Select Hymns from Divya Prabhandham by Vengrai Parthasarathy
Book-Review
(Sirpi Balasubramanian)
The Sahitya Akademi (National Academy of Letters) has been encouraging known and budding authors of books on different subjects in a number of languages, Their latest effort is a book of ‘Select Pasurams’ from the lode of four thousand pasurams. Known as Nalayira Divya Prabhandham, the magnificient opus is a Tamil religious classic of antiquity, considered as on par with the Hindu sacred lore known as Veda-s.
Twelve mystics called Alvars (immersed souls) composed pasurams on a common theme—viz.,Sri Narayana, His attributes and His saving grace.. The galaxy of Alvars came from different levels of the society, from blue-blooded royalty to the so-called the lowest segment of society and included a woman—Andal– bearing out the catholic and inclusive outlook of the Vaishnavism. The Alvars, it is said, were the first sponsors of the Bhakthi movement in Tamil Nadu propagating focused love and devotion for the Lord, in preference to rituals.
The compositions of the Alvars were passed down the generations mostly by word of mouth, there being no available written record till Saint Nadamuni, after mighty efforts unearthed and collated them in the form of an anthology. The compositions would have been been lost to posterity but for the efforts of Saint Nadamuni. The most popular section of the NDP is the Tiruppavai, an allegorical poem of thirty stanzas by Sri Andal; as well as popular pasurams like Pallandu, pallandu and Varanam ayiram. These constitute but a very small section of the Divya Prabhandham. But because of the unfamiliar language and sheer volume, most of the pasurams were to be heard only at discourses and read in books but had not come down to the popular level.
The book under review is a happy blend of a little over 200 select pasurams in Tamil translated in English by Vengrai Parthasarathy, who has come up with an elegant translation. He has ensured that the original lustre is undimmed and has given ample space to the pasurams of Nammalvar and Thirumangai Alvar, whch is as it should be.The opening pasuram ‘Pallandu, Pallandu’ of Periyalvar sets the tone for an extended experience of reading pleasure. A point well-brought out is that spirituality is not incompatible with modern thinking.
The book, a splendid contribution to Alvar literature can be divided into three parts namely, a well-rounded Introduction, followed by related information like Cultural significance, 108 Divya desam-s, Pen-portraits of Alvars, etc., and finally the main body of translations in limpid English. The author says, that this modestly priced book, a primer on the Divya Prabhandham is aimed at the younger generation and to those unfamiliar with Tamil medium in India and abroad.
A drawback for Tamil knowing readers is the absence of parallel-text pasurams in the Tamil language along with the English translation.. This would have helped the local faithfuls (who perhaps, would constitute the bulk of the readership), to relate easily to the translation without having to refer to some other source for the purpose. Also, the use of unfamiliar spelling and diacritics (said to be the lexicon of the Madras University)is a little intriguing though not off-putting.
All in all, the Sahity Akademi should be congratulated with particular warmth for reviving interest in the Tamil ‘marai with this commendable book.