Pasuram 2.3.11

Tamil text and transliteration:

குழாம் கொள் பேர் அரக்கன் குலம் வீய முனிந்தவனை,
குழாம் கொள் தென் குருகூர்ச் சடகோபன் தெரிந்து உரைத்த,
குழாம் கொள் ஆயிரத்துள் இவை பத்தும் உடன் பாடி,
குழாங்களாய் அடியீர் உடன் கூடிநின்று ஆடுமினே.

kuḻām koḷ pēr arakkaṉ kulam vīya muṉintavaṉai,
kuḻām koḷ teṉ kurukūrc caṭakōpaṉ terintu uraitta,
kuḻām koḷ āyirattuḷ ivai pattum uṭaṉ pāṭi,
kuḻāṅkaḷāy aṭiyīr uṭaṉ kūṭiniṉṟu āṭumiṉē.

English translation of verse 2.3.11:

Dance, ye devotees! in a body, singing diligently, these songs ten,
Out of the cluster of thousand learned songs of Caṭakōpaṉ,
Chief of the apostles of Ten Kurukūr, in adoration
Of the irate Lord, who routed the demon (Rāvaṇa) and his battalions.

Note

In this end-stanza, there is a departure from the usual pattern of setting out the benefits of learning and singing the ten songs in each decad. The Āḻvār emphasises the importance of these ten songs being sung in a chorus by the devotees, as an end in itself. It may also be construed that those who learn these ten songs will have the felicity of singing them in the holy company of devotees, unlike the Āḻvār, who languished for want of such an association.

It is worth repeating here the following exhortation of Nampiḷḷai, the great Preceptor:

“Until you reach the Eternal Land, the few of you who are devoted to the Supreme Lord, should, during the few days of your stay in this abode, sink all petty differences, based on lust and lucre, and sing, in one voice, the Lord’s glory, for your common enjoyment and edification”.