Pasuram 3.8.8

Tamil text and transliteration:

கோலமே! தாமரைக் கண்ணது ஓர் அஞ்சன
நீலமே, நின்று எனது ஆவியை ஈர்கின்ற
சீலமே, சென்று செல்லாதன முன் நிலாம்
காலமே, உன்னை எந் நாள் கண்டுகொள்வனே?

kōlamē! tāmaraik kaṇṇatu ōr añcaṉa
nīlamē, niṉṟu eṉatu āviyai īrkiṉṟa
cīlamē, ceṉṟu cellātaṉa muṉ nilām
kālamē, uṉṉai en nāḷ kaṇṭukoḷvaṉē?

English translation of verse 3.8.8:

Being lotus-eyed, with the unique complexion
Of a dark-blue mountain,
You are sheer beauty, Oh, Lord, Your loving condescension
Has my soul ensnared; Time you do ordain,
Past, present and future, you when can I attain?

Notes

(i) To the complaint made by the Āḻvār in the preceding song regarding the non-appearance of the Lord despite repeated calls, the Lord would appear to have observed that the Āḻvār should wait till the appropriate time for the bestowal of His grace. But the Āḻvār is quick to point out that ‘Time’ is also at the Lord’s beck and call and He is the sole Controller of ‘Time’, made up of the past, the present and the future and that the plea of time-factor cannot, therefore, hold water.

(ii) The Lord is not merely beautiful but is beauty itself. And it is not beauty alone but beauty and goodness combined. It is the persevering goodness on the part of the Lord that has enabled the Āḻvār to cling to Him, overcoming his natural tendency to run away from Him, for fear of defiling Him.

(iii) When can I attain you? The Āḻvār prays to the Lord to specify the point of time at which he can behold and enjoy His physical presence, evert as Śrī Rāma told Bharata that, on the completion of fourteen years, they will get together again.