SyroMalabar Ash Monday Hymn

[Jack4]

Malayalam

Manushyaa nee mannaakunnu 
mannilekku madangum noonam 
anuthaapakkannuneer veezhthi 
paapa parihaaram cheythu kolka nee (manushyaa..)

falam nalkaathuyarnnu nilkkum 
vruksha nirayellaam arinju veezhthum 
eritheeyil erinju veezhum 
neeri niram maari chaampalaay theerum (manushyaa..)

daivaputhran varum oozhiyil 
dhaanyakkalamellaam shuchiyaakkuvaan 
nenmanikal sambharikkunnu 
ketta pathirellaam chutterikkunnu (manushyaa..)

aayirangal veenu thaazhunnu 
marthya maanasangal venthu neerunnu 
nithya jeevan nalkidum neerchaal 
vittu marubhoovil jalam thedunnu (manushyaa..)

 

English translation 

O man, you are dust
And to dust you shall return
Cry with the tears of contrition
And do penance for your sins

The rows of trees that 
Don't bear fruit but stand tall
Shall be cut and thrown into fire
They shall burn, change colour and become ashes
(O Man, you are...)

The Son of God will come to the Earth
To clean the farm/granary
Collect the grains
Burns the chaff*
(O Man, you are...)

Thousands fall dead
Human minds burn
Abandons the stream of eternal life
And searches for water in the desert
(O Man, you are...)

 

 Actually, pathiru means the husk that grows without grain inside. I do not know the proper English term.

The translation is not literal, as the grammatical structure of the two languages are different.

[truthfinder]

Well that's certainly better theologically and fire-and brimstone-ish from "Ashes" (eg. we rise again from ashes)

[Jack4]

7 hours ago, truthfinder said:

Well that's certainly better theologically and fire-and brimstone-ish from "Ashes" (eg. we rise again from ashes)

It is Eastern, I'd warned you 

(One funeral hymn (maranam varumorunal...) says more explicitly,  

"death shall come one day

 remember this, O man

 and what you have done in this life

 shall be with you then".

Another one (Qambel Maran...) can be heard in the touching Syriac original by clicking here.

The rule of thumb for Eastern prayers in prose, is never to leave a noun without an adjective, and two or three adjectives are always better than one. In hymns, things are similar: select a theme, and use every single description you can. )