ஒற்றி யூர உலவா நின்குணம்பற்றி யாரப் பரவுதல் பொருட்டாஎன்னிடைப் பிறந்த இன்னாப் புன்மொழிநின்னிடை அணுகா நீர்மைய ஆதலின்ஆவலித் தழுதலின் அகன்ற அம்மனைகேவலம் சேய்மையிற் கேளாள் ஆயினும்பிரித்தற் கரிய பெற்றிய தாகிக்குறைவினில் ஆர்த்தும் குழவிய தியல்பினைஅறியா தெண்ணில் ஊழிப் பிறவியின்மயங்கிக் கண்ணிலர் கண்பெற் றாங்கேதாய்தலைப் படநின் தாளிணை வணக்கம்வாய்தலை அறியா மயக்குறும் வினையேன்மல்கிய இன்பத் தோடுடன் கூடியஎல்லையில் அவாவினில் இயற்றிய வாகக்கட்டிய நீயே அவிழ்க்கின் அல்லதுஎட்டனை யாயினும் யான்அவிழ்க் கறியேன்துன்னிடை இருளெனும் தூற்றிடை ஒதுங்கிவெள்ளிடை காண விருப்புறு வினையேன்தந்தையுந் தாயுஞ் சாதியும் அறிவும்நம்சிந்தையுந் திருவுஞ் செல்கதித் திறனும்துன்பமுந் துறவுந் தூய்மையும் அறிவும்இன்பமும் புகழும் இவைபல பிறவும்சுவைஒளி ஊறோசை நாற்றம் தோற்றம்என்றிவை முதலா விளங்குவ எல்லாம்ஒன்றநின் அடிக்கே ஒருங்குடன் வைத்துநின்றனன் தமியேன் நின்னடி அல்லதுசார்வுமற் றின்மையின் தளர்ந்தோர் காட்சிச்சேர்விட மதனைத் திறப்பட நாடிஎய்துதற் கரியோய் யானினிச்செய்வதும் அறிவனோ தெரியுங் காலே.
In plain words
O Lord of Oṟṟiyūr, the graceless, poor words born in me, meant to hold to your unfailing qualities and praise them to the full, are of a nature that cannot come near you. A mother who has gone far away may simply not hear her child wailing and weeping, because of the distance; yet the infant, by a nature hard to part from her, cries out in its want. Not knowing that nature of the infant, I have been bewildered in births through countless aeons. Worship at your two feet is like the blind being given eyes, like the child meeting its mother; but I do not know its doorway, bewildered as I am, I who am bound by my viṉai. What is tied, joined with overflowing pleasure and fashioned in boundless desire: unless you yourself, who tied it, untie it, I do not know how to untie it by so much as a sesame seed. I have taken shelter in the thicket called darkness, dense within, I who am bound by my viṉai, longing to see the open. Father and mother, caste and knowledge, our mind and our wealth, the power to go on the way, suffering and renunciation, purity and knowledge, pleasure and fame, these many and others besides; taste, light, touch, sound, smell and form: all that shines, with these and more, I have placed all together at your feet, to become one, and I stand alone. Since I have no other support than your feet: O you, the place of refuge that the weary see, so hard to attain even when one seeks it rightly, when I consider it, do I even know what I am now to do?
Line by line
O Lord of Oṟṟiyūr, your unfailing qualities holding to them, for the sake of praising them to the full, the graceless, poor words born in me since they are of a nature that does not come near you; because of the wailing and weeping, the mother who has gone far, though merely through distance she does not hear, being of a nature hard to separate, the nature of the infant that cries out in want not knowing, in births of countless aeons bewildered; as the blind obtained eyes, as one meets the mother, the worship of your two feet, its doorway not knowing, I, bewildered, I of viṉai, joined together with overflowing pleasure, as things fashioned in boundless desire, unless you yourself who tied them untie them, even a sesame's worth, I do not know how to untie; sheltering in the thicket called darkness, dense within, I of viṉai, longing to see the open; father and mother and caste and knowledge, our mind and wealth and the power of the way to go, suffering and renunciation and purity and knowledge, pleasure and fame, these many and others, taste, light, touch, sound, smell, form, all that shines, with these first, to become one, at your feet indeed, all together placing, I have stood, I alone; other than your feet since there is no other support, of the weary, the sight, the place of refuge, seeking it rightly, O you hard to attain, I now even what to do, do I know, when it is considered?