Pasuram 2.6.2

Tamil text and transliteration:

சிக்கெனச் சிறிது ஓர் இடமும் புறப்படாத் தன்னுள்ளே, உலகுகள்
ஒக்கவே விழுங்கிப் புகுந்தான் புகுந்ததற்பின்,
மிக்க ஞான வெள்ளச் சுடர் விளக்குஆய் துளக்கு அற்று அமுதம் ஆய், எங்கும்
பக்கம் நோக்கு அறியான் என் பைந்தாமரைக் கண்ணனே.

cikkeṉac ciṟitu ōr iṭamum puṟappaṭāt taṉṉuḷḷē, ulakukaḷ
okkavē viḻuṅkip pukuntāṉ pukuntataṟpiṉ,
mikka ñāṉa veḷḷac cuṭar viḷakkuāy tuḷakku aṟṟu amutam āy, eṅkum
pakkam nōkku aṟiyāṉ eṉ paintāmaraik kaṇṇaṉē.

English translation of verse 2.6.2:

With all the worlds in His stomach, neatly compressed
(And all His regal duties, duly disposed)
The resolute Lord has got inside me and thus transposed,
His radiant Knowledge, in spate, shines forth like the lamp bright;
Feeling firm and secure, with the assurance from me got,
My nectar, the lotus-eyed Lord, sees not This side or that (and is in me so rapt).

Notes

(i) In the original text of this stanza, mention has been made of the Lord having gulped down all the worlds and kept them secure in His stomach, before entering the Āḻvār’s body. What the poet intends to say is that the Lord attended not only to this particular duty but all His other regal duties, as well, so that, once He enters the Āḻvār’s body, His rapport with the Āḻvār may go on undisturbed, unlike the worshipper, ostensibly in front of the Deity in the Sanctum Sanctorum, but anxious, all the time, about the safety of the pair of new Sandals, left by him at the temple gate.

(ii) The Knowledge of the Omniscient Lord is said to have acquired new dimensions after His entering the Āḻvār’s body and thus shines with extra brilliance.

And then, so completely rapt and engrossed with the Āḻvār is the Lord that He wouldn’t turn His attention elsewhere, not even when Lakṣmī, the Lord’s favourite spouse, puts her fair arms round His neck and draws Him extremely close to her breast. The following anecdote is very apt and can easily drive home the point.

(iii) On being informed by his preceptor, Maṇakkāl Nampi (Śrī Rāma Miśra), that one Kurukaikkāval Appaṉ had a Yogic secret to communicate, Āḷavantār (Yāmuna) journeyed all the way to Kaṅkaikoṇṭa-Cōḻapuram, to meet the said Yogi. As Appaṉ was seated, deeply engrossed in Yoga, facing a wall, Aḷavantār dared not disturb the Yogi and kept himself behind, at some distance. Lo! Appaṉ suddenly turned round and enquired whether some one belonging to the ‘Coṭṭai’ clan was standing behind. While humbly introducing himself as one of the said pedigree, Āḷavantār begged the Yogi to disclose how the presence of one staying well behind was at all perceived. Appaṉ revealed that, while holding a rapport with him, the Lord would not allow Himself to be disturbed by any one including His alluring and most-beloved spouse, Lakṣmī, and yet, pressing his neck, the Lord turned round, thrice or four times, in the hind direction. The Yogi was well aware that such an extra-ordinary preference was shown by the Lord only to members of the ‘Coṭṭai’ family and hence his enquiry, as above. Āḷavntār was the grandson of Śrīmaṉ Nāthamuṉi of ‘Coṭṭai’ pedigree (the family name). This shows that next to Nammāḻvār, affection of such great magnitude was lavished by the Lord, only on Śrīmaṉ Nāthamuṉi and his descendants.