Sivavakkiyar Poems

He is not Hari, He is not the Lord Siva.
He is the Ultimate Cause,
In the Beyond of Beyond,
Transcending Blackness, Redness, and Whiteness.
...

Why, honey is the bee's saliva;
the beetle's saliva is on the flower,
the cows milk itself is mixed with the saliva of the calf!
why should there be so much fuss over it?
...

Where is the pariah woman?

Where is the high-caste woman?

Are there numbers inscribed on the skin and flesh?

Is the pariah woman’s delight different from that of a the high-caste woman?
...

He is not Hari, He is not the Lord Siva.
He is the Ultimate Cause,
In the Beyond of the Beyond,
Transcending Blackness, Redness, and Whiteness,
...

The slothful
Sluggards
Say: He is far, far, far
Away!
...

In the Four Eternal Vedas,
In the study and reading of scripts,
In sacred ashes and in Holy Writs
And muttering of prayers
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Silence, unmoved and rising,
Silence, unmoved and sheltering,
Silence, unmoved and permanent,
Silence, unmoved and brilliant,
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What are temples, tell me!
And what are sacred tanks?
O you poor slaves who worship
in temples and tanks!
...