Thiruvempavai
Translated in to free verse
By
P.R.Ramachander
Transliteration in to English
By
Smt.Vasanthi Ramesh
The ancient Tamil Nadu saw two important Bhakthi movements , which most probably preceded the philosophical movements of Adi Sankara and Saint Ramanuja. The sentinels(sages) of Bhakthi movement worshipping Lord Shiva were called Nayanmars and those worshipping Lord Vishnu were called Azhwars. History records the story of 63 Nayanmars and their story is chronicled in a book called “Periya puranam(Big epic)” written by Chekizhar who was an eminent poet of those times. Among those 63 sages , four Natyanmars were the most important and they were Appar, Thirugnana Sambandar, Thirunavukkarsar and Manika Vasagar.All of them were great poets and traveled through out Tamil Nadu visiting the shiva temples and composing poems on the deities in each Temple.The work of Manika Vasagar who was a Kshatriya by caste is called as Thiru vasagam (Holy script).”Thiru Vasagathukku urugar Evvasagathukkum Urugar” meaning,” those who do not melt for Thiruvasagam will never melt for any other book”, is a famous Tamil Saying of those times.
Thiruvempavai is a part of Thiruvasagam and was composed in the temple town of
Adhiyum andhamum illA
arumberum
sOdhiyai, yAm pAdak kEttEyum vAL
thadanggaN
mAdhE, vaLarudhiyO van seviyOnin
sevidhAn,
mAdhEvan vArkazhalgaL vAzhththiya
vAzhththoli pOy,
vIdhivAyk kEttalumE vimmi vimmi
meymmaRandhu,
pOdhAr amaLiyinmEl nindRum puraNdu,
ingngan
EdhEnum AgAL kidandhAL, ennE
ennE,
IdhE endhOzhi parisu, ElOr
embAvAy.
We sang of that glorious light,
Which has no beginning and no end,
Oh you the girl who has broad , bright eyes,
Are you still asleep,
Did you not hear,
The songs that we sang ,
Praising the holy feet wearing.
Hero’s anklets of Madhava [1], our Lord?
It is echoing in all the street,
One lady hearing our song,
Sobbed and sobbed and cried,
And another fell from her
Flower bedecked bed to a swoon,
Is this your state my friend,
Is this your nature, our lady. 1
pAsam para~njjOdhikku enbAy, irAppagal
nAm
pEsumbOdhu eppOdhu, ip pOdhAr
amaLikkE
nEsamum vaiththanaiyO nErizhaiyAy,
nErizhaiyIr
sIsi ivaiyum silavO,
viLaiyAdi
Esum idam IdhO, viNNOrgaL
EththudhaRkuk
kUsum malarppAdham thandharuLa
vandharuLum,
thEsan sivalOgan, thillaic
citRambalaththuL
IsanArkku anbAr yAm Ar, ElOr
embAvAy.
“Oh,pretty damsel,
You used to tell all of us then, .
That your love is only to the God,
Who is the primeval light.
Has it now by any chance,
Shifted to the flower decked bed of yours?”
“Oh my well dressed friends,
Is it the time to make fun and play?”
“He whom even the great devas of heaven,
Are wary to approach,
He who is the Lord of Shiva Loka[2],
And he who is the God of Chidambara[3],
Has come in person and waits,
To give us his grace.
And we who do not know anything of him,
But have only love for him,
Are we capable of singing his praise,Oh lady” 2
Muthanna Ven nagyai , mun vandu edhir ezhunden
muththanna veNNagaiyAy, mun vandhu edhir
ezhundhu, en
aththan Anandhan amudhan endRu,
aLLURith
thiththikkap pEsuvAy, vandhu un kadai
thiRavAy,
paththudaiyIr, Isan pazha adiyIr,
pAnggudaiyIr,
puththadiyOm punmai thIrththu AtkoNdAR
pollAdhO,
eththOnin anbudaimai, ellOm
aRiyOmO,
siththam azhagiyAr pAdArO nam
sivanai,
iththanaiyum vENdum emakku, ElOr
embAvAy
[4]“Hey lady, with pearl like teeth,
You used to wake before us,
And talk sweetly,
Deep from your mind,
That he is our father,
He is the source of our happiness,
And he is nectar in person,
But now you are sleeping,
With not even opening the door”
“ My dear friends devoted to god,
Is it very bad,
If you forgive me just once for now?”
“Do not try to cheat us , our dear,
What devotion and love you have,
Do we not know all,
Would not the ladies with beautiful mind,
Sing about our lord Shiva.
