினைவே’ (jagam eṉbadu niṉaivē), ‘What is called the world is only thought’
2019-11-28: Knowing that no phenomena could seem to exist if we did not perceive them, we should be so keenly self-attentive that we are unconcerned about whether they appear or disappear, as he implies in the final sentence of this verse: ‘அருள் குன்றே, நின்றிட சென்றிட, நினை விட இன்றே’ (aruḷ-kuṉḏṟē, niṉḏṟiḍa seṉḏṟiḍa, niṉai viḍa iṉḏṟē), ‘Hill of grace, let them [the shadow-like world-pictures, which appear both inside and outside on the mirror called mind] cease or let them go on, apart from you they do not exist at all’
2019-11-08: What is the atiśaya śakti (extraordinary power) that Bhagavan refers to in verse 6 of Śrī Aruṇācala Aṣṭakam and the fourth paragraph of Nāṉ Ār??
2019-11-08: Though he says in the first sentence of the fourth paragraph of Nāṉ Ār? that this atiśaya śakti called mind or ego exists in ātma-svarūpa, and in the second sentence of this verse, ‘உளது உனில் அலது இலா அதிசய சத்தி’ (uḷadu uṉil aladu ilā atiśaya śatti), ‘In you exists an atiśaya śakti [extraordinary power], which is not other [than you]’, in which ‘you’ refers to Arunachala, which is our own real nature (ātma-svarūpa), he does not thereby imply that it is real, but that it is an illusory appearance, like a snake that appears in a rope
2019-08-05: Our prārabdha determines what we as ego are to project in each life, because though whatever is projected is our own vāsanās, which vāsanās are to be projected at any time is determined by prārabdha, which is a portion of the fruit of our past āgāmya karmas selected by grace, as Bhagavan indicates in this verse by the phrase ‘நிகழ்வினை சுழலில்’ (nikaṙviṉai suṙalil), which literally means ‘in the whirl [or whirling] of occurring action’ and implies ‘in the whirl of destiny (prārabdha)’
2019-05-08: In this and the next verse Bhagavan very explicitly articulates dṛṣṭi-sṛṣṭi-vāda and ēka-jīva-vāda, using in this verse the analogy of the projection of a cinema picture to illustrate how the mind projects the appearance of both an internal world of mental phenomena and an external world consisting of phenomena that seem to be physical but are actually just mental
2018-04-04: What projects all phenomena is not our real nature (ātma-svarūpa) as such but only the mind, which is the atiśaya śakti (extraordinary or wonderful power) that Bhagavan refers to in this verse and in the first two sentences of the fourth paragraph of Nāṉ Ār?
2018-03-25: One of the core principles of Bhagavan’s teachings is that everything other than pure self-awareness seems to exist only in the view of the mind or ego and therefore does not exist independent of it, so it is only the mind that projects the world, as he clearly implied in many of his original writings, such as this and the next verse of Śrī Aruṇācala Aṣṭakam, the third, fourth, fifth and eighteenth paragraphs of Nāṉ Ār?, and verses 6, 7, 14, 23 and 26 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu
2018-03-13: Some of our vāsanās that rise as thoughts (whether seen as appearing inside as mental phenomena or outside as physical phenomena) do so in accordance with prārabdha, as Bhagavan implies in this verse, but this does not mean that they are part of prārabdha
2018-02-04: The fact that prārabdha is what determines which phenomena are to appear in our mind is indicated by Bhagavan in this verse when he says that ‘நிகழ்வினை சுழலில்’ (nikaṙviṉai suṙalil), ‘in the whirl of destiny’, series of subtle shadowy thoughts are seen on the mirror of the mind-light as a shadowy world-picture both inside and outside
2017-06-20: Let any thoughts appear or disappear, we should be so keenly self-attentive that we are completely indifferent to them, as Bhagavan implies in the last sentence of this verse
2016-06-19: Let thoughts appear or disappear, they should be no concern of ours, as Bhagavan implies in the last sentence of this verse, because if we are at all concerned about them, we will thereby be thinking of them, and hence our attention will not be exclusively on ourself
2016-06-23: Regarding the appearance of thoughts and consequent appearance of the world, in this verse Bhagavan says ‘நின்றிட சென்றிட, நினை விட இன்றே’ (niṉḏṟiḍa seṉḏṟiḍa, niṉai viḍa iṉḏṟē), ‘let them cease or let them go on; they do not exist at all apart from you’, because the appearance of thoughts and the world is inevitable so long as this ego endures, so we should not be concerned about either thoughts or the world but should be intent only on investigating this ego, the ‘me’ to whom they appear, since only by investigating it can we eradicate it, and only by eradicating it can we free ourself forever from the illusory appearance of everything else
2016-06-01: Let waking, dream or sleep come or go, they are of no concern to us if we attend only to ourself, because we alone are real, as Bhagavan implies in the last sentence of this verse
2009-01-21: Bhagavan says about thoughts at the end of this verse, ‘நின்றிட சென்றிட, நினை விட இன்றே’ (niṉḏṟiḍa seṉḏṟiḍa, niṉai viḍa iṉḏṟē), ‘let [them] cease [or] let [them] continue, [because] other than you [Arunachala, our real self] they do not exist’, because no thought can exist independent of our essential being, ‘I am’, so we should be completely unconcerned about them and should attend only to their underlying reality, ‘I am’

Verse 7:

