Pasuram 3.6.2

Tamil text and transliteration:

மூவர் ஆகிய மூர்த்தியை முதல் மூவர்க்கும் முதல்வன் தன்னை,
சாவம் உள்ளன நீக்குவானை தடங் கடல் கிடந்தான் தன்னை,
தேவ தேவனை தென் இலங்கை எரி எழச் செற்ற வில்லியை,
பாவ நாசனை பங்கயத்தடங் கண்ணனைப் பரவுமினோ.

mūvar ākiya mūrttiyai mutal mūvarkkum mutalvaṉ taṉṉai,
cāvam uḷḷaṉa nīkkuvāṉai taṭaṅ kaṭal kiṭantāṉ taṉṉai,
tēva tēvaṉai teṉ ilaṅkai eri eḻac ceṟṟa villiyai,
pāva nācaṉai paṅkayattaṭaṅ kaṇṇaṉaip paravumiṉō.

English translation of verse 3.6.2:

Sing the glory of the immaculate Lord,
With large lotus-eyes, who set Laṅkā ablaze and destroyed
The enemies with His bow valiant, Chief of Celestials,
Destroyer of sins, who the Devas’ distress dispels.
Foremost among the first three, He does the Trinity compose
And on the broad milky oceaṇ repose.

Notes

(i) On being told about the Lord’s transcendent glory, as in the preceding song, the Āḻvār was questioned by his listeners as to how they could at all propitiate such an exalted overlord. The Āḻvār, however, puts them at ease by pointing out in this song, the Lord’s simplicity in His incarnate Form as Rāma.

(ii) “First and foremost, Who the Trinity composes”: Please see note (iii), in the preceding song. Lord Viṣṇu’s supremacy over Brahmā and Śiva is further pointed out here, in that He dispels their distress and among those thus relieved could be added Indra and other Devas. In order to eliminate the possible confusion by including Viṣṇu as a member of the Trinity and making others look upon Him, mistakenly of course, as on a par with the other two, namely, Brahmā and Śiva, the trinity could be taken, within the meaning of this song, to comprise Brahmā, Śiva and Indra. Even otherwise, it may be pointed out that unlike the other two, namely, Brahmā and Śiva, Viṣṇu, standing in between, is His own cause (the Causeless Cause) as well as the Cause of the other two.

(iii) “Set fire to Laṇkā”: Rāma’s peerless bow played a lot of havoc and set fire to Rāvaṇa’s Laṅkā which ‘Agni’, the fire-God, as one of the several elemental forces, Rāvaṇa had kept under strict control, dared not enter before.

(iv) “Destroyer of sins”: As Sage Agastya put it, the mere sight of Rāma, the immaculate Lord, with bow in hand, will destroy all our sins.