Pasuram 3.7.1

Tamil text and transliteration:

பயிலும் சுடர் ஒளி மூர்த்தியை பங்கயக் கண்ணனை,
பயில இனிய நம் பாற்கடல் சேர்ந்த பரமனை,
பயிலும் திரு உடையார் எவரேலும் அவர் கண்டீர்,
பயிலும் பிறப்பிடை தோறு எம்மை ஆளும் பரமரே. (2)

payilum cuṭar oḷi mūrttiyai paṅkayak kaṇṇaṉai,
payila iṉiya nam pāṟkaṭal cērnta paramaṉai,
payilum tiru uṭaiyār evarēlum avar kaṇṭīr,
payilum piṟappiṭai tōṟu emmai āḷum paramarē. (2)

English translation of verse 3.7.1:

They that are with eternal wealth of God -love endowed
Whatever be their descent, meditating on our Lord Supreme
Resting on the milk-ocean, the lotus-eyed, of a form
Of solid splendour and mounting sweetness, shall hold
Me as their vassal, in all the births to come.

Notes

(i) The Āḻvār says that all those who are steeped in the enjoyment of the Supreme Lord’s auspicious traits and enthralling form, are his masters, irrespective of their parentage. These devotees have now been accorded by the Āḻvār the position of eminence attributed earlier to the Supreme Lord alone.

(ii) The lotus-eyed: This special feature proclaims the Lord’s transcendent glory (paratva). It is indeed a form of supernal splendour that the Lord assumes, during His avatāras, so as to enthral His subjects; even if such an exquisite form fails to attract them, His lotus-eyes will do the job—the folks cannot but be entrapped by His bewitching eyes.

(iii) Mounting sweetness: Unlike the ephemeral pleasures of the world, which are alluring from a distance but prove disappointing at close quarters, the Lord, with His enchanting looks and enthralling form and a disposition of mounting sweetness, is an inexhaustible fountain of bliss.

(iv) Eternal wealth of God-Love: Those who employ the Lord as the ‘Means’ for achieving their personal ends, would drift from Him, once their ends are achieved. On the other hand, those that seek Him for His own sake, as their ‘Be-all’ and ‘End-All’, will stick unto Him for ever and there is no risk whatsoever of their getting parted from Him. Service unto the Lord, as an end in itself, is the eternal wealth referred to there. Take the case of Lakṣmaṇa who, at his volition, accompanied Śrī Rāma into exile. What wealth did the youngster carry with him? With but a spade and basket in hand, the insignia of his incessant toil in his unremitting service unto the Divine Couple, he is glorified as ‘Lakṣmaṇo Lakṣmī sampannaḥ’. Again, literaḷḷy hounded out by Rāvaṇa, Vibhīṣaṇa, still anchored in mid-air, sought asylum in Rāma’s camp. Vībhiṣaṇa’s admission into Rāma’s camp was hotly debated and, in this unenviable position, when Vibhīṣaṇa was neither here nor there, he was referred to, as ‘antarikṣagatas śrīmān’. What was the wealth in him then to be called ‘Śrīmān’ (the wealthy)? It was his robust conviction that he shall not get back to the evil-minded Rākṣasas, even if he were to be denied admission in Rāma’s camp! And then, Gajendra, the elephant, in dire distress, was referred to as ‘Satu nāgavaraś Śrīmān’, the wealth, in this case, being the elephant’s singleminded devotion to the Lord, utterly unmindful of his own grim struggle with the crocodile. The elephant’s one and only objective was to offer the lotus flower in his trunk to the Lord, while it was still fresh. It is such singleminded devotion to the Lord that is real wealth, everlasting.

Deeply grieved over his separation from Śrī Rāma, during the long years of the latter’s exile, Bharata would say that his grief would vanish only when Rāma wore the regal crown (as Śeṣi—Master) and he wore, the crown of service unto Him (as Śeṣa—the servant).

‘Whatever be their descent’: Here, it may be added, whatever be the extent of their learning, manner of occupation etc.

‘In the births to come’: Here, the Āḻvār declares that he is the vassal of the Lord’s devotees, rather than of the Lord. The Āḻvār who had earlier blamed the Lord for taking him through a gruesome succession of births, would now willingly court any number of future births out of sheer love of serving the Lord’s devotees in all those births.