இன்றக மெனுநினை வெனிற்பிற வொன்று
      மின்றது வரைபிற நினைவெழி லார்க்கெற்
கொன்றக முதிதல மெதுவென வுள்ளாழ்ந்
      துளத்தவி சுறினொரு குடைநிழற் கோவே
யின்றகம் புறமிரு வினையிறல் சன்ம
      மின்புதுன் பிருளொளி யெனுங்கன விதய
மன்றக மசலமா நடமிடு மருண
      மலையெனு மெலையறு மருளொளிக் கடலே.

iṉḏṟaha meṉuniṉai veṉiṟpiṟa voṉḏṟu
      miṉḏṟadu varaipiṟa niṉaiveṙi lārkkeṟ
koṉḏṟaha mudithala meduveṉa vuḷḷāṙn
      duḷattavi suṟiṉoru kuḍainiṙaṯ kōvē
yiṉḏṟaham puṟamiru viṉaiyiṟal jaṉma
      miṉbutuṉ biruḷoḷi yeṉuṅkaṉa vidaya
maṉḏṟaha macalamā naḍamiṭu maruṇa
      malaiyeṉu melaiyaṟu maruḷoḷik kaḍalē.

பதச்சேதம்: இன்று அகம் எனும் நினைவு எனில், பிற ஒன்றும் இன்று. அது வரை, பிற நினைவு எழில், ஆர்க்கு; எற்கு; ஒன்று அகம் உதி தலம் எது என. உள் ஆழ்ந்து உள தவிசு உறின், ஒரு குடை நிழல் கோவே. இன்று அகம் புறம், இரு வினை, இறல் சன்மம், இன்பு துன்பு, இருள் ஒளி எனும் கனவு. இதய மன்று அகம் அசலமா நடமிடும் அருணமலை எனும் எலை அறும் அருள் ஒளிக் கடலே.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): iṉḏṟu aham eṉum niṉaivu eṉil, piṟa oṉḏṟum iṉḏṟu. adu varai, piṟa niṉaivu eṙil, ārkku; eṟku; oṉḏṟu aham-udi-thalam edu eṉa. uḷ āṙndu uḷa-t-tavisu uṟiṉ, oru-kuḍai-niṙal-kōvē. iṉḏṟu aham puṟam, iru viṉai, iṟal jaṉmam, iṉbu tuṉbu, iruḷ oḷi eṉum kaṉavu. idaya-maṉḏṟu aham acalamā naḍam-iḍum aruṇamalai eṉum elai-y-aṟum aruḷ-oḷi-k-kaḍalē.

அன்வயம்: அகம் எனும் நினைவு இன்று எனில், பிற ஒன்றும் இன்று. அது வரை, பிற நினைவு எழில், ஆர்க்கு; எற்கு; அகம் உதி தலம் எது என ஒன்று. உள் ஆழ்ந்து உள தவிசு உறின், ஒரு குடை நிழல் கோவே. அகம் புறம், இரு வினை, இறல் சன்மம், இன்பு துன்பு, இருள் ஒளி எனும் கனவு இன்று. இதய மன்று அகம் அசலமா நடமிடும் அருணமலை எனும் எலை அறும் அருள் ஒளிக் கடலே.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): aham eṉum niṉaivu iṉḏṟu eṉil, piṟa oṉḏṟum iṉḏṟu. adu varai, piṟa niṉaivu eṙil, ārkku; eṟku; aham-udi-thalam edu eṉa oṉḏṟu. uḷ āṙndu uḷa-t-tavisu uṟiṉ, oru-kuḍai-niṙal-kōvē. aham puṟam, iru viṉai, iṟal jaṉmam, iṉbu tuṉbu, iruḷ oḷi eṉum kaṉavu iṉḏṟu. idaya-maṉḏṟu aham acalamā naḍam-iḍum aruṇamalai eṉum elai-y-aṟum aruḷ-oḷi-k-kaḍalē.

English translation: If the thought called ‘I’ does not exist, even one other thing will not exist. Until that, if other thought rises, merge thus: to whom; to me; what is the place from which I rose. Sinking within, if one reaches the heart-throne, the very one-umbrella-shade-emperor. The dream, namely inside and outside, the two actions, death and birth, happiness and misery, darkness and light, will not exist. Only the infinite ocean of the light of grace called Arunamalai, which dances motionlessly inside the court of the heart.

Explanatory paraphrase: If the thought called ‘I’ [namely ego] does not exist, even one other thing [anything else at all] will not exist. Until that [namely until the thought called ‘I’ is found to be ever non-existent], if [any] other thought rises, merge [back within by investigating] thus: to whom [has it appeared]; to me; what is the place from which I rose. Sinking [thereby] within, if one reaches the heart-throne, [one will be] the very emperor [seated under] the shade of a single umbrella [namely God, the sovereign lord of this and every other world]. The dream, namely [this entire appearance of multiplicity, which entails pairs of opposites such as] inside and outside, the two actions [good and bad karmas], death and birth, happiness and misery, darkness and light, will [then] not exist. [What will exist is] only the infinite ocean of the light of grace called Arunamalai, which dances motionlessly [as ‘I am only I’] in the court of the heart.

