A Fourfold Commentary on Arutpa 3802: The Cry of Surrender and the Grace of Union
படமுடியாது இனி துயரம் படமுடியாது அரசே
பட்டதெல்லாம் போதும்
இந்தப் பயந்தீர்த்திப் பொழுதென்
உடல் உயிராதிய எல்லாம் நீ எடுத்துத் கொண்டுன்
உடல் உயிராதிய எல்லாம் உவந்தெனக்கே அளிப்பாய்
வடலுறு சிற்றம்பலத்தே வாழ்வாய் என் கண்ணுள்
மணியே என்குரு மணியே மாணிக்க மணியே
நடன சிகாமணியே என் நவமணியே ஞான
நன்மணியே பொன்மணியே நடராஜமணியே (Arutpa- 3802).
Translation
"I can no longer endure suffering, O King.
All that I have endured is enough.
This moment of grace that has dispelled my fears—
You have taken my body, my life, and all that is mine;
And joyfully, You shall bestow upon me Your own body, life, and all that is Yours.
You dwell in the small temple of Chidambaram, radiant as lightning,
O Gem within my eyes, O my Guru-Gem, O Manikkam-Gem,
O Supreme Dancer-Jewel, O Ninefold Gem of mine,
O Wisdom-Gem, O Golden Gem, O Nataraja-Gem!"
Arutpa (Songs of Grace) is the magnum opus of Ramalingam, a Tamil mystic, poet-saint, and reformer of the 19th century. These songs are not mere devotional verses; they are spiritual revelations that express the soul’s journey from sorrow to arutperunjoti—the Supreme Grace-Light.
The Tamil mystic-poet Ramalinga Adigal, also known as Vallalar, gifted the world the Arutpa (“Songs of Grace”), a monumental spiritual work born of direct realisation of the Divine as Arutperunjoti — the Supreme Grace-Light. Among its luminous verses, Arutpa 3802 stands out as a poignant cry of spiritual exhaustion and divine surrender, culminating in a mystical union with the Lord who dwells not only in temples but in the very heart of consciousness. This article offers a line-by-line commentary on Arutpa 3802 from four interwoven perspectives: the Arutpa corpus, Ramalingam’s philosophy, Hindu scriptural traditions, and the Bhagavad Gītā.
Text: Arutpa 3802 (with Translation)
படமுடியாது இனி துயரம் படமுடியாது அரசே
I can no longer endure sorrow, O King; I can no longer bear it.
Arutpa: The poet opens with a desperate cry, signifying the utter depletion of the ego and readiness for transformation. The repetition marks the threshold of surrender.
Ramalingam’s Philosophy: Suffering is not denied but transcended through Arul (grace). This cry is not self-pity, but the prelude to awakening.
Hindu Scriptures: Echoes of the soul’s lament in the Upaniṣads, where the seeker, weary of transience, turns to the eternal.
Bhagavad Gītā: Arjuna's breakdown in 2.7 mirrors this: "My heart is overpowered by helplessness... I am Your disciple; instruct me."
பட்டதெல்லாம் போதும்
All that I have endured is enough.
Arutpa: The weight of karmic suffering is acknowledged; this moment signals its exhaustion and invites divine intervention.
Ramalingam: The end of suffering arises when the self recognises the futility of personal effort without divine grace.
Scriptures: Parallels the soul’s weariness in the Brihadaranyaka Upaniṣad, yearning for liberation from samsara.
Gītā: The exhaustion of effort leads to surrender (18.66): "Abandon all dharmas and surrender unto Me."
இந்தப் பயந்தீர்த்திப் பொழுதென்
This moment of grace that has dispelled my fears—
Arutpa: The divine moment is here: fear has dissolved, and grace, the only real liberator, has entered.
Ramalingam: Fear vanishes not through control, but through the arrival of Arutperunjoti. Fear is the residue of duality.
