Pasuram 10.4.10

Tamil text and transliteration:

வகையால் மனம்ஒன்றி மாதவனை நாளும்-
புகையால் விளக்கால் புதுமலரால் நீரால்
திசைதோறு அமரர்கள் சென்று இறைஞ்ச நின்ற
தகையான் சரணம் தமர்கட்குஓர் பற்றே.

vakaiyāl maṉamoṉṟi mātavaṉai nāḷum-
pukaiyāl viḷakkāl putumalarāl nīrāl
ticaitōṟu amararkaḷ ceṉṟu iṟaiñca niṉṟa
takaiyāṉ caraṇam tamarkaṭkuōr paṟṟē.

English translation of verse 10.4.10:

There’s no haven, so safe and sound, unto the devout,
As the lovely feet of Mātavaṉ, our Sire, sought out
And worshipped by the Celestials, stationed all over,
Who, with a mind duly fixed on Him, offer, ever and anon,
Choice flowers, water, lamp and burn incense fine.

Notes:

(i) The Āḻvār concludes this decad by empahsising that the Lord is the one and only Giver, the sole Means for all votaries, irrespective of whether they seek Him out for personal ends or employ other means to attain Him or submit themselves to His loving grace.

(ii) Mādhava holds on His winsome chest His coveted Bride, the Divine Mother, the great intercessor between Man and God. Although the ‘Carama Śloka’ (Bhagavad Gītā XVIII.66) does not contain any direct reference to the Lord’s conjunction with Mahā Lakṣmī, the Divine Mother, the Āḻvār would appear to have understood the word ‘Ahaṃ’, occurring in the second half of the Śloka, to refer to the Lord, in conjunction with Mahā Lakṣmī. Actually, of the three esoteric texts, ‘Tirumantra ‘Dvaya’ and ‘Carama Śloka’, the middle one alone contains a specific reference to this holy combination of the Lord and Mahālakṣmī. It should, however, be noted that ‘Carama Śloka’ is only an elaboration of ‘Dvaya’, which again elaborates ‘Tirumantra’.