Pasuram 6.10.4

Tamil text and transliteration:

ஆவா வென்னாது உலகத்தை அலைக்கும் அசுரர் வாழ் நாள்மேல்,
தீ வாய் வாளி மழை பொழிந்த சிலையா! திரு மா மகள் கேள்வா-
தேவா சுரர்கள் முனிக்கணங்கள் விரும்பும் திருவேங்கடத்தானே,
பூ ஆர் கழல்கள் அருவினையேன் பொருந்துமாறு புணராயே.

āvā veṉṉātu ulakattai alaikkum acurar vāḻ nāḷmēl,
tī vāy vāḷi maḻai poḻinta cilaiyā! tiru mā makaḷ kēḷvā-
tēvā curarkaḷ muṉikkaṇaṅkaḷ virumpum tiruvēṅkaṭattāṉē,
pū ār kaḻalkaḷ aruviṉaiyēṉ poruntumāṟu puṇarāyē.

English translation of verse 6.10.4:

Oh, Tirumāmakaḻ’s Spouse Divine, residing in Tiruvēṅkaṭam,
Adored by sages and Celestials, in strength, arrows spitting fire,
You, great Archer, did on the unrelenting Acurar shower,
Teach this sinner dire how to attain Your florid feet, my Sanctum.

Notes

(i) The Āḻvār tells the Lord that none of the means, outlined in the Śāstras for attaining His feet, has been of any avail to him and that He should, therefore, teach him yet another way, implying thereby that, for him, the Lord should at once be the ‘Means’ and the ‘End’, the path and the goal.

A disciple of Nañcīyar caused him great mental pain by questioning the need for the act of Surrender to God (plainly indicative of something done, out of one’s own free will), if God is our only Means of salvation and there is nothing for us to do. It is a pity, the questioner did not receive the sacred truth of ‘Prapatti’, resignation to God. in good faith and failed to appreciate the spirit underlying it, namely, our free-will inclining to God’s grace is itself due to His grace. Nañcīyar regretted very much that he should have passed on to the questioner (not truly responsive) this sacred truth, handed down, as a holy legacy, through an unbroken succession of preceptors. Smiting his palm against his forehead, he retired to his private chamber, moved with pity and sorrow at the obduracy of men’s hearts in not receiving and understanding such sacred truths, in their proper perspective.

(ii) Unrelenting Acurar: The Asuras are the ungodly, who inflict miseries on their fellow-beings. The great Nañcīyar taught his disciples to distinguish the Godly from the otherwise, as follows: We may console ourselves as related to God, if our hearts are moved with compassion when any ill befalls others; if, on the other hand, we gloat over others’ miseries, surely, we are cast away from Him.