Thirupavai & Thiruvembavai

[Guest guest]

*Hari OM!*

**

*Dear all,*

**

*Adiji mentioned Thirupavai & Thiruvembavai on her post so I thought I will

give the transliteration below and it is on the below site.*

**

*http://www.brahmanas.net*

**

*With Love & OM!*

**

*Krishna Prasad*

**

*Thaniyan

*This is a song which is a prelude to Thiruppavai and is generally termed as

thaniyan or that which stands separately..

 

Andal from the swan filled Puduvai,

Sang she, in her sweet voice,

Several enchanting sweet odes,

For being sung during,

The worship and adulation of Pavai.

They are but a garland to him,

>From her who wore them first,

Before presenting them to Him.

 

Each Pasuram(ode to Gods) of Thiruppavai is generally named by the first few

words of the poem.These are given first and a translation in to verse given

then:-

 

*1.Margazhi Thingal*

 

In this month of Marghazhi ,

On this day filled with the light of moon,

Come for bathing,

Oh ladies who are richly dressed,

And Oh ladies in rich homes of cowherds,

For he with the sharp spear,

He who kills his enemies without mercy,

He who is the son of Nanda gopa ,

He who is the darling son of Yasodha ,

Who wore scented flower garlands,

He who is a lion cub,

He who is pretty in black colour,

He who has small red eyes,

He who has a face like the well-lit moon,

And He, who is our Lord Narayana ,

Is going to give us big drums,

So that we bathe and worship Our Goddess Pavai,

In a way that the whole world sings about.

 

*2.Vaiyathu Vazhvirgal*

 

Oh, people of this world,

Be pleased to hear of those penances,

That we daily do for the worship of Pavai,

We will sing of those holy feet,

Of Him who sleeps in the ocean of milk ,

We will not take the very tasty ghee,

We will avoid the health giving milk,

We will daily bathe before the dawn,

We will not wear any collyrium to the eye,

We will not tie flowers in our hair,

We will not do Any act that is banned,

We will not talk ill of any to any one else,

We will give alms and do charity,

As much as we can,

And do all those acts to make others free of sorrow,

And worship our Goddess Pavai.

 

*3.Oongi ulagalandha Utthmar peyrar padi*

 

If we sing the praise of Him,

Who grew big and measured the world ,

And worship our Goddess Pavai ,

Then would there be at least three rains a month,

And the red paddy plants would grow big,

And in their fields would the fish swim and play ,

And the spotted bees after sipping honey,

To their hearts content ,

Would sleep in the flower themselves

After having their fill,

And the cows with big udder

Would fill milk pots to the brim,

And healthy cows and never diminishing wealth,

Would fill the country,

And all this I assure by worship of our Goddess Pavai.

 

*4.Azhi mazhai kanna*

 

Please obey our wishes,

Oh rain God who comes from the sea,

Enter the sea, please, and bring water to your fill,

And with zest and sound take it up,

And like the God of the deluge become black,

And shine like the holy wheel in the hands ,

Of The God Padmanabha who has powerful biceps,

And make booming pleasing sounds,

Like the right spiraled conch,

And rain with out stop like the arrow storm,

>From Saranga the bow of Vishnu and descend on us,

To make this world happy,

And to help us take bath in month of Margahzhi,

And worship our goddess Pavai.

 

*5.Mayanai*

 

To Him the enchanter of all,

To Him the son of Mathura in the north,

To Him who played and frolicked,

In the shores of holy Yamuna ,

To Him who is the ornamental lamp,

Of the family of cow herds,

And to the Damodhara who made ,

His mothers womb holy,

We came after a holy bath,

And offered pure flowers at his feet,

And sang with our mouth,

And brought the thoughts of him in our mind,

And we were sure,

That all our mistakes of the past,

And all that we will do in future,

Will vanish as ashes in fire,

Oh, Goddess Pavai.

 

*6.Pullum chilambina kaan*

 

Did you not hear alternate twittering birds making loud noises,

Did you not hear the loud sound of white conch,

>From the temple of the king of Garuda ,

Oh , girls please wake up,

Let us hear the holy sounds of "Hari , Hari".

>From the savants and sages,

Calling him who drank the poisonous milk from the ghost ,

Him who kicked and killed the ogre of the cart ,

And him who sleeps on the great serpent Adi Sesha

So that it goes through our mind,

And make our mind cool, Oh, Goddess Pavai.

