Digest of Paramacharya's Discourses on Soundaryalahari (DPDS-44)

[Guest guest]

Namaste.

 

Recall the Note about the organization of the ‘Digest’, from DPDS – 26 or the

earlier ones.

 

V. Krishnamurthy

 

 

A Digest of Paramacharya’s Discourses on Soundaryalahari - 44

 

(Digest of pp.987 -993 of Deivathin Kural, 6th volume, 4th imprn.)

 

 

 

sudhAm-apy-AsvAdya prati-bhaya-jarA-mRtyu hariNIM

 

vipadyante vishve vidhi shatamakhAdyA divishhadaH /

 

karALaM yat kshhvelaM kabaLitavataH kAla-kalanA

 

na shambhos-tan-mUlaM tava janani tATangka-mahimA // 28 //

 

 

 

AsvAdya api : Even after having consumed

 

sudhAm : the nectar

 

prati-bhaya-jarA-mRtyu-hariNIM : (which) eradicates the dreadful old age and

death

 

vishve divishhadaH : all the divines

 

vidhi-shatamakhAkhyAH : like BrahmA, Indra and others

 

vipadyante : meet their end (at the time of pralaya).

 

Yat : (But) the fact that

 

shambhoH : for Lord Shiva

 

kabalitavataH : who had consumed

 

karALaM kshhvelaM : the terrible poison (of KalakuTa)

 

kAla-kalanA na : there is no submission to Time

 

tan-mUlaM : has its reason (in)

 

janani : Oh Mother

 

tava tATangka-mahimA : the Glory of Your ear-ornament (tATangka).

 

 

 

We have always been led to believe that some one who has consumed he most

dreadful poison has to meet his end, whereas some one who has taken the nectar

will be immortal. What is happening here is exactly the reverse. All the divines

who had partaken of the nectar have all to disappear at the Deluge whereas the

Lord who has consumed the most dreadful hAlAhala, is standing as the lonely

survivor after the Deluge.

 

 

 

What is more, this partition of the Lord on the one side and all the other

divines on the other side is also happening in the context of Service to the

Mother Goddess. Mukunda, Brahma and Indra and all those divines fall at Her feet

with their crowns touching Her feet (#22), while the crownless dweller of the

burial ground is distinguished as unique. The punchline of this remark is that

those who fell at Her feet are destroyed in the praLaya, but He who did not so

prostrate before Her is unaffected by the praLaya!

 

 

 

There is even another shloka (#29) which says that She runs to welcome the one

who did not serve, and while so running, tramples on the crowns of those that

chose to serve Her and fall at Her feet!

 

[since the Paramacharya elaborates rather lengthily

 

on this reference to shloka 29 here,

 

I am giving it here with meanings and all,

 

though he has not yet finished his discussion of #28. VK ]

 

 

 

kirITaM vairinchaM parihara puraH kaiTabha-bhidaH

 

kaThore koTIre skhalasi jahi jambhAri-makuTaM /

 

praNamreshh-veteshhu prasabham-upayAtasya bhavanaM

 

bhavasyA-bhyutthAne tava parijanoktir-vijayate // 29 //

 

 

 

vijayate : Remarkable (= to be noted) are

 

tava parijanoktiH : the words of your maids-in-attendance,

 

abhyuthAne : at the hasty stir to welcome

 

bhavasya : Lord Shiva

 

upayAtasya : (who) had come

 

bhavanaM : home

 

prasabham : suddenly, unannounced.

 

praNamreshhu eteshhu : “Amidst all these prostrating (divines)

 

parihara : avoid

 

vairincham kirITam : the crown of Creator Brahma;

 

purah : in front (of you)

 

skhalasi : you are trampling (over)

 

kaThore koTire : the heavy crown

 

kaitabha-bhidaH : of ‘the enemy of Kaitabha’ ( = ‘Vishnu’)

 

jahi : (also) avoid

 

jambhAri makuTam : the crown of ‘the enemy of jambha’ (= ‘Indra’)”.

