Pasuram 2.4.9

Tamil text and transliteration:

பட்ட போது எழு போது அறியாள், விரை
மட்டு அலர் தண் துழாய் என்னும், சுடர்
வட்ட வாய் நுதி நேமியீர், நுமது
இட்டம் என்கொல் இவ்ஏழைக்கே.

paṭṭa pōtu eḻu pōtu aṟiyāḷ, virai
maṭṭu alar taṇ tuḻāy eṉṉum, cuṭar
vaṭṭa vāy nuti nēmiyīr, numatu
iṭṭam eṉkol ivēḻaikkē.

English translation of verse 2.4.9:

Neither Sun-rise nor Sun-set, my daughter knows
And yet her mouth utters “tulacī, cool and fragrant. Studded with honey”,
Oh Sire, holding the discuss effulgent.
Sharp and round! what indeed do you propose
To do with this girl who is so innocent?

Notes

(i) Unlike the worldlings who know day and night too well, earning by day and spending by night those earnings on worldly pleasures, Parāṅkuśa Nāyakī is altogether ignorant of Sun-rise and Sun-set. Does it mean that she is not sentient? She is no doubt sentient as her mouth constantly utters the words ‘tulacī cool and fragrant, studded with honey

(ii) When the Lord was indifferent to the above observations of the mother she asked Him;

“Sire, the effulgent discus in your hand is ever ready to go into action, helping your devotees and destroying the evil-doers. What precisely do you intend to do with my daughter? Will you get rid of her as you did Hiraṇya and his brood?

or

Will you elevate her to the rank of the celestials on the Yonder heaven and enjoy her bewitching beauty, enhanced still further by the conch and discus in her hands?

or

Will you put her back among the worldlings buried in earthly pleasures oblivious of their essential nature and their relationship with you?”