Tiruppavai

Verse 9

Today, December 24, is the 9th day of maargazhi (December-January). On each day of maargazhi, one verse from Andal's divine poem, the Tiruppavai. is savored. Today's verse is "thoomaNi maadaththu".

What I have presented is the surface meaning. Each verse can actually be understood in many poetic and profoundly philosophical ways.

thoomaNi maadaththu

thoomaNi maadaththuc cuRRum viLakkeriyath *
thoopam kamazhath thuyilaNaimEl kaN vaLarum *
maamaan magaLE! maNik kadhavam thaaL thiRavaay *
maameer! avaLai ezhuppeerO * un magaL thaan
oomaiyO? anRic cevidO? anandhalO? *
Emap perunthuyil mandhirap pattaaLO? * 
maamaayan maadhavan vaikundhan enRenRu *
naamam palavum navinRElOr embaavaay.

Translation

Word for Word meaning

thoo maNi              wonderfully ornamented
maadaththu             hall
cuRRum viLakku eriya   with lamps burning all around

thoopam (thoomam)      incense
kamazha                wafting
thuyil aNai mEl        on your sleeping bed 
kaN vaLarum            asleep (lit. your eyes asleep)

maamaan magaLE         O daughter of our uncle!
maNi                   jewelled
kadhavam               door's
thaaL                  latches
thiRavaay              open!

maameer                Dear Aunty!
avaLai ezhuppeerO      please wake her up

un magaL thaan         your daughter, indeed
oomaiyO?               has she been struck dumb (speechless)?
anRi                   or, 
cevidO?                is she deaf?
anandhalO?             is she exhausted (and therefore unable to get up)?

Ema                    curse
perun^ thuyil          long sleep
mandira                spell (Sanskrit: mantra)
pattaaLO?              has she been placed under

maa                    great
maayan                 magician (Maayan is a Tamil word for Vishnu)
maadhavan              a name of Vishnu meaning consort of Lakshmi
                          (maa = Lakshmi)
vaikundhan             Lord of Vaikuntha, the supreme place
                           where the liberated live
enRu enRu              saying 

naamam palavum         many names
navinRu                we recite (to ward off her spell of sleep
                          and wake her up)  

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