Pasuram 4.1.9

Tamil text and transliteration:

படி மன்னு பல் கலன் பற்றோடு அறுத்து ஐம்புலன் வென்று,
செடி மன்னு காயம் செற்றார்களும் ஆங்கு அவனை இல்லார்,
குடி மன்னும் இன் சுவர்க்கம் எய்தியும் மீள்வர்கள் மீள்வு இல்லை,
கொடி மன்னு புள் உடை அண்ணல் கழல்கள் குறுகுமினோ.

paṭi maṉṉu pal kalaṉ paṟṟōṭu aṟuttu aimpulaṉ veṉṟu,
ceṭi maṉṉu kāyam ceṟṟārkaḷum āṅku avaṉai illār,
kuṭi maṉṉum iṉ cuvarkkam eytiyum mīḷvarkaḷ mīḷvu illai,
koṭi maṉṉu puḷ uṭai aṇṇal kaḻalkaḷ kuṟukumiṉō.

English translation of verse 4.1.9:

Even they that do wealth hereditary renounce
And conquer the senses five, doing hard penance,
With aversion great for this body, gross and dense,
Will but reach the pleasant Svarga and be hurled thence
Back to Earth; better attain the feet of the Lord
Who has, on His banner, that bird (Garuḍa)
And enjoy the bliss that forever lasts.

Note

In the preceding stanzas, the Āḻvār deprecated the earthly pleasures. And now, he points out that the ‘Svarga’, the fairy land known for its unmixed pleasures attained through rigorous penance., abjuring the wealth and bodily pleasures over here, is not hospitable enough to provide these men asylum for all time. They are literally hurled down to Earth at the end of the allotted tenure of their stay in Svarga (Bhagavad Gītā-IX 21). If only these practicants had sought the Lord’s grace instead, they would have been better off, enjoying the bliss of eternal service unto Him in the same way as Garuḍa. the Lord’s proximate attendant, does.