 

*7.Kisu kisu chendrengum*

 

Did you not hear , Oh slow witted girl,

The twittering sound of black birds of the morn,

Which sounds like a talk between them,

Did you not hear the tingling sound ,

When the big and small coin like pendants,

Rub against each other,

Did you not hear the sound of vigouros pull,

Of the curd churner being pulled,

By the flower bedecked cow herdesses,

Did you not hear the sound of twirling curd,

When churned using the mixer,

Oh, leader among girls,

How can you sleep,

When they sing the names sweetly.

Of Narayana and Kesava ,

Oh, She who is sparkling,

Be pleased to open the door,

And worship our goddess Pavai.

 

*8.Kizh vanam Veluthathu*

 

The eastern sky has become white,

The buffalos are free to walk and graze,

The remaining lasses , have stopped from going,

All those who wanted to go,

And have come to call you,

Oh girl filled with happiness,

Please wake up.

Let us all sing and get gifts,

>From Him who has killed the horse like ogre ,

By pulling apart his mouth,

>From Him who killed the wrestlers ,

Sent to kill him,

>From the Narayana, who is first among the Gods,

And prostrate before him..

Please hear what we tell.

And decide for yourself,

And worship our Goddess Pavai

 

*9.Thoo mani madathu*

 

Oh my uncle's daughter , who sleeps ,

In the soft cotton bed,

In the pearl filled Villa,

Well lit from all sides,

And full of the smoke of incense,

Please open the ornamental door.

Oh aunt, why don't you wake her up,

Is your daughter dumb or deaf ,

Or down right lazy,

Or she is in trance of deep pleasurable sleep,

Let us all call him the great enchanter,

Madhavan and he who lives in Vaikunta ,

By several of His names,

And get benefited ,

And worship the Goddess Pavai.

 

*10.Nothu Swargam*

 

Oh lady fine , who has entered the heaven,

Due to penance done in last birth,

Won't you reply,please

Won't you open the door,please

If we pray the God Narayana,

Having with him the scented garland,

Made of holy basil,

He would give us gifts , many,

He is the same who is holy in times ancient,

Sent Kumbhakarna to his death ,

After beating him in the field of war.

Did that ogre give you his sleep,

Before he went off from here,

Oh lass who is very lazy,

Oh lass, who is like pretty jewels,

Wake up from your sleep, well,

And open the door.

And worship the Goddess Pavai.

 

*11.Kathu karavai*

 

Oh daughter of the cattle baron,

Who milks herds of cows,

And wages war on enemies

And makes his enemies loose their strength,

Oh Golden tendril,

Oh lass who has the mount of venus,

Like the hood of the snake,

Wake up and come,

When your flock of friends,

Have come to your courtyard,

And sing of Krishna ,

Who has the colour of the cloud,

Oh rich , rich lady,

How can you neither move nor talk,

And lie in deep trance,

And not worship our Goddess pavai.

 

*12.Kanaithilam Katherumai*

 

Hey, sister of the rich one , who owned,

The mooing she buffalow with a calf ,

Which took pity on the calf,

And gave out plenty,

Of milk to it through its udder,

And made his courtyard slushy with milk,

We are assembled in thine yard,

In the dripping fog,

And sing about Him,

Who killed in anger the king of Southern Lanka ,

And who is very dear one,

But open your mouth, you don't..

Atleast wake up now,

Why this very deep slumber,

For people of all houses around,

Have already become alert

And are ready to worship our Goddess Pavai...

 

*13.Pullin Vay keendanai*

 

The lasses have reached,

The place of prayer for Pavai,

Singing the fame of our Lord.

Who killed the ogre who came like a stork.

And who cut off the heads of the bad ogre ,

One by one.

The venus has risen in the morn,

The Jupiter has vanished from the sky,

The birds are making lot of sound,

Of beautiful one with wide eyes red as a flower.

Without taking bath by dipping again and again,

In ice cold water,

Would you prefer to sleep.

Oh lass, On this holy day,

Do not stay aside,

And come to bathe with us.

And worship our Goddess Pavai.

 

*14.Ungal puzhakkadai*

 

In the pond in the backyard of your house.

