Aksharamanamalai

Sri C.K. Subrahmanya Iyer, better known as Muruganar, though dumb till the age of five, turned out to be an erudite scholar of the hoary and rich Tamil Tongue, a member of the Lexicon Committee and a Nationalist to the hilt. His very first meeting with Bhagavan wrought a total transformation in him. The steady gaze of the unwinking eyes of Bhagavan beaming out benign Grace and blazing with illumination, swept him off his feet. The resplendence of that Sun of wisdom blinded him to all lesser lights all of which faded away to merge in that radiance. Henceforth Bhagavan became his Sole God and Master and what coursed through his veins was pure love and devotion to his chosen Deity.

From then on he employed the entire gamut of his astounding metrical skill which the Muse of Poesy had liberally endowed him with, only to sing the praise, power, presence and preachings of his Master in voluminous classics. Yet he was humble to the core, never allowing his scholarship to sit even lightly on his brows.

Perceiving through Bhagavan’s eye of Grace, he lit the lamp of Guru’s wisdom in many Texts with commendable clarity and certitude. The powerful litany of hymns on Bhagavan, “Ramana Sannidhi Murai” by him when intoned, impacts the singers and listerners with devotion, pure and rich.

Bhagavan had abundant faith in the inordinate skill and mastery of Muruganar over the language of Tamil. He was given the honour due to a Tamil scholar and a foremost devotee, of perusing all the poetic emanations of Bhagavan. He, in turn, would submit all his renditions to Bhagavan’s perusal, approval and corrections. He was justly referred to as the “Voice”, and “Shadow” of Bhagavan.

This translation by ‘Kays’ is a humble offering at the Feet of Bhagavan to commemorate the Centenary year of the composition of this Mystic outpouring of a soul, awakened and anchored in Arunachala Siva. It is fervently hoped that this does full justice to the Commentary by this savant and a doyen among the devotees.