All this we should definitely hear and suffer, Oh dear lady” 3
Onnithila nagayai innam pularnthindro?
onniththila nagaiyAy, innam
pularndhindRO,
vaNNakkiLi mozhiyAr ellArum
vandhArO,
eNNikkodu uLLavA sollugOm,
avvaLavum
kaNNaith thuyindRu avamE kAlaththaip
pOkkAdhE,
viNNukku oru maru~ndhai, vEdha
vizhupporuLaik,
kaNNukku iniyAnaip, pAdik kasi~ndhu
uLLam
uL nekku nindRu uruga, yA[m] mAttOm,
nIyE vandhu
eNNik kuRaiyil thuyil, ElOr
embAvAy.
[5]Oh! lady with glittering smile ,
And with pearl like teeth,
Has not the new day begun?”
“Have all the ladies ,
Who have lisping voice like a parrot, come?”
“Count we will and tell you soon,
Don’t spend your time sleeping till then.
Sing of Him who is the nectar of the heaven,
Who is the essence of Vedas,
And who is sweet to the eyes,
And melts your mind within.
But if you wish to know their number soon,
You wake up and count them yourself,
And if the number is less, go to sleep again, Oh Lady” 4
mAl aRiyA nAnmuganum kANA malaiyinai,
nAm
pOl aRivOm endRu uLLa pokka~nggaLE
pEsum,
pAl URu thEnvAyp padiRI, kadai
thiRavAy,
njAlamE viNNE piRavE
aRivariyAn
kOlamum, nammai AtkoNdaruLik
kOdhAttum
sIlamum pAdic, sivanE sivanE
endRu
Olam idinum uNarAy, uNarAy
Elak kuzhali parisu, ElOr
embAvAy.
Hey deceiver, who has a milky honey speech,
You who bragged that we would,
See the mountain that neither the proud,
Vishnu and Brahma could not see[6],
Be pleased to open the door.
We sing and praise,
Of the great Lord Shiva,
Whose form those who live on earth,
Heaven and other worlds,
Could not see,
And who has come in person to rule over us,
And to remove our blemishes.
But you know this not.
And have not woken up yet.
She who sleeps with plaited hair,
Decorated by paste of Henna,
Even if we loudly shout,
“Hey Shiva, Hey Shiva”.
How come you do not still wake up.Oh Lady. 5
Manee nee nennalai nalai vandungali
mAnE, nI nennalai nALai vandhu
unggaLai
nAnE ezhuppuvan endRalum,
nANAmE
pOna dhisai pagarAy, innam
pularndhindRO,
vAnE nilanE piRavE
aRivariyAn,
thAnE vandhu emmaith thalaiyaLiththu
AtkoNdaruLum,
vAn vArkazhal pAdi va~ndhOrkku un vAy
thiRavAy,
UnE urugAy, unakkE uRum,
emakkum
EnOrkkum tha~nggOnaip pAdu, ElOr
embAvAy.
Oh deer like maiden,
Only yesterday did you tell,
That tomorrow morn,
It is you who will wake us up,
And where has the word,
Disappeared without shame.
Has not it dawned?
Be pleased to open your mouth,
For us who have come singing,
About him, whom those.
In heaven , earth and other places,
Do not know,
And who has come to be with us,
And who has great noble feet,
With jingling anklets,
And sing with us,
Let your heart melt,
And let us all praise our king, Oh Lady. 6
annE, ivaiyum silavO, pala
amarar
unnaRku ariyAn, oruvan,
irunjjIrAn,
sinna~nggaL kEtpac civan endRE vAy
thiRappAy,
thennA ennA munnam thIsEr mezhugu
oppAy,
ennAnai ennaraiyan innamudhu endRu
ellOmum
sonnOm kEL vevvERAy, innam
thuyiludhiyO,
vannenjjap pEdhaiyarpOl vALA
kidaththiyAl,
ennE thuyilin parisu, ElOr
embAvAy.
Little mother ours,
Is this the time for make believe?
When the signal sounds ,
Boom all around in the past,
Of the presence of great one with great fame,
Who can never be thought of,
By even devas, the gods of heaven.
You would open your mouth,
And keep calling “Shiva, Shiva”.
You would melt like wax then ,
Even before his name,
Thennava[7] is complete.
Now we are telling before you,
“Our friend”, “Our king”.
“Our sweetest nectar”,
But are you still asleep?