The lily in the ponds have opened,

The night flowers have closed,

The white toothed sages,

Who wear clothes as red as,

The powder of brick,

Are going to their temples.

To sound the conch.

You who promised to wake us up,

Please wake up,

Are you not ashamed,

You chatter box,

Let us all sing about the lotus eyed one,

Who has a holy conch and wheel ,

In his hands,

And worship our Goddess Pavai.

 

*15.Elle, ilam kiliye*

 

"Hey, little bird, Are you still sleeping? "

"Don't disturb my sleep , Lasses, I will just come".

"You are good in your speech, We know what you mean."

"You be good, but leave me alone"

"Come quickly, why is it different for you?"

"Have every one gone?"

"Gone, think they have gone"

"Please wake up and sing,

Of he who killed the big elephant ,

Of him who can remove enmity from enemies,

And of him who is the holy enchanter,

And worship our Goddess Pavai."

 

*16.Nayaganai ninra*

 

Hey , He who guards the palace of Nanda Gopa ,

Hey, who gauards the ornamental door with flags,

Please be kind to open the door with bells,

For yesterday the enchanter Kannan ,

Has promised to give beating drums,

To us the girls from the houses of cow herds.

We have come after purification,

To wake Him up with song,

So do not talk of this and that, Hey dear man,

And open the door with closed latches,

So that we can worship our Goddess Pavai.

 

*17.Ambarame Thannere*

 

Hey Nandagopa , who does good deeds and charity,

Who gives water, cloth and food to others,

Pleas wake up.

Our lady Yasodha, who is the light of the homes of cow herds,

She who is dear to all the ladies,

Please wake up.

Hey ,Krishna who is the king of Gods,

Who went up tearing th sky.

Please wake up, and do not sleep.

Hey Baladeva , who wears pure golden anklets,

Please wake up along with your brother,

So we can worship our Goddess Pavai.

 

*18.Undhu Madha kalitthan*

 

Hey , Who is the fair daughter in law,

Of Nanda gopa , who has several elephants,

And who is a great hero who never ran away from his enemies,

Hey Lady Nappinnai ,who has hair surrounded by holy scent,

Please be kind to open the door.

The cocks are everywhere waking us up,

The koels flock on the jasmine Pandals,

And coo so that we all wake up,

Hey Lady who happily plays ball,

To help us sing your Lords fame,

With your hands with tingling bangles,

Please open the door with happiness,

So that we can worship our Goddess Pavai.

 

*19.Kuthu Vilakeriya*

 

In the light of the oil lamp,

On the ornamental four legged ivory cot,

On the soft bed filled with cotton,

Reclining on the busts of Nappinnai ,

You sleep, Oh he who has a flower like heart,

Please open your mouth .

She who has , wide black eyes with collyrium.

We know that you will never allow him to wake up,

For you can never bear to be away from Him,

This is not that good,

And cannot be accepted by us.

Please allow us to worship our Goddess Pavai.

 

*20.Muppathu Muvar*

 

Please wake up Oh, Lord,

Who removed sorrow and fear,

>From the thirty three sections of Devas ,

Even before they approached you,

Oh Lord, Who is glittering like gold,

Oh Lord, who has inimitable valour,

Please wake up,

Oh Lady Nappinnai,

Who has desirable busts like golden pots.

Who has little red mouth,

And who has thin narrow hips,

Please wake up, Oh Goddess of wealth.

Please give mirror and fan,

Just now to your consort,

And allow us to take bath,

And thus worship our Goddess Pavai.

 

*21.Etta kalangal*

 

Oh son of him,

Who owned several cows,

Which gave so much milk,

That always the milking vessel got overflowed,

Please wake up.

Oh Lord, who is full of mercy,

Oh Lord, who is better than the best,

Oh lord, who is the light that began the world,

Please wake up.

Like your flock of defeated enemies,

Falling at your feet in surrender,

We came praising you,

So that we get fame,

And worship our Goddess Pavai.

 

*22.Angan maa gnathu arasar*

 

Like all the famous kings

Of the wide World, that is pretty,

Have crowded near your cot,

After surrendering their ego,

We also have come near.

Will not the sight ,

Of your red eyes which is like the lotus

Fall little by little on us?

