Thiruvempavai (திருவெம்பாவை): all 20 verses with meaning

Read the verse in Tamil, follow a silent word-by-word guide at your own speed, and listen to the meaning in Tamil or English.

Thiruvempavai (திருவெம்பாவை) is a set of twenty Tamil verses composed by Manikkavacakar (மாணிக்கவாசகர்), one of the great saints of the Shaiva tradition, and it forms part of his Thiruvasagam (திருவாசகம்). It is sung before dawn through the Tamil month of Margazhi (மார்கழி), the same month in which Thiruppavai is recited, and is closely linked with the festival of Thiruvadhirai.

Like Thiruppavai, it pictures girls waking one another before dawn to bathe in a pond, but here they sing of Shiva. The first eight or so verses wake the sleeping friends, a few verses reflect on the Lord's greatness, the middle verses describe the bathing, and the last verses are prayers. The poem is traditionally said to have been composed at Thiruvannamalai.

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The 20 verses

1. 1ஆதியும் அந்தமும் இல்லா அரும்பெருஞ்Aadhiyum Andhamum IllaaFriends call a sleeping girl who has not woken even as they sing of the endless light.
2. 2பாசம் பரஞ்சோதிக்கு அன்பாய் இராப்பகல்நாம்Paasam ParanjothikkuThe girls tease a friend who talks of devotion but will not leave her bed.
3. 3முத்தன்ன வெண்நகையாய் முன்வந் தெதிரெழுந்தென்Muththanna VennagaiyaaiA friend who is known for sweet words about the Lord is asked to open her door.
4. 4ஒண்ணித் திலநகையாய் இன்னம் புலர்ந்தின்றோOnnith ThilanagaiyaaiThe girls promise to count themselves, so the sleeping friend can see who has come.
5. 5மாலறியா நான்முகனுங் காணா மலையினை நாம்Maalariyaa NaanmuganumA friend who claims to know the Lord well is asked why she cannot hear their cries of 'Shiva'.
6. 6மானே நீ நென்னலை நாளை வந்துங்களைMaanae Nee NennalaiA friend who promised to wake the others is now the one still asleep.
7. 7அன்னே இவையுஞ் சிலவோ பலவமரர்Annae Ivaiyum SilavoA girl who melts at the first word of the Lord's praise is asked why she now lies like a hard-hearted person.
8. 8கோழி சிலம்பச் சிலம்பும் குருகெங்கும்Kozhi Silambach SilambumThe sounds of dawn fill the air as the girls call a friend who still has not woken.
9. 9முன்னைப் பழம்பொருட்கும் முன்னைப் பழம்பொருளேMunnaip PazhamporutkumA prayer to be servants of the Lord's devotees, and to want nothing more.
10. 10பாதாளம் ஏழினுங்கீழ் சொற்கழிவு பாதமலர்Paathaalam Ezhinum KeezhThe girls ask how to describe one whose feet reach below the underworlds and whose crown reaches the end of all things.
11. 11மொய்யார் தடம்பொய்கை புக்கு முகேரென்னக்Moiyaar ThadampoigaiThe girls bathe in the pond, splashing and singing, and ask to be kept safe.
12. 12ஆர்த்த பிறவித் துயர்கெட நாம் ஆர்த்தாடும்Aarththa PiraviththuyarBathing in the pond to end the sorrow of birth, while praising the dancing Lord of Thillai.
13. 13பைங்குவளைக் கார்மலரால் செங்கமலப் பைம்போதால்Painguvalaik KaarmalaraalA lovely picture of the pond itself, which seems to have been made by the Lord and the Lady.
14. 14காதார் குழையாடப் பைம்பூண் கலனாடக்Kaadhaar KuzhaiyaadaThe girls bathe while singing of the Lord and of the Lady who raised them.
15. 15ஓரொருகால் எம்பெருமான் என்றென்றே நம்பெருமான்Ororukaal EmperumaanA description of a friend whose love for the Lord is so great she is overcome with tears.
16. 16முன்னிக் கடலைச் சுருக்கி எழுந்துடையாள்Munnik Kadalaich ChurukkiA prayer to the rain-cloud to rise from the sea and pour down like the grace of the Lady.
17. 17செங்க ணவன்பால் திசைமுகன்பால் தேவர்கள்பால்Sengan AvanpaalA joy not found even among the gods, given to the girls by the Lord and the Lady.
18. 18அண்ணாமலையான் அடிக்கமலம் சென்றிறைஞ்சும்Annaamalaiyaan AdikkamalamAll the lights fade before the Lord of Annamalai, who is both beyond and within the world.
19. 19உங்கையிற் பிள்ளை உனக்கே அடைக்கலம்என்றுUngaiyil PillaiA prayer asking the Lord that the girls belong to him alone, in thought, work and sight.
20. 20போற்றி அருளுக நின் ஆதியாம் பாதமலர்Pottri ArulugThe closing verse: praise to the Lord's feet, the beginning, the end and the source of all, and a last call to bathe.

About these pages

The Tamil text was checked line by line against the open e-text of Project Madurai (projectmadurai.org), a volunteer project that shares classical Tamil texts freely. Printed books sometimes spell or join words a little differently, so your own copy may not match every letter. The meanings and the page text were written for makekite, and they are short summaries to help you follow the verse, not a commentary or a substitute for a teacher.

If you spot a mistake, or a word you would write differently, please tell us and we will look at it.

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