Scriptures: "Where there is duality, there one sees fear" (Brhad Up. 1.4.2). The fearlessness here is proof of union.
Gītā: 4.10: "Freed from attachment, fear, and anger... they come to Me." Fearlessness is a mark of the realised devotee.
உடல் உயிராதிய எல்லாம் நீ எதுத்துத் கொண்டுன்
You have taken my body, life, and all that is mine,
Arutpa: The self has been emptied. Nothing remains to claim as 'mine.' The ego has been lovingly dispossessed.
Ramalingam: Divine possession is the goal: when Arul enters, the individual identity dissolves into divine continuity.
Scriptures: "This Self is not mine; it is the Supreme" (Kaṣa Upaniṣad 2.2.13). The surrender is complete.
Gītā: 3.30: "Dedicate all actions to Me... with no sense of ownership."
உடல் உயிராதிய எல்லாம் உவந்தெனக்கே அளிப்பாய்
And joyfully, You shall give me Your own body, life, and all that is Yours.
Arutpa: This is the divine reciprocation: a sacred exchange. What the ego loses, grace restores in transcendence.
Ramalingam: The merging of jīva and Śva is not metaphor but metaphysical reality. Grace does not merely take; it replaces with divine essence.
Scriptures: "He becomes that" (Chandogya Up. 6.8.7). The self-realised becomes the Divine.
Gītā: 9.29: "I am equal to all beings... But those who worship Me, I am in them and they are in Me."
வடலுறு சிற்றம்பலத்தே வாழ்வாய் என் கண்ணுள்
You dwell in the lightning-like temple of Chidambaram, O gem in my eye—
Arutpa: The outer temple is now internalised; the Lord dances in the chamber of the heart, visible to the eye of jnana.
Ramalingam: Chidambaram = Cit + Ambalam (consciousness + hall). The Lord resides in the innermost being, not in ritual space alone.
Scriptures: The Hridaya (heart) is the temple of Brahman (Taittiriya Up. 1.6.1). The lightning is the flash of awakening.
Gītā: 10.20: "I am the Self, O Gudakesha, seated in the hearts of all beings."
மணியே என்குரு மணியே மாணிக மணியே
O gem, my guru-gem, my radiant ruby,
Arutpa: Multiple epithets for the Lord reflect spiritual intimacy. Each "gem" is a facet of the Divine's overflowing qualities.
Ramalingam: The Guru is the Lord, the inner light, the source of wisdom (jnana). The gem is not ornamental, but essential.
Scriptures: The Guru as the Supreme ("Guru is Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva") and the Self-luminous one.
Gītā: Krishna as the teacher, guru of Arjuna. 4.34: "Approach the wise... they will teach you the Truth."
நடன சிகாமணியே என் நவமணியே ஞான நன்மணியே பொன்மணியே நடராஜமணியே O supreme dancing jewel, ninefold gem, wisdom gem, golden gem, Nataraja gem!
Arutpa: The poem crescendos with ecstatic praise. The Divine is manifold yet one: Lord of the dance, of wisdom, of wealth, of truth.
Ramalingam: These are not just metaphors. Each epithet is a station in the devotee's journey towards Arutperunjoti.
Scriptures: The image of Nataraja encapsulates the cosmic functions of creation, preservation, destruction, veiling, and grace.
Gītā: Krishna reveals His cosmic form (11.9 onwards), embodying all roles and forms. The devotee sees One in all.
Conclusion
Arutpa 3802 is a map of spiritual exhaustion turned into illumination, of individual dissolution into divine resplendence. In a handful of lines, Ramalingam unites the soul’s cry with the cosmic response, weaving together the mystic immediacy of Arutpa, the non-sectarian compassion of his philosophy, the scriptural gravitas of the Upaniṣads and Shaiva Siddhanta, and the bhakti of the Bhagavad Gītā. To read this poem is to be invited into that same transformative moment: when sorrow ends, and the gem of divine light begins to shine within.
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