You are lying like ,
The stone hearted ignorant ones,
What type of sleep , is this , our lady? 7
kOzhi silambac cilambum kurugu
enggum,
Ezhil iyamba iyambum veN sanggu
enggum,
kEzhil paranjjOdhi, kEzhil
paranggaruNai,
kEzhil vizhupporuLgaL pAdinOm
kEttilaiyO,
vAzhi Idhenna uRakkamO vAy
thiRavAy,
AzhiyAn anbudaimai AmARum
ivvARO,
Uzhi mudhalvanAynindRa
oruvanai,
Ezhai panggALanaiyE pAdu, ElOr
embAvAy.
When the cock crows, all the birds twitter,
When the Veena is strummed, the holy conches boom.
Did you not hear when we sang,
Of the incomparable light of heaven,
The incomparable mercy of heaven,
And the one with incomparable fame?
Long live our dear, is this the way to sleep?
You never even open your mouth, dear,
Is this the way to love our God?
We will the all sing the fame,
Of him who alone is, after the deluge,
And of him who shares his body with his consort,
Please sing with us , our lady. 8
munnaip pazhamborutkum munnaip
pazhamboruLE,
pinnaip pudhumaikkum pErththum ap
petRiyanE,
unnaip pirAnAgap
un adiyAr thAL paNivOm, AnggavarkkE
pAnggAvOm,
annavarE em kaNavar AvAr, avar
uga~ndhu
sonna parisE thozhumbAyp
paNiseyvOm,
inna vagaiyE emakku enggOn
nalgudhiyEl,
enna kuRaiyum ilOm, ElOr
embAvAy.
Oh our Lord who is older than the oldest,
Oh Lord who exists in the modern way,
In this the new ways of the world.,
We thine slaves , who have got you as our Lord,
Would bow before the holy feet of your devotees great,
Would become their friends for ever,
And would obey their orders with reverence and with out fail.
If our God , you bless us this way,
We will live all live, without any wants,
Is it not, our Lady? 9
pAdhALam Ezhinum kIzh soRkazhivu
pAdhamalar,
pOdhAr punai mudiyum ellAp poruL
mudivE,
pEdhai oru pAl, thirumEni ondRu
allan,
vEdha mudhal viNNOrum maNNum
thudhiththAlum
Odha ulavA oru thOzhan, thoNdar
uLan,
kOdhil kulaththu arandhan kOyiR piNAp
piLLaigAL,
Edhu avan
Edhu avanaip pAdum parisu, ElOr
embAvAy.
His flower like feet, which is beyond description,
Is below the seven worlds of Patala[8],
His flower bedecked hair is above the end of all matter,
And he not only has he the lady in half of his body,
But he is beyond the whole hearted praise,
Of those adept in Vedas,
Of those gods in heaven,
And ordinary mortals like us,
And clearly seen as Hara[9] in the minds of his devotees.
Hey ! lady devotees of his temples.
Which is his place?
Which is his name?
Who are his relations?
And who are his neighbors?
And certainly he cannot be limited by our songs,
Is it not our lady? 10
moyyAr thadam poygai pukku, mugEr
ennak
kaiyAl kudai~ndhu kudaindhu un
kazhalpAdi,
aiyA, vazhi adiyOm vAzhndhOm
seyyA, veNNIRAdi selvA, siRu
marunggul
maiyAr thadanggaN madandhai
maNavALA,
aiyA, nI AtkoNdu aruLum
viLaiyAttin,
uyvArgaL uyyum vagaiyellAm
uyndhozhindhOm,
eyyAmaR kAppAy emai, ElOr
embAvAy.
In the pretty pond, surrounded by bees,
We who are your devotees for several generations,
Used to play by making sounds in water,
And sing about you, our Lord,
Who is red like the raging fire,
And who is bathed by white ashes.
Lord of the maid with pretty eyes,
Applied with black collyrium,
Who has whisper thin hips.
Please take us within you,
In this play of life, only those who are fit win,
And so help us not to get famished by this play,
Is it not our Lady. 11
Arththa piRavith thuyar keda ~nAm
ArththAdum
thIrththan, ~natRillaic citRambalaththE
thIyAdum
kUththan, ivvAnum kuvalayamum
ellOmum,
kAththum padaiththum kara~ndhum
viLaiyAdi,
vArththaiyum pEsi, vaLai silamba vAr
kalaigaL
Arpparavam seyya, aNi kuzhal mEl vaNdArppap,
pUth thigazhum poygai kudai~ndhu,
udaiyAn poRpAdham
Eththi, iru~njjunai ~nIr Adu, ElOr
embAvAy.
