Pasuram 2.4.6

Tamil text and transliteration:

தகவு உடையவனே என்னும், பின்னும்
மிக விரும்பும் பிரான் என்னும், எனது
அக உயிர்க்கு அமுதே என்னும், உள்ளம்
உக உருகி நின்று உள் உளே.

takavu uṭaiyavaṉē eṉṉum, piṉṉum
mika virumpum pirāṉ eṉṉum, eṉatu
aka uyirkku amutē eṉṉum, uḷḷam
uka uruki niṉṟu uḷ uḷē.

English translation of verse 2.4.6:

Says my daughter, with a mind thawing,
Right from the inner core of her being,
“Oh, Lord! you are indeed merciful,
You are my highly coveted Benefactor,
And to my inner soul, the nectar”.

Notes

(i) In the preceding stanza the mother complained about a heartless Lord, who had put her daughter in such a parlous predicament. But no sooner had the mother opened her mouth, with such a reproach on her tongue than the daughter (Parāṅkuśa Nāyakī) gagged it effectively, despite her pangs of separation from the Lord, by proclaiming that the Lord is an inexhaustible fountain of grace and a highly coveted Benefactor. To dub Him as devoid of mercy would be just as inconceivable as the ocean getting emptied of all its water.

(ii) A close parallel to this can be found in Rāmāyaṇa, Sundara Kārḍa, 26-13 where, even while bemoaning her captivity in Laṅkā, Sītā extolled the great qualities of Śrī Rāma and lamented that one of such excellence had not so far come to her rescue merely because she lacked the requisite felicity, being totally devoid of grace because of the offence thrown by her, once at Rāma and a much greater offence at Lakṣmaṇa later on. This clearly shows that there can be absolutely on flaw or drawback in the Lord warranting His being given up on any account, even in trying moments of separation from Him. As a matter of fact, what is sought to be classified as a drawback in the Lord, if at all, is just the mental agony inflicted by Him on the devotees when He doesn’t favour them with His nectarcan presence. But even this has a purpose behind, forming, as it does, part of the Lord’s technique of shock-treatment whereby the devotee’s appetite for God is whetted.