Pasuram 9.1.6

Tamil text and transliteration:

இல்லைகண்டீர் இன்பம்அந்தோ! உள்ளது நினையாதே
தொல்லையார்கள் எத்தனைவர் தோன்றிக் கழிந்தொழிந்தார்?
மல்லை மூதூர் வடமதுரைப்பிறந்தவன் வண்புகழே
சொல்லிஉய்யப் போகல்அல்லால் மற்றொன்றுஇல்லைசுருக்கே.

illaikaṇṭīr iṉpamantō! uḷḷatu niṉaiyātē
tollaiyārkaḷ ettaṉaivar tōṉṟik kaḻintoḻintār?
mallai mūtūr vaṭamaturaippiṟantavaṉ vaṇpukaḻē
colliuyyap pōkalallāl maṟṟoṉṟuillaicurukkē.

English translation of verse 9.1.6:

Many men of yore had just come and gone,
Oblivious of the true goal eternal, alas! happiness there’s none,
In this world, take note; lies indeed our salvation
In singing the glory great of the Lord, Who was born
In North Maturai, rich and hoary; this is the truth plain.
Which, in no other way, one can explain.

Notes:

The Āḻvār deplores the fate of myriads of men who have come into this world and passed out, without realising the eternal values of life and the everlasting happiness resulting therefrom. What a pity! these men failed to discover that there is no real happiness over here and that the Supreme Lord alone can bestow real and lasting happiness through our loving and intimate service unto Him.

The Saint, therefore, exhorts the men of the contemporary world not to follow in the footsteps of those men of the past and get bogged down, but attain salvation by singing the great glory of Lord Kṛṣṇa who was born in North Mathura—the holy city, hallowed by the advent of Lord Vāmana and Lord Kṛṣṇa and by virtue of its having been the capital of Śatrughna, the Youngest brother of Śrī Rāma.