Pasuram 10.2.5

Tamil text and transliteration:

புண்ணியம் செய்து நல்ல புனலொடு மலர்கள்தூவி
எண்ணுமின் எந்தைநாமம் இப்பிறப்புஅறுக்கும் அப்பால்
திண்ணம்நாம் அறியச்சொன்னோம் செறிபொழில் அனந்தபுரத்து
அண்ணலார் கமலபாதம் அணுகுவார் அமரர்ஆவார்

puṇṇiyam ceytu nalla puṉaloṭu malarkaḷtūvi
eṇṇumiṉ entaināmam ippiṟappuaṟukkum appāl
tiṇṇamnām aṟiyaccoṉṉōm ceṟipoḻil aṉantapurattu
aṇṇalār kamalapātam aṇukuvār amararāvār

English translation of verse 10.2.5:

Meditate on the holy names of our Lord
And unto Him offer with devotion supreme,
Water, pure and simple, and flowers fine, to get rid
Of this fell bondage of Saṃsāra; let me affirm,
Those that get near the lotus feet of our Sire
At Aṉantapuram, with many a garden fine,
Are as good as the Eternal Angels in Heaven.

Notes:

The Āḻvār exhorts the people to approach the Lord at Aṉantapuram and adore His lotus feet, affirming that, by so doing, they will rise to the stature of the ‘Nitya Sūrīs’ in Heaven. By sacramental water for the Lord’s worship is meant only water, pure and simple, and not the one spiced and flavoured with cloves and cardamoms, the emphasis being on the easy worshippability of the Lord. Mere meditation on the holy names of the Lord will grind to a halt the dreadful cycle of birth and death. There is also no restriction whatsoever, in regard to the persons eligible to indulge in meditation. All that is needed is the mere desire to spell out the Lord’s holy names. There is scarcely a felicity which the recital of the holy names does not confer and he, who seeks separate means to enable him to recite the Lord’s names, is as ludicrous as the one attempting to cleanse himself in a petty pool of brackish water, preparatory to having a dip in the holy Ganga, as the illustrious Bhaṭṭārya would put it. When a man stumbles on the road, at once he cries out “Ammā!” To cry so, is any qualification needed? No; even so, no special qualification is needed to recite the Lord’s holy names.