Pasuram 3.8.3

Tamil text and transliteration:

வாசகமே ஏத்த அருள் செய்யும் வானவர் தம்-
நாயகனே, நாள் இளம் திங்களைக் கோள் விடுத்து,
வேய் அகம் பால் வெண்ணெய் தொடு உண்ட ஆன் ஆயர்-
தாயவனே, என்று தடவும் என் கைகளே.

vācakamē ētta aruḷ ceyyum vāṉavar tam-
nāyakaṉē, nāḷ iḷam tiṅkaḷaik kōḷ viṭuttu,
vēy akam pāl veṇṇey toṭu uṇṭa āṉ āyar-
tāyavaṉē, eṉṟu taṭavum eṉ kaikaḷē.

English translation of verse 3.8.3:

My hands grope for you, the Celestials’ overlord,
The one by my tongue solely lauded,
Who, as the cow-herd (Kṛṣṇa) ale butter sweet,
Stolen from the houses, bamboo-built,
In the beam of light by your teeth lit,
Sparkling like the rising Moon bright.

Notes

(i) The hands longing to experience the bliss, hitherto enjoyed solely by the tongue, addressed the Lord:

“Oh, Lord of the Celestials! the Āḻvār’s tongue praises you as well as the Celestials do. Why has this special favour been extended by you to the tongue alone and what is it that precludes you from making us also taste that bliss?”

(ii) Kṛṣṇa, the dark lad, broke into the dark interior of the houses built of bamboo in the pastoral village of Gokula, to steal the butter stored up in huge pots. Groping His way through in rhe dark, when He felt, by the touch of His hands, the presence of the pots, He would feel gratified and smile. His pearl-white teeth, sparkling with the extra-brilliance of the full Moon just released from an eclipse, would then illumine the place, helping Him to get at the butter and eat it up.