Pasuram 2.8.4

Tamil text and transliteration:

புலன் ஐந்து மேயும் பொறி ஐந்தும் நீங்கி,
நலம் அந்தம் இல்லது ஓர் நாடு புகுவீர்,
அலமந்து வீய அசுரரைச் செற்றான்,
பலம் முந்து சீரில் படிமின் ஒவாதே.

pulaṉ aintu mēyum poṟi aintum nīṅki,
nalam antam illatu ōr nāṭu pukuvīr,
alamantu vīya acuraraic ceṟṟāṉ,
palam muntu cīril paṭimiṉ ovātē.

English translation of verse 2.8.4:

Those of you who the interplay want to quell,
Of the senses and sense-objects, so as to enter
The Eternal Land of perfect bliss, will do well
To enjoy the traits auspicious of the Lord, for ever;
How He tortured and slew the Asuras, think it over.

Notes

(i) Here is the Āḻvār’s recipe for discarding the sensual pleasures, petty and transient, and entering the Eternal Land of perfect bliss;

“Be steeped in the enjoyment of His auspicious traits for ever”,

(ii) Unlike several other processes which are difficult and tiresome in the initial stages and are pleasurable only in the final stages of fruition, contemplation of the Lord’s auspicious traits is an ecstatic experience, right from the beginning. It is also noteworthy that there are no inhibitions and injunctions restricting such enjoyment to certain days only or parts of the day as in the case of sea-bath etc.

(iii) This abode of ours is the harrowing land of eternal miseries whereas the Heaven is just the opposite—the Eternal Land of absolute bliss. The Āḻvār does not subscribe to the doctrine of philosophy which conceives of ‘Mokṣa’, as but the mere disembodiment of the soul on emancipation from the cycle of births and deaths. His concept of ‘Mokṣa’ is the eternal joy of constant service unto the Lord, in the yonder heaven, with no tinge of the erstwhile sorrows, partaking of the bliss of unlimited dimensions, fresh and exquisite, every moment, flowing from the Lord who is an inexhaustible fountain of bliss.

(iv) The Lord will destroy our sins and remove all impediment* in the way of our union with Him, even as He tormented and destroyed the Asuras.