Padavurai (word-explanation): இன்று (iṉḏṟu): is not, does not exist {tenseless verb denying existence, used in common for all genders and persons and both numbers} | அகம் (aham): I {Sanskrit first person singular pronoun} | எனும் (eṉum): called, which is called, which is said {future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle of eṉ, ‘say’} | நினைவு (niṉaivu): thought | எனில் (eṉil): if said {conditional form of eṉ, ‘say’, implying ‘if so’, ‘if such is the case’ or ‘if it is the case that’, so ‘iṉḏṟu … eṉil’ implies ‘if … does not exist’} | பிற (piṟa): other things {noun} | ஒன்றும் (oṉḏṟum): even one, even one thing, anything at all {oṉḏṟu is a noun meaning ‘one’ or ‘one thing’, and the suffix um here means ‘even’, so piṟa-v-oṉḏṟum means ‘even one other thing’, ‘any other thing at all’ or ‘anything else at all’} | இன்று (iṉḏṟu): is not, does not exist, will not be, will not exist {tenseless verb denying existence} >>> so this first sentence, ‘இன்று அகம் எனும் நினைவு எனில், பிற ஒன்றும் இன்று’ (iṉḏṟu aham eṉum niṉaivu eṉil, piṟa oṉḏṟum iṉḏṟu), means ‘If the thought called ‘I’ does not exist, even one other thing will not exist’, which implies:

If the thought called ‘I’ [namely ego] does not exist, even one other thing [anything else at all] will not exist.

<<< அதுவரை (adu-varai): as far as that, until that {compound of the singular distal demonstrative pronoun adu, ‘that’, and the adverb varai, ‘as far as’ or ‘until’, an alternative form of varaikkum, dative (fourth case) form of the noun varai, ‘line’, ‘boundary’, ‘limit’ or ‘extent’} | பிற (piṟa): other | நினைவு (niṉaivu): thought | எழில் (eṙil): if rising, if [it] rises [conditional form of eṙu, ‘rise’, ‘arise’ or ‘appear’] | ஆர்க்கு (ārkku): to whom {dative (fourth case) form of the interrogative pronoun ār, ‘who’} | எற்கு (eṟku): to me {dative (fourth case) form of the first person singular pronoun} | ஒன்று (oṉḏṟu): unite, coalesce, merge {root of this verb, used here in an imperative sense} | அகமுதிதலம் (aham-udi-thalam): I-rising-place, the place from which I rose {compound of aham, ‘I’ (Sanskrit first person singular pronoun); udi, ‘rise’, ‘arise’ or ‘appear’ (root of this verb, used here in the sense of an adjectival participle, ‘rising’ or ‘from which [it] rises); and thalam, Tamil form of the Sanskrit sthala, ‘dry land’, ‘firm ground’, ‘place’ or ‘location’} | எது (edu): what {interrogative pronoun} | என (eṉa): thus {infinitive of eṉ, ‘say’, used here as a conjunctive adverb} >>> so this second sentence, ‘அது வரை, பிற நினைவு எழில், ஆர்க்கு; எற்கு; ஒன்று அகம் உதி தலம் எது என’ (adu-varai, piṟa niṉaivu eṙil, ārkku; eṟku; oṉḏṟu aham-udi-thalam edu eṉa), means ‘Until that, if other thought rises, merge thus: to whom; to me; what is the place from which I rose?’, which implies:

Until that [namely until the thought called ‘I’ is found to be ever non-existent], if [any] other thought rises, merge [back within by investigating] thus: to whom [has it appeared]; to me; what is the place from which I rose?

<<< உள் (uḷ): inside, within | ஆழ்ந்து (āṙndu): sinking, diving, going deep, immersing, entering, being absorbed {adverbial participle} | உளத்தவிசு (uḷa-t-tavisu): heart-throne {compound of uḷam, poetic abbreviation of uḷḷam, ‘heart’, and tavisu, ‘seat’ or ‘throne’} | உறின் (uṟiṉ): if reaching, if one reaches {conditional form of uṟu, ‘reach’} | ஒருகுடைநிழற்கோவே (oru-kuḍai-niṙaṯ-kōvē): very one-umbrella-shade-emperor, the very emperor [seated under] the shade of a single umbrella {compound of oru, ‘one’ or ‘single’, kuḍai, ‘umbrella’, ‘parasol’ or ‘canopy’ (as a symbol of sovereignty or ruling power), niṙal, ‘shade’ or ‘shadow’, and kōvē, intensified form of kō, ‘emperor’, ‘king’, ‘sovereign’ or ‘God’} >>> so this third sentence, ‘உள் ஆழ்ந்து உள தவிசு உறின், ஒரு குடை நிழல் கோவே’ (uḷ āṙndu uḷa-t-tavisu uṟiṉ, oru-kuḍai-niṙal-kōvē), means ‘Sinking within, if one reaches the heart-throne, the very one-umbrella-shade-emperor’, which implies:

Sinking [thereby] within, if one reaches the heart-throne, [one will be] the very emperor [seated under] the shade of a single umbrella [namely God, the sovereign lord of this and every other world].

