Periya Tirumadal 41 · verse 2753 of the four thousand
Meaning
sweet moonbeams, shed by the moon, grow hot, and for me alone. What has made them give up their own nature? The sweet, gentle young southern breeze, which comes stirring the pollen of the rich sandal trees on the Pandya's Pothigai hill and moves about delighting the hearts of this world,
Word by word
- iṉ nilāviṉ katirum
- the rays of sweet moonlight
- veytu ākum
- become hot
- taṉmai tavira
- giving up their nature
- potiyil
- Pothigai, the Pandya's hill
- cantiṉ tātu aḷaintu
- stirring the sandal's pollen
- maṉam kaḷippa
- delighting hearts
Periya Tirumadal 42 · verse 2754 of the four thousand
Meaning
it too blows fire, and only at me. And in a nest of thorny twigs on the palmyra, the soft little cry of the female anril bird, clinging close to her mate, becomes a saw-blade cutting through my heart. What shall I do?
Word by word
- eri eṉakkē
- fire, for me alone
- peṇṇaimēl
- on the palmyra
- muḷ muḷarik kūṭṭakattu
- in a nest of thorny twigs
- aṉṟil peṭai
- the female anril bird
- īr vāḷām
- becomes a cutting saw
- eṉ ceykēṉ
- what shall I do?
Periya Tirumadal 43 · verse 2755 of the four thousand
Meaning
Kama, with shoulders strong as rock, bends his sugarcane bow, fits to it his killing flower-arrows all together, draws them back past his shoulder, and shoots at me, alone as I am, with my own heart as his target.
Word by word
- kāmaṉ
- Kama, the god of love
- karuppuc cilai
- sugarcane bow
- pūṅ kaṇaikaḷ
- flower arrows
- tōḷ kaḻiya vāṅki
- drawing back past his shoulder
- tamiyēṉmēl
- at me, all alone
- ilakkāka
- as the target
Periya Tirumadal 44 · verse 2756 of the four thousand
Meaning
There is no one at all to guard me from this; how foolish I am! Like the sweet fragrance of a creeper's fragrant flower in a stony forest, which no one ever comes to enjoy and which is simply spilled in vain upon barren ground,
Word by word
- kāppīr tām illaiyē
- there is no one to guard me
- pētaiyēṉ
- foolish one that I am
- kāṭṭakattu
- in the forest
- kaṭi malariṉ
- of a fragrant flower
- vaṟu nilattu
- on barren ground
- vāḷāṅku ukuttatu pōl
- like something spilled in vain
Periya Tirumadal 45 · verse 2757 of the four thousand
Meaning
so are my womanhood, my beauty and my breasts: if they cannot touch the golden chest of Him who stands like a golden mountain at Kanapuram, the beloved of the Lady of the lotus, what use are they? They have become only a burden to me,
Word by word
- peṇmaiyum
- my womanhood
- eṉ nalaṉum
- my beauty
- malar maṅkai maintaṉ
- beloved of Lakshmi, the Lady of the lotus
- kaṇapurattu
- at Thirukkannapuram
- poṉ akalam tōyāvēl
- if they do not touch His golden chest
- poṟai āki
- becoming a burden
Periya Tirumadal 46 · verse 2758 of the four thousand
Meaning
and here before my eyes they are growing old. Do you know of no sure remedy to keep them from fading? And then the great bull, a bell hung from the thick nape of its neck, tied fast with a strong chain while the maidens' eyes flash at it; in the evening
Word by word
- mūvāmaik kāppatu
- keeping them from growing old
- maruntu aṟivīr illaiyē
- do you know of no remedy?
- māl viṭaiyiṉ
- of the great bull
- piṭar eruttut
- the nape of the neck
- vaṉ toṭarāl
- with a strong chain
- mālaivāyt
- in the evening
Periya Tirumadal 47 · verse 2759 of the four thousand
Meaning
its single bell, whose tongue never rests, swings and rings; and its sweet sound comes to my ears crueler than a killing blade of steel, and goes on and on. How can I guard myself against this? Tell me! He who has brought this upon me
Word by word
- nā oḻiyātu
- its tongue never resting
- taṉi maṇiyiṉ
- of the single bell
- eṉ cevi taṉakkē
- to my ears alone
- eḵkil koṭitu āy
- crueler than steel
- neṭitu ākum
- goes on and on
- itu viḷaitta
- who brought this about
Periya Tirumadal 48 · verse 2760 of the four thousand
Meaning
is the King whose chest bears fragrant tulasi; the cloud-hued One who long ago set the great moon free from what had seized it; He whose colour shines like the small fragrant kaya flower; who built a causeway of mountains across that ocean, which is like His own colour,
Word by word
- naṟum tuḻāy vāḻ mārpaṉ
- whose chest bears fragrant tulasi
- mā matikōḷ
- the great moon's seizure, its affliction
- mukil vaṇṇaṉ
- the cloud-hued One
- kāyāviṉ
- of the kaya, a small dark-blue flower
- malai iṭṭu aṇai kaṭṭi
- building a causeway with mountains
Periya Tirumadal 49 · verse 2761 of the four thousand
Meaning
and in the fierce, crowded battle loosed His arrows until all ten golden crowns of King Ravana rolled on the ground, the warrior who sent him up to the southern world of death. And the heaven of the thousand-eyed king and the golden world of the gods
Word by word
- mā maṇṭu vem camattup
- in the fierce, crowded battle
- poṉ muṭikaḷ pattum
- all ten golden crowns
- caram turantu
- loosing arrows
- teṉ ulakam ēṟṟuvitta
- sent to the southern world, Yama's realm
- cēvakaṉai
- the warrior
- āyirak kaṇ maṉṉavaṉ
- the thousand-eyed king, Indra
Periya Tirumadal 50 · verse 2762 of the four thousand
Meaning
the demon had seized by the strength of his own arms; then, becoming a lion, His eyes blazing fire, in that fierce and killing battle, not slaying him at once, He caught that mighty one by his gem-adorned tuft of hair, dragged him close,
Word by word
- tōḷ valiyāl
- by the strength of his arms
- tāṉavaṉai
- the demon, Hiranya
- ari uruvam āki
- becoming a lion, Narasimha
- eri viḻittu
- with eyes blazing fire
- kollātē
- without slaying him at once
- maṇik kuñci paṟṟi
- seizing his gem-adorned tuft of hair
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.