Offering to Sriman Narayana "Directly"

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While describing events associated with the life of Poigai and the

other two AzhwArs Sampath writes to the effect that the beginning of

the 4,000 Divya Prabhandas were offered to the Lord "directly".

Similarly in the 1992 special issue of Nrsimha Priya, while

describing the events associated with the life of the 33rd Jeer, the

author states: "This Jeer is supposed to have seen Lakshmi Nrsimha

directly...". While such statements reflect the authors' desire to

praise the AzhwAr or Acharya in question, use of words like

"directly" gives the impression to the lay person that there is a

difference between Narayana when He chose to descend by Himself as He

did to the Azhwars or if He chose to have His archa Vigraha sculpted

and Prana Pratishtha done by human beings.

 

Sri Vedanta Desikar has explained in the Tattva Traya Culakam that

Isvara - who is the Purushottama and the consort of Sri has fivefold

forms as Para (as He is seen in Sri Vaikuntha), Vyooha (as in

VAsudeva, Samkarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha), Vibhava (includes

all incarnations), antaryAmi or Paramatma and ArchavatAra. Regarding

archavatAra, Sri Vedanta Desikar says -"ArchavatAra or Consecrated

image is that state of MANIFESTATION of the Lord which is endowed

with the characteristic marks of PARA, VYOOHA and other forms. IT IS

FREE FROM REMOTENESS OF PLACE, TIME, AND THE LIKE AND IS THEREFORE AN

OBJECT OF ENJOYMENT EVEN TO ORDINARY MORTALS WITH THE EYE OF FLESH IN

THE ASPECTS OF SVAYAM-VYAKTA AND OTHERS." Svayam-Vyakta is self

manifested forms like Ranganath, Venkatesa, Panduranga etc. The

"others" referred to by Sri Vedanta Desikar are Arsha i.e. Vigrahas

consecrated by Rishis and MAnusha or Vigrahas consecrated by men.

 

There is thus no difference between the NarayAna that Poigai AzhwAr

offered His Pasurams to and say the Malola Lakshmi Nrsimha

archavigraha to whom the 44th Jeer offered His Lakshmi Nrsimha

KarAvalambha stotram.

 

What Sri Vedanta Desikar considers to be an indirect manifestation of

Bhagavan are Vibhava-antara incarnations like Kapila who are Jivatmas

into whom the Lord enters and invest them with wonderful powers.

 

Jaganath.