Pasuram 7.1.6

Tamil text and transliteration:

விண்ணுளார் பெருமாற்கு அடிமை செய்வாரையும் செறும் ஐம்புலன் இவை,
மண்ணுள் என்னைப் பெற்றால் என் செய்யா மற்று நீயும் விட்டால்?
பண்ணுளாய் கவி தன்னுளாய்! பத்தியின் உள்ளாய்! பரமீசனே, வந்து என்-
கண்ணுளாய்! நெஞ்சுளாய்! சொல்லுளாய்! ஒன்று சொல்லாயே.

viṇṇuḷār perumāṟku aṭimai ceyvāraiyum ceṟum aimpulaṉ ivai,
maṇṇuḷ eṉṉaip peṟṟāl eṉ ceyyā maṟṟu nīyum viṭṭāl?
paṇṇuḷāy kavi taṉṉuḷāy! pattiyiṉ uḷḷāy! paramīcaṉē, vantu eṉ-
kaṇṇuḷāy! neñcuḷāy! colluḷāy! oṉṟu collāyē.

English translation of verse 7.1.6:

Oh, Supreme Lord, my yearning, its depth and voice You know,
Reside You do in my eyes and mind and the word I utter,
Can’t You unto me come and a word of comfort utter?
The senses five will taint even the Celestials, in Your service aglow.
Should they this soil touch; what is it these won’t do
In regard to poor me if I am given up by You too?

Note

Even exalted persons, in the upper regions, including the high Heavens are not above the mischief of the senses. That being so, the Āḻvār’s fears are indeed well-founded, the more so, when he stays in this physical body and in this land of dark nescience. To cite but a few instances of the havoc played by the senses on noted personages, let us take first, Indra, the Chief of the Devas. Among the many atrocities committed by the formidable Narakāsura from his abode in Prākjyōtiṣa on Earth, was the snatching of the precious earrings of Aditi, Indra’s mother. At Indra’s request, Lord Kṛṣṇa slew the demon and went to Indra’s citadel along with queen Satyabhāmā, mounted on Garuḍa to restore the ear-rings to the venerable lady. The conceited and ungrateful Indrāṇi, Indra’s consort, however, thought Satyabhāmā, a mere human, living on Earth down below, unworthy of being offered the Pārijātha flower, grown exclusively in Devalokā for the exclusive use of the women-folk there. This only excited the curiosity of the distinguished visitor who managed to have the very tree uprooted by Lord Kṛṣṇa from Indrā’s garden. As the divine couple were flying back to Earth on Garuḍa along with the tree in question, Indrāṇi got scent of it and at her instance, Indra, along with his soldiers, intercepted and fought a pitched battle with Lord Kṛṣṇa. The Lord made them bite the dust, resumed His flight to Earth and planted the tree in Sathyabhāmā’s garden. What a disgraceful behaviour of Indra, consumed by conceit going to war with his great Benefactor, right on the heels of the help received from Him!

And then, did Garuḍa, adorning the glorious rank of ‘Nitya Sūrīs’ in Heaven, fare any better? Sumukha, the serpent, when hotly pursued by Garuḍa, took refuge at the feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. When Garuḍa requested the Lord to part with the serpent, He declined to do so and, on the top of that, entrusted the serpent to Garuḍa’s safe keeping. The mentally upset Garuḍa had then the cheek to tell the Lord: “Well, You have snatched my very food from me. Is it for this that, I have been lifting you and your consorts on my back, all these days?” On another occasion, Garuḍa took pride in his immense strength and boastfully enquired of the Lord whether there was indeed any one more powerful than he, who could carry effortlessly, at the tip of his plumes, the Omnipotent Lord and His consorts. The Lord chided the presumptuous Garuḍa and disclosed to him that all the three worlds put together can hardly bear His weight and that the truth of the matter is that He supports Himself and Garuḍa who was supposed to carry Him and His consorts. So saying, He placed just one arm on Garuḍa’s shoulder and asked him if he could sustain it. Poor Garuḍa fell down fainting, unable to bear the weight of a single arm of the Lord.

Sugrīva, the monkey-king abused the kindness of Śrī Rāma and just lost count of time, immersed in the pleasures of wine and women. And then, a sage of the eminence of Viswamitra fell an easy prey to the meretricious charms of Menaka and had a rapport with her for ten long years till he got jolted back to normal thinking.

The Supreme Lord, who holds sway all over and who can’t but hear the Āḻvār’s heart-rending appeal and note the depth of feeling behind it, is nevertheless holding Himself back and it is indeed a matter of deep regret for the Āḻvār.