Pasuram 3.3.4

Tamil text and transliteration:

ஈசன் வானவர்க்கு என்பன் என்றால், அது
தேசமோ திருவேங்கடத்தானுக்கு?,
நீசனேன் நிறைவு ஒன்றும் இலேன், என்கண்
பாசம் வைத்த பரம் சுடர்ச் சோதிக்கே.

īcaṉ vāṉavarkku eṉpaṉ eṉṟāl, atu
tēcamō tiruvēṅkaṭattāṉukku?,
nīcaṉēṉ niṟaivu oṉṟum ilēṉ, eṉkaṇ
pācam vaitta param cuṭarc cōtikkē.

English translation of verse 3.3.4:

Would it at all redound to His great glory
Were I to call, as (mere) Lord of Heaven, Him
That shines in all splendour at Tiruvēṅkaṭam,
And fondles me, the lowliest of the lowly?

Note

ḷn the preceding song, the Lord was referred to as the Chief of the Celestials, granting audience to them at Tiruvēṅkaṭam. And now, the Āḻvār feels that it would be a gross understatement of His real greatness which lies in the condescending grace with which He mixes with the monkeys and hunters in Tirumalai Hills and what is even more, the profusion of love extended to one, as low as the Āḻvār. This self-abnegation assuming the lowest depths of humility (c.f. Aḷavantār’s self—denunciation in śloka 62 of Stotra-Ratna) only heightens the glory of the Lord. As a matter of fact, if He were merely the Lord of the Celestials in Heaven, His glory stands circumscribed, that is, confined to that region alone. It is only here, against the background of the darkness and nescience we present, that His glory can shine in all its splendour. Not by His might and majesty, surrounded by the Angels in Heaven and unapproachable to us, is He great but by His loving grace and great concern for us, deep down here, sunk in sorrow. Thus and thus alone can He be God indeed.