A Hundred Measures of Time Tiruviruttam'Look, my feet measure beyond earth and sky' he said and touched the sky. I have surrendered to my lord who glanced at me with his large radiant eyes. The Tiruviruttam is an iconic poem by Nammalvar (c. ninth century CE), the greatest of the alvar poet-saints of the Tamil Srivaisnava tradition. Its hundred interlinked verses celebrate the love between an anonymous heroine and hero, who come to be identified with Nammalvar and his beloved deity, Visnu. The poet masterfully weaves the erotic and esoteric to reveal both the contours of love and the never-ending cycles of separation and union, of birth and death, from which only Visnu can offer release. Translated from the Tamil by Archana Venkatesan |
