Pasuram 1.7.6

Tamil text and transliteration:

பிரான் பெரு நிலம் கீண்டவன், பின்னும்
விராய் மலர்த் துழாய் வேய்ந்த முடியன்,
மராமரம் எய்த மாயவன், என்னுள்
இரான் எனில் பின்னை யான் ஒட்டுவேனோ?

pirāṉ peru nilam kīṇṭavaṉ, piṉṉum
virāy malart tuḻāy vēynta muṭiyaṉ,
marāmaram eyta māyavaṉ, eṉṉuḷ
irāṉ eṉil piṉṉai yāṉ oṭṭuvēṉō?

English translation of verse 1.7.6:

1 low can I at all survive, if the Benefactor great
Who once retrieved the Earth from the ocean,
On whose crown is the tulacī garland of aroma sweet,
The wonder-Lord whose arrow sped thro’ the trees seven,
Should desert me and stay not in my heart?

Note

This is the Āḻvār’s reply to a question supposed to have been put to him as to what he would do, in case the Lord forsook him once again. The Āḻvār rules out such a contingency, seeing that the Lord is a self-less Benefactor like Sandal paste, flower, southerly breeze and the Moon, catering to the happiness of others, seeking nothing in return. Surely, the Āḻvār would not be a willing party to the separation and he just can’t survive in such an eventuality. As a matter of fact, the Āḻvār cannot bring himself to believe that the Lord would at all leave him and go without his permission. Did He not, as Śrī Rāma, go even to the extent of clearing up the misgivings in the mind of Sugrīva about His ability to vanquish Vāli and infusing the requisite confidence? Could such a one desert the Āḻvār, who has firm faith in Him?