<<< இன்று (iṉḏṟu): is not, does not exist, will not be, will not exist {tenseless verb denying existence} | அகம் (aham): inside | புறம் (puṟam): outside | இருவினை (iru-viṉai): the two actions (namely good and bad karmas) {compound of iru, ‘two’, and viṉai, ‘action’ or ‘karma’} | இறல் (iṟal): dying, death {verbal noun, from the verb iṟu, ‘die’} | சன்மம் (jaṉmam): birth {Tamil form of the Sanskrit janma, ‘birth’, ‘production’ or ‘life’ (in the sense of bodily lifetime)} | இன்பு (iṉbu): happiness | துன்பு (tuṉbu): misery | இருள் (iruḷ): darkness | ஒளி (oḷi): light | எனும் (eṉum): called, which is called, namely {future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle of eṉ, ‘say’} | கனவு (kaṉavu): dream >>> so this fourth sentence, ‘இன்று அகம் புறம், இரு வினை, இறல் சன்மம், இன்பு துன்பு, இருள் ஒளி எனும் கனவு’ (iṉḏṟu aham puṟam, iru-viṉai, iṟal jaṉmam, iṉbu tuṉbu, iruḷ oḷi eṉum kaṉavu), means ‘The dream, namely inside and outside, the two actions, death and birth, happiness and misery, darkness and light, will not exist’, which implies:

The dream, namely [this entire appearance of multiplicity, which entails pairs of opposites such as] inside and outside, the two actions [good and bad karmas], death and birth, happiness and misery, darkness and light, will [then] not exist.

<<< இதயமன்றகம் (idaya-maṉḏṟaham): inside the heart-court, inside the court of the heart, inside the court that is the heart {compound of idayam (Tamil form of the Sanskrit hṛdaya), ‘heart’, maṉḏṟu, ‘court’ or ‘hall’, and aham, ‘inside’, which serves here as a locative (seventh case) ending} | அசலமா (acalamā): being motionless, as motionless, motionlessly {compound of acalam, Tamil form of the Sanskrit acala, ‘motionless’ or ‘immovable’, and the adverbial suffix ā, ‘being’ or ‘as’, which is often used in the same sense as the English suffix ‘ly’} | நடமிடும் (naḍam-iḍum): dancing, which dances {compound of naḍam, a noun meaning ‘dance’ [Tamil form of the Sanskrit naṭa, ‘dancer’], and iḍum, ‘doing’ or ‘which does’ [future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle of iḍu, ‘do’]} | அருணமலை (aruṇamalai): Arunamalai, Aruna Hill {compound of aruṇa, ‘Aruna’, and malai, ‘hill’ or ‘mountain’} | எனும் (eṉum): called, which is called {future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle of eṉ, ‘say’} | எலையறும் (elai-y-aṟum): boundless, limitless, infinite {compound of elai, poetic abbreviation of ellai, ‘limit’, ‘boundary’ or ‘extent’, and aṟum, adjectival participle meaning ‘without’} | அருளொளிக்கடலே (aruḷ-oḷi-k-kaḍalē): grace-light-ocean alone, only the ocean of the light of grace {compound of aruḷ, ‘grace’, oḷi, ‘light’, and kaḍalē, intensified form of kaḍal, ‘sea’ or ‘ocean’, in which the intensifying suffix ē implies ‘alone’ or ‘only’} >>> so this final sentence, ‘இதய மன்று அகம் அசலமா நடமிடும் அருணமலை எனும் எலை அறும் அருள் ஒளிக் கடலே’ (idaya-maṉḏṟu aham acalamā naḍam-iḍum aruṇamalai eṉum elai-y-aṟum aruḷ-oḷi-k-kaḍalē), means ‘Only the infinite ocean of the light of grace called Arunamalai, which dances motionlessly inside the court of the heart’, which implies:

[What will exist is] only the infinite ocean of the light of grace called Arunamalai, which dances motionlessly [as ‘I am only I’] inside the court of the heart.

Detailed explanation and discussion:
(To be posted when completed)

