Pasuram 10.4.8

Tamil text and transliteration:

ஆழியான் ஆழி அமரர்க்கும் அப்பாலான்
ஊழியான் ஊழி படைத்தான் நிரைமேய்த்தான்
பாழிஅம் தோளால் வரைஎடுத்தான் பாதங்கள்
வாழி என்நெஞ்சே! மறவாது வாழ்கண்டாய்.

āḻiyāṉ āḻi amararkkum appālāṉ
ūḻiyāṉ ūḻi paṭaittāṉ niraimēyttāṉ
pāḻiam tōḷāl varaieṭuttāṉ pātaṅkaḷ
vāḻi eṉneñcē! maṟavātu vāḻkaṇṭāy.

English translation of verse 10.4.8:

Inaccessible is my Lord, Who holds the discus on,
Even to the exalted Celestials; He stayed all alone
During the deluge great, Time and all else He did ordain,
Cows He did tend and save by lifting mount (Govardhan)
On His shoulder, fit and fine; may you, my mind, prosper,
Adoring without fail His lovely feet for ever,
Let me hail indeed this state of affairs.

Notes:

(i) The Āḻvār’s mind having responded well to his exhortation, in the preceding song, he now pats on its back and calls upon it to adore the Lord’s feet without intermission. After all the exertion put forth for achieving the end in view, it is usual for people to relax and rest on their oars, once the destination is reached. It is precisely this common failing that the Āḻvār wants his mind to guard against. He advises it to persevere in its adoration of the Lord’s lovely feet, with no break whatever.

(ii) He, who created myriads of things, incarnated as Kṛṣṇa in the shepherd clan, palmed off as Nanda’s son, as if He too was created like others. His tending the cows has indeed a special significance. Unable to tend themselves, the cows, as a class, would not resist the Lord’s aid and strike a divergent path, as we folks do. Verily, this is the essence of ‘Prapaṭti’ or surrender to the Lord’s grace—“Bhagavad pravṛtti virodhi svapravṛtti nivṛtti-prapatti”.