Pasuram 6.10.1

Tamil text and transliteration:

உலகம் உண்ட பெருவாயா! உலப்பு இல் கீர்த்தி அம்மானே,
நிலவும் சுடர் சூழ் ஒளி மூர்த்தி! நெடியாய் அடியேன் ஆர் உயிரே,
திலதம் உலகுக்கு ஆய் நின்ற திருவேங்கடத்து எம் பெருமானே,
குல தொல் அடியேன் உன பாதம் கூடும் ஆறு கூறாயே.

ulakam uṇṭa peruvāyā! ulappu il kīrtti ammāṉē,
nilavum cuṭar cūḻ oḷi mūrtti! neṭiyāy aṭiyēṉ ār uyirē,
tilatam ulakukku āy niṉṟa tiruvēṅkaṭattu em perumāṉē,
kula tol aṭiyēṉ uṉa pātam kūṭum āṟu kūṟāyē.

English translation of verse 6.10.1:

My Lord at Tiruvēṅkaṭam, the bright vermilion mark on Cosmos’ face!
With Your mammoth mouth You gulped down the whole Universe
And thus retrieving it, gained peerless fame;
Of supernal form resplendent, Thou art Supreme,
Dearest unto me, Your humble vassal from generations,
To attain Your feet, Your grace I invoke with veneration.

Notes

(i) The Āḻvār prays that he should be enabled to enjoy the beatific bliss, in close proximity to the Lord at Tiruvēṅkaṭam. The Āḻvār’s grief, in not being able to get at the Lord’s feet, calls for the same attention on His part, as the great deluge when He did sustain all the worlds, with their contents, inside His stomach. All that fame, He derived by that great gesture, will be totally nullified in case He didn’t relieve the Āḻvār’s distress.

(ii) The great Saviour is indeed large-mouthed, as the Āḻvār puts it. Pledged to protect the supplicants who seek refuge in Him, He goes the whole hog out and still does not feel satisfied that He has done enough for them, as in the case of Draupati—an insatiable hunger for protecting those who seek protection. At His bidding, enemies turn friends. A serpent, named Sumukha, sought Lord Kṛṣṇa’s refuge and protection against the fearful raids of Garuḍa, the tribal enemy of the serpent race. The Lord vouchsafed protection to Sumukha, invited Garuḍa and consigned the former to the latter’s care. Garuḍa, the inveterate enemy, had thus to lay aside his racial enmity and befriend Sumukhā; the erstwhile oppressor becomes the protector, oh, how potent is the Lord’s will!