He is the one who has the holy pure waters,
In which with happiness we bathe,
So that the big sorrow of birth vanishes.,
He is the one who dances in the holy
With pot of fire in his left hand,
And he creates this and the world above,
Which he looks after and destroys .
Like playing a sport.
Let us sing his fame,
Let us take bath in his holy pond,
With the bangles making murmuring sound,.
With the golden belts with bells.,
Creating the holy sounds all around,
With bees surrounding our scented hair,
And praise his golden feet,
And then also play and bathe in the holy stream,
Is it not , Oh lady. 12
paingguvaLaik kAr malarAl, senggamalap
paimbOdhAl,
anggam kuruginaththAl, pinnum
aravaththAl,
thanggaL malam kazhuvuvAr vandhu
sArdhalinAl,
enggaL pirAttiyum enggOnum pOndRu
isaindha,
ponggu[m] maduvil pugappAyndhu pAyndhu,
nam
sanggam silambac cilambu kalandhu
Arppak,
konggaigaL ponggak, kudaiyum punal
po~nggap,
panggayap pUmbunal pAyndhu Adu, ElOr
embAvAy.
With exuberant blue and red lotus abound.
With king fishers making lot of sound,
With people coming to wash away their dirt and sin,
The pond appears as a place of our Lord and our Goddess.
Let our bangles of conch and our anklets divine,
Join this din, And let us all,
Bathe with our busts raising,
And the water level going up,
Is it not our lady. 13
kAdhAr kuzhai Adap, paimbUN
kalanAdak,
kOdhai kuzhal
sIdhap punal Adic, citRambalam
pAdi,
vEdhap poruL pAdi, apporuL AmA
pAdic,
sOdhi thiRam pAdic, cUzhkondRaith thAr
pAdi,
Adhi thiRam pAdi, andham AmA
pAdi,
pEdhiththu nammai vaLarththu eduththa
peyvaLaidhan,
pAdhath thiRam pAdi Adu, ElOr embAvAy.
With the ear studs worn in the ear shaking,
With all pretty gold ornaments waving,
With the pretty plait of ours,
Moving hither and thither,
With the bees surrounding the plait,
Moving with the plait,
We will all bathe and play ,
In the cool holy waters of the stream,
And sing of the temple at Thillai,
Sing of the lord,
Who is the meaning of Vedas,
Sing of the meaning of holy light,
Sing of his Konrai[11] flowers adorning his hair,
Sing of Him who is the beginning and end,
Sing of him who shows us as different from this world,
And Pray the Goddess that we attain him,
Is it not our Lady. 14
Or orugAl emberumAn endRendRE,
namberumAn
sIr orugAl vAy OvAL, siththam kaLi
kUra
nIr orugAl OvA nedundhArai
pAr orugAl vandhanaiyAL, viNNOraith
thAn paNiyAL,
pEr araiyaRku ingnganE piththu oruvar
AmARum,
Ar oruvar ivvaNNam AtkoLLum
viththagar thAL,
vAr uruvap pUNmulaiyIr, vAyAra nAm
pAdi,
Er uruvap pUmbunal pAyndhu Adu,
ElOr embAvAy.
Once in a while tells she “My Lord”
Once in a while describes she,
Of the fame of our Lord without stop,
Once in a while because of ebbing happiness,
That his memory gives,
Sheds she copious tears without end,
Once in a while lies she on the ground in trance,
In his memory divine ,
And once in while becomes she a lunatic of Him,
Who is our great God,
And never salutes other gods great.
Who could have enchanted this lady thus?
Oh ladies with decorated breasts,
Lets us all bathe in the flower filled pond,
And sing of Him,
Is it not our lady. 15
munnik kadalaic curukki ezhu~ndhu,
udaiyAL
ennath thigazh~ndhu, emmai
minnip poli~ndhu, em pirAtti
thiruvadimEl
ponnam silambiR cilambith,
thiruppuruvam
ennac cilai kulavi, na~ndhammai
thanniR pirivilA e~nggOmAn
anbarkku
munni, avaL namakku mun surakkum
innaruLE
ennap pozhiyAy mazhai, ElOr
embAvAy.
Oh Cloud, even before the season of rains,
You drank this sea and decreased its level,
And you climbed the skies,
And got the holy blue colour of our Goddess.
Your becoming streaks of lightning,
Reminded us of her narrow hips,
Your roaring claps of thunder,
Reminded us of the sound from her anklets,
Worn on her holy feet,
And the rainbow you made in the sky.
