Of the fire, you are the heat; of the flower, you are the fragrance;
Of the stone, you are the lustre; of the word, you are the truth;
In virtue, you are the sweetness; in vigour you are the strength
Of the Vedas, you are the Arcanum; of the elements you are the Source
Of the sun, you are the effulgence; of the moon you are the grace
You are All, and the essence of All you are19 |
Tirumaal inhabits every object of the universe and the universe itself is but a reflection of the attributes of Tirumaal: In the sun is your ire and your brightness,
In the moon your mercy and your grace,
In the cloud is your largesse and your giving,
In the earth your conserving and your patience;
In the flower is your light and fragrance,
In the ocean is your appearance and praise,
In the sky is your form and your voice
In air is your unfolding and return .20 |
In the above lines, his ire of which the sun is a reflection, is only towards those who do not follow the path of righteousness, and the mercy and grace of which the moon is a reflection, is his benignity and favour towards those who love him. The earth supports and bears all things, and he supports the earth. The white flower of the kaaya tree has a radiance that is likened to him. His theophanies are in the ocean to which his greatness may be compared. He is formless and it is the immaterial spiritual eye that can see him. From the element of air he evolves into various beings and into air he returns with the cessation of these beings. He is also repeatedly affirmed to be in the objects perceived by the senses as well as in the elements; in fact, it is from him that the elements and the twenty-one worlds were evolved.. Though the Paripaaṭal is probably of later date than other Cankam works, these passages show the development of the concepts of God in Nature. The God of the maritime tracts was Varuṇan. The manner in which he was worshipped is quite characteristic of the local ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 19 Pari; 3, 63 ff. 20 Pari; 4, 25 ff. Cf. Pari; 1, 42-48. See Svetasvatara-Upanisad, IV, 16. |