Pasuram 9.8.4

Tamil text and transliteration:

நாளேல் அறியேன் எனக்குஉள்ளன நானும்
மீளா அடிமைப் பணி செய்யப் புகுந்தேன்
நீள்ஆர்மலர்ச் சோலைகள்சூழ் திருநாவாய்
வாள்ஏய் தடம்கண் மடப்பின்னை மணாளா!

nāḷēl aṟiyēṉ eṉakkuuḷḷaṉa nāṉum
mīḷā aṭimaip paṇi ceyyap pukuntēṉ
nīḷārmalarc cōlaikaḷcūḻ tirunāvāy
vāḷēy taṭamkaṇ maṭappiṉṉai maṇāḷā!

English translation of verse 9.8.4:

Oh, dear Consort of Piṉṉai, with large eyes, spear-like,
Unto you, staying in Tirunāvāy, amid flower gardens grand
This vassal longs to render service without break,
I know not, however, when you will my desire grant.

Notes:

The Āḻvār longs to render service unto the Lord, all the time, even as the ‘Nitya Sūrīs’, the Eternal Heroes in Heaven do. In near-by Tirunāvāy, the Lord stays in the coveted company of Goddess Nappiṉṉai, amid gardens yielding plenty of fragrant flowers for the worship of the Divine Couple. And yet, the Āḻvār knows not how long he will have to languish without rendering the Divine Service, longed for by him, and when exactly the Lord will enlist him in His service.

There are frequent references, in this decad. to the Divine Mother. Nampiḻḷai’s admirable elucidation of this position is as follows:

“The sojourner, who is heading towards his home town, after years of wandering, keeps thinking of his mother and kith and kin, quite often. Even so, the Āḻvār, who is nearing the end of his journey to Heaven, the Eternal Land, keeps ruminating over the Divine Mother and the grand assembly of devotees over there.”