Introduction to Section 2.4

In the penultimate song of the last decad the Āḻvār expressed his desire to sing profusely the glory of the Lord in a chorus. Looking around, he, however, found the prospect of mustering persons from the rank and file of the worldlings for this purpose pretty bleak. He had, therefore, no option but to shift the venue of his enjoyment to the high Heavens and sing the Lord’s praise in the company of the ‘Nitya Sūrīs’ there. This ardent longing of the Āḻvār was, however, not realised there and then and once again the Āḻvār was thrown into deep dejection assuming the overtones of a frustrated feminine lover in a state of despondency. The Āḻvār had got into such a state on two earlier occasions, namely I-4 and II-1. On the first occasion he sent some birds as his emissaries to the Lord, while, on the second occasion, all things around seemed to suffer, like him, the pangs of separation from the Lord and he, therefore, wept along with those comrades-in-distress. But now his grief is so deep and poignant that all that is said in this decad is put in the mouth of the mother who questions the Lord how He could reduce her love-intoxicated daughter to such a parlous state and asks Him to clarify His intentions as to what exactly He proposes to do about the poor little victim.

No doubt, it is the Āḻvār who sings, and yet, this assumes the form of a mother’s dialogue with the Lord indicating aṅ extremely critical state so far as the Āḻvār is concerned. This is like the swollen river Kāverī or Gangā branching off into rivulets, going by different names but carrying the same water as in Kāvērī or Gangā. The necessity for the mother’s intervention here, in this decad, unlike the two earlier decads referred to above can be understood if we probe into the genesis of each of these three decads. It is a matter of common knowledge that the grief over the loss of a thing varies in direct proportion to the value one attaches to the thing lost. For example, as between the loss of a silver piece and a gold piece, the latter causes a far more grievous feeling of privation. If the same person, later oṇ, lost a necklace set with costly gems and rubies it would be the worst blow. And now let us analyse the cause of the Āḻvār’s grief at the commencement of each of the two earlier decads. In I-3-10 the Āḻvār wanted to adore and embrace the Lord’s pair of feet which spanned the entire Universe during His Avatār as Trivikrama. But he couldn’t get at those feet and, in the grief that ensued, he sent the birds on an errand to the Lord as in I-4. Again, in I-10-9, the Āḻvār devoutly longed for communion with the Lord in His Iconic form in the pilgrim centre,. Tirukkuruṅkuṭi (deep south in Tamiḷ Nādu). Non-materialisation of this ardent desire brought on grief far more intense than on the earlier occasion in view of the relatively greater importance of the thing now lost, namely, communion with the Lord in His Iconic manifestation, a veritable ocean of innumerable excellances vis-a-vis His Incarnate form which is like the river, once in spate, now turned dry or turgid. And now what is the position? In II-3-10 the Āḻvār pined for entry into the gatherings of the devotees and singing profusely the glory of the Lord in their steadfast company. But this did not happen immediately, and naturally, the loss is the worst so far on the analogy of the successive loss of silver,. Gold and gem-studded necklace. So great is the importance attached to the company of the Godly. This accounts for the induction of the mother into the scene.

It might be questioned why this decad complains at the door of the Lord instead of being couched as an appeal to the band of the devotees on the Yonder side, whose company the Āḻvār pines for but could not have. Well, the complaint was always lodged with the King, the aggrieved party rushing to the Palace gate even though the gems and rubies were looted by robbers in the jungle. As a matter of fact it is only the Lord who grants us all felicities including participation in the gatherings of the Godly and hence, the appeal at His door.