Pasuram 2.1.3

Tamil text and transliteration:

காமுற்ற கையறவோடு எல்லே இராப்பகல்,
நீ முற்றக் கண்துயிலாய் நெஞ்சு உருகி ஏங்குதியால்,
தீ முற்றத் தென் இலங்கை ஊட்டினான் தாள் நயந்த,
யாம் உற்றது உற்றாயோ? வாழி கனை கடலே

kāmuṟṟa kaiyaṟavōṭu ellē irāppakal,
nī muṟṟak kaṇtuyilāy neñcu uruki ēṅkutiyāl,
tī muṟṟat teṉ ilaṅkai ūṭṭiṉāṉ tāḷ nayanta,
yām uṟṟatu uṟṟāyō? vāḻi kaṉai kaṭalē

English translation of verse 2.1.3:

You languish without sleep, You roaring Sea!
Both day and night, and your heart is watery, I see;
Are you with grief afflicted as we are,
Not attaining the feet of our Lord Who by fire
Destroyed Laṅkā? May you from grief be free and prosper!

Notes

(i) The Sea can be said to sleep when it is silent without throwing the waves up. But the waves are surging up and down all the time, be it day or night; this sleeplessness is attributed by the Āḻvār to its separation from the Lord.

(ii) The sea roars and it is mere sound with no meaning, just like the indistinct sound coming from a throat, choked with grief. The Āḻvār is inclined to think that the poor thing is down with grief, too deep for words.

(iii) The Āḻvār would appear to tell the sea: “Sītā was also a woman like me, and Śrī Rāma languished without food and sleep, bunded the Sea, a herculean task indeed, and got at her. He is, however, unmindful of me. Do you also feel tortured by His indifference, as I do?”