Paasuram (Stanza)

thoomaNi maadaththuc cuRRum viLakkeriyath *

thoopam kamazhath thuyilaNaimEl kaN vaLarum *

maamaan magaLE! maNik kadhavam thaaL thiRavaay *

maameer! avaLai ezhuppeerO * un magaL thaan

oomaiyO? anRic cevidO? anandhalO? *

Emap perunthuyil mandhirap pattaaLO? *

maamaayan maadhavan vaikundhan enRenRu *

naamam palavum navinRElOr embaavaay.

Meaning Courtesy: https://ramanuja.org/sv/alvars/andal/tiruppavai/verse9.html

{Additional sites: http://www.asayana.com/religion/18-2/and http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/tpv/}

Context: Andal's thirty songs contain the cardinal principles of Vaishnava dharma during the month of Marghazhi. Vaishnavas sing these songs to bring peace, prosperity and Divine Grace. Andal assumes the guise of a cowherd girl in these 30 verses. Andal appears intent upon performing a particular religious vow to marry the Lord, thereby obtain His everlasting company, and inviting all her girl-friends to join her. Towards the end we learn that she did not actually perform a religious rite; but is simply praying to be granted the service of the Lord for eternity. She yearns for everlasting happiness and service of the Lord.

The second section of Sri Andal’s Thiruppavai consists of 10 verses beginning with the above 6th verse and sets out to wake up 10 girls to join Andal for the Margazhi worship. Each verse is an attempt to awaken one of the girls and adopts a different reasoning and pleading. The common theme however is citing the reason for waking up ie to worship the Lord, and the Lord who is to be worshipped is referenced citing his many splendorous qualities and pertinent deeds that He performed during his incarnations in this earth.

A nice bed, comfortable and a conducive environment make for good deep sleep. In this verse Sri Andal and her friends struggle to wake up a girl (a relative – her Uncle’s daughter) who is sleeping in a nice bed, with nice lights and scented aromas so soundly that they suspect she has become deaf, not hearing anything, dumb not responding to their calls and so overcome by sloth so as not to wake up and come to open the ornate door. The girls plead to the mother of the girl to wake her up to which she responds, sing the many many names of the Lord as Maamayan, Madhavan and Vaikunthanan and being a pious and God loving girl, she will wake up on hearing the Lord’s names being chanted..