YasOdhA piratti wanted to bathe her child , KrishnA . She collected water for the thirumanjanam . She added cinnamon , cardamom and other fragrant powders in the water . She looked around for KrishNa and invited him to come to the bathing room ,where she had lovingly prepared fragrant water at the right temperature . He heard her call , but tried to get away from her reach . YasodhA appealed to her son to come to her , described at length about the enormous efforts she took for him to have a most enjoyable bath , praised him and tried to lure him to take his bath with sweet and coaxing words .
PeriyAzhwAr took on the role of YasOdhA , the mother , to enjoy this scene .These verses are always recited during the Thirumanjanam ( holy bath ) of the ArchA murthys at the temples or the vigrahams or SaaLagramams at home .
Paasuram 1 : VeNNayaLantha KuNangum ----O my Lord who is not easily accessible ! NaarAyaNA ! Please come here for taking Your bath . I have prepared the oil for Your oil bath , the soap nut powder and have been waiting for You to come here for a long , long time . I will not let you dirty the bed tonight with the day's dust besmearing Your body from all of Your playful activities and the unwelcome smell arising from the immersion of Your hands all the way upto Your shoulder , when You stole and ate butter during the day . This I shall not put up with . Please come and take Your bath and cleanse Yourself before You retire to bed .
Paasuram 2 : KanrugaL Oda ---O Lord who knocked down the seven trees with the power of Your arrow during RamAvathAram ! Today is the day of SravaNam ( ThiruvONam ) , when Your birth star is in ascendance . Please do not try to escape from me . I am exasperated with Your pranks . Earlier in the day , you ran after the frightened calves and placed the biting ants into their ears , which made them more panicky and they ran away . How am I going to milk the cows , when the calves have run away ? If I do not milk the cows , how are You going to get the butter to steal and eat ? Please do not run away . Come and take Your bath .
Paasuram 3 : pEycchi mulai ---O my precious one of auspicious glories ! O my dear one with the hue of a blue jewel ! When I saw You partake the poisonous milk from the fearsome PuthanA's breast and suck her life forces , I responded to the collective call of the fleeing neighbors and approached You and breast-fed You . I did not run away like them out of fear at the sight of the mighty corpse of PuthanA , whom You had dispatched to heavens . Today , I have prepared warm and comforting water containing broiled leaves of Nelli tree for sweetness . I have stored this lovely water for Your bath in large vessels , so that You can enjoy a long and leisurely bath . Please do not escape me. Come and have Your bath .
Paasuram 4 : Kanjan puNarpinil ----O great helper , who destroyed the asuran in the form of the wheel sent by Your evil uncle Kamsan with a swift kick of Your tender feet ! O Lord, who sucked the life out of the deceitful PUthanai ! I have added turmeric powder , and enriched Your bath water with petals of red lotus flowers . I have set aside fragrant sandal paste and black collyerium for decorating Your eyes after Your bath . O Beautiful One ! Please do not run away from me .Come and take Your bath with further hassle !
Paasuram 5 : Appam kalantha siRRundi ----O Lord of full perfection ! O my Swami ! My salutations to You . Please come here . Young girls with tender breasts will complain behind my back about Your minor offenses and laugh over them . While they are busy that way , I have been busy dissolving cubes of jaggery in milk and flour to cook sweet tasting appam and other delicious luncheon items for You . If You want this lovely lunch , You must take a bath first. Please come and have Your delightful bath .
Paasuram 6 : YeNNai kudathai urutti ---O Lord with the beautiful blue complexion of the waters of the ocean with noisy waves ! O Swami who kicks the oil containing vessels around with Your tender legs and who wakes up sleeping children with Your pinching ! I will give You sweet , hand-picked fruits . Please come here and take Your bath without further delay !
Paasuram 7 : KaRantha naRpAlum ---O My Lord ! From the day You were born , I have not seen the likes of either milk or curds or the butter stored in the pots hanging from the ceiling . You have taken care of all of that ! If I started to criticize You in front of others , they will be astonished at me as the mother complaining about the child that I bore ! Hence , I am hesitant to criticize You because of fear about offending my neighbors . I will never belittle You in front of others . Please come here and take Your bath !
Paasuram 8: KanRinai vAlOlaik katti -----O Lord of total perfection ! I can not fully comprehend Your limitless , auspicious attributes ( anantha kalyANa guNams ) or Your power . One day , You tied the ribbons on the tail of the asuran , who took the form of a calf to kill You . What did You do ? You took that calf by the tail , swirled him around and threw him at a wood apple tree . The fruits fell as a result of that impact and provided a feast for Your play mates . Thereafter , You went to the banks of YamunA river and got on the top of the hoods of the poisonous KaaLingan and danced there to Your heart's content and subdued the serpent's arrogance . Today happens to be the day of Your birth . Therefore You must take an enjoyable bath . O NaaraNA ! Please come hither! Do n't run away .
Paasuram 9 : pUNit thozhuvinr pukkup -----O Lord without any modesty ! My mANikkam ! My blue sapphire ! I enjoy seeing your beautiful limbs covered with dirt from Your entering the cow sheds and playing in the mud there . But , those who see Your body smeared with all that dirt blame me and call me an uncaring mother . O shameless Lord who puts me in such a dire spot ! Nappinnai will laugh at You , if she sees You in this state. Let me help You . Please come here and cleanse Yourself with the lovely bath that I have prepared for You .
Paasuram 10 : Kaarmali mEni niratthu--Those who recite these ten paasurams composed by PeriyAzhwAr--, the elder of the most ancient land known as Sri VillipputthUr -- on the way in which the full-breasted YasOdhA pirAtti bathed her son , KaNNapirAn of complexion far more beautiful than the clouds of the rainy season , will become completely free of any sins .