The ''Tiruvempavai'' () is a collection of songs composed by the poet-saint

Manikkavacakar Manikkavacakar was a 3rd-century Tamil saint and poet who wrote '' Thiruvasagam and Thirukkovaiyar'', books of Shaiva hymns. Tamil scholars and researchers share that he was a minister to the Pandya king Nedunjeliyan II (3rd Century CE) and li ...

. It consists of 20 stanzas devoted to the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

deity

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

. It forms part of the collection called the ''Tiruvasagam'', and the 8th book of the ''

Tirumurai ''Tirumurai'' (Tamil language, Tamil: திருமுறை, meaning Holy Order) is a twelve-volume compendium of songs or hymns in praise of Shiva in the Tamil language from the 6th to the 11th century CE by various poets in Tamil Nad ...

'', a canonical text of the Tamil

Shaiva Siddhanta Shaiva Siddhanta () is a form of Shaivism popular in a pristine form in Tamilnadu and Sri Lanka and in a Tantrayana syncretised form in Vietnam and Indonesia (as Siwa Siddhanta). It propounds a devotional philosophy with the ultimate goal of e ...

. The songs form part of the pavai ritual for unmarried young girls during the Tamil month of Margali. ''Triyampawai'', one of the twelve month ceremonies in royal Thai Hinduism, descended from the tradition of ''Tiruvempavai''.

Pavai genre

The pavai songs are part of an ancient tradition amongst unmarried young girls, where they would light lamps in the early mornings of Margali, and sing songs in praise of Shiva. The 20 stanzas are sung, one on every day and then followed by the 10 songs of the Tirupalliyeluchi. It is believed that such rituals would bring prosperity and a suitable husband.

Verses

The first verse of the work extols the attributes of Shiva:

References

{{reflist Shaivism Tamil Hindu literature 5. ARUNODAYAM: An English Translation of Thiruvempavai by Umasree Raghunath https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0DT43NLF9