If you see us using those eyes,

Which are like sun and the moon,

All the curse on us will vanish,

And we can worship our Goddess Pavai

 

*23.Maari malai muzhanjil*

 

Like the majestic lion wakes up with ire,

>From the mountain cave in the rainy season,

Looks with fiery sight,

And with deep angry sweat from all the hairs,

Turns up its head with awe,

And comes out making lots of din,

Hey Lord , who is the colour of the blue lotus,

Come from your temple to here,

And sit on the majestic royal throne,

And hear with compassion,

For why we have come here,

And help us to worship our Goddess Pavai.

 

*24.Anru ivvulagam*

 

We worship your feet which measured the world then,

We worship your fame of winning over the king of Southern Lanka,

We worship thine valour in breaking the ogre who came like a cart,

We worship thy strength which threw the calf on the tree,

We worship thine goodness in making the mountain as an umbrella ,

And we worship the great spear in your hand which led to your victory,

We have come hear to sing always for ever your praises,

And get as gift the drums to sing,

And worship our Goddess Pavai.

 

*25.Oruthi maganai Pirandhu*

 

Being born to woman,

And in the same night in hiding .

You became the son of another,

But this he could not tolerate,

And wanted to cause more harm to you,

And you great one , became ,

The fire in the stomach of that Kamsa ,

We have come here with desire for a drum,

And if you give the drum to us,

We would sing about thine great fame and wealth,

And would end our sorrows and become happy,

And worship our Goddess Pavai.

 

*26.Maale! Manivanna!*

 

Oh lord Vishnu , Oh lord who is like the blue sapphire,

If you ask us what we need ,

In your great grace and great deeds,

For our holy bath of Marghazhi,

We will ask for very many conches

Like the milk white conch of yours called Pancha Janya,

Very many big drums whose sound can be heard everywhere,

Several musicians of fame to sing "Pallandu "

Several beautiful pretty lamps,

Several flags and cloths to make tents,

Oh , He who sleeps on a banyan leaf at time of deluge,

Please give us them all,

So that we worship our Goddess Pavai.

 

*27.Kudaarai vellum seer Govinda*

 

Hey Lord Govinda, who is known for victory over enemies,

After singing you we will get drums and many gifts,

And after being praised by all the people,

Wear we will the golden flower on our hair,

Wear we will golden bracelets,

Wear we will golden ear studs,

Wear we would then the golden flowers on the ear,

Wear we will ornaments on the legs,

Wear we will pretty new dresses,

Eat we will rice mixed with milk,

Covering the rice fully with ghee,

And with the ghee dripping from our forehands,

We will be together and be happy,

And worship our Goddess Pavai.

 

*28.Karavaigal Pin chenru*

 

Belonging to the ignorant family of cow herds,

Drive we would the cattle to the forest,

And there we would all eat together,

But We are blessed that you are one of us..

Oh Govinda who does not have any short comings.

None can ever break the ties that we have with you,Oh Lord,

We are but ignorant girls, who do not know the world,

And in ignorance and love we have called you by name.

So please be not be angry on us,

And please give us drums, Oh Lord,

So that we can worship our Goddess Pavai.

 

*29. Chitram Chiru Kale*

 

Please hear why,

In this very early dawn,

We have come to worship,

Your golden holy feet.

You were born in our family of cow herds,

And we are but there to obey your every wish,

And not come to get only the drums from you,Oh Govinda.

For ever and for several umpteen births,

We would be only related to you,

And we would be thine slaves,

And so please remove all our other desires,

And help us to worship Goddess Pavai.

 

*30.Vanga Kadal Kadanthu*

He who sings with out error,

The thirty odes in sweet tamil,

Of the story of how the rich ladies ,

With faces like moon,

Who worshipped and requested,

The Madhava who is also Lord Kesava,

Who churned the ocean of milk,

For getting a drum to worship Goddess Pavai,

As sung by Kodhai who is the dear daughter,

Of Vishnu Chitta the bhattar,

>From the beautiful city of Puduvai,

Will be happy and get the grace,

Of our Lord Vishnu with merciful pretty eyes.

