Tiruppavai 16 · verse 489 of the four thousand
nāyakaṉāy niṉṟa nantakōpaṉuṭaiyakōyil kāppāṉē koṭit tōṉṟum tōraṇavāyil kāppāṉē maṇikkatavam tāḷ tiṟavāyāyar ciṟumiyarōmukku aṟai paṟaimāyaṉ maṇivaṇṇaṉ neṉṉalē vāynērntāṉtūyōmāy vantōm tuyileḻap pāṭuvāṉvāyāl muṉṉamuṉṉam māṟṟātē ammā nīnēya nilaik katavam nīkku-ēlōr empāvāy
Meaning
O guard of the palace of Nandagopa, who is our leader! O guard of the arched gateway where banners fly, unbolt the jewelled door! The Wondrous One, the sapphire-coloured Lord, promised us little cowherd girls yesterday that He would give us the sounding drum. We have come pure, to sing Him awake. Sir, do not turn us away with a word first; open this door, firmly set and dear to us.
Word by word
- nāyakaṉāy niṉṟa
- who stands as our leader
- kōyil kāppāṉē
- O guard of the palace
- koṭit tōṉṟum tōraṇa
- the arched gateway where banners fly
- aṟai paṟai
- the sounding drum
- maṇivaṇṇaṉ
- the Lord the colour of sapphire
- neṉṉalē vāynērntāṉ
- promised yesterday
- nēya nilaik katavam
- the door, firmly set and dear to us
Verse text: the word-separated e-text of the Nalayira Divya Prabandham by Project Madurai, checked verse by verse against its second edition. Meanings are simple renderings in the light of the acharyas' commentaries, written for this site, and are awaiting a scholar's review.