saundarya laharI - 1

[Guest guest]

Dear brothers and sisters,

 

In response to sister Lalita's query on translations

of saundarya laharI, brother Ravi alluded to the

English translation of shrI kA~nci paramAcarya's

discourses on this glorious hymn composed by shrI

bhagavatpAda Adi shankarAcArya.

 

With ambAL's blessings, I propose to post extracts

from this exquisite commentary during these nine

auspicious days of navarAtrI. Since it is customary

to begin the description of Her beautiful form starting

from the feet and ending iwth the crown (keshAdipAda),

I begin this series with paramAcArya's touching

description of ambAL's Lotus Feet.

 

May we be ever immersed in the boundless ocean of our

Mother's love.

 

 

At Her Feet,

Ramesh

 

-------------------

 

The Lotus that Blooms in the Mind-Stone

 

 

The sacred feet of ambA are referred to as flowers, as

lotuses in fact, "caraNAravindam". The AcArya asks

ambA (in Stanza 88): "During your marriage how could

your husband place your foot, tender like a flower, on

the rocklike grinding-stone?Katham va" = how;?

"bAhubhyAm" = with his hands; "upayamanakAle" = during

your marriage. "upanayana" is the prelude to the

brahmacarya stage of life, while "upayamana" is the

start of the householder's stage of life. "upayamana

kale purabhidA" ("purabhidA" means "by parameshvara"

who slew the tripura demon); "dR^iSadi nyastam" =

placed on the (grinding) stone. The AcArya who asks

like this does not say "how hard-hearted he is"; in

fact he says the opposite, "dayamAnena manasA", "with

a compassionate heart that blesses".

 

We may put forward two reasons for the AcArya saying

so. An idiot is mockingly or ironically called a

"bR^ihaspati". It may be in the same way that the

AcArya here calls Ishvara kind-hearted. Or he means

what he says; there is no mockery or irony in it. We

must take here the help of the shivAnandalaharI. If we

make a comparative study of the AcArya's two LaharIs

(saundaryalaharI and shivAnandalaharI), see how they

complement each other, we will be able to unearth many

treasures by way of meaning. In the shivAnandalaharI

the AcArya expresses a view that touches our hearts

(Stanza 80). He asks shiva about the pradoSa tANDava

he is performing on kailAsa: "If you wish to dance is

there no smooth and shiny stage for you in the

celestial world? Are there not devotees who will

spread a carpet of flowers for you to dance upon?

Leaving it all you are dancing on these rocks with

your feet that are soft like flowers. Is it not

because you know that I will be born with a rocklike

heart that - since you will want to dance in it - you

are training yourself by dancing on this mountain

terrain?"

 

Here Parameshvara's marriage is mentioned as

"upayamanam". It is with reason that the AcArya uses a

somewhat unfamiliar word. A child is entrusted to a

guru so as to bring him under a certain discipline and

to lead him on the right path. In the same way,

upayamanam means entrusting a girl to her husband to

take her on the right path and bring her under

discipline.

 

Now to set an example to all women in the world,

Parashakti herself, during her marriage, receives

upayamana from Parameshvara like an ordinary woman.

Then, out of his compassion for all mankind - it was

true compassion/'dayamAnena manasA" - he wanted her

also to dance with him in the minds of their children.

It was as training for this, so he must have thought,

that he placed her foot on the grinding stone.

 

Meditating on the feet of ambA is a means of softening

our minds, of melting our hearts, which are hard like

grinding stones. There is no religion, no

philosophical system, greater than this. We must make

ourselves children of innocence and place her feet in

our minds, in our hearts, place them on our head which

is the source of our minds, our consciousness. We must

do so in our imagination; we must feel with all our

heart that her feet are placed on our head. If we are

aware that ambA's feet are on our head, there is

nothing else needed to realise the bliss of the

brahman. ambA placed her feet on a buffalo

[MahiSAsura] and made him j~nAna personified and

blessed him with oneness with her. That is why we are

enjoined in the saptashati kalpa to perform pUjA to

the goddess along with MahiSAsura.

 

It is our ego-sense that has us in its grip and causes

us so much suffering. The way to eradicate it is

meditating on her feet. The celestials were smug in

the belief that they had accomplished everything on

their own. The AcArya reminds us of their initial

boastfulness, how they were later shorn of their

arrogance and of the upaniSadic story which mentions

how ambA blessed them with j~nAna. It is while

reminding us of this story that he uses the term

"mamApi", without any ego or self-pride. It does not

matter when we will in fact attain the feet of ambA.

Let us now be her children, perform her pUjA, place on

our head one of the flowers offered at the feet of her

idol and pray to her for the day when we will have

darshan of her feet.

 

 

 

Note: 'AcArya' in the above extract refers to shrI Adi sha~Nkara.

[Guest guest]

Dear Shri Ramesh,

 

That was absolutely delightful. Thank you very much.

Your effort is a great help to people like me with

little or no knowledge of tamizh, who cannot enjoy

MahaPeriyaval's original commentary. My sincere thanks

to you again.

 

Regards,

Sridhar.

> With ambAL's blessings, I propose to post extracts

> from this exquisite commentary during these nine

> auspicious days of navarAtrI. Since it is customary

> to begin the description of Her beautiful form starting

[Guest guest]

Thank you very much sir,

 

For bringing this nectar to us. Mahaperiyavaspeaking is like Ambal

herself commenting on her own hymn...blessed we are !

 

harshanandanatha!