Arunagiri ‘The Magician of words’ – Praising Lord Muruga

உருவா யருவா யுளதா யிலதாய்
மருவாய் மலராய் மணியா யொளியாய்
க்கருவா யுயிராய்க் கதியாய்
விதியாய்க்குருவாய் வருவா யருள்வாய் குகனே.

உருவாய் அருவாய் உளதாய் இலதாய்
மருவாய் மலராய் மணியாய் ஒளியாய்
்கருவாய் உயிராய் கதியாய்
விதியாய் ்குருவாய் வருவாய் அருள்வாய் குகனே.

You who have form and who are formless,
you who are both being and non being,
who are the fragrance and the blossom,
who are the jewel and its lusture,
who are the seed of life and life itself,
who are mode and act of existence,
who are supreme guru,come
bestow your grace,o Guha.
Translated by Kamil V Zvelebil

Formed,Formless;
Being,Non being;
Flower,Fragrance;
Jewel,Radiance;
Embryo,Life;
Goal and Way;
Come,Guha,Guru;
Grant your Grace.
Translated by Fred W Clothey

The one who appears as Formed,as formless;as a Being,as a Non-Being;
as Fragrance,as a Flower;as a Jewel, as its Radiance;
as an Embryo,as a Life; as a way
and as destiny;As a Guru come here; Grant your Grace to me Guha.
My own translation(very close to the structure of the Original Tamil poem,slightly modified Clothey’s Translation to match the structure of the original Tamil poem)

Unless and until you know Tamil and you can read this poem in Tamil, you can never completely enjoy this poem. The English translations can just give you the pleasure of Philosophy but the musical quality of the Tamil original can never be reproduced by the translation. Kamil Zvelebil in a comment to this poem says” I suggest this stanza is no “word-jugglery” but perfection itself – as far as philosophic poetry goes – both in thought content and form: whole philosophy is expressed in three lines of poetry which sounds like music.This is Arunakiri’s real greatness. He has reached extreme limits in his masterly use of phonasthetic qualities of Tamil, and such stanzas are therefore untranslatable.”
Clothey on this poem “Nearly perfect symmetry of alliteration and meter combine with contrasting and complimentary verbal images to evoke full scope of human emotion and thought in praise of God Murukan.

If you closely observe the poem you will see that it is carefully patterned with negative and positive pairs and pairs of action and result.
No wonder Arunagiri is considered Magician of Words.

Reference:
Smile of Murugan by Kamil Zvelebil
Quiescene and passion by Fred Clothey.

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