Those who do not adore the Lord,lie writhing in the seventh hell - mantrA 165

srigurubhyO namahA |

Here we are with the 165th mantrA of the thirumandiram - the break over the last ten days was, as you would be quite aware, due to navarAtri. I am back now totally re energised after it! In this mantrA the sage warns us of the scale of sorrow that one who has not recognised siva experiences. It is my own personal understanding that the sage indicates merely the truth that one will have to undergo endless births and deaths until the truth regarding siva tattvA or supreme Self is understood; by comparing it to the journey through the seven deadly hells.

மடல்விரி கொன்றையன் மாயன் படைத்த
உடலும் உயிரும் உருவந் தொழாமல்
இடர்ப்படந்து ஏழா நரகிற் கிடப்பர்
குடர்ப்பட வெந்தமர் கூப்பிடு மாறே. I.2.23.165

While the body the Lord of blooming Konrai wrought
And Life worshipping not the Divine,
In the Seventh hell, neglected lie,
Writhing in pain and wordless agony keen,
The kith and kin, widely crying, did shout and howl and sigh. I.2.23.165

Com - While the body the Lord of blooming Konrai wrought And Life worshipping not the Divine, Those who do not know to recognise and worship the Self that is present mingled with the body and with the life principle, created so beautifully by the Lord of mAyA; Siva who wears bunches of fully bloomed konrai flowers on his thick matted locks In the Seventh hell, neglected lie, attain to all sorrows and endless misery by journeying repeatedly through the seven hells. Writhing in pain and wordless agony keen, The kith and kin, widely crying, did shout and howl and sigh. Their state of deep agony is something similar to that which is experienced by the kin at the death of someone very dear; a great sorrow tearing through their very being making them howl with such ferocity as if their very guts were being torn apart.

*The term ‘madal viri konraiyan’ refers to the form of siva manifest in yellow effulgence. The term ‘mAyan’ is often a reference to Vishnu, however here it is used in the sense of Lord of mAyA and thus is a reference to siva. The sage warns that those who are incapable of seeing the self saturating both the body and the life essence and thus worship that true and eternal tattvA (siva) will be led astray (by the delusion of the body’s reality) and will find themselves (through wrong actions) in the seven hells – i.e. would be the recipients of great misery due to repeated births and deaths. The seven hells are allal, rOuravam, kumbIbAgam, kUdasAlam, sendhUtthAnam, bhUtI and mAbhUtI. Those who are ignorant of the true principle (self) would undergo much sorrow.

thirucchitrambalam |