From: mvishnu@bcr3.uwaterloo.ca (Meenan Vishnu)
Subject: Re: A ThEvaaram verse (translation)
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 16:14:06 GMT

In article <9301220613.AA18627@cec2.wustl.edu> sp2@cec2.wustl.edu (Sundara Pandian) writes:
>     I think many Tamil nettors must have heard of the 
> popular ThEvaaram verse,
>
>  `maasil veeNaiyum maalai madhiyamum
>   veesu  thenRalum veenkiLa vEnilum
>   moosu  vaNdaRai poykaiyum pOnRadhE
>   eesan  endhai  iNaiydai neezhalE. '
>
>     The poet ( Appar ? ) talks here about how pleasant
> is the shelter of the feet of Lord Shiva in Saiva
> Siddhantha. I have some questions about the meanings of
> some of the Tamil words in this `veNpaa'.
>
>   maasil veeNaiyum -  What does it mean here ? What is
>                       a `maasil veeNai' ? ( I know that
>                       Veena is a musical instrument.
>                       I don't understand this comparison
>                       here.. ) Does the poet mean that
>                       the shelter is pleasant like Carnatic
>                       music in Veena without `abaswaram' ?
>                       Was Carnatic music developed in the
>                       days of Appar and Sundarar.. ?

maasil = maasu + il  (flaw + not). 
veeNai == a South Indian musical instrument 
Hence it means flawless veeNai music.   
>
>   maalai madhiyamum - I know this means `evening' here.
>                       In the current Tamil usage, `maalai'
>                       itself means `evening'. This `maalai'
>                       may be a short form of the old word
>                       `maalai madhiyam' for `evening'. 

maalai == evening, garland
madhi == moon, intellect
So it means evening moon.

>
>   veesu thenRalum -  I know this means `pleasant wind'.
>                      This comparison is clearly a continuation
>                      of `maalai madhiyamum', as we get cool
>                      wind in the evenings in TN. 

veesu == blow, flow
thenRal == breeze.
So it means flowing breeze
>
>   veenkiLa vEnilum - I know that `vEnil' also means `kaaRRu'.
>                      Also `veenkiLa' = `veengu + iLa'. I think
>                      this comparison is a _repitition_.

No it is not.
veenku == swell, full, overflow, abundant, luxuriant etc
iLa + vEnil == young, active, + spring season (also vasantham)

So it means luxuriant and lively spring season.
>
>   moosu vaNdaRaip poykai - I know that `poykai' means a `pond'.
>                            What is `moosu vaNdaRai' ? I was lost
>                            here...

moosu == cuNNaampu (?), lime
moosu vaNdaRai == lime room (?)  (see below for explanation)
poykai == pond
pOnRathu == it is like, identical to, same as 

It means "The lime room is (cool) like a pond."

>
>   pOnRathE = Like above..
>
>   eesan  endhan =  Our Lord Shiva ( I think the word `eesan' for
>                    Shiva is from the Sanskrit word `eeswaran' for
>                    Shiva.. )
>
I think it should read eesan endhai.
eesan == Lord, God, Siva
endhai == (?)
iNai + adi == (?) + feet
nizal + E == shadow, shelter + verily

>  iNaiyadi = his glorious feet..
>  
>  neezhalE = shelter.  
>
>A translation (to be completed):
>-------------------------------
>    "Like a pure Veena (?), like a pleasant evening, like a cool wind,
>  like fresh, pleasing wind, like a (??) pond is the shelter of the 
>  glorious feet of our Lord Shiva. "
>
>- SP.
>

Like flaw-less veeNa (music)
And Like the (pleasant) evening moon
And Like flowing breeze
And Like  luxuriant and lively spring season 
And Even lime room is like a cool pond 
When I am at the shelter of my Lord's feet.
 

Appar is said to have sung this when the Jains (the bad guys) tortured
him by placing him in a lime room (cunnaampu-aRai).  When one is 
placed in a lime room, he suffers because of de-hydration.  But here
Appar says even the lime room is like a cool pond when he has taken 
shelter in Lord's feet.  This may have been a general statement
like the Valluvar who said "It is very difficult for one to destroy
mental anxiety except by being a theist" and an anti-Jain story
might have been woven around this song later (at the time of Periya Puranam)
Anyway Periya Puranam talks about Jain's torture of Appar.  Other tortures
the Jains are alleged to have done to Appar include: tying Apper to a stone
and casting him in waters at which time he sang 'soRRuNai vEthiyan...'
and the stone started floating.

'kaRRuNaip pooddiyOr kadalinuL paaccinum naRRuNai aavathu namacci vaayavE'
kal == stone
thuNai == with, to, help  
pooddi == tie,  lock
Or == a, one
kadal + in == sea + 's
uL == inside
paacu + in + um == cast, jump + if + even
naL + thuNai == good + help
aavathu == be
nama + sivaaya + E == 'name of Siva (Skt)' + verily, indeed

(Even if one is tied to a stone and cast into water the manthra
'nama sivaya' will be of help)

Appar was one of the few non-Bramin (vELaaLar) naayanmaars. 
He was a contemporary of thiru-njaana-sambandhar.  He used go around
with an uLavaaram (a tool used for removing grass) to temples to clean
temple yards by removing grass.  Appar was a Jain and was converted to
Saivaism by his sister.  He cured the 'soolai nOy' of Pandian king with
the help of holy ash 'thiru neeRu'.

More than 70% of his works are lost when his and other naayanmaar's
Tamil works were locked by Smartha Bramins (to foster their Skt. tradition).
His and other naayanmaar are credited with bringing God and religion closer
to masses by introducing worship in mother tongue.  Unfortunately, even 
this Bakthi movement was later (around 12th century AD) hijacked by
Sanskrit zealots and temple worship and other daily rituals were
(and are still) done in Skt.  However these naayanmaar still are
beloved of the Tamil people and the Bakthi lifestyle they started
spread to other states in India (TN is/was first in doing things in
India). However, the onslaught of Rationalism in this century had 
identified some of the later ultra junk works (such as Periya PuraaNam)
of this movement to the Tamil people.

Meenan Vishnu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.tamil