 

 

 

Among the many names of the Creator Brahma, the Acharya most often uses the name

‘virinchi’ (See shlokas nos.1, 2 and 12 for example). The word ‘rinchati’ means

‘creates’ . The prefix ‘vi’ before the word adds a special effect to that action

indicated by ‘rinchati’. In other words, Creator Brahma does the creation work

most effectively and with dedication. Therefore he is ‘virinchi.

 

 

 

‘Kaitabha-bit’ denotes the One who vanquished the asura Kaitabha; therefore it

is Vishnu. When He was in yoga-nidra, the asuras Madhu and Kaitabha attacked the

Lord BrahmA, patent in the region of the divine navel of Lord Vishnu. And

Brahma sang a song of praise of lord Vishnu so that He may wake up. The Lord

obliged by shaking up the Goddess Yoga-nidrA, and vanquished the two asuras.

Goddess Yoga-NidrA is none else but the Mother Goddess. It is quite fitting

therefore that Vishnu is remembered here as Kaitabha-vid; because it is

Kaitabha that connects Vishnu, Brahma and parA-shakti in the same cosmic event.

 

His (Vishnu’s) crown is not just an ordinary one. It is solid, not hollow in its

material. Why is it solid? The reason comes in the stotra called

‘Vishnu-pAdAdi-keshAnta-stotra’ of the Acharya himself.

“kRta-makuTa-mahAdeva-linga-pratishhTe’ meaning thereby that the crown of Vishnu

is in the form of a shiva-linga. Now comes the ironical situation!. It is this

crown that the maids-in-attendance of ambaaL are wanting her not to trample

over. It is the shiva-linga-formed crown on the head of Vishnu that is now at

the feet of ambaaL! And that is what She is about to trample, in her hurry to

welcome Her Lord, when He arrives home suddenly. When Bhakti and Love are in

full flood, as in the case of Kannappar’s behaviour, none can default any

action, even if it looks like one that is faulty!

 

 

 

The context in which this happens is still more interesting. Bhava is returning

to his bhavanam – this is the context. Bhava means Shiva. Bhavanam means home.

He is returning home unexpectedly and ambaal, as soon as She became aware of

this, She hastens to welcome Him – in the tradition of a traditional pati-vratA.

‘prasabham’ means in great haste and excitement’. And here comes a word

‘abhyuthAnam’ that has great significance.

 

 

 

‘abhyuthAnam adharmasya’ – does it not ring a bell? It is the Lord’s promise in

the Gita, that he will come whenever there is a damage to dharma. In that

context, ‘abhyuthAnam’ means ‘rising to the occasion’. But now Soundaryalahari

adds another meaning to that word ‘abhyuthAnaM’. It also means ‘rising to

welcome’ or ‘welcoming’. This sets up an interesting thought in my mind. Why

not we appropriate this meaning in the shloka of the Gita also. Then it would

mean:

 

abhyuthAnam adharmasya = the welcome offered by adharma.

 

In other words, to make the Lord come down as an avatar, a welcome strategy

would be adharma. It was the adharma of a Ravana, of a Hiranyakashipu, of a

Kamsa that brought in three great avatars of the Lord!. But let us not carry the

analogy too far. We should also remember what finally happened to these carriers

of the welcome banner!

 

 

 

We have strayed too far from the shloka 28, which was our main discussion point.

Let us go back to it now.

 

 

 

To be Continued

 

Thus spake the Paramacharya

 

PraNAms to all advaitins and devotees of Mother Goddess

 

profvk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prof. V. Krishnamurthy

My website on Science and Spirituality is http://www.geocities.com/profvk/

You can access my book on Gems from the Ocean of Hindu Thought Vision and

Practice, and my father R. Visvanatha Sastri's manuscripts from the site.

Also see the webpages on Paramacharya's Soundaryalahari :

http://www.geocities.com/profvk/gohitvip/DPDS.html