Kural Chronicles

KURAL 3

PAAL: ARATHUPAAL

ADHIKAARAM 1:  KADAVUL VAAZHTHU – IN PRAISE OF GOD

மலர்மிசை ஏகினான் மாணடி சேர்ந்தார்
நிலமிசை நீடுவாழ் வார்.

Malarmisai yeginaan maanadi saernthaar

Nilamisai needu vaazhvaar.

He who prostrates himself at the feet of God who lives in the flower like hearts of all devotees will live long on earth

Malar : flower;  Misai: above;  Yeginaan: lives in;  Maanadi: glorious feet – adi means feet; saernthaar: those who reach;  Nilam: land or earth;  Needu: for long; Vaazhvaar: will live.

Within each of his 7 words Valluvar manages to use brilliant and thought provoking metaphors frequently. He likens the hearts of devotees to flowers. When you are thinking of God, your heart becomes soft and pure. I remember hearing one of actor Rajinikanth’s short stories wherein he says “ If a guest were to come home, immediately you go about cleaning the house to present a clean image. If you were to invite God into your heart, how clean it must be!!”

A long life on earth does not necessarily mean living to a hundred. When you live life with a clean heart, you will live on for long in the hearts and minds of people.