Pasuram 8.7.6

Tamil text and transliteration:

பொருள்மற்றுஎனக்கும் ஓர்பொருள்தன்னில் சீர்க்கத்
தருமேல் பின்னையார்க்குஅவன் தன்னைக் கொடுக்கும்?
கருமாணிக்கக் குன்றத்துத் தாமரைபோல்
திருமார்பு கால்கண்கை செவ்வாய் உந்தியானே.

poruḷmaṟṟueṉakkum ōrporuḷtaṉṉil cīrkkat
tarumēl piṉṉaiyārkkuavaṉ taṉṉaik koṭukkum?
karumāṇikkak kuṉṟattut tāmaraipōl
tirumārpu kālkaṇkai cevvāy untiyāṉē.

English translation of verse 8.7.6:

If the Lord, whose winsome chest and other limbs
Do a cluster of lotus flowers blooming on emerald mount resemble,
Were on me to bestow lesser gains, short of He Himself,
Is there at all any other to whom He will give of Himself?

Notes:

(i) There are two broad groups of the Lord’s votaries, namely, those who ask of Him boons like acquisition of wealth, freedom from rebirth and so on, while those in the other group seek none but the Lord Himself. The Āḻvār falls in the latter group, no doubt, and yet, if the Lord has given Himself unto the Āḻvār, it is because of His inordinate love for the Āḻvār and not because there are no other like-minded votaries in that group.

(ii) The enchanting description of the Lord’s exquisite charm, as set out, in detail, in the original text of this song, does not stem so much from the Lord’s natural charm as from the extra lustre and grandeur imparted to His whole Form, limb by limb, by His union with the Āḻvār.

(iii) Reference to the lotus flowers blooming on the crest of an emerald mount is a grand piece of poetic imagery, flight of poetic fancy.