Introduction to Section 4.8

The Āḻvār’s passionate appeal to the Lord, in the last decad, did not yield the desired result. The Lord didn’t present Himself before the ardent devotee, and the latter, therefore, concluded that he was not in His good books. And, in this context, the Alvar felt that neither he nor his possessions deserved to exist. The very valuable Śāstraic meaning that anything, which hinders Divine Service and does not actively aid and participate in such service, deserves to be eschewed, is imparted in this decad. The Āḻvār is now in the same predicament as that of Sītā during her captivity in Laṅkā. Sītā then exclaimed that her very existence was meaningless, staying so far away from her Lord and not rescued by Him as yet. The sentiments expressed by the Āḻvār in this decad, are fully echoed by Saint Yāmuna, in Śloka 57 of his ‘Stotra Ratna’. The saint swears that he would not tolerate for a moment anything which was outside the domain of His service, be it his body, his very life, the happiness desired by all beings, the Soul and other social relations like wife, children, friends etc., and that he would want all these to get destroyed in a hundred ways, if they proved a hindrance to Divine Service.

Even in this decad, the Āḻvār continues in the feminine state, as is evident from the text of the songs referring to the Nāyakī's bangles, garments, complexion etc. Śrī Āṇṭāḷ is found even more emphatic when she says in ‘Nācciyār Tirumoḻi’ that, if her beloved Lord would not come and embrace her, she would rather pluck out her breasts from their base, and throw them at Him. The breasts, as already explained earlier, signify the emotional upsurge, divine love, too deep for words.