And four mountain like shoulders, for ever

 

*Thiruvembavai*

 

 

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 Thiruvannamalai during the month of Margazhi(December-january) when the

temple town was celebrating the Pavai Nolumbu. This is a penance observed by

unmarried girls of those times to get good husbands. The maids all wake up

early , wake each other up and with song and dance go to the ponds and

streams for bathing and then worship Pavai (woman goddess) and request her

to bless them with suitable husbands. These songs are sung by them during

the festival on 10 days preceding the Thiruadhirai Nolumbu. The fact that

during the coronation of the Kings of Thailand these are sung shows the

importance people of those times attached to this song. The Tamil used was

the ancient Tamil and though many words used during those times are common

even today, the meanings of these are not that obvious. Each verse

translated is preceded by the first few words of the Thiruvempavai verse to

help in easy identification.

 

*Adhiyum andhamum illa aru perum*

 

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 , 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 param jothikenbai eraa pagal Naam

*

 

 

"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 ,

And he who is the God of Chidambara ,

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

*

 

 

"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?

*

 

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

 

*Malariya Nanmuganum Kanaa Malayinai Nam

*

 

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 ,

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

*

 

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 ivayum chilavo pala amarar

*

 

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 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 chilabha chilambum kurukkengum

*

 

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

 

*Munnai pazham porutkum munnai pazham porule

*

 

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

 

*Pathalam ezhinum keezh chor kazhivu pada malar

*

 

His flower like feet, which is beyond description,

Is below the seven worlds of Patala ,

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 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

 

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

 

*Aartha piravi thuyar keda naam arthadum

*

 

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 temple of Thillai ,

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

 

*Painkuvalai kaar malaral chengamala paimpodal

*

 

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

 

*Kadaar kuzhai ada paimpoon kalan ada

*

 

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 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 orukal emperuman enrenre nam peruman

*

 

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

 

*Munni kadala churukki ezhum thudaiyal

*

 

 

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

 

*Chenganavapal disai mugan pal devargal pal

*

 

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 adi kamalam chendru irainjum

*

 

The jewels in the crowns of the gods of heaven,

Who bow their head to Lord Annamalai 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

 

*Un kayil pillai unakke adaikalamenru

*

 

Oh lord, we are deeply afraid

Of renewing the saying of Old,

"The baby in your hand is only yours "

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.

 

*Pothi aruluga nin adhiyam padha malar

*

 

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.

 

 

 

--

Krishna Prasad

 

.. Yad yad aacarati sreshtah, tad tad eva itaro janah. As the Gita puts it,

consistency of purpose and a spirit of dedication and, if necessary,

sacrifice, should characterize the new spirit.

We Must - Swami Chinmayanada

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Krishna Prasad <rkrishp99 wrote: From

Sankarraman*May I correct you apropos your statement that saint

Mancickavachagar is a kshathriya; actually, he is a Brahmin. He is not listed

in the sixty three nayanmar saints mentioned in the work, ' Periya Puranam ',

by Chekkizhar Swamigal. How did the account of Manickavachakar happen to have

been omitted to be mentioned in this hagiography, scholars alone can clarify.

Manickavachakar has been, however, recognized as one of the four Savaite

apostles, the others being Thirugnana Sambandar, Sundarar and lastly saint

Thirunavukkarasar, affectionltely called as Appar by saint Thirugnana Sambandar

in view of the advanced age of Appar. All the saints other than Appar belong to

the Brahmin community belonging to the priestly class of Agama tradition. Saint

Manickavachakar belongs to the era of the ninth century. Subsequent to saint

Manickavachakar only, saint Chekkizhar, the hagiographer, flourished. Then, why

did Chekkizhar exclude saint Manickavachakar in the list

of sixty three saints, is not known. Apart from the sixty three saints, there

are nine categories of saints referred to in Periya Puranam. These are not the

names of individuals; but refers to the characteristics of saints, the

following are a few of which to mention: "Born in Thiruvarur, Those who

contemplate the feet of Siva in all the three periods of times, the Brahmins of

Chidambaram etc". To all these saints Chekkizhar pays his salutary tributes in

the first verse of Periya Puranam.

