Pasuram 10.10.4

Tamil text and transliteration:

உம்பர்அம்தண் பாழேஓ! அதனுள்மிசை நீயேஓ
அம்பரம் நல்சோதி! அதனுள் பிரமன் அரன் நீ
உம்பரும் யாதவரும் படைத்த முனிவன் அவன்நீ
எம்பரம் சாதிக்கலுற்று என்னைப்போர விட்டிட்டாயே.

umparamtaṇ pāḻēō! ataṉuḷmicai nīyēō
amparam nalcōti! ataṉuḷ piramaṉ araṉ nī
umparum yātavarum paṭaitta muṉivaṉ avaṉnī
emparam cātikkaluṟṟu eṉṉaippōra viṭṭiṭṭāyē.

English translation of verse 10.10.4:

My Lord, You are the Controller great of one and all,
The primordial matter and the myriads of souls lodged therein,
The spatial ether, the radiant fire and other elements as well,
The cosmic egg which holds Piramaṉ, Araṉ and others within,
The sage You are, Who did create the Devas, the humans
And the other species, keeping in mind their past actions;
To salve me You did come forward, on Your own
But still you do keep me here, lingering on.

Notes:

(i) In a vacant piece of land one can raise any crop according to one’s predilection, and so, in the vast vacant land of Primordial Matter (Mūla Prakṛti) can be sown multifarious seeds, yielding a vast variety of crops of enjoyment as well as emancipation, that either bind the souls, the tenants tilling the soil, or work up to their release from such bondage.

(ii) Unto the Lord, the Universal Controller, the Matter, the elements emanating therefrom, the different species of beings inhabiting the created worlds with their colourful varieties, all these constitute, as it were, His bodies, and He is the Super-Soul, pervading them all.

(iii) So far as the Āḻvār is concerned, he is fully aware, against the background, set forth above, that the Lord is very keen to salve him and yet, he is indeed puzzled why he is still kept on, in this abode. “Does it not smack of indifference on Your part?” the Āḻvār is now asking the Lord.