Thiruvempavai-1

ஆதியும் அந்தமும் இல்லா அரும்பெருஞ் 
சோதியை யாம்பாடக் கேட்டேயும் வாள்தடங்கண் 
மாதே வளருதியோ வன்செவியோ நின்செவிதான் 
மாதேவன் வார்கழல்கள் வாழ்த்திய வாழ்த்தொலிபோய் 
வீதிவாய்க் கேட்டலுமே விம்மிவிம்மி மெய்ம்மறந்து 
போதார் அமளியின்மேல் நின்றும் புரண்டு இங்ஙன் 
ஏதேனும் ஆகாள் கிடந்தாள் என்னே என்னே 
ஈதே எந்தோழி பரிசேலோர் எம்பாவாய். 

ādiyum antamum illā arumperuñ 
cotiyai yāmpāda keṭṭeyum vāltaṭaṅkaṇ 
mādhe valarudiyo vanceviyo nincevidān mādevan vārkalalkal vālttiya vālttolipoi
vīdhivāi keṭṭalume vimmi vimmi meimmarandu 
potār amaliyinmel ninrum puraṇṭu iṅṅan
etenum ākāl kiṭantāl enne enne 
īte entoli paricelor empāvāi

"O young lady with sword-like sharp beautiful eyes! Have you not heard us sing about our Lord Śiva who is the boundless great light without a start and end? Are you deaf? On hearing us singing the wonders of the majestic feet of Mahādeva, one among the devotees in the street forgot herself and fell unconscious weeping and weeping. But, you're asleep! O friend! May you also wake up and come to sing the praises of our Lord Śiva."

Mānikkavāsagar has beautifully composed the first 8 pāsurams as a conversation between the friends and a few girls who are sleeping. The young ladies who are asleep are we Jīvas who are sleeping in the sleep of Saṃsāra and Mānikkavāsagar and enlightened saints are the friends who awakening us.

The friends are singing the glories of the lotus feet of that Bhagavāna who is the infinite Jvālāliṅga without a beginning and end. Even though they are pleasantly singing the names of the Lord a girl doesn't wake up. Mānikkavāsagar refers the girl as a sword-like sharp-eyed lady which implies she is sharp-sighted. The friends ask her that though being sharp-sighted didn't she notice her friends coming towards her home and wake up? Even though they are singing the names of Bhagavāna she didn't hear it so they consider her as a young lady whose ear is made out of iron, in simple words it means she who is deaf. What is the use of these ears when it doesn't hear the names and glories of Śiva? What is the use of this tongue if it doesn't sing the names of Hara? Although the friends have expressed these numerous things the girl who is sleeping does not wake up. So to mock her the friends tell her an incident of a devotee. When the friends were singing the wonders of the lotus feet of Mahādeva, one devotee shedded tears, forgot herself and everything and fell unconscious. Such is her devotion to the Lord and such are the glories of Śiva. The girls say, "O my friend, even after saying all these nothing happened to you, wake up." Mānikkavāsagar perfectly depicts how an individual should love Bhagavāna. Just by recalling the Lord, one must forget himself and adore Śiva by crying joyful tears of affection.

Let us selflessly love the Lord without asking anything in return other than the Lord himself and his love.

Hara! Hara!

Yours,

Śivapādahṛdaya.