Pasuram 3.4.1

Tamil text and transliteration:

புகழும் நல் ஒருவன் என்கோ! பொரு இல் சீர்ப் பூமிஎன்கோ,
திகழும் தண் பரவை என்கோ! தீ என்கோ! வாயு என்கோ,
நிகழும் ஆகாசம் என்கோ! நீள் சுடர் இரண்டும் என்கோ,
இகழ்வு இல் இவ் அனைத்தும் என்கோ கண்ணனைக் கூவும் ஆறே!

pukaḻum nal oruvaṉ eṉkō! poru il cīrp pūmieṉkō,
tikaḻum taṇ paravai eṉkō! tī eṉkō! vāyu eṉkō,
nikaḻum ākācam eṉkō! nīḷ cuṭar iraṇṭum eṉkō,
ikaḻvu il iv aṉaittum eṉkō kaṇṇaṉaik kūvum āṟē!

English translation of verse 3.4.1:

How shall I speak of Kaṇṇaṉ, (my all-pervading Lord)?
Shall I say, He is the one by all sacred texts adored
Or shall I describe Him as peerless Earth or Ocean bright?
Could I say He is fire or air or the space athwart,
Or the Sun and the Moon, rather their aggregate?

Note

The Āḻvār looks on, in bewildering amazement, when the Lord presents Himself as an embodiment of the elements that have gone into the making of the universe and its multifarious contents, His auspicious qualities also shining forth, side by side. Unlike others who could see everything in its outer form only, the Āḻvār discerns the Lord in each and everything, and nothing can, therefore, be eschewed by him as being disagreeable. He sees the Lord in every thing, individually and in the aggregate. What would seem despicable in the light of one’s own association, becomes wholly agreeable, viewed in the light of their conjunction with the Lord, (aphorism 149, Acārya Hṛdayam).