Digest of Paramacharya's Discourses on Soundaryalahari (DPDS-73)

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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 -

73

(Digest of pp.1221 - 1226 of Deivathin Kural, 6th volume,

4th imprn.)

 

Shloka #65 continued.

 

The three celestials – KumAra, Indra and Vishnu – did not

care for Shiva’s prasAdam, because they were heading

towards Ambaal’s betal leavings. The Acharya excels here by

ascribing an enjoyable reason for this action of theirs.

“chaNDAmsha-tripura-hara-nirmAlya-vimukhaiH” –not having

their mind on Shiva’s prasAdam ‘because it is the share of

ChanDa’!. (‘tripura-hara’ is Shiva). The first prasAdam of

food left over by Shiva belongs rightfully to ChanDa

(ChanDikeshvara). This is the rule. All the world considers

this offering of Shiva’s prasAdam first to Chandikeshvara

as our foremost obligation and privilege. It is remarkable

that ChanDa was born in this human world just like us all,

but rose later to become the fifth deity after the primal

four, namely, Shiva, Parvati, Vighneshvara and Subrahmanya.

In all Shiva temple festivals these five deities are the

ones that are taken out in procession. To receive Shiva’s

prasAdam after it has been offered first to this saintly

devotee, ChanDa, is truly a great blessing to all of us.

 

But to KumAra, the very offspring of Shiva Himself, to

Vishnu who shares half the form of Shiva in the

manifestation as Shankara-Narayana and to Indra the king of

all the divine world, it must be demeaning to receive

Shiva’s prasAdam after it has been offered to a human,

ChanDa, however saintly he may be. All this is built into

the expression

“chaNDAmsha-tripura-hara-nirmAlya-vimukhaiH”. Here

‘vimukha’ can also be interpreted to mean ‘turning their

faces away from’.

 

Next comes their dress while presenting themselves before

ambaal. The head dress worn on the field or when they are

on duty, by the soldiers in the army, are usually taken

off when they want to show respect. Here the three

celestials take off their head dress before they enter the

presence of ambaal.

 

But the question arises: Why did the Acharya say in shloka

#25 that the crowns of Brahma, Vishnu and Indra are doing

the neerajana ceremony to Her divine feet at which they

were prostrating.? Why again did he say in shloka #29 that

when She started in haste to walk over to welcome the

homecoming Lord, She ran the risk of tumbling over the

crowns of Brahma, Vishnu and Indra, who were then

prostrating at Her feet? The situation in both cases is

clear that they were prostrating with the crowns still on

their heads.

 

Well, the only explanation could be that in their intense

mood of devotion that overwhelmed them at those times, they

just forgot (!) the formality of the obligation to remove

their crowns from their heads in the august presence of

ambaal.

 

Let us now come to the “tAmbUla-ucchishhTaM” – the betal

leavings. It has only been said that these three celestials

consumed or swallowed the betal prasAdam of ambaal. There

is no mention, however, of the fruit of such an action, or

about what fruits will accrue to the chewing of the betal

leavings. Of course we can infer that, to these war-lords

who have come back victorious after a war with the asuras,

more victories are bound to accrue in the future by the

blessing of ambaal.

 

On the other hand, that the fruit of taking the ‘tAmbUla

ucchishhTaM’ of ambaal gives extraordinary poetic talent,

is borne out by the fact that three great poets – Kalidasa,

Kalamegar, and Mukar -- became great poets only by the

power of the ‘tAmbUla-prasAdam’ from ambaal. It was the

mahAkAli of Ujjain, AkhilAnDeshvari of Jambukesvaram and

KamAkshhi of Kanchi, respectively, who blessed these

three. Our Acharya himself has composed a stotra called

‘ambAshhTakaM’ ,

 

[Note by VK:

I am not able to locate this stotra.]

 

wherein he says that ambal’s betal leavings will endow one

with poetic talent that will ride higher than the stately

gaits of a high-class race-horse. The very style of that

shloka, such as:

 

“kavitva-paripATI .... koTI-kulA-dadhika-tATImudhara-

mukhavITI-rasena tanutAM”

 

mimics the beat of the hoofs of the racing horse!

 

Whereas according to Soundaryalahari, what bestows the

poetic talent is (in shloka #75) Her breast milk, or (in

shloka #98) the water that has washed Her feet. Nowhere is

it mentioned that the ‘tAmbUla-ucchishhTaM’ of ambaal would

bestow poetic talent. In shloka #98 it is said that the

poetic talent that is usually granted by the

‘tAmbUla-ucchishhTaM’ of Saraswati is already bestowed by

the ‘charana-tIrtha’, the water that has washed the feet

of ambaal. In that sense the ‘charaNa-tIrtha’ is placed

higher in the ladder of spiritual benefaction. The red

paint on the feet makes the water that washes it reddish as

the betal juice. “kalita-alaktaka-rasam” : the water that

gets mixed up with the deep red of lac. ‘alaktaka’ is lac.

‘lAkshhaa’ is also lac. Both sanskrit words could very well

be the source of the English ‘lac’. And again ‘alaktaka’ is

what becomes ‘arakku’ in Tamil.

 

‘As a student when will I have the opportunity to drink

that charaNa-tIrtha?’ , wails our Acharya in that shloka.

The words ‘prakRtyA mUkAnAm-api’ (meaning, even for those

who are dumb by nature) indicate that even the dumb (mUka)

ones can become great poets by that ‘charaNa-tIrtha’. The

Acharya here is perhaps seeing into the future, when one

day there would exactly be such a mUka-kavi!

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