The collision of Pranas - mantra 38 of Thirumandiram

Sri gurubhyo namaha.

The next instalment in the Thirumandiram - this is the 38th mantra of the first part of the text.

பிதற்றொழி யேன்பெரி யான்அரி யானைப்

பிதற்றொழி யேன்பிற வாஉரு வானைப்

பிதற்றொழி யேன்எங்கள் பேர்நந்தி தன்னைப்

பிதற்றொழி யேன்பெரு மைத்தவன் தானே. 38

Greatness Unceasing

I will not cease to speak of Him, the Great, the Rare,

I will not cease to prate of Him, the Form Unborn,

I will not cease to talk of Nandi, the Mighty,

I will never cease, for pure and great am I then! 38.

Com - I will not cease to speak of Him, the Great, the Rare I will never stop praising Siva, who is great and exceedingly rare to attain to I will not cease to prate of Him, the Form Unborn I will never stop my constant prattle of His beautiful form that is not born of the womb of a mother I will not cease to talk of Nandi, the Mighty I will not stop praising the Majesty of my Lord, Nandi. I will never cease, for pure and great am I then As a result of this my unceasing worship, I become the Accomplished one – who has performed the purest penance.

* The sage uses (very cleverly) the word ‘prattle’ to convey meanings of many layers. The unceasing prattle refers to the constant focus of thought (meditation) on Siva. More particularly – it means, constantly being aware of the collision of the opposing pranas (life currents) that happens on the top portion of the head. By being constantly aware of this collision, through a long period of practise, it is possible to arrest or stop this collision of opposing pranas and merge them into each other. This highly subtle yoga is shown by the sage to be the best form of worship, as it is equated by him to be the purest penance - as it brings forth the equilibrium in the consciousness by merging the opposing currents into each other.