Pasuram 2.5.8

Tamil text and transliteration:

பொன் முடி அம் போர் ஏற்றை எம்மானை நால் தடம் தோள்,
தன் முடிவு ஒன்று இல்லாத தண் துழாய் மாலையனை,
என் முடிவு காணாதே என்னுள் கலந்தானை,
சொல்முடிவு காணேன் நான் சொல்லுவது என் சொல்லீரே.

poṉ muṭi am pōr ēṟṟai emmāṉai nāl taṭam tōḷ,
taṉ muṭivu oṉṟu illāta taṇ tuḻāy mālaiyaṉai,
eṉ muṭivu kāṇātē eṉṉuḷ kalantāṉai,
colmuṭivu kāṇēṉ nāṉ colluvatu eṉ collīrē.

English translation of verse 2.5.8:

Majestic like the warring bull is my Lord,
Sporting the gold cown [crown?], of sinewy shoulders four,
Of limitless glory, wearing the cool tulacī garland;
Mingled He with me, not minding my status poor,
Falter do 1 as I attempt to sing His glory interminable,
Better tell me how to laud (my Lord), ye worldlings voluble!

Notes

(i) The Āḻvār says that it is beyond his capacity to describe the condescending love of One, so great, mingling with him, so low.

(ii) The Lord’s crown and tulacī garland proclaim His sovereignty. If His glory is limitless, there is also no limit to the Āḻvār’s abjectness and yet He has chosen to mingle with the Āḻvār. By His deeds and traits, the Lord enthralled the Āḻvār who, however, finds that words are not adequate to describe his experience.. On the other hand, the worldlings revel in their own spheres and wax eloquent. The Āḻvār turns round and asks them how they could freely indulge in all that rhetoric, when he himself suffered from tardiness of expression, overawed.