Pasuram 3.10.1

Tamil text and transliteration:

சன்மம் பலபல செய்து வெளிப்பட்டு சங்கொடு சக்கரம்வில்,
ஒண்மை உடைய உலக்கை ஒள்வாள் தண்டு கொண்டு புள் ஊர்ந்து, உலகில்
வன்மை உடைய அரக்கர் அசுரரை மாளப் படைபொருத,
நன்மை உடையவன் சீர் பரவப்பெற்ற நான் ஓர் குறைவு இலனே.

caṉmam palapala ceytu veḷippaṭṭu caṅkoṭu cakkaramvil,
oṇmai uṭaiya ulakkai oḷvāḷ taṇṭu koṇṭu puḷ ūrntu, ulakil
vaṉmai uṭaiya arakkar acurarai māḷap paṭaiporuta,
naṉmai uṭaiyavaṉ cīr paravappeṟṟa nāṉ ōr kuṟaivu ilaṉē.

English translation of verse 3.10.1:

Singing the glory of the benevolent Lord
Who took many a birth, visible unto (he eyes naked
Of the worldly, wielding the sword, the mace.
The pounder blight, bow, conch and discus
And slew, flying that bird (Garuḍa), the Asuras and the fiends
Free from wants of any kind am I indeed.

Notes

(i) While the Lord incarnates as a matter of grace we are born under compulsion, as the result of our past Karmas (deeds), to eke out our load. But by the Lord’s spontaneous grace, the cycle of birth and rebirth will, some day, be brought to a halt in our case, and we won’t have any more births, having once reached the Eternal Land (Heaven) whence there is no returning. The Lord, however, goes on taking births assuming the Form most appropriate to His needs. While recounting the Lord’s Avatāras (incarnations) carrying about His person the unique weapons of transcendent fame, the Āḻvār feels that he is above wants of any kind. As a matter of fact, only those can suffer from wants, who are either devilish (āsurik) or are running after petty men for paltry gains.

(ii) The fiends: Those whose hearts are hard like a rock impervious to the exquisite charm of the Lord’s enthralling Form, and who become the targets of His bow and not of His beauty.