(i) The Moon waxes and wanes because of its different phases, but Parāṅkuśa Nāyakī attributes the waning of the Moon and the resultant diminution of its brightness to a mental malady, on a par with her own.
(ii) In her present state of mental depression, the Nāyakī is so sore with the Lord that she says that the Lord’s utterances should not be taken at their face value.
In the sixth pāsuram of this chapter, the Āzhvār, fully embodying the emotional state of Parāṅkuśa Nāyakī, beholds the faint crescent moon as it appears in its minimal size beside a dark cloud. Seeing its wan and weakened form, she perceives a perfect reflection of her own suffering in separation (viraha). In this state of profound longing, she addresses the moon directly,