Thiruvempavai - 4

Welcome back, my friends! Two reasons why I am translating Thiruvempavai:

• To provide a valuable resource for those seeking spiritual guidance but may not have access to Tamil philosophy

• To deepen my own understanding of the material through the effort of translation and thinking beyond.

Motivated by both selfless and selfish reasons. Today, we have an exciting opportunity to delve into the depths of the fourth stanza of Thiruvempavai by the revered Saint Manickavachakar.

The Verse

oNNith thilan^agaiyAy innam pularn^dhinRO
  vaNNak kiLimoziyAr ellArum van^dhArO
eNNikko duLLavA chollukOm avvaLavum
  kaNNaith thuyinRavamE kAlaththaip pOkkAdhE
viNNuk korumarun^dhai vEdha vizupporuLaik
  kaNNuk kiniyAnaip pAdik kachin^dhuLLam 
uLn^ekku n^inRuruga yAmAttOm n^IyEvan^dhu
  eNNik kuRaiyil thuyilElOr empAvAy
  

Translates to:

The friends: Oh dear girl with a charming smile! Is it not yet dawn?

The girl on the bed: Have all the girls with pretty parrot-like voices arrived?

The friends: We are telling you the truth, as we have counted. Don't waste time sleeping. We are singing with a melting heart, overflowing with love, for the Medicine for the whole space, the Great declaration of the Veda, the Charming one for the eyes. We will not waste our time counting our heads for you, so you can come and count for yourself. If there are less of us, you can continue sleeping.

Wait, what's in this?

Upon first glance, this stanza may seem like a simple exchange of dialogue between the awakened and the sleeping. However, there is a deeper significance to be found in these words.

The woman on the bed, concerned about how many of her friends have turned up, can be seen as a metaphor for the human condition of being bound by darkness and waiting for others to take the first step, instead of recognizing that the time for us to rise has come and it is our own responsibility to walk the path. This represents a common tendency for humans to compare themselves to others and focus on external possessions rather than turning inward and contemplating their own spiritual journey.

One of the beautiful aspects of Tamil philosophy is the way in which it manages to convey complex philosophical ideas through concise and evocative language. This stanza is a perfect example of this, packing a great deal of wisdom and insight into a small exchange of dialogue.

Squeezing in terabytes of philosophy into a byte sized dialogue. But one has to study the core philosophical works on which most of others are rooted upon, for instance, Thirukkural, to be able to derive these deep meanings upon reading.

Meet you soon, with next stanza! Until then, stay woke, stay blessed and stay kind.