Pasuram 3.6.1

Tamil text and transliteration:

செய்ய தாமரைக் கண்ணன் ஆய் உலகு ஏழும் உண்ட அவன் கண்டீர்,
வையம் வானம் மனிசர் தெய்வம் மற்றும் மற்றும் மற்றும் முற்றும் ஆய்,
செய்யசூழ் சுடர் ஞானம் ஆய் வெளிப் பட்டு இவை படைத்தான் பின்னும்
மொய்கொள் சோதியோடு ஆயினான் ஒரு மூவர் ஆகிய மூர்த்தியே. (2)

ceyya tāmaraik kaṇṇaṉ āy ulaku ēḻum uṇṭa avaṉ kaṇṭīr,
vaiyam vāṉam maṉicar teyvam maṟṟum maṟṟum maṟṟum muṟṟum āy,
ceyyacūḻ cuṭar ñāṉam āy veḷip paṭṭu ivai paṭaittāṉ piṉṉum
moykoḷ cōtiyōṭu āyiṉāṉ oru mūvar ākiya mūrttiyē. (2)

English translation of verse 3.6.1:

Know ye, ‘tis the red lotus-eyed Lord, Who did once contain
In His stomach, the worlds seven
And created this Earth, the upper regions, the humans,
Devas, beasts, plants and all else thro’ His knowledge radiant;
He has His abode in the heaven resplendent
And carries out (the triple functions), standing as the Trinity.

Notes

(i) The opening stanza deals with the Lord’s ‘Paratva’, the transcendental glory, although this decad is intended to spotlight the Lord’s ‘Saulabhya’, or easy accessibility. Indeed, the Lord’s ‘Paratva’ serves as a foil against which His astounding simplicity becomes even more pronounced and amazing and hence the Āḻvār begins with this complementary role of the Lord.

(ii) The red lotus-eyes proclaim the Lord’s supremacy. c.f. tasya yathā kapyāsam puṇḍarīkaṃ evaṃ akṣiṇī, (Chāndogyopaniṣad). The Lord’s eyes, highlight His Supremacy, as far as His form is concerned; likewise among His many attributes, ‘pralayāpatsakhatva’ or sustenance of the worlds with their variegated contents inside His stomach during the ‘pralaya’ (deluge), brings into focus His Supremacy over all the rest, the ‘Container’ vis-a-vis the ‘Contained’.

(iii) Of the triple functions of creation, sustentation and dissolution, the middle one is attended to by the Lord Himself, standing as Viṣṇu, while the other two functions are carried out by Him through Brahmā and Śiva respectively, as their Internal Controller. Whereas Brahmā and Śiva were produced by the Lord, Viṣṇu, standing in between, as a member of the Trinity, is the Lord Himself Who has none above, to create Him. In the cycle of cause and effect, if we go back from effect to cause of all things and beings, we will ultimately be left with the Lord who is His own cause, the Causeless Cause.