Pasuram 7.7.2

Tamil text and transliteration:

ஆட்டியும் தூற்றியும் நின்று அன்னைமீர் என்னை நீர்நலிந்துஎன்?
மாட்டு உயர் கற்பகத்தின் வல்லியோ? கொழுந்தோ? அறியேன்,
ஈட்டிய வெண்ணெய்உண்டான் திருமூக்கு எனதுஆவியுள்ளே,
மாட்டிய வல்விளக்கின் சுடராய்நிற்கும் வாலியதே.

āṭṭiyum tūṟṟiyum niṉṟu aṉṉaimīr eṉṉai nīrnalintueṉ?
māṭṭu uyar kaṟpakattiṉ valliyō? koḻuntō? aṟiyēṉ,
īṭṭiya veṇṇeyuṇṭāṉ tirumūkku eṉatuāviyuḷḷē,
māṭṭiya valviḷakkiṉ cuṭarāyniṟkum vāliyatē.

English translation of verse 7.7.2:

Ye, elders, there’s no use your prodding and rebuking me,
I know not whether ‘tis the creeper or the leaf of ‘kaṟpaka’ tree.
That does the Lord’s eyes adjoin or the nose of the One that ate
Butter by stealth, blazing like a steady flame bright, in my heart.

Notes:

Now it is the Lord’s charming nose, in between the pair of lotus-eyes, that torments the Nāyakī. At first sight, it looks like a ‘Kaṟpaka’ creeper or leaf adjoining the Lord’s eyes. It is only on a closer examination, it turns out to be the Lord’s nose. The nose instantly reminds the Āḻvār of Kṛṣṇa, as a child, having eaten the stored-up butter stealthily and exposed Himself by smearing the nose with the stolen butter, a tell-tale. The Nāyakī relates that incident as if she has perceived it with her eyes; actually, even the characteristic smell of butter she appreciates now in her mental vision. The elders, therefore, asked the Nāyakī to point out to them the Lord’s nose with which she was so much obsessed, but she said it was shining forth in her heart (mind’s eye) like a flame, steady and bright, as if to torment her with a vengeance.