Other explanations and discussions:
2022-11-25: Whereas the vastness and pervasiveness of a physical ocean is limited, being contained within boundaries, the vastness and pervasiveness of ‘கிருபைக் கடல்’ (kirupai-k-kaḍal), ‘the ocean of grace’, is unbounded and therefore infinite, as Bhagavan indicates explicitly in this verse, ‘இதய மன்று அகம் அசலமா நடமிடும் அருணமலை எனும் எலை அறும் அருள் ஒளிக் கடலே’ (idaya-maṉḏṟu aham acalamā naḍam-iḍum aruṇamalai eṉum elai-aṟum aruḷ oḷi-k kaḍalē), ‘Only the infinite ocean of the light of grace called Arunamalai, which dances motionlessly inside the court of the heart’, thereby implying that when we keenly investigate ourself, the source from which we rose as ego, the thought called ‘I’, and when the dream of multiplicity thereby ceases to exist, what will then exist and shine is ‘only the boundless [or infinite] ocean of the light of grace called Arunamalai [Aruna Hill], who [eternally] dances motionlessly [as ‘I am only I’] in the court of the heart’
2022-02-08: Bringing about dissolution of thought in such a manner that it never revives even an iota is not as difficult as it may seem at first, because no thought could exist without ego, which is the first thought and the root of all other thoughts, since all other thoughts seem to exist only in the view of ego, as Bhagavan points out in the first sentence of this verse, ‘இன்று அகம் எனும் நினைவு எனில், பிற ஒன்றும் இன்று’ (iṉḏṟu aham eṉum niṉaivu eṉil, piṟa oṉḏṟum iṉḏṟu), ‘If the thought called ‘I’ [namely ego] does not exist, even one other [thought or thing] will not exist’, in the first two sentences of verse 26 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu, ‘அகந்தை உண்டாயின், அனைத்தும் உண்டாகும்; அகந்தை இன்றேல், இன்று அனைத்தும்’ (ahandai uṇḍāyiṉ, aṉaittum uṇḍāhum; ahandai iṉḏṟēl, iṉḏṟu aṉaittum), ‘If ego comes into existence, everything comes into existence; if ego does not exist, everything does not exist’, and in the last four sentences of the fifth paragraph of Nāṉ Ār?, ‘மனதில் தோன்றும் நினைவுக ளெல்லாவற்றிற்கும் நானென்னும் நினைவே முதல் நினைவு. இது எழுந்த பிறகே ஏனைய நினைவுகள் எழுகின்றன. தன்மை தோன்றிய பிறகே முன்னிலை படர்க்கைகள் தோன்றுகின்றன; தன்மை யின்றி முன்னிலை படர்க்கைக ளிரா’ (maṉadil tōṉḏṟum niṉaivugaḷ ellāvaṯṟiṟkum nāṉ-eṉṉum niṉaivē mudal niṉaivu. idu eṙunda piṟahē ēṉaiya niṉaivugaḷ eṙugiṉḏṟaṉa. taṉmai tōṉḏṟiya piṟahē muṉṉilai paḍarkkaigaḷ tōṉḏṟugiṉḏṟaṉa; taṉmai y-iṉḏṟi muṉṉilai paḍarkkaigaḷ irā), ‘Of all the thoughts that appear in the mind, the thought called ‘I’ alone is the first thought [the primal, basic, original or causal thought]. Only after this arises do other thoughts arise. Only after the first person [namely ego, the primal thought called ‘I’] appears do second and third persons [namely all other thoughts or things] appear; without the first person second and third persons do not exist’
2021-06-29: Everything else seems to exist only in the view of ego, the thought called ‘I’, so if ego does not exist, nothing else will exist, and hence if anything else appears, investigate to whom it has appeared and thereby sink within and merge back into the heart, the source from which this ‘I’ rose
2020-01-16: The first sentence of this verse, ‘இன்று அகம் எனும் நினைவு எனில், பிற ஒன்றும் இன்று’ (iṉḏṟu aham eṉum niṉaivu eṉil, piṟa oṉḏṟum iṉḏṟu), ‘If the thought called ‘I’ [namely ego] does not exist, even one other thing will not exist’, is one of the fundamental principles of his teachings, which he also expresses in the final sentence of the fifth paragraph of Nāṉ Ār?, ‘தன்மை யின்றி முன்னிலை படர்க்கைக ளிரா’ (taṉmai y-iṉḏṟi muṉṉilai paḍarkkaigaḷ irā), ‘without the first person second and third persons do not exist’, and in the first two sentences of verse 26 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu, ‘அகந்தை உண்டாயின், அனைத்தும் உண்டாகும்; அகந்தை இன்றேல், இன்று அனைத்தும்’ (ahandai uṇḍāyiṉ, aṉaittum uṇḍāhum; ahandai iṉḏṟēl, iṉḏṟu aṉaittum), ‘If ego comes into existence, everything comes into existence; if ego does not exist, everything does not exist’
2020-01-16: In the last four sentences of the fifth paragraph of Nāṉ Ār?, Bhagavan gives another reason why no world could be perceived after the annihilation of ego, the same reason that he gives emphatically in the first sentence of this verse and in the first two sentences of verse 26 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu, as well as in verse 14 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu, namely that phenomena come into existence only when we rise as ego, so they do not exist when we do not rise as ego, so how could any phenomena be seen by us when we see what we actually are and thereby eradicate ego, the mistaken awareness ‘I am this body’?
2019-11-18: When Arunachala swallows ego, like an ocean swallowing a river, it will thereby swallow everything else, because nothing else can exist without ego, as he teaches us in the first sentence of this verse: ‘இன்று அகம் எனும் நினைவு எனில், பிற ஒன்றும் இன்று’ (iṉḏṟu aham eṉum niṉaivu eṉil, piṟa oṉḏṟum iṉḏṟu), ‘If the thought called ‘I’ [namely ego] does not exist, even one other thing will not exist’
2019-06-28: When by means of self-investigation and self-surrender we manage to eradicate ego entirely, everything else will cease to exist along with it, so what will then remain as ‘one only without a second’ (ēkam ēva advitīyam) is just pure awareness, whose nature is anādi (beginningless), ananta (endless, limitless or infinite) and akhaṇḍa (unbroken, undivided or unfragmented) sat-cit-ānanda (being-awareness-bliss), as Bhagavan says in verse 28 of Upadēśa Undiyār, and as he also expresses in more metaphorical language in this verse
2019-05-08: As he implies in the first sentence of this verse, other things appear only because we have risen as ego, the primal thought called ‘I’, so if we do not rise as ego, nothing else will appear
2019-03-23: The seeming existence of all other things depends on the seeming existence of ourself as ego, so as long as we perceive any other thing, we who perceive it are ego, and hence we need to take the seeming existence of ego more seriously than some seem willing to do, and we need to understand its nature clearly in order to investigate it effectively
2019-03-22: The appearance of phenomena entails the fundamental duality of subject and objects, perceiver and things perceived, because all phenomena are objects of perception, and the subject who perceives them is only ego, so ego and phenomena co-exist, meaning that neither can exist without the other, as Bhagavan implies in the first sentence of this verse
2018-11-08: When Bhagavan says in the fifth paragraph of Nāṉ Ār? that everything else appears only after ego appears, he does not mean that ego is chronologically antecedent to all other things, because as he stated elsewhere ego and other things appear simultaneously, so what he means here is that ego is causally antecedent to everything else, because everything else appears only in ego’s view. That is, the appearance of ego and the appearance of other things is a case is simultaneous causation. As soon as the cause arises its effect rises with it, so though they arise simultaneously, in terms of causal sequence the cause (namely ego) is antecedent to its effect (namely everything else)
2018-09-01: As Bhagavan says in verse 26 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu, ‘அகந்தை உண்டாயின், அனைத்தும் உண்டாகும்; அகந்தை இன்றேல், இன்று அனைத்தும்’ (ahandai uṇḍāyiṉ, aṉaittum uṇḍāhum; ahandai iṉḏṟēl, iṉḏṟu aṉaittum), ‘If ego comes into existence, everything comes into existence; if ego does not exist, everything does not exist’, and as he says in this verse: ‘இன்று அகம் எனும் நினைவு எனில், பிற ஒன்றும் இன்று’ (iṉḏṟu aham eṉum niṉaivu eṉil, piṟa oṉḏṟum iṉḏṟu), ‘If the thought called ‘I’ [namely ego] does not exist, even one other thing [anything else at all] will not exist’, so since ego does not exist in sleep, nothing else exists there
2017-09-18: What appears first is only ego, so only after it appears does anything else appear, and hence without it nothing else can exist, so the root cause of everything is only ego, which is the core and essence of the mind
2016-06-19: The appearance or arising of any thought or phenomenon should remind us to turn our attention back to ourself, the ‘me’ to whom they have appeared, as Bhagavan advises us to do in this verse
2016-06-01: When Bhagavan says, ‘இன்று அகம் எனும் நினைவு எனில், பிற ஒன்றும் இன்று’ (iṉḏṟu aham eṉum niṉaivu eṉil, piṟa oṉḏṟum iṉḏṟu), ‘If the thought called ‘I’ does not exist, even one other [thought or thing] will not exist’, he clearly implies that the world-picture will cease to appear when ego is annihilated, but even if it did not cease, it would be of no concern to us so long as we remain firmly established as the pure being-awareness that we actually are
2015-11-11: When this primal thought called ‘I’ does not exist, nothing else exists, so when this first thought disappears in sleep, everything else ceases to exist, and hence what exists and shines in sleep is only ātma-svarūpa (ourself as we actually are)
2015-04-28: Everything else seems to exist only in the view of our ego, so when this ego ceases to exist, nothing else will seem to exist, as Bhagavan states unequivocally both in the first sentence of this verse and in the first two sentences of verse 26 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu
2015-04-21: In the first sentence of this verse ‘பிற ஒன்றும்’ (piṟa oṉḏṟum) means ‘even one other’, so in this context it can be taken to mean either ‘even one other thought’ or ‘even one other thing’, but both of these mean essentially the same, because according to Bhagavan everything other than ourself (including ego) is just a thought
2014-02-05: The essential clue Bhagavan gives us in this verse and in the sixth paragraph of Nāṉ Ār? is that we can instantly turn our attention back towards ourself and thereby away from any thought by investigating to whom it has occurred, because every thought or experience is experienced only by ‘I’, so no thought or experience can appear without ‘I’, and hence instead of taking any thought or experience of anything other than ‘I’ to be an obstacle to our self-attentiveness, we can take it to be another reminder that ‘I am’

