Tirumular's Thirumandiram

I've been after a copy of Tirumular's Tirumantiam (Thirumandiram) since the summer's Vinyasa Krama course, Ramaswami often referred to it as it's an important early Ashtanga yoga text, and it's where the ganesha prayer ( Links to Ramaswami teaching the prayer) that I like so much comes from. Ramaswami would often begin the asana class with this prayer

Aindu karattanai

Aanai muhattanai

Indin ilampirai pondra eyitrinai

Nandi mahandanai

Jnaanakkozhundinai

Pundiyil vaittadi potruhinrene.

Him, who has arms five,

Him, who has an elephant face

Him, whose single tusk equals the charm of the crescent moon,

Him, who is the offspring of the Blissful Lord,

Him, who is wisdom overflowing

I worship (by) keeping His feet

In my consciousness (mind)

There is a three volume edition (pictured left), has anyone got or seen it? I'm wondering if this edition has the romanization of the Tamil included.

I spent most of my day off yesterday reading an online version. Here's a taste of it from the opening of the Third Tantra which focuses on Ashtanga Yoga

41 ASHTANGA YOGAM

549: Difficult to Expound is Science of Yoga
Of difficult vast to expound
Is the Science of Breath;
Closing nostril alternate
And counting time in measure appropriate
Thus did Nandi reveal at length
The eight-fold science of yoga great--
Iyama, Niyama and the rest.

550: Yoga Includes Kavacha Nyasa and Mudra
I shall reveal herein,
The ways of Iyama and Niyama,
The secret of Kavacha, Nyasa and Mudra
The paths to reach the Samadhi State;
To course Kundalini Sakti upward,
And to reach Parasakti at Cranium high.

551: Ashtanga Yoga Leads to Samadhi and to Jnana
Waver not, this way and that
Follow the way of eight-limbed Yoga
And reach Samadhi State;
They who tread that blessed path
Shall reach Jnana's peak;
No more are they in this vile flesh born.

552: Eight Limbs of Yoga
Iyama, Niyama, and Asana numberless
Pranayama wholesome and Pratyahara alike,
Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi to triumph
--These eight are the steely limbs of Yoga.

The yoga section reads a little dry but the first Tantra (only read the first and the third so far) is quite beautiful.

Here's Ramaswami giving a background to Saint Tirmular from his October 2009 Newsletter.

'The story of Tirumular is also interesting. He was a Sivayogi and a

siddha yogi, one who had attained siddhis—like what you find in the

Vibhuti Pada of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra. Here is the story.

It is said that the Siva Yogi, Sundaranatha, who was one of the eight

direct disciples of Lord Siva, having received the blessings of Lord

Siva and also having become a Sidhha and being a great Vedic scholar,

decided to visit the South Indian sage Agastya (rhymes with Augustus?)

who was living in the Podihai mountains of Tamil Nadu in South India.

He worshipped the Lord in Kedhar and Pasupati in Nepal. He took a holy

dip in the Ganga and proceeded towards the South. He visited the

mountain range of Shrisailam, on the banks of the great Southern river

Krishna and worshipped Sivasankara. Travelling further south he

reached Kalahasti, another venerated hill temple of Siva. Then he went

to the dancing Siva’s (Nataraja) temple Alavanam and then went to

Kancheepuram and worshipped the Lord in the Ekambresvara temple, about

50 miles from the city of Madras (Chennai). Then he reached the great

temple in Tillai or Chidambaram and witnessed the primordial dance of

Lord Siva, the same place where Patanjali also had the vision of the

divine dance. His heart was full of immense divine joy on seeing the

dance of the Lord. Then he slowly moved further south and reached the

banks of the river Kaviri.

