53. Sankara Narayana - who can see the magic

Verse 53

இடதுகண்கள் சந்திரன் வலதுகண்கள் சூரியன்

இடக்கைசங்கு சக்கரம் வலக்கைசூல மான்மழு

எடுத்தபாத நீள்முடி எண்திசைக்கும் அப்புறம்

உடல்கலந்து நின்றமாயம் யாவர்காண வல்லரே

Translation:

Left eyes are the moon, right eyes are the sun,

Conch and disc in the left hand- trident, deer and battle axe in the right,

Lifted foot, long tresses, beyond the eight directions,

Who is capable of seeing the magic that remains mingled with the body.

Commentary:

From this verse onwards, Civavākkiyar establishes the oneness of Lord Viṣnu and Lord Śiva.  Countless fights are being waged to establish who is superior to whom.  The truth, however, is that the Godhead is one and the same.  It manifests as Brahma, Viṣnu and Siva to perform different functions.  Hinduism boasts of an array of Gods to satisfy the varied preferences of people.  The common Sanskrit expression is ‘loko bhinna ruchih’- the world has different tastes.

In this verse, Civavākkiyar says that it is the same godhead that holds disc, conch, trident, deer and the battle axe.  Lord Śiva holds the last three while Lord Viṣnu holds the first two.  These are nothing but symbols to indicate the power of the Ultimate Reality.  The disc represents the free will of the Ultimate Reality while the conch represents the primordial sound from which the entire manifested universe emerged. The trident represents victory over the three limitations āṇava, karma and māya.  It also represents the three actions, creation, sustenance and destruction, of the Ultimate Reality.  The deer represents the mind that is constantly fluttering.  Control over such a mind and making it stable will help one achieve divinity.  The deer also represents the Vedas.  The four legs represent the four Vedas.  This shows that the Ultimate Reality is the Lord of all knowledge.  The battle-axe indicates that the Ultimate Reality is capable of destroying repeated births and deaths. 

The Ultimate Reality exists in the unmaifested and manifested states.  The lifted foot that gives the Ultimate Reality the name āḍiya pādam represents the state of manifestation. Thus, Nataraja represents all the activities of the Divine.  The matted hair of Lord Śiva represents Him as the Lord of the wind whose subtle form is prana or the vital breath.  Such an Ultimate Reality who manifests as Śiva and Viṣnu remains within the body concealed to the untrained eye of wisdom.