(i) The Āzhvār cajoles his mind to revel, along with him, in the enjoyment of the Lord’s glorious trait of loving condescension, in the following terms:

“Don’t you see that the Lord is all agog to confer on me the supreme bliss, and that too, at my dictation? Oh, what a trait and how glorious! There is none over here with whom I can share my jubilation over this wonderful

This song is but a continuation of the Āzhvār’s dialogue with his mind, Questioned by the mind as to why the Āzhvār gloated over the grace of the Lord, as if it was something extra-ordinary, instead of looking upon it merely as the Lord’s response, rather belated, to the request made by him, right from the opening song of his very first hymnal, namely, Tiruviruttam, the

(i) The Āzhvār’s joyous rapport with his mind continues. He is amazed at the Lord’s overwhelming grace, far exceeding all his earlier expectations.

(ii) As the Āzhvār contemplated on the manifestations of the Lord, in His worshippable Form at the various pilgrim centres, he was particularly impressed by a special auspicious attribute, graciously displayed by the Lord

(i) The great Ordainer that the Supreme Lord is, He has been depicted in songs one and three of this decad, as the ordained, carrying out the dictates of the Āzhvār or at least wanting to do so. The present song dispels the doubt, possibly entertained by some persons as to whether the Sovereign Lord would ever descend to such depths and play a subservient role. Did not

(i) The Āzhvār is indeed very jubilant over the immediate prospect of his ascent to spiritual world through that exalted and exhilarating route, known as ‘Arcirādi mārga He sees in the Lord at Tiruvāṭṭāṟu, his keen escort, on his spiritual world-bound journey. As a matter of fact, the Āzhvār has still not got off the ground and yet, so sanguine is he of his ascent to spiritual

(i) Once again, the Āzhvār enumerates the favours heaped on him by the benign Lord. Having set His lovely pair of feet on the Āzhvār’s head, the Lord casts on him glances, cool and sweet, from His lotus eyes. And then, He stands firmly in the Āzhvār’s heart, rivetted, as it were. Questioned by his disciples, as to how the Lord could simultaneously stand on the Āzhvār’s

In the preceding song, the Āzhvār said that he had attained the Lord’s valorous feet and now he repeats it authoritatively, adducing the evidence to prove his statement. The Āzhvār’s body smells sweet, exuding the fragrance of tuḻaci and this would be possible only if he came in close contact with the Lord at whose lotus feet there is the tuḻaci, with its profusion of

(i) There was hardly any merit in him as far as the Āzhvār could scan and yet the Lord has chosen to shower on him a plethora of benefits. No wonder then, the Āzhvār is amazed at the overwhelming grace of the Lord, bestowed on him with sweet spontaniety.

(ii) The text, in this song, describing the pervasive fragrance of the tuḻaci garland worn by the Lord, lends itself

(i) Surely, it is the farthest limit up to which the Lord’s love for His devotees could go; the Lord has chosen to stay firmly and, for ever, in the Āzhvār’s despicable heart, without the slightest disgust or uneasiness.

(ii) The Lord, Who has got lodged on His winsome chest Lakṣmī, the Goddess of affluence, stays in cool Tiru-vāṭṭāṟu, with Garuḍa, famed as the very

(i) The Āzhvār’s great gains, far exceeding even the dreamiest of his expectations are: The Lord’s own utterance from His coral lips, inviting the Āzhvār to render unto Him unremitting service in close proximity and actually taking service from him; He has also halted the dreadful cycle of birth and death. Gains of this magnitude cannot be secured by one’s own efforts,

(i) This end-song, which usually details the benefits accrued to the chanters of the songs, in this decad, says that these songs will feast the ears of the Celestials, in spiritual world sumptuously and that they will never feel satiated. On the face of it, this sounds like a departure from the general pattern of the end-songs of the other decads. But it is not so. What