Verse 8:

கடலெழு மெழிலியாற் பொழிதரு நீர்தான்
      கடனிலை யடைவரை தடைசெயி னில்லா
துடலுயி ருனிலெழு முனையுறு வரையி
      லுறுபல வழிகளி லுழலினு நில்லா
திடவெளி யலையினு நிலையிலை புள்ளுக்
      கிடநில மலதிலை வருவழி செல்லக்
கடனுயிர் வருவழி சென்றிட வின்பக்
      கடலுனை மருவிடு மருணபூ தரனே.

kaḍaleṙu meṙiliyāṯ poṙidaru nīrdāṉ
      kaḍaṉilai yaḍaivarai taḍaiceyi ṉillā
duḍaluyi ruṉileṙu muṉaiyuṟu varaiyi
      luṟupala vaṙigaḷi luṙaliṉu nillā
diḍaveḷi yalaiyiṉu nilaiyilai puḷḷuk
      kiḍanila maladilai varuvaṙi sellak
kaḍaṉuyir varuvaṙi seṉḏṟiḍa viṉpak
      kaḍaluṉai maruviḍu maruṇabhū dharaṉē.

பதச்சேதம்: கடல் எழும் எழிலியால் பொழிதரும் நீர்தான் கடல் நிலை அடைவரை தடை செயின் நில்லாது. உடல் உயிர் உனில் எழும் உனை உறு வரையில் உறு பல வழிகளில் உழலினும் நில்லாது. இட வெளி அலையினும் நிலை இலை புள்ளுக்கு; இடம் நிலம் அலது இலை; வரு வழி செல்ல கடன். உயிர் வரு வழி சென்றிட, இன்பக் கடல் உனை மருவிடும், அருண பூதரனே.

Padacchēdam (word-separation): kaḍal eṙum eṙiliyāl poṙidarum nīr-tāṉ kaḍal-nilai aḍaivarai taḍai-seyiṉ nillādu. uḍal-uyir uṉil eṙum uṉai uṟu-varaiyil uṟu pala vaṙigaḷil uṙaliṉum nillādu. iḍa veḷi alaiyiṉum nilai ilai puḷḷukku; iḍam nilam aladu ilai; varu-vaṙi sella kaḍaṉ. uyir varu-vaṙi seṉḏṟiḍa, iṉba-k-kaḍal uṉai maruviḍum, aruṇa-bhūdharaṉē.

