Pasuram 5.3.1

Tamil text and transliteration:

மாசு அறு சோதி என் செய்ய வாய் மணிக்குன்றத்தை
ஆசு அறு சீலனை ஆதி மூர்த்தியை நாடியே
பாசறவு எய்தி அறிவு இழந்து எனை நாளையம்?
ஏசு அறும் ஊரவர் கவ்வை தோழீ என் செய்யுமே?

mācu aṟu cōti eṉ ceyya vāy maṇikkuṉṟattai
ācu aṟu cīlaṉai āti mūrttiyai nāṭiyē
pācaṟavu eyti aṟivu iḻantu eṉai nāḷaiyam?
ēcu aṟum ūravar kavvai tōḻī eṉ ceyyumē?

English translation of verse 5.3.1:

You know, my mate, my awareness is lost
And my lustre gone since long, in quest
Of the primordial Lord of splendour unalloyed and coral lips,
The mount of emerald, of loving condescension with no lapse;
How then will the rebuke of slanderous folks affect me?

Notes

(i) The mates of Parāṅkuśa Nāyakī, who had prior knowledge of her contemplated move, dissuaded her, in a low whisper, from going ahead with it, lest the people around should reproach her for her aggressive stance. The Nāyakī was, however, not in the least worried about public opinion; as a matter of fact, she had become impervious to it long back. The Nāyakī stood on a pedestal of her own and the magnitude of her privation from God, of Supreme eminence, was not comparable with any known to the common man of the world. Hence her reactions were also bound to differ widely from those of the worldlings in regard to their individual privations.

(ii) The Āḻvār was no doubt endowed by the Lord with knowledge, full and complete. But, intoxicated by God-love, the Nāyakī had long ago lost her mental equipoise; else, would she fall at the feet of bees and birds and beg of them to carry her message to God?