Tiruppavai 18 · verse 491 of the four thousand
Meaning
O Nappinnai, daughter-in-law of Nandagopala, who owns elephants surging in their strength and whose shoulders never turn back in battle! O lady with fragrant hair, open the door! See, the cocks have come out and called everywhere, and the flocks of cuckoos have sung again and again on the madhavi bower. O girl with a ball in your fingers, so that we may sing the name of your beloved, come gladly and open the door with your red-lotus hands, your fine bangles chiming.
Word by word
- untu mata kaḷiṟṟaṉ
- who owns surging elephants in rut
- ōṭāta tōḷ-valiyaṉ
- whose mighty shoulders never retreat
- nappiṉṉāy
- O Nappinnai, Krishna's beloved
- kantam kamaḻum kuḻalī
- O lady with fragrant hair
- mātavip
- the madhavi creeper
- pantār virali
- O girl holding a ball in her fingers
- maittuṉaṉ
- your cousin and beloved, Krishna
- cīr ār vaḷai olippa
- your fine bangles chiming
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.