Pasuram 6.10.9

Tamil text and transliteration:

வந்தாய் போலே வாராதாய்! வாராதாய் போல் வருவானே,
செந்தாமரைக் கண் செங்கனிவாய் நால் தோள் அமுதே! எனது உயிரே,
சிந்தாமணிகள் பகர் அல்லைப் பகல்செய் திருவேங்கடத்தானே,
அந்தோ அடியேன் உன பாதம் அகலகில்லேன் இறையுமே.

vantāy pōlē vārātāy! vārātāy pōl varuvāṉē,
centāmaraik kaṇ ceṅkaṉivāy nāl tōḷ amutē! eṉatu uyirē,
cintāmaṇikaḷ pakar allaip pakalcey tiruvēṅkaṭattāṉē,
antō aṭiyēṉ uṉa pātam akalakillēṉ iṟaiyumē.

English translation of verse 6.10.9:

Oh, Lord at Tiruvēṅkaṭam, where gems of unique sheen
Make the night shine like day, You are seemingly near, yet far.
But when (in despair), You seem afar, You draw near;
With lotus eyes red. lips like ripe fruit, Your Form nectarean.
With shoulders four, is unto me dearest; from Your feet,
Alas! this humble lover cannot, for a moment, be apart.

Notes

(i) The gems could refer either to those in the sacred Mount or those embedded in the Jewels on the Lord’s person.

(ii) The Āḻvār’s mental vision of the Lord was so full and complete that he could easily mistake it for physical perception, in three dimensions; when, out of deep yearning, he held out his arms for embracing the Lord, he would be disillusioned, rather extremely disappointed. Again, at a time, when the Āḻvār would not have the faintest hope of enjoying the Lord’s vision, the Lord would suddenly present Himself before his mind’s eye. As a matter of fact, we have witnessed such fluctuations and vicissitudes, all along.