Endless Song

A dazzling translation of one of the most revered ancient Bhakti poemsThe Tiruvaymoli (sacred utterance or sacred truth) is a grand 1102-verse poem composed in the ninth century by Sathakopan-Nammalvar the greatest of the alvar poets. Ingeniously weaving a garland of words-where each beginning is also an ending-the poet traces his cyclical quest for union with the supreme lord Visnu. In this magnificent translation Archana Venkatesan transports the flavour and cadences of Tamil into English capturing the different voices and range of emotions through which the poet expresses his enduring desire for release. The scholarly introduction illuminates the poem's kaleidoscopic brilliance and the traditions of devotional religiosity it inspired. About the Author Nammalvar was a ninth-century mystic poet a Vishnu devotee who descended from a long line of Vaishnavas. He is considered the greatest of the alvar poet-saints of the Tamil Srivaisnava tradition.Archana Venkatesan is associate professor of religious studies and comparative literature at the University of California Davis. She has received numerous grants including fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation the National Endowment for the Arts National Endowment for the Humanities American Institute of Indian Studies and Fulbright. She is the author ofThe Secret Garland Antal's Tiruppavai and Nacciyar Tirumoli and translator of Nammalvar'sTiruviruttam asA Hundred Measures of Time. You can find her at archana.faculty.ucdavis.edu