Pasuram 7.1.5

Tamil text and transliteration:

தீர் மருந்து இன்றி ஐந்து நோய் அடும் செக்கில் இட்டுத் திரிக்கும் ஐவரை,
நேர் மருங்கு உடைத்தா அடைத்து நெகிழ்ப்பான் ஒக்கின்றாய்,
ஆர் மருந்து இனி ஆகுவார்? அடல் ஆழி ஏந்தி அசுரர் வன் குலம்,
வேர் மருங்கு அறுத்தாய்! விண்ணுளார் பெருமானே? ஓ!

tīr maruntu iṉṟi aintu nōy aṭum cekkil iṭṭut tirikkum aivarai,
nēr maruṅku uṭaittā aṭaittu nekiḻppāṉ okkiṉṟāy,
ār maruntu iṉi ākuvār? aṭal āḻi ēnti acurar vaṉ kulam,
vēr maruṅku aṟuttāy! viṇṇuḷār perumāṉē? ō!

English translation of verse 7.1.5:

Oh, Lord of Celestials, You have cut out, root and branch,
The mighty hordes of Acurar, with Your discus radiant;
Into the grinding mill where the sense-organs will crunch
Me under the impact of the senses five, with no way out,
You have pushed me, it looks as if your hold on me
You are loosening. Who indeed will hereafter my elixir be?

Notes:

(i) The grinding mill is the human body where the five senses are ever active with the relative activities and their ramifications leaving no chance for the soul to thrive, crushing it beyond recognition and making redemption impossible, even by the omnipotent Lord. By putting it down as an incurable state of affairs, the Āḻvār only stresses the severity of the impact of the senses, like unto the young warrior (Abhimanyu, the great hero of Mahābhārata) caught up inextricably in the enemy camp amidst doyens and super-doyens of warfare.

(ii) If the Lord, who is at once the Drug and the Doctor, gave up the subject, could there be any cure for the malady? How could any one survive without that infallible medicine, the Lord? That is why the text of the song is “Who shall be my elixir?” instead of “What shall be my life-saving drug?”; the drug being an inanimate substance, is usually referred to in the neuter gender.

(iii) The Āḻvār’s address to the Lord as the Chief of the Celestials is meant to stir up the feelings of the Celestials in that glorious setting of unalloyed bliss and draw their attention to his own critical condition down below. This is like unto the wailing of Sītā, during her captivity in Laṅkā.