Beauty ＆ Pure 98

O Arunachala! Do protect me like a supporting pole so that I may not wither
away like a tender creeper that has no support!

Without a tree or supporting pole, a creeper cannot survive. What gives
strength to the creeper and makes it grow is the supporting tree or pole.
Similarly, the devotee soul cannot subsist without God. God is her mainstay
and support. So, she appeals to God praying that He should not forsake her.
Maya and samsara are powerful forces that create adverse conditions. If the
devotee-soul should battle against them and succeed, she must have God’s
constant and unfailing support.
Among the analogies for mind’s devotion to God given by Sankara in the
Sivanandalahari is that of a creeper entwining a tree (lata kshitiruham)