God’s feet are the refuge that all devotees seek, said T.N. Rajarathinam in a discourse. In Tirukkural, Thiruvalluvar asks of what use is education if one does not worship the feet of God, who is the embodiment of wisdom.
In another couplet, Thiruvalluvar says that those who focus the mind on the feet of the One who has no likes or dislikes will never know sorrow. He says that those who worship the feet of the One who resides in the hearts of those who love Him will live long on this earth.
Pamban Swami, addressing Lord Shanmukha as the son of the One who bears the river Ganga on His head, the One whose matted locks are the Vedas themselves, goes on to say that he surrenders at the feet of Shanmukha. All our worship — whether it is the sporting of sacred ash on the forehead, serving devotees, visiting temples, praising Him — should be directed towards attainment of a place at His feet. That is why right at the beginning of his work — Thiruvalangal Thirattu — Pamban Swamigal speaks of Lord Shanmukha’s feet.
He says that Lord Shanmukha’s feet destroy sins, give us bhakti and get rid of further births. When Lord Siva asked Karaikkal Ammaiyar what boon she wanted, she said that she wanted to be beside His feet and that she wanted to sing as He danced. Appar prayed that Lord Siva should put His feet on his head. Appar’s prayer was answered when the Lord put His feet on Appar’s head at Tirunallur.
Tirumoolar says that the Lord’s feet have the significance of mantras; His feet are a medicine too; His feet are tantras; His feet have the potency of dana; they are the embodiment of beauty and of purity.