Reminded us of her pretty eye brows.,
Please shower her rain of mercy ,
On the devotes of our Lord and on us,
Is it not our Lady. 16
senggaNavanpAl thisaimuganpAl
dhEvargaLpAl,
enggum ilAdhadhOr inbam nam
pAladhAk,
konggu uN karu~ngguzhali, nandhammaik
kOdhAtti,
inggu nam illanggaL thORum
ezhundharuLic,
senggamalap poRpAdham thandharuLum
sEvaganai,
anggaN arasai, adiyOnggatku
Aramudhai,
nanggaL perumAnaip pAdi, nalam
thigazhap
panggayap pUmbunal pAyndhu Adu, ElOr
embAvAy.
Oh Lady with the naturally scented black hair,
He who can do things impossible,
He who is the God with charming eyes
He who is pure nectar to us , his devotees,
Graces us with happiness great,
Which neither the red eyed Vishnu,
Nor Lord Brahma with four heads,
Nor all the Gods in the heaven ,
Can ever give,
And makes us purer than heaven.
Comes He to each of our homes great,
And gives us his lotus like golden feet,
And so that we will sing his praise and bathe,
In the flower filled lotus pond,
Is it not our Lady. 17
aNNAmalaiyAn adikkamalam sendRu
iRainjjum,
viNNOr mudiyin maNiththogai vIRu
atRARpOl,
kaNNAr iravi kadhir vandhu kAr
karappath,
thaNNAr oLi mazhunggith thAragaigaL thAm
agalap,
peNNAgi ANAy aliyAyp, piRanggu
oLisEr
viNNAgi maNNAgi, iththanaiyum
vERAgik,
kaNNAr amudhamumAy nindRAn kazhal
pAdip,
peNNE, ip pUmbunal pAy~ndhu Adu, ElOr
embAvAy.
The jewels in the crowns of the gods of heaven,
Who bow their head to Lord Annamalai[12] looses their glitter,
The most famous Sun looses his sharp lights of rays before the Lord,
And the stars in the sky at night loose their sparkle before Him,
But the Lord becomes male, female , eunuch and others,
That are none of these also,
And he also becomes the sky , earth and all others .
That are different from these,
Oh Lady , He is the nectar which can fill our eyes,
So let us all sing his praise and bathe in this flower filled pond,
Is it not our Lady. 18
unggaiyiR piLLai unakkE adaikkalam
endRu,
anggu ap pazhanjjol pudhukkum em
accaththAl,
enggaL perumAn unakku ondRu uraippOm
kEL,
em konggai nin anbar allAr thOL
sEraRka,
em kai unakku allAdhu ep paNiyum
seyyaRka,
ka~nggul pagal em
inggu ip parisE emakku enggOn
nalgudhiyEl,
enggu ezhil en njAyiRu emakku, ElOr
embAvAy.
Oh lord, we are deeply afraid
Of renewing the saying of Old,
“The baby in your hand is only yours[13]”
For we feel that there is no use for that.
Oh Lord hear what we have to say,
Let not our breasts join any ones shoulder,
Except thine holy devotee,
Let not our hands ever do work except which is thine,
Let not our eyes see in day or night,
Anything except thee.
If you grant us all these our wishes,
We will not be worried on whichever side the sun rises ever,
Is it not our Lady. 19
pOtRi aruLuga nin AdhiyAm pAdha
malar,
pOtRi aruLuga nin andhamAm
sendhaLirgaL,
pOtRi ellA uyirkkum thOtRamAm
poRpAdham,
pOtRi ellA uyirkkum pOgamAm
pUnggazhalgaL,
pOtRi ellA uyirkkum IRAm iNai
adigaL,
pOtRi mAl nAnmuganum kANAdha
puNdarigam,
pOtRi yAm uyya AtkoNdu aruLum
ponmalargaL,
pOtRi yAm mArgazhi nIr Adu, ElOr
embAvAy.
Oh , Lord, we praise thine lotus feet in the beginning.
Oh , Lord, we praise thine soft leaf bud like feet at the end,
Oh Lord, we praise thine feet from which all beings were born,
Oh Lord, we praise thine feet which gives pleasure to all beings,
Oh Lord, we praise thine feet which gives redemption to all beings,
Oh Lord , we praise thine lotus feet not even seen by Brahma and Vishnu,
Oh Lord , we praise thine golden feet which makes us your slaves,
Oh Lord, we praise the water of Margazhy ,
And Ladies let us all dance and bathe,
Is it not our Lady. 20