Tiruvaymozhi 9.5.1 · verse 3717 of the four thousand
Meaning
(The Alwar, as a girl parted from Krishna, speaks to the birds.) O female cuckoos, calling here with your dear mates, do not chatter so much that my very life aches. You will not call my life, my Lord Krishna, to come to me. Even one set on calling away my life would not need to go this far!
Word by word
- iṉ uyirc cēvalum
- your mate, dear as life
- eṉ uyir nōva
- so that my life aches
- miḻaṟṟēlmiṉ
- do not chatter
- kuyil pēṭaikāḷ
- O female cuckoos
- eṉ uyirk kaṇṇa pirāṉai
- Lord Krishna, my very life
- ittaṉai vēṇṭumō
- is all this needed?
Tiruvaymozhi 9.5.2 · verse 3718 of the four thousand
Meaning
This much is not needed, alas, O female anril birds! How long will you and your mates cry out and pine? Govinda, that clever one, is true to no one. So be it: from now on my life is in His hands.
Word by word
- aṉṟil pēṭaikāḷ
- O female anril birds, who call through the night
- karaintu ēṅkutir
- you cry out and pine
- vittakaṉ kōvintaṉ
- Govinda, the clever one
- meyyaṉ allaṉ oruvarkkum
- is true to no one
- attaṉai ām
- so be it
- avaṉ kaiyatē
- is in His hands
Tiruvaymozhi 9.5.3 · verse 3719 of the four thousand
Meaning
My dear life is in His hands, O female anril birds. At whose bidding do you dive and bathe in the water, circling all around me? Is there any life left here in me, a sinful girl who did no penance? How can I hold on, hearing your aching cries?
Word by word
- ār uyir
- dear life
- evaṉ colli
- at whose bidding?
- kuṭaintu āṭutir
- you dive and bathe
- tavam ceytillā viṉaiyāṭṭiyēṉ
- I, a sinful girl who did no penance
- ēṅku kūkkural
- aching, pining cries
Tiruvaymozhi 9.5.4 · verse 3720 of the four thousand
Meaning
Even hearing our cries, our Krishna, the wondrous one, does not appear. O hen birds, you and your mates, do not raise your calls any higher. Our speech, our mind and our deeds have all gone to Him there; body and life are left wandering, hanging in midair.
Word by word
- nam kaṇṇaṉ māyaṉ
- our Krishna, the wondrous one
- veḷippaṭāṉ
- does not appear
- mēl kiḷai koḷḷēlmiṉ
- do not raise your calls further
- vākkum maṉamum karumamum
- speech, mind and deeds
- ākkaiyum āviyum
- body and life
- antaram niṉṟu uḻalumē
- hang wandering in midair
Tiruvaymozhi 9.5.5 · verse 3721 of the four thousand
Meaning
O my mynas, I am left hanging in midair; I have no room left to care for you, so do not babble. Our Lord, with Sri on His holy chest, who worked His magic and took these seven worlds, has firmly resolved to drink up our life.
Word by word
- pūvaikāḷ
- O mynas
- num tiṟattu ētum iṭai illai
- I have no room left to care for you
- kuḻaṟēlmiṉō
- do not babble
- intira ñālaṅkaḷ kāṭṭi
- showing His magic, His wondrous tricks
- nam tiru mārpaṉ
- our Lord with Sri on His chest
- nam āvi uṇṇa
- to drink up our life
Tiruvaymozhi 9.5.6 · verse 3722 of the four thousand
Meaning
O little parrot, my young one, whom I raised with such care, do not prattle in your sweet voice. My dear life, Rama of the Kakutstha line: His lips are like your red beak, and so are His eyes, His hands and His feet; His colour is your fresh dark green. He came together with me, and then He left.
