Nothing remains when life departs - mantrA 151

srigurubhyO namahA |
Here, in the 151st mantrA of the thirumandiram, the sage draws our attention to the fact that the sense faculties (indriyAs) disengage from the world of experience as it were in the moments before death. With the departure of these indriyAs which have been the 'interface' through which the manas has been enjoying experience of the various pleasures of the phenomenal world, the physical organs corresponding to the instruments become useless and the physical body is but like a lifeless doll of clay.

கைவிட்டு நாடிக் கருத்தழிந் தச்சற
நெய்யட்டிச் சோறுண்ணும் ஐவரும் போயினார்
மையிட்ட கண்ணாளும் மாடும் இருக்கவே
மெய்விட்டுப் போக விடைகொள்ளு மாறே. I.2.9.151

The pulse failed, the mind lost its axle-hold,
The senses five, that buttered sweets enjoyed, left their home;
The fair-eyed beloved and dear treasures remained to stay,
But the spark of life for ever quitted
The warm precincts of clay. I.2.9.151

Com - The pulse failed, the physician who checked for the pulse opined that there was nothing more to be done and let go of the hand the mind lost its axle-hold, and life ebbed, taking away with it reason and other faculties. The senses five, that buttered sweets enjoyed, left their home; the five senses including the tongue, which delighted in the experience of tasting rice mixed together with ghee lost their functions. The fair-eyed beloved and dear treasures remained to stay, While one’s beautiful wife, her eyes painted with khol and all of one’s wealth remain behind in this world (of the living)  But the spark of life for ever quitted The warm precincts of clay. This is usually the way in which life bids farewell as it parts from this body.

*The sage points out that as the soul is about to part from the body, the five senses or the indriyAs lose their capacity to enjoy the experience of the pleasures of the world. This he points out by the observation that the five who took delight in rice mixed with ghee (நெய்யட்டிச் சோறுண்ணும் ஐவரும் போயினார்) have now departed. This refers to all the bhOgAs or the sensory pleasures of life and is not just limited to rice and ghee. He further points out that all which has been so far the subject of experience of these senses are however still present (in the world)- i.e. one’s beautiful wife and wealth are present at the time of death. But the instruments of experience along with the mind lose their capacity to function as before and death occurs. Thus what is left behind (the world of experience) is of no consequence when the experiencer is gone.

thirucchitrambalam |