Pasuram 4.3.1

Tamil text and transliteration:

கோவை வாயாள் பொருட்டு ஏற்றின் எருத்தம் இறுத்தாய், மதிள் இலங்கைக்
கோவை வீயச் சிலை குனித்தாய்! குல நல் யானை மருப்பு ஒசித்தாய்,
பூவை வீயா நீர் தூவிப் போதால் வணங்கேனேலும், நின்
பூவை வீயாம் மேனிக்குப் பூசும் சாந்து என் நெஞ்சமே.

kōvai vāyāḷ poruṭṭu ēṟṟiṉ eruttam iṟuttāy, matiḷ ilaṅkaik
kōvai vīyac cilai kuṉittāy! kula nal yāṉai maruppu ocittāy,
pūvai vīyā nīr tūvip pōtāl vaṇaṅkēṉēlum, niṉ
pūvai vīyām mēṉikkup pūcum cāntu eṉ neñcamē.

English translation of verse 4.3.1:

Oh, Lord, You broke the hump of the bulls truly
And secured (Nappiṉṉai), the red-lipped beauty;
The king of Laṅkā, with ramparts high, you killed
With Your bow infallible and out you pulled
The tusk fine of that majestic elephant and slew it;
At these crucial moments, I served you not in manner fit,
With flowers fine and water pure and yet
My mind is the sandal paste fit for your lovely body of lily tint.

Notes

(i) The Āḻvār regrets that he wasn’t keeping himself close to the Lord, when He tamed the unruly bulls for winning the hand of Nappiṉṉai, the charming bride, when he slew Rāvaṇa, the king of Laṅkā and killed Kuvalayāpīḍa, the high class elephant, set on Him by the treacherous Kaṃsa, by crushing its tusks. Had he (Āḻvār) been by the side of the Lord on those occasions, he could have tended Him well and relieved Him of the fatigue. Despite this lapse on his part, the Āḻvār wonders how the Lord looks upon his mind, with great delight, as if it was aromatic like high class sandal paste, fit for anointing His exquisite body.

(ii) Had the Āḻvār been by the side of Lord Kṛṣṇa when He pounced upon the unruly bulls, he could have cautioned Him that they were not bulls, as such, but demons in disguise, even as Lakṣmaṇa, pointed out to Śrī Rāma, that the deer, coveted by Sītā, was but a Rākṣasa in disguise.

(iii) There is no greater security for us than the Lord and yet, Rāvaṇa relied on his forts and moats, and Kaṃsa, on Kuvalayāpīḍa, the mighty tusker and the like and little wonder then, they all came to grief.