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kaNGgulum pagalum - by nammAzhwAr

From the Bhakti List Archives

Vijay Triplicane • March 11, 1997 


> 
> Hello,
> 	This is an excellent paasuram by nammAzhwAr in his thirvAymozhi.
> 	I was asked to provide a word-for-word meaning for this paasuram and
> 	another one. This is to be choreographed for a bharathanAtyam
> 	program. Hence I have purposely made it more elaborate so that 
> 	choreographer could understand the theme and the background better. 
> 	This is mainly for a non-thamizh speaker.
> 
>         kangulum pagalum kaN thuyi laRiyaaL
>           kaNNanNeer kaikaLaal iRaikkum,
>         changu chakkarangaL enRukai kooppum
>           `thaamaraik kaN' enRu thaLarum,
>         `eNGNGanE tharikkE Nnunnaivittu' ennum
>           irunNilam kaithuzaa virukkum,
>         chengayal paaynNeerth thiruvaraNGkaththaay!
>           ivaLthiRath thencheyki RaayE?
> 
> This poem is sung by the thalaivi's (girl's)  mother :
> 
> 
> kaNGgulum pagalum kaN thuyil aRiyaaL-
> She doesn't sleep during the day or night,
> (kaNGgul - night, pagal - day, kaN - eye, thuyil - sleep, aRiyaaL - she doesn't 
> know)She never sleeps at all, always thinking of the Lord.
> 
> kaNNa nNeer kaikaLAl iRaikkum-
> With both her hands she bails out her tears,
> (kaNNa nNeer - tears, kaikaLAl - using her hands, iRaikkum - she bails out)
> Thinking of Him, she weeps so much that she has to use both her hands to 'bail out' the tears as if one would bail out water from a boat using a bucket..
> (boat filled with water, that is...)
> 
> chaNGgu chakkaraNGgaL eNnRu kai kooppum-
> She folds her hands crying chaNGgu and chakkaram,
> (chaNGgu - the conch, chakkaram - the disc, kai kooppum - she folds her hands) 
> She out of immense devotion and mad love, thinks that she sees the chaNGgu and
> chakkaram in front of her and involuntarily folds her hands in respect.
> 
> 'thaamaraik kaN' eNnRu thaLarum-
> Oh! Lotus eyed!! she cries out and falls down
> (thaamarai - lotus, kaN - eye, thaLarum- this is a state at which a person is 
> about to fall without control. She is overwhelmed with the beauty of the Lord's 
> lotus like eyes that makes her lose control and is about to fall.)
> 
> 'eNGgaNnE tharikkENn uNnNnai vittu' ennum-
> 'How can i be without you?', she laments.
> (eNGgaNnE tharikkENn -  - How can i be (live), uNnNnai vittu - without you, 
> ennum - she says)
> 
> irunNilam kai thuzaavirukkum
> So saying, she gropes all over the floor
> (irunNilam - the earth, kai thzhaavi - to grope)
> She searches for Him as if she is in the dark )
> (Note that her eyes were filled with tears)
>  
> chem kayal paay nNeerth thiruvaraNGkaththaay!-
> Oh! Lord, who lives in thiru araNGgam, where fish jumps in the flowing water
> (chem kayal - (great) fish, paay nNeer - flowing water)
> 
> ivaL thiRaththu  en cheykiRaayE?
> what are you planning to do with her?
> Thalaivi's mother is so concerned about her daughter who is madly in love with
> the Lord and has totally lost control. The mother has tried enough with her 
> daughter but couldn't get her back to normal. So she decides to take it up to the Lord Himself who is the reason for all these.
> -----
> isn't this so lively and catchy? 
> 
> -Viji
> 
> 
>