அன்வயம்: கடல் எழும் எழிலியால் பொழிதரும் நீர்தான் கடல் நிலை அடைவரை தடை செயின் நில்லாது. உனில் எழும் உடல் உயிர் உனை உறு வரையில் உறு பல வழிகளில் உழலினும் நில்லாது. இட வெளி அலையினும் புள்ளுக்கு நிலை இலை; நிலம் அலது இடம் இலை; வரு வழி செல்ல கடன். அருண பூதரனே, உயிர் வரு வழி சென்றிட, இன்பக் கடல் உனை மருவிடும்.

Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): kaḍal eṙum eṙiliyāl poṙidarum nīr-tāṉ kaḍal-nilai aḍaivarai taḍai-seyiṉ nillādu. uṉil eṙum uḍal-uyir uṉai uṟu-varaiyil uṟu pala vaṙigaḷil uṙaliṉum nillādu. iḍa veḷi alaiyiṉum puḷḷukku nilai ilai; nilam aladu iḍam ilai; varu-vaṙi sella kaḍaṉ. aruṇa-bhūdharaṉē, uyir varu-vaṙi seṉḏṟiḍa, iṉba-k-kaḍal uṉai maruviḍum.

English translation: Water showered by clouds, which rise from the ocean, will not stop if obstructed until it reaches the ocean-abode. The embodied soul, which rises from you, will not stop even though it wanders on many paths that it encounters until it reaches you. Though it wanders in the vast sky, for a bird there is not a place to stay; except the ground, there is not a place; what it must do is to go the way it came. Aruna-mountain, when the soul goes back the way it came, it will rejoin you, the ocean of happiness.

Explanatory paraphrase: Water showered by clouds, which rise from the ocean, will not stop [even] if obstructed until it reaches [its] ocean-abode. [Likewise] the embodied soul, which rises from you, will not stop even though it wanders on many paths that it encounters until it reaches you. Though it wanders in the vast sky, for a bird there is no place to stay [or rest] [there]; except the ground, there is no place [for it to stay or rest]; what it must do is to go the way it came. [Likewise] Aruna-mountain, when the soul goes back the way it came, it will rejoin [or merge back in] you, the [infinite] ocean of happiness.

Padavurai (word-explanation): கடல் (kaḍal): sea, ocean | எழும் (eṙum): rising, which rises {future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle of eṙu, ‘rise’} | எழிலியால் (eṙiliyāl): by clouds {instrumental (third case) form of eṙili, ‘cloud’} | பொழிதரும் (poṙidarum): showering, which is showered {compound of poṙi, ‘pour forth’, ‘shower’ or ‘discharge in abundance’, and the adjectival participle tarum, used here as an auxiliary} | நீர்தான் (nīr-tāṉ): water {compound of nīr, ‘water’, and the intensifying suffix tāṉ, which in this case has no particular significance and is therefore used here as a poetic expletive} | கடனிலை (kaḍaṉilai): ocean-abode {compound of kaḍal, ‘ocean’, and nilai, ‘standing’, ‘staying’, ‘stopping’, ‘stopping place’, ‘station’, ‘residence’ or ‘abode’} | அடைவரை (aḍaivarai): until reaching, until it reaches {compound of aḍai, ‘reach’, ‘arrive at’, ‘attain’ or ‘take refuge in’, and the adverb varai, ‘until’} | தடைசெயின் (taḍai-seyiṉ): if doing obstruction, if obstruction is done, if obstructed {compound of taḍai, ‘hinderance’ ‘obstacle’, ‘obstruction’, ‘impediment’ or ‘interruption’, and seyiṉ, ‘if doing’ or ‘if done’, conditional form of sey, ‘do’} | நில்லாது (nillādu): it will not stop {neuter third person singular negative form of nil, ‘stand’, ‘stay’ or ‘stop’} >>> so this first sentence, ‘கடல் எழும் எழிலியால் பொழிதரும் நீர்தான் கடல் நிலை அடைவரை தடை செயின் நில்லாது’ (kaḍal eṙum eṙiliyāl poṙidarum nīr-tāṉ kaḍal-nilai aḍaivarai taḍai-seyiṉ nillādu), means ‘Water showered by clouds, which rise from the ocean, will not stop if obstructed until it reaches the ocean-abode’, which implies:

Water showered by clouds, which rise from the ocean, will not stop [even] if obstructed until it reaches [its] ocean-abode.

