Pasuram 10.6.11

Tamil text and transliteration:

காட்டித்தன் கனைகழல்கள் கடுநரகம் புகல்ஒழித்த
வாட்டாற்று எம்பெருமானை வளங்குருகூர்ச் சடகோபன்
பாட்டாய தமிழ்மாலை ஆயிரத்துள் இப்பத்தும்-
கேட்டு ஆரார் வானவர்கள் செவிக்குஇனிய செஞ்சொல்லே. (2)

kāṭṭittaṉ kaṉaikaḻalkaḷ kaṭunarakam pukaloḻitta
vāṭṭāṟṟu emperumāṉai vaḷaṅkurukūrc caṭakōpaṉ
pāṭṭāya tamiḻmālai āyirattuḷ ippattum-
kēṭṭu ārār vāṉavarkaḷ cevikkuiṉiya ceñcollē. (2)

English translation of verse 10.6.11:

These songs ten, out of the thousand,
Composed by Caṭakōpaṉ, in chaste Tamil, the hymnal garland,
Adoring the Lord at Tiruvāṭṭāṟu, Who did graciously reveal
His lovely pair of feet and rid him of [Saṃsāra] the cruel hell,
Will unto the ears of the Celestials be a treat insatiable.

Notes:

(i) This end-song, which usually details the benefits accrued to the chanters of the songs, in this decad, says that these songs will feast the ears of the Celestials, in Heaven sumptuously and that they will never feel satiated. On the face of it, this sounds like a departure from the general pattern of the end-songs of the other decads. But it is not so. What is actually meant to be conveyed by this song is that the chanters of this decad will surely go to Heaven and there again recite these ten songs, much to the delectation of the ‘Nityas’ (Eternal heroes) and ‘Muktas’ (released souls) over there, who would want to hear these songs, over and over again, without satiety.

(ii) Unlike Tonṭaraṭippoṭi Āḻvār, who concludes his ‘Tirumālai’, the hymnal garland comprising forty-five songs, referring to them, in all humility, as petty and immature, Nammāḻvār speaks of Tiruvāymoḻi, in such glorious terms as ‘Ceñcol’ (choice diction, sweet and chaste), a grand treat indeed, even to the exalted denizens of the Eternal Land who go into raptures the very moment these songs fall on their ears. The Āḻvār is but the mouth-piece of the Lord, Who sang these songs through His chosen medium. So sweet and scintillating are these songs that they throw the very medium into raptures. In this particular decad, the Lord enshrined in Tiruvāṭṭāṟu is depicted as the Grand Deliverer, ready to take the Āḻvār to Heaven, ridding him of the earthly bondage and all that goes with it. Even the chanters of this decad are assured of heavenly ascent and when they reach Heaven, those on the yonder side curiously enquire as to what is going on on earth. The new-comers would naturally refer to Saint Nammāḻvār and his glorious hymns as of outstanding interest, whereupon the heavenly denizens would insist upon listening to these hymns sung by the former. And now, the ball is set in motion and the recital goes on, over and over again, pressed ever more by the incessant demands of the rapturous audience.