Pasuram 10.7.3

Tamil text and transliteration:

என்னை முற்றும் உயிர்உண்டு என் மாயஆக்கை இதனுள்புக்கு
என்னை முற்றும் தானேஆய் நின்ற மாய அம்மான் சேர்
தென்நன் திருமாலிருஞ்சோலைத் திசைகை கூப்பிச் சேர்ந்தயான்
இன்னும் போவேனே கொலோ! என்கொல் அம்மான் திருஅருளே?

eṉṉai muṟṟum uyiruṇṭu eṉ māyaākkai itaṉuḷpukku
eṉṉai muṟṟum tāṉēāy niṉṟa māya ammāṉ cēr
teṉnaṉ tirumāliruñcōlait ticaikai kūppic cērntayāṉ
iṉṉum pōvēṉē kolō! eṉkol ammāṉ tiruaruḷē?

English translation of verse 10.7.3:

The mysterious Sire in Tirumaliruñcōlai did my life consume in full,
Entered He my material body and displaced me so well
That in Him I stand transformed, heart and Soul;
Facing south, Him I did adore with joined palms
And His vassal have I now become,
Shall I from here go elsewhere, leaving Him.
What indeed is the extent of His grace supreme?

Notes:

(i) The Āḻvār re-iterates that the Lord consumed him, in full, heart and Soul, deeming it a matter of great privilege and supreme joy, as if He had attained something unattainable. Nampiḷḷai has it that the Lord’s greatness and grandeur got heightened by His contact with the Āḻvār, even as His excellence shot up, while in conjunction with Goddess Mahālakṣmī, c.f. “Yasya sā janakātmajā, aprameyaṃ hi tat tejaḥ” (Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa) which says that Lord Rāma’s prowess grew up to unlimited dimensions after His union with Sītā, the daughter of King Janaka.

(ii) The Lord at Tirumāliruñcōlai bestowed on the Āḻvār’s physical frame boundless love, although the Āḻvār was disgustingly aware of its drawbacks and was keen, as ever, on giving it up. The Āḻvār admired the Lord whose love for him shot up to such incredible lengths, the pilgrim centre where He lovingly resided and the very direction in which it was located. Would he, therefore, think of looking beyond this favourite centre of the Lord whose hot favourite he is? It is indeed bewildering that the Lord’s love for the Āḻvār has not reached the limits of satiety, even after His mingling with him so thoroughly, displacing him, as it were, and nullifying his separate entity. The Āḻvār is aghast with wonder, at the influx of the Lord’s grace, defying description and baffling his imagination.