Pasuram 8.1.3

Tamil text and transliteration:

எடுத்தபேராளன் நந்தகோபன்தன் இன்உயிர்ச் சிறுவனே அசோதைக்கு
அடுத்தபேரின்பக் குலஇளம்களிறே அடியனேன் பெரிய அம்மானே
கடுத்தபோர் அவுணன் உடல் இருபிளவாக் கைஉகிர் ஆண்ட எம்கடலே,
அடுத்ததுஓர் உருவாய் இன்று நீ வாராய் எங்ஙனம் தேறுவர் உமரே?

eṭuttapērāḷaṉ nantakōpaṉtaṉ iṉuyirc ciṟuvaṉē acōtaikku
aṭuttapēriṉpak kulaiḷamkaḷiṟē aṭiyaṉēṉ periya ammāṉē
kaṭuttapōr avuṇaṉ uṭal irupiḷavāk kaiukir āṇṭa emkaṭalē,
aṭuttatuōr uruvāy iṉṟu nī vārāy eṅṅaṉam tēṟuvar umarē?

English translation of verse 8.1.3:

The little one dear as life unto Nantakōpan, the great Treasure-grasper,
Acōtai’s vicarious Joy personified, the elephant calf of that clan You are,
Oh, Benefactor great, Who did unto this vassal Your glory reveal,
An ocean of compassion unto the devout, You tore off with Your nails,
Avuṇaṉ, the battle-hungry, into halves and yet, now You appear not
Before me, taking up the Form You deem fit; (should you thus neglect),
How can devotees like me trust You (as the Protector great)?

Notes:

(i) The Āḻvār’s enquiry, as above, could either point out to the Lord, how at all His devotees can sustain themselves if He doesn’t oblige them with His sweet presence, the great Elixir of life, but keeps away, as He is doing at present,

or

express the doubt as to how His reputation as the henchman of His devotees, aired through the Scriptures, the Itihāsa Purāṇas etc., with a great deal of fanfare and publicity, could be taken for granted, without the concrete proof thereof, especially when He is keeping aloof from the Āḻvār, despite his passionate longing for His immediate presence.

(ii) Nandagopa is aptly referred to, as the great Treasuregrasper inasmuch as the Lord (Śrī Kṛṣṇa) crossed over to him on the very night of His descent into this world. Nanda hadn’t even dreamt of this windfall and yet, the Lord of the Universe, higher than the highest (Para Brahmam), at His sweet volition, courted Nanda’s courtyard, regaling him in a thousand ways, while the luckless Vasudeva had to be contented with a mere glimpse of the Divine Babe, born in the Prison-house, only to get out of it immediately. This makes all the difference between ‘Svagata svīkāra’ (i.e.) courting the Lord as the ‘Means’ and ‘Paragata svīkāra’ (i.e.) the condescending love of the Lord shed on some one of His choice, at His sweet volition. Is there indeed a greater Treasure than the Lord Who resides right inside every one and yet can be enjoyed only by the felicitous few? Nandagopa is, therefore, rightly acclaimed as the great Treasure-lifter, who didn’t have to lift the Treasure, as such, but could enjoy it like one who comes by a fabulous treasure-trove by sheer luck. Even so, the lion’s share of the enjoyment of this great Treasure went to Acōtai (Yaśodhā) who played the mother of the Divine Babe, a role which should have actually been filled by poor Devakī. The bliss enjoyed by Yaśodhā was indeed several times more than that enjoyed by the Celestials in the High Heavens.

(iii) The elephant calf: A mighty animal though, the elephant meekly submits itself to be tethered to a peg which could be easily uprooted, with but a small jerk of the huge frame of the beast. The Almighty Lord submitted Himself to the yoke of Yaśodhā who tied Him fast to a pounder, as if He was such a helpless pigmy and then, the Gopīs (the damsels of Virundāvan [Vṛndāvana]) would order Him about. Oh, what an amazing submissiveness! The Āḻvār too seems to feel, according to Nampiḷḷai, that the Lord could have as well been directed and controlled by him even as Nandagopa and Yaśodhā did, assuming the ‘vātsalya’ stance instead of following the ‘Master-servant’ relationship, allowing Him to play the overbearing overlord who would not mingle freely with His subjects.

(iv) ‘Avuṇaṉ’ is the Tamil word for Hiraṇya whom Lord Narasiṃha tore down, all for the sake of that little lad, Prahlāda. The Āīvār would seem to feel that he is not obliged by the Lord Who did so much for that young chap. The Āḻvār is even led to suspect whether the Lord had hired out all those Sages, Vyāsa, Parāśara etc., to lavish all those epithets on Him, which do not actually fit in with Him, At least to clear up such misgivings lurking in the Āḻvār’s mind, the Lord should appear before him, assuming an appropriate Form.