Pasuram 7.9.3

Tamil text and transliteration:

ஆம் முதல்வன் இவன் என்று தன் தேற்றி, என்
நா முதல் வந்து புகுந்து நல் இன் கவி,
தூ முதல் பத்தர்க்குத் தான் தன்னைச் சொன்ன, என்
வாய் முதல் அப்பனை என்று மறப்பனோ?

ām mutalvaṉ ivaṉ eṉṟu taṉ tēṟṟi, eṉ
nā mutal vantu pukuntu nal iṉ kavi,
tū mutal pattarkkut tāṉ taṉṉaic coṉṉa, eṉ
vāy mutal appaṉai eṉṟu maṟappaṉō?

English translation of verse 7.9.3:

Shall I ever forget my Lord Who desired, I would better
Become Chief of Prapannas’ clan and on me clarity bestowed,
Entered my tongue to sing songs delicious which unto the pious cater,
The Benefactor great, Who unto me the gift of speech endowed?

Notes:

(i) The Āḻvār gratefully acknowledges the Lord’s assignment to him of the role of redeeming the worldlings, sunk in sorrow and despair, by instilling in him, as a preparatory measure, clarity of knowledge and understanding that He is the Supreme Lord of the Universe, the Sole Refuge of all His subjects. Bent upon redeeming the subjects in the ‘Līlā Vibhūti’ (Sportive Universe) and bringing them on a par with the denizens of Heaven, the Lord inspires His chosen few, His messengers. Tradition has it that, during his sojourn at Śrī Kāñci, the great Āḷavandār (Saint Yāmunācārya) spotted out, by mere insight, young Rāmānuja, seen in the company of Yādavaprakāśa, at the holy shrine of Lord Varadarāja, as the great religious reformer, the Chief Personage, who would, in the coming days, spread the gospel of Viśiṣṭādvaita actually known as ‘Emperumāṉār Darśana’. Āḷavandār had no acquaintance with Rāmānuja nor did the latter know the former.

(ii) In the very manner of its birth, this hymnal (Tiruvāymoḻi) scores over Rāmāyaṇa. While the Lord stepped on to the Āḻvār’s tongue and straightaway produced this great hymnal, Rāmāyaṇa had to pass through a number of intermediaries in succession, namely, Lord to Brahmā Brahmā to Sarasvatī and from her to Vālmīki, in the sense that she entered Vālmīki’s tongue to enable the latter to sing the great epic.