Pasuram 2.7.6

Tamil text and transliteration:

மதுசூதனை அன்றி மற்று இலேன் என்று எத்தாலும் கருமம் இன்றி,
துதி சூழ்ந்த பாடல்கள் பாடி ஆட நின்று ஊழி ஊழிதொறும்,
எதிர் சூழல் புக்கு எனைத்தோர் பிறப்பும் எனக்கே அருள்கள் செய்ய,
விதி சூழ்ந்ததால் எனக்கேல் அம்மான் திரிவிக்கிரமனையே.

matucūtaṉai aṉṟi maṟṟu ilēṉ eṉṟu ettālum karumam iṉṟi,
tuti cūḻnta pāṭalkaḷ pāṭi āṭa niṉṟu ūḻi ūḻitoṟum,
etir cūḻal pukku eṉaittōr piṟappum eṉakkē aruḷkaḷ ceyya,
viti cūḻntatāl eṉakkēl ammāṉ tirivikkiramaṉaiyē.

English translation of verse 2.7.6:

In none but Matucūtan do I take refuge,
On and on I sing, as an end in itself, hymns of His glory;
This is because of Tirivikkiramaṉ’s grace extraordinary,
Who took births alongside, to set me right, down the ages.

Note

The Āḻvār has passed through a staggering cycle of births. The Lord also incarnated every time, in order to get hold of the Āḻvār, but only now He could get hold of him and bring him up to the required standard. A pertinent question is asked at this stage as to why the Omnipotent Lord should not have grabbed at the Āḻvār straightaway if He was so keen on getting at him, instead of following such a tedious and time-absorbing process. No doubt, the Lord could have adopted the short-cut, suggested above, in His unbridled independence, for there is none to question Him. But an unreserved and unqualified amnesty would result in wholesale emancipation, en masse, which would cut across the very foundation of the Śāstras. The Lord is, therefore, on the look-out for some pretext or the other to reclaim the Subject through His extra-liberal standards. With this object, He also incarnated every time the Āḻvār was born but failed in His mission all along. Now, at long last, He has succeeded.

We can take it that this song reveals either the Lord’s extreme grace or the Āḻvār’s extreme humility.