One day, after taking his bath in the holy river Kaveri, he went to

another Siva temple in Aduthurai. He worshipped the icon of the Lord

in that temple and never felt like leaving the beautiful form and the

spiritual environs of the place. But he collected himself and started

proceeding towards the Podihai mountains to meet with the short

statured Agastya. As he was slowly treading along the bank of Kaveri,

he saw a herd of cows standing around a spot, not moving, not grazing

as expected. He went near them and saw to his dismay, the cowherd

lying dead in front of the cows. The orphaned cows which seemed to be

unable to bear the loss of their friendly cowherd were weeping with

their heads down. It was also time for the cows to return to their

habitats to be milked and such milch cows were struggling to stay in

place with their heavy udders. The Yogi, who considers ‘Love is the

Lord’ (anbe Sivam), took pity on the cows. He used his yogic powers

called “para kaya pravesa” and transmigrated into the body of the

cowherd, known as Mula. In an instant Mula woke up as if from sleep

and the cows instantly looked happy. The Yogi, now a cowherd, kept his

own body aside under a banyan tree-planning to re-enter his own body a

short while afterwards- and led the cows back to their habitats. He

waited for the cows to return to their respective spots and then

decided to get back to the forest where his original body was.

Reaching the spot where he had left his body, he was shocked to find

that his body was missing. Actually the King’s servants finding an

unclaimed body decided to dispose of it by cremating it as per the

custom. Now the Yogi who had renounced everything had now renounced

his own body. Though he was taken aback by the turn of events, he

realized that the Lord Siva was directing him to propagate Sivayoga

through him in the Sothern part of India through the medium of the

Southern language, Tamizh . Shortly thereafter, some of the villagers

not finding Mula with the returning cows came in search of him in the

forest and brought him back to the village and left him in his house.

Mulan’s wife who herself was an orphan and childless found the

behavior of her husband odd. He said to her that he had renounced the

world and would not come back home and went into a Mutt and remained

there for the night, planning to leave the place the following day.

Mulan’s wife was restless all night. She had no relatives or grown up

children to take care of her. Early in the morning she approached the

elders of the village and narrated her plight and requested them to

persuade Mulan to return home. The elders after talking to him for a

few minutes realized that a transformation had taken place in Mula and

that he was not the illiterate cowherd anymore but an accomplished

Yogi and they thought it was due to the grace of Lord Siva. They went

back and consoled Mulan’s wife, telling her that her husband has

transformed himself to a Yogi and she should feel happy and proud of

her husband. They also persuaded the Yogi to stay near the village so

that his wife would feel more secure even though he would be separated

from her. The Yogi sat under a tree and meditated for one year and at

the end woke up from his Samadhi and composed one verse. Again he went

into Samadhi and at the end of the second year he opened his eyes and

composed the second verse and went on to compose three thousand

verses, it is believed in the following 3000 years! Thirumantiram

(lit., the sacred mantras) became a classic in Siva Yoga and there is

no one who would not be touched deeply by one verse or the other.

And again, Ramaswami giving a taste of some of the verses pertaining to Ashtanga Yoga.

1. Certain constraints and prescribed duties (dont’s and do’s),

countless postures, breath control, sense control, concentration,

meditation, and absorption are the eight aspects of yoga.

2. One who is steadfast in Yama, the first Anga, will never cause

injuries to anyone by word or deed (nor abet). Thoroughly truthful, he

never covets; possesses exemplary qualities, and is pious. Modest and

neutral he shares his possessions with others. Pure he abjures use of

intoxicants.

3. The Niyamas (vows) are cleanliness, both outward and inward,

compassion, dieting, forbearance, truth, sensitiveness and a mind free

from lust, greed, or sadism.

4. Further, austerity, chanting, contentment, faith, charity,

religiousness, scriptural study and its propagation, and worship are

the aspects of Niyama.

5. Asanas are many hundreds. The important ones are Bhadrasana,

Gomukhasana, Padmasana, Simhasana, Siddhasana, Veerasana, Sukhasana

and Swastikasana.

6. By the proper control of Prana (Pranayama) bliss arises in one

automatically. Why resort to intoxicating drinks? The gait becomes

sprightly and laziness vanishes. This is the truth, oh sensible one,

of the efficacy of Pranayama.

7. Usually Prana circulates in the body without control. If one, by

proper practice purifies and controls it, the complexion will become

golden, grey hair will turn black, and ultimately/untimely death will

be prevented.

8. Thirumular indicates that he, by the aid of Yoga lived long (3, 000

years). Knowledge of life and long life are essential, he says, to

attain spiritual knowledge. He says “Once I was under the impression

that the body need not be protected since it is perishable. Of late I

found that something is inside it, and that something is the all-

pervading entity, which is inside my body as though my body is its

temple. After finding that truth I have taken a vow to protect and

preserve my body temple and keep perfect.”