Pasuram 9.3.9

Tamil text and transliteration:

தொழுதுமாமலர் நீர்சுடர்தூபம்கொண்டு
எழுதும்என்னும்இது மிகைஆதலின்
பழுதுஇல்தொல்புகழ்ப் பாம்புஅணைப்பள்ளியாய்
தழுவுமாறுஅறியேன் உனதாள்களே

toḻutumāmalar nīrcuṭartūpamkoṇṭu
eḻutumeṉṉumitu mikaiātaliṉ
paḻutuiltolpukaḻp pāmpuaṇaippaḷḷiyāy
taḻuvumāṟuaṟiyēṉ uṉatāḷkaḷē

English translation of verse 9.3.9:

Oh, Lord, resting on serpent bed, ‘tis your ancient glory flawless
That one can worship you with no effort; 1 am at a loss,
How indeed I can your feet attain, for heavy you deem
The ritualistic worship with flowers fine, lamp and fragrant fumes.

Notes:

The Lord refutes the stand taken by the Āḻvār, in the preceding song, that only Devas can possibly worship the Lord at Tiruvēṅkaṭam, by pointing out to him that even men of this world do go there and worship. But then, the Āḻvār is quick to realise that the Lord’s tender solicitude for His subjects is such that He deems even the simple service of offering flowers and sacramental water and burning incense before Him, much-too-heavy. This, the Āḻvār points out to the Lord and enquires of Him what service he could render unto Him. The Vedic text, ‘Bhūyiṣṭāṃ te namauktiṃ videma’ is interpreted, by some, as “we will utter, in plenty, the word ‘namaḥ’,” meaning that we do not belong to ourselves but exclusively to the Lord. The great Vaiṣṇava preceptors would, however, interpret it, in the light of this particular song, emphasising the Lord’s remarkable tenderness of heart and amazing solicitude for His subjects. Accordingly, the text in question is taken by them to mean: “We will utter the word ‘namaḥ’ which, according to Your extra-liberal standards, is too weighty a submission by us”. The prose order is arranged as “te bhūyiṣṭāṇṭ nama uktiṃ videma”, in order to get at this meaning. In fine, the Āḻvār says that it is well nigh impossible to render any service to the Lord, when one meditates on His remarkable tenderness of heart, which makes Him look upon even the simple offerings like flowers and water and burning incense as part of worship, as imposing a heavy burden on Him. This is indeed very true to His time-honoured fame, as One of easy worshippability.