Periya Tiruvandadi 1 · verse 2585 of the four thousand
Meaning
O heart, you took up the effort, rose and rushed ahead of me! Now join with me and do it: let us wrap the glory of the Lord whose hue is that of the dark kaya blossom in a garland of words, born from a tongue full of love.
Word by word
- muyaṟṟi cumantu eḻuntu
- taking up the effort and rising
- muntuṟṟa neñcē
- O heart, you who went ahead of me
- nayappu uṭaiya
- full of love
- toṭaik kiḷaviyuḷ
- within words strung like a garland
- potivōm
- let us wrap up, enclose
- pūvaip
- the kaya (bilberry) flower, dark blue
- vaṇṇaṉ pukaḻ
- the glory of Him of that hue
Periya Tiruvandadi 2 · verse 2586 of the four thousand
Meaning
We praise You and we find fault; we do not praise and we do not find fault; we scorn and we honour; we do not honour and we do not scorn. O our Mal, red-eyed Mal, do not be angry with us. We are people of bad deeds, and all of this, You see, comes from our own bewilderment of love.
Word by word
- pukaḻvōm paḻippōm
- we praise, we blame
- ikaḻvōm matippōm
- we scorn, we honour
- ceṅkaṇ māl
- Mal of the red lotus eyes
- cīṟal nī
- do not be angry
- tīviṉaiyōm
- we, people of evil deeds
- eṅkaḷ māl kaṇṭāy
- it is our own bewilderment, our love-madness
Periya Tiruvandadi 3 · verse 2587 of the four thousand
Meaning
These are good, those are bad: even if I know which is which, I cannot by my own power shut out the one or open the way to the other. O Lord, what is there that I can do by myself?
Word by word
- ivai aṉṟē nalla
- are not these the good ones
- tīya
- the bad ones
- aṟivaṉēlum
- even if I know
- aṭaippu nīkku oṇṇātu
- I cannot shut out or open the way
- iṟaiyavaṉē
- O Lord
- eṉṉāl ceyaṟpālatu eṉ?
- what is there for me to do?
Periya Tiruvandadi 4 · verse 2588 of the four thousand
Meaning
Who is there of greater glory than I? And more: who but I has glory beyond all counting? For my heart has been taken into service by the great Light, Kannan of the dark radiance, whose gracious goodness is as vast as the sea.
Word by word
- eṉṉiṉ miku pukaḻār yāvarē?
- who has greater glory than I?
- eṇ il miku pukaḻēṉ
- I, of glory beyond counting
- karuñ cōtik kaṇṇaṉ
- Kannan of dark radiance
- kaṭal puraiyum cīlap
- whose goodness is like the sea
- peruñcōtikku
- to the great Light
- āṭpeṟṟu
- having been taken into service
Periya Tiruvandadi 5 · verse 2589 of the four thousand
Meaning
You are the mother who bore me; You are the father who begot me; and if we speak of it, You are all the others who could be kin to me. Then what is this, O Lord, You who put Your mouth to the deceitful breast of that great sorceress: what kind of path is this that You are showing me?
Word by word
- peṟṟa tāy nīyē
- You are the mother who bore me
- piṟappitta tantai
- the father who begot me
- maṟṟaiyār āvārum
- all others who could be kin
- māya mā māyavaḷai
- the great deceiving sorceress, Putana
- māya mulai
- the poisoned, deceitful breast
- kāṭṭum neṟi?
- the path You show?
Periya Tiruvandadi 6 · verse 2590 of the four thousand
Meaning
Will You show me some other path and send me away? Or will You show me Your great form, dark as a tender shoot, there with You? What have You resolved to do with us, who in former days knew nothing? Kanna, tell me this: what will You do, and what will become of us?
Word by word
- neṟi kāṭṭi nīkkutiyō?
- will You show a path and push me away?
- karu mā
- dark and great
- muṟi mēṉi
- a form like a tender young leaf
- aṟiyōmai
- us, who knew nothing
- eṇṇiṉāy?
- have You resolved?
- kaṇṇaṉē ītu uraiyāy
- Kanna, tell me this
Periya Tiruvandadi 7 · verse 2591 of the four thousand
Meaning
We are the ones of grave sins, far away from You; but my heart has itself become Your intimate and gone off to stay for good near Your feet, O Lord who placed the lovely Lady dwelling on the flower upon Your chest, and who dug up the earth from the deep.
Word by word
- aruviṉaiyōm
- we of sins hard to end
- cēyōm
- we who are far away
- aṇukkarāyc
- as close intimates
- cārntoḻintār
- went and stayed for good
- pū mēya
- who dwells on the lotus
- cemmātai
- the lovely Lady, Lakshmi
- pār iṭanta
- who dug up the earth, as Varaha
Periya Tiruvandadi 8 · verse 2592 of the four thousand
Meaning
We do not know how to come near You, nor even any trace of the way, and yet our love keeps swelling greatly. What is this? Tell us, You whose qualities can be drunk, You who measured the earth, You so subtle that our sinful eyes cannot see You.
Word by word
- arukum cuvaṭum
- nearness, and even a trace of the way
- aṉpē
- love alone (keeps swelling)
- parukalām
- that can be drunk
- paṇpuṭaiyīr
- You of such qualities
- pār aḷantīr
- You who measured the earth
- nuṇpu uṭaiyīr!
- You so subtle!
Periya Tiruvandadi 9 · verse 2593 of the four thousand
Meaning
What use is it to say again and again, in pain, 'We are Your servants'? If Mal is hard to reach even for Himself, then let anything at all happen to us now. O heart, just stay, thinking of anything at all that concerns Him.
Word by word
- numakku aṭiyōm
- we are Your servants
- nontu uraittu eṉ?
- what use saying it in pain?
- cārvu ariyar
- hard to reach
- yātāṉum ākiṭu
- let anything happen
- avartiṟattē
- about Him alone
- cintittu iru
- stay, thinking of Him
Periya Tiruvandadi 10 · verse 2594 of the four thousand
Meaning
Apart from the twice four, the one above twice five, the eight with four more, and the two, who are we to Tirumal? And what is our worship worth? Alas, my good heart, we have far too much conceit! The verse counts the thirty-three gods: eight Vasus, eleven Rudras, twelve Adityas and the two Ashvins; even they are fit to worship Him, not we.
Word by word
- iru nālvar
- the twice four, the eight Vasus
- īraintiṉ mēl oruvar
- one above twice five, the eleven Rudras
- oru nālvar
- with 'eight', four more: the twelve Adityas
- ōr iruvar
- the two Ashvins
- tirumāṟku
- to Tirumal, the Lord with Sri
- nāmā mika uṭaiyōm nāḻ
- we have far too much conceit
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.