Pasuram 7.8.7

Tamil text and transliteration:

துயரங்கள் செய்யும் கண்ணா! சுடர் நீள் முடியாய் அருளாய்,
துயரம் செய் மானங்கள் ஆய் மதன் ஆகி உகவைகள் ஆய்,
துயரம் செய் காமங்கள் ஆய் துலை ஆய் நிலை ஆய் நடை ஆய்,
துயரங்கள் செய்துவைத்தி இவை என்ன சுண்டாயங்களே.

tuyaraṅkaḷ ceyyum kaṇṇā! cuṭar nīḷ muṭiyāy aruḷāy,
tuyaram cey māṉaṅkaḷ āy mataṉ āki ukavaikaḷ āy,
tuyaram cey kāmaṅkaḷ āy tulai āy nilai āy naṭai āy,
tuyaraṅkaḷ ceytuvaitti ivai eṉṉa cuṇṭāyaṅkaḷē.

English translation of verse 7.8.7:

Oh, Kaṇṇā, sporting the radiant crown, putting me in g eat distress,
You set the temptations many and unwholesome desires,
Elation and lust breeding miseries, before all beings, stationary and mobile,
Pray let me know why You indulge in such sports vile.

Notes:

(i) The Lord, proclaimed by the upaniṣads as an inexhaustible fountain of bliss, is addressed by the Saint, in this song, as the Inflictor of miseries. The fact of the matter is that, on visualising the Lord sporting the resplendent crown, the Saint’s longing for communion with Him has been intensified and he feels miserable. This is but the language of the Saints, in such moments of desolation.

(ii) The unwholesome desires are those directed towards the enjoyment of sensual pleasures, straying away from God-head and remaining self-centred ‘Sohaṃ’ while the wholesome desires are those centred round God and His devotees (Dāsohaṃ); the former breeds miseries while the latter is blissful.