 

In the later periods there rose four

great saints, who came to be great metaphysicians and theologians, having

brought out the Saiva Siddhantha philosophy. They are Meykandar ( Literlly

means the one who has perceived the truth), Arul Nandi Sivachariyar, Umapathy

Sivachariyar and Marai Gnana Sambanda Sivacharyar. Saiva siddhantha philosophy

is a greater approximation towards Advaita than Visishtadvaitha, being

actually the practical Advaitha. Creation is attributed by the Siddhantha to

Suddha Maya the causal state of Iswara supposed to contain the five tatvas of

Siva, Sakti, Sadakya, Iswara and Suddha vidya. Siva tatva relates to the

knowledge aspect of the Para Siva which is beyond the 36 tatvas being the pure

void of knowledge. Sakti aspect refers to the manifest aspect. Sadakya refers

to the increase in the knowledge aspect. Iswara refers to the increase in the

manifest aspect, Suddha Vidya constituting the manifestation of the

duality of the Aham and Idam. Then, we have the next category of seven tatvas

known as Suddha-Asuddha tatvas, belonging to the dream aspect, Suddha Maya

being the Sleep of the Para Siva. Then, we hava the 24 categories of the

Shamkhya relatable to the waking state when creation is complete. The souls are

supposed to be merged in the inconscient state of ignorance, the concept of I

constituting the jivahood, as it were. The Lord out of his Grace creates the

Danu, Bhuvana Boga Karana, being the field for the souls to come out of the

darkness through Sadhana. Saiva Siddhantha refers to three primary defilements

enshrouding the soul, termed as anava, karma and maya, ansewring to the

concepts of egoity, action born out of egoity and finally maya the result of

action pushing the soul into the samsara of the waking state. In the process

of awakening the souls first cast the maya aspect, then the karma and finally

the anava. Those who have been subjucated to all the three

phenomena, have to do the sadhana only in the waking state, a human guru being

needed for them. Those who have overcome the maya aspect, but are labouring

under the delusion of the next two categories of defilements, are liberated

when the creation comes to an end, these souls remaining in the realm of Iswara

rather Siva till then. Finally, the souls who have cast both the maya and karma

defilements, but are left with the anava stage, they are vouchsafed the Divine

Grace by the Lord Himself, no human guru being needed to thees advanced souls.

This anava state is a conscious sushupti and not the earlier one. Siddhantha

refers to deep sleep as kevala, dream and waking states as sakala and the

turiya turityathitha states as suddha. According to Saiva philosophy, souls and

matter are also eternal as Sivam, being the manifest aspect of the Lord, being

impregnated with the Presence of the Lord. But the jiva in its delusion cannot

find out the Presence of Iswara and sees

only the objects when everything is flooded by the Presence of Iswara. There

is the famous concept of the pati, pasu, pasa. The term Pati refers to the

Lord. The term pasu refers to the soul in nescience. The term pasa refers to

the tendency towards objectivization of pure Being. The souls do not have the

power to stop obectivization unless the Lord takes over them through his grace.

There is a famous verse by sage Tirumular to the following effect: " Like the

Pati pasu and pasa are both anadi. The defilemnet of pasa does not leave the

pasu; but when the Lord comes to the rescue of the pati, pasa flies away.

According to Saiva metaphysics all sastras belong only to pasa gnana and do not

constitute Pati jnana. Even the realization, " I am That", is relatable only to

the pasu jnana the knowledge of the ego, and does not constitute the liberating

knowledge, which is only the Patijnana, the Wisdom of the Lord. In the state of

liberation there is no individuality, the jiva

not being conscious of Iswara through egoity answering to the concept of the

Nityasuryas of Visishtadvaitha philosophy. The jiva is one with the Being of

Sivam, anything falling short of it constituting only bondage. There is a lot

of yoga and meditation described in Tirumantiram similar to the ideas of the

yogasutras of Patanjali. The Mahavakyas are also referred to in Tirumantiram.

There is strong emphasis on the dhyana on Panchakshira, these being termed as

sthula, suksuma, adi-suksuma, karana and maha-karana forms of Panchakshira

answering to the five states of waking, dream, deep-sleep, turitya, and finally

the Turiyathitha, the Transcendental Aloneness of Siva. In the state of

deep-sleep, the individuality and prana function. In turiya, the individuality

is extinguished, the metaphysical reality of the sole Being of Sivam being

known. However, prana functions in this state containing the empirical

potentiality of objectivization. In the final beatitude of

Turiyathitha, the prana, even, is extinguished, the body of the individual

merging in the blaze of consciousness, physical death not happenig to such an

individual, a feat achieved by Saint Vallalar, who considered Manickavachakar

as his spiritual guru.

With warm regards and love

Sankarraman