Word by word
- ciṟu kiḷip paitalē
- O little parrot, my young one
- kākuttaṉ
- Rama, of the Kakutstha line
- niṉ ceyya vāy okkum vāyaṉ
- His lips like your red beak
- pacum cāma niṟattaṉ
- of fresh dark-green colour
- kūṭṭuṇṭu nīṅkiṉāṉ
- He united with me and left
Tiruvaymozhi 9.5.7 · verse 3723 of the four thousand
Meaning
O hosts of clouds, flashing with lightning and carrying a bent bow, you look like Krishna, the wondrous one, my flawless dark gem, of beautiful lotus eyes and red lips, who came together with me and then left. Do not show me your forms: to my life, that is death.
Word by word
- kōlat tāmaraik kaṇ
- beautiful lotus eyes
- vāṭṭam il
- flawless, never fading
- karumāṇikkam
- dark gem
- kōṭṭiya villoṭu miṉṉum
- with a bent bow (rainbow), flashing lightning
- mēkak kuḻāṅkaḷkāḷ
- O hosts of clouds
- atu kālaṉē
- that is death
Tiruvaymozhi 9.5.8 · verse 3724 of the four thousand
Meaning
I begged you, "That is death to my life," and yet, O young cuckoos, you have killed me by chattering nothing but Krishna's names! I fed you curd with rice and sweet milk-rice and taught you to speak, and this is the fine return you feed me. How kind you are!
Word by word
- kuyil paitalkāḷ
- O young cuckoos
- kaṇṇaṉ nāmamē
- only Krishna's names
- kuḻaṟik koṉṟīr
- you have killed me with your chatter
- tayirp paḻañ cōṟṟoṭu
- with curd and rice
- pāl aṭicilum
- milk-rice
- paṇpu uṭaiyīrē
- how kind you are! (said in pain)
Tiruvaymozhi 9.5.9 · verse 3725 of the four thousand
Meaning
O gentle bees and dragonflies, do not hum your tunes: your sweet voices are like a spear driven into a wound. Krishna, whose great eyes are like lotuses blooming in a cool, wide pool, has come close to drink up my life and carry it away.
Word by word
- vaṇṭoṭu tumpikāḷ
- O bees and dragonflies
- paṇ miḻaṟṟēlmiṉ
- do not hum your tunes
- puṇ purai vēl koṭu kuttāl
- like stabbing a wound with a spear
- tāmarai malarntāl okkum
- like lotuses in bloom
- nam āvi uṇṭu
- drinking up our life
Tiruvaymozhi 9.5.10 · verse 3726 of the four thousand
Meaning
He has come close, and my life rises to Him: I have become one with our Lord of the heavenly land. O flocks of fine storks in the fields, what use are your cries now? This body, once finely adorned, has slowly loosened its hold, so that a rich, sweet joy may well up and flourish everywhere.
Word by word
- vāṉa nāṭaṉōṭu oṉṟiṉōm
- we have become one with the Lord of heaven
- paḻaṉa nal nāraik kuḻāṅkaḷkāḷ
- O flocks of fine storks in the fields
- payiṉṟu eṉ iṉi
- what use are your cries now?
- iḻai nalla ākkaiyum
- the body, once finely adorned
- puyakku aṟṟatu
- has loosened its hold
- taḻai nalla iṉpam
- a rich, flourishing joy
Tiruvaymozhi 9.5.11 · verse 3727 of the four thousand
Meaning
Sadagopan, Nammalwar, of southern Kurugur, sang of the wondrous Lord who graced him to praise His glory through many ages, with joy welling up and flourishing everywhere. At these nine and one, out of his thousand verses, the three worlds will melt.
Word by word
- iṉpam talaippeytu
- joy welling up
- pal ūḻikku
- through many ages
- taṉ pukaḻ ētta
- to praise His glory
- teṉ kurukūrc caṭakōpaṉ
- Sadagopan of southern Kurugur
- oṉpatōṭu oṉṟukkum
- for these nine and one
- mūvulakum urukumē
- the three worlds will melt
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.