The greatness of the Vedas - mantra 51

Sri gurubhyo namaha.

This is the fifty first mantra of the Thirumandiram and in this section (this mantra and the next few following) the sage deals with the greatness of the Vedas. After the first part in praise of the form of God, the sage now extolls the virtue of the Vedas as they are the method through which the Siva is to be realised.

The mantras will now be numbered in two different ways - the first number refers to the position from the start of the Thirumandiram and the second one refers to its position in the relevant section of the text.

வேதத்தை விட்ட அறமில்லை வேதத்தின்

ஓதத் தகும்அறம் எல்லாம் உளதர்க்க

வாதத்தை விட்டு மதிஞர் வளமுற்ற

வேதத்தை ஓதியே வீடுபெற் றார்க்களே. 51. 1.

Vedas Proclaim Dharma

No Dharma is, barring what the Vedas say;

Its central core the Vedas proclaim;

And the Wise ones ceased contentious brawls,

Intoned the lofty strains and Freedom's battle won. 51. 1.

Com – No Dharma is, barring what the Vedas say There is no truth or law (Dharma) that has not been spoken of or revealed through the Vedas. Its central core the Vedas proclaim All the laws and observances that are worthy of being followed are explained through the Vedas. And the Wise ones ceased contentious brawls Therefore the scholars, who are possessed of wisdom, should stop wasting their time by entering into arguments (debates) that purport to debate the wisdom of the Vedas. Intoned the lofty strains and Freedom's battle won Instead, they should follow (by intoning the Vedic mantras) the paths set out through the Vedas and attain Mukti or Liberation.

* The Vedas are held to be four in number – Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharvana Veda. The above four, each comprise the following four divisions, namely, Mantra, Brahmana, Aranyaka and Upanishad.