<<< உடலுயிர் (uḍal-uyir): body-soul, embodied soul {compound of uḍal, ‘body’, and uyir, ‘life’ or ‘soul’, implying that the nature of the soul or ego is to always experience itself as ‘I am this body’} | உனில் (uṉil): in you, from you {poetic abbreviation of uṉṉil, which is both a locative (seventh case) and ablative (fifth case) form of the second person singular pronoun} | எழும் (eṙum): rising, which rises {future (but used generically as a continuous present) adjectival participle of eṙu, ‘rise’} | உனை (uṉai): you {poetic abbreviation of uṉṉai, accusative (second case) form of the second person singular pronoun} | உறுவரையில் (uṟu-varaiyil): until reaching, until it reaches {compound of uṟu, ‘reach’, and the adverb varaiyil, ‘until’} | உறு (uṟu): reach, join, encounter, experience {the root of this verb, used here in the sense of an adjectival participle, ‘that it encounters’} | பல (pala): many, diverse | வழிகளில் (vaṙigaḷil): in paths, on paths {locative (seventh case) form of vaṙigaḷ, plural form of vaṙi, ‘path’, road’ or ‘way’} | உழலினும் (uṙaliṉum): though wandering, though it wanders {uṙal means ‘oscillate’, ‘whirl’, ‘revolve’, ‘wander’ or ‘roam about’; uṙaliṉ is a conditional form of it, ‘if wandering’, and when appended to a conditional form of a verb the suffix um means ‘even’, so uṙaliṉum means ‘even if wandering’, ‘though wandering’ or ‘even though wandering’} | நில்லாது (nillādu): it will not stop {neuter third person singular negative form of nil, ‘stand’, ‘stay’ or ‘stop’} >>> so this second sentence, ‘உடல் உயிர் உனில் எழும் உனை உறு வரையில் உறு பல வழிகளில் உழலினும் நில்லாது’ (uḍal-uyir uṉil eṙum uṉai uṟu-varaiyil uṟu pala vaṙigaḷil uṙaliṉum nillādu), means:

[Likewise] the embodied soul, which rises from you, will not stop even though it wanders on many paths that it encounters until it reaches you.

<<< இட (iḍa): vast, expansive | வெளி (veḷi): space, sky | அலையினும் (alaiyiṉum): though wandering, though it wanders {alai means ‘wave’, ‘waver’, ‘shake’, ‘wander’ or ‘roam’; alaiyiṉ is a conditional form of it, ‘if wandering’, and here the suffix um means ‘even’, so alaiyiṉum means ‘even if wandering’, ‘though wandering’ or ‘even though wandering’} | நிலை (nilai): standing, staying, stopping, stopping place, place to stay | இலை (ilai): there is not {poetic abbreviation of illai, ‘no’, ‘is not’ or ‘there is not’ (the opposite of uṇḍu, ‘there is’)} | புள்ளுக்கு (puḷḷukku): to a bird, for a bird {dative (fourth case) form of puḷ, ‘bird’} >>> so this third sentence, ‘இட வெளி அலையினும் நிலை இலை புள்ளுக்கு’ (iḍa veḷi alaiyiṉum nilai ilai puḷḷukku), means ‘Though it wanders in the vast sky, for a bird there is not a place to stay’, which implies:

Though it wanders in the vast sky, for a bird there is no place to stay [or rest] [there];

<<< இடம் (iḍam): place | நிலம் (nilam): ground, earth, land | அலது (aladu): except {poetic abbreviation of alladu, ‘if not for’ or ‘except’} | இலை (ilai): there is not {as explained above} >>> so this fourth sentence, ‘இடம் நிலம் அலது இலை’ (iḍam nilam aladu ilai), means ‘except the ground, there is not a place’, which implies:

except the ground, there is no place [for it to stay or rest];

<<< வருவழி (varu-vaṙi): coming way, way it came {compound of varu, ‘come’ or ‘coming’, and vaṙi, ‘path’, road’ or ‘way’} | செல்ல (sella): to go {infinitive of sel, ‘go’} | கடன் (kaḍaṉ): duty, obligation, what must be done >>> so this fifth sentence, ‘வரு வழி செல்ல கடன்’ (varu-vaṙi sella kaḍaṉ), means:

what it must do is to go the way it came.

<<< உயிர் (uyir): soul | வருவழி (varu-vaṙi): coming way, way it came {as explained above} | சென்றிட (seṉḏṟiḍa): when going back, when [it] goes back {infinitive of seṉḏṟiḍu, ‘go back’, compound of seṉḏṟu (the adverbial particle of sel, ‘go’) and the auxiliary verb iḍu, which in this case conveys the intensifying force of the adverb ‘back’} | இன்பக்கடல் (iṉba-k-kaḍal): happiness-ocean, ocean of happiness {compound of iṉbam, ‘happiness’ or ‘bliss’, and kaḍal, ‘ocean’} | உனை (uṉai): you {poetic abbreviation of uṉṉai, accusative (second case) form of the second person singular pronoun} | மருவிடும் (maruviḍum): it will rejoin, it will merge back in {compound of maruvu, ‘embrace’, ‘combine’, ‘join together’, ‘unite’ or ‘merge’, and iḍum, neuter third person future form of the auxiliary verb iḍu, which in this case conveys the intensifying force of the prefix ‘re’ in ‘rejoin’ or the adverb ‘back’ in ‘merge back’} | அருணபூதரனே (aruṇa-bhūdharaṉē): Aruna-mountain {compound of aruṇa, ‘Aruna’, and bhūdharaṉē, vocative (eighth case) form of bhūdharaṉ, Tamil personal (masculine) form of the Sanskrit bhūdhara, ‘mountain’} >>> so this final sentence, ‘உயிர் வரு வழி சென்றிட இன்பக் கடல் உனை மருவிடும், அருண பூதரனே’ (uyir varu-vaṙi seṉḏṟiḍa, iṉba-k-kaḍal uṉai maruviḍum, aruṇa-bhūdharaṉē), means ‘Aruna-mountain, when the soul goes back the way it came, it will rejoin you, the ocean of happiness’, which implies:

[Likewise] Aruna-mountain, when the soul goes back the way it came, it will rejoin [or merge back in] you, the [infinite] ocean of happiness.

Detailed explanation and discussion:
(To be posted when completed)