42. I will cut your ears with the sword of five letters!

Verse 42

பிறப்பதற்கு முன்னெல்லாம் இருக்குமாற தெங்கனே

பிறந்துமண் இறந்துபோய் இருக்குமாற தெங்கனே

குறித்துநீர் சொலாவிடில் குறிப்பிலாத மாந்தரே

அறுப்பனே செவியிரண்டும் அஞ்செழுத்து வாளினால்

Translation:

What is the state of existence for everything before birth?

Having born in this soil and died, what is the state of existence then,

You clueless people! If you do not answer specifically,

I will cut both the ears with the sword of five letters.

Commentary:

Civavākkiyar asks a very esoteric question.  The state of existence while living in this world is known to all. We are men, women, animals, plants etc.  No one knows how we were before being born and how we will be after our death.  Civavākkiyar forcefully says that if he does not get a clear answer for this he will take the extreme step of cutting the ears with the sword made of the panchākṣara mantra.  In other words, the panchākṣara mantra should be heard to answer this question.  It is the sword that would cut asunder this doubt.

41. Is there anything that is not tainted?

Verse 41

ஓதுகின்ற வேதம் எச்சில் உள்ளமந்திரங்கள் எச்சில்

போதகங்களானது எச்சில் பூதலங்கள் ஏழும் எச்சில்

மாதிருந்த விந்து எச்சில் மதியும் எச்சில் ஒலியும் எச்சில்

ஏதில் எச்சில் இல்லதில்லை இல்லை இல்லை இல்லையே

Translation:

The uttered Vedas are tainted, all the mantras are tainted,

The philosophies are tainted, the seven worlds are spittle,

The bindhu in which śakti (the lady) resided is spittle, moon/mind is spittle, sound is spittle,

Is there anything that does not have spittle, none, none nothing at all! 

Commentary:

The Vedas are considered as the breath of the Ultimate Reality.  Hence, they are tainted by the Ultimate Reality.  The mantras that confer one with the vision of the Divine carry the droplets of the Divine.  Hence, they are tainted too.  The philosophies are tainted by the Divine.  If they are not so then they are not true philosophies or philosophies that reveal the Truth.  The seven worlds emanated from the Divine.  Hence, they are also tainted by the Divine. They represent some of the characteristics of their cause, the Divine.  The entire manifested Universe emerged from śakti the active aspect of the Ultimate Reality.  The bindu is the primordial form of emanation from which emerged the sound. The moon represents the wisdom which also emerged from the Divine.  Hence, Civavākkiyar jokingly asks whether there is anything in this world or anywhere that can be truly said to be free from the ecchil or the spittle of the Divine.

40. Vedas... spittle?

Verse 40

வாயிலே குடித்தநீரை எச்சில் என்று சொல்லுறீர்

வாயிலே குதப்புவேத மெனப்படக் கடவதோ

வாயில் எச்சில் போகஎன்று நீர்தனைக் குடிப்பீர்காள்

வாயில் எச்சில் போனவண்ணம் வந்திருந்து சொல்லுமே

Translation:

You call the water drank as tainted water,

Is it then fair to call that which is chewed in the mouth as sacred Veda?

Those who drink water for removal of spittle!

Come and explain this with drool flowing in your mouth.

Commentary:

This verse shows the extreme sarcasm of Civavākkiyar.  Anything that has come into contact with the saliva in the mouth is called ‘ecchil’ or that which is contaminated with saliva.  Civavākkiyar naughtily questions how it is fair to call something that is being chanted by mouth as the sacred Veda while the water that has come into contact with the mouth is belittled as spittle, unclean water. 

He wants people to explain this to him with drool flowing from their mouths.  Siddhas completely dismiss any pretenses or false show of respect.

39. Low class, high class, are they marked on the skin, flesh or bone?

Verse 39

பறைச்சியாவது ஏதடா பணத்தியாவது ஏதடா

இறைச்சிதோல் எலும்பினும் இலக்கமிட்டு இருக்குதோ

பறைச்சிபோகம் வேறதோ பணத்திபோகம் வேறதோ

பறைச்சியும் பணத்தியும் பகுந்து பாரும் உம்முளே

Translation:

Who is a low class woman, who is a rich woman?

Is it marked on the flesh, skin or bones?

Enjoying a low class woman, is it different from enjoying a rich woman?

Low class woman and rich woman, look at them critically within you.

Commentary:

  

This verse is commonly quoted to indicate Civavākkiyar’s intolerance of discrimination which people hold dear.  He says that everyone is basically the same, as there are no physical markings, born of caste, in one’s bone, flesh or skin.

   

Civavākkiyar goes to the extent of saying that enjoying a low class woman and a rich woman are the same.  He further comments that when one looks critically at a rich woman and a low class woman within oneself one would realize that they are none other than limited consciousness which is free from caste, creed and even a particular sex.  Hence, one should shun the evil practice of discriminating people based on their caste.  

Lines 3 and 4 give Civavākkiyar’s famous shock therapy to the readers!