Kuresa& Sri Sthavam--Part 4.1

[Guest guest]

Dear Members of the Prapatti Group:

 

I will have two subpostings under section 4 to cover

the comments on Sristhavam. Section 4.1 will cover the

verses 1 to 5 ; section 4.2 will cover verses 6 to 11and

conclude with the reference to Swami Desikan"s Sri

Sthuti and how it was influenced by the Sri Sthavam of

Kuresa.

 

Verse 1: I will use the Anvaya Kramam (the prose order of this verse)

to help appreciate the flow of Kuresa"s thought:

 

"ASESHA JAGADHAAM SARGA UPSARGA STITHI : SWARGAM DURGATHIM

AAPAVARKINA: PADAM SARVAM CHA KURVAN HARI: YASYAA: MUKAM VEEKSHYA

TADH INGHITA PARAADHINA: AKILAM VIDATTEH: ANYATA ASYA DAYAA EIKARASYAAT

IYAM KRRETA ASYA RASATHAA NA SYAATH KALU (SAA) SREE SVASTI DISADHAATAAT "

 

The consort of Sri Devi (Ranganatha) engages in His acts of creation,protection

and

destruction; He blesses Kaivalyaarthins and Mokshaarthins(Prapannas) with the

boons

of Svargam and Moksham respectively.He punishes those ,who deviate from

Saastras

and sends them to Naraka. During the performance of these tasks , He is

motivated and guided by the hints from the facial expressions of Sri Devi, His

consort.

If He did not synchronize His activities with the expressions originating from

His

Devi"s eye brows and face,His many duties and activities will not yield Him

happiness. He will not feel fulfilled by the performance of these duties.

 

May that consort of Sri Ranganatha , who is united with Him at all times,

places and states (Eikarasyam) confer auspiciousness 0n me to undertake

this onerous task. The Eikarasyam concept is an important theme of Azhwaars.

This is why Ramanuja chose the Panguni Uttaram day to offer his Saranagati to

the Divine couple, when he saw them physically seated together (Ekapeetam ) on

that day at Srirangam temple. Swami Desikan has dwelled on this concept in his

works; has gone further to underline the related concept of EKASESHITVAM

as one of the central principles of Sri Vaishnavam as taught by his

Poorvaacharyas.

He salutes that extraordinary state of INTERDEPENDENCE of the divine couple

in one of his slokas of Sri Sthuti as follows:

 

" Vishnu: Tvam cha iti Dwndhvam Anyonya Lakshyam ". O, Sri devi, You and your

husband are bound forever by your love for each other. You are never far away

from each other even for a moment; both of You with Your limitless, illustrious

qualities are a PAIR that can be understood COMPLETELY ONLY through each

other. That is why You are introduced as Vishnu Patni and he is known as

Sriya: Pathi. That is your extraordinary state of Interdependence .

 

Verse 2: O, Maha Lakshmi! You are the mother of the entire universe and

its inhabitants. I wish to offer my praise to You. Please grant me the gift of

Vak

(Speech ) appropriate for this task! please grow my intellect and devotion

to carry out this undertaking ! May my Bhakti become Parama Bhakti

through Your blessing! Please accept my Kainkaryam as that coming from one ,

who has surrendered at Your Lotus feet. Please make me Joyous through the

acceptance of my Vaachika Kainkaryam ! May we the Prapannas become the object

of the waves of Your most merciful and compassionate glances! This is the verse

for

which Sri P.B.Anna offered the imaginary dialog referred to above.

 

Verse 3: In the earlier verse, Kuresa said : "Tvaam Sthothum Yeehaamahe". He

expressed his desire to praise Her . Now he elaborates on the difference

between his Stotra Sabdhaarthams and that of others. He says that the common

poets praise either gunaas that are not there in the subject being praised or

drably describe the limited qualities of their subject . For instance, a poet

may

praise a bald man as the one , who has flowing locks of hair and thus describe

some thing that is not there in reality. Some other common poets describe the

qualities correctly , but find that there is a limited quantity of particulars

to

describe about their subject. There is not much to praise. Kuresa reveals that

he is not hampered by either of these two difficulties, when he attempts to

praise

Maha Lakshmi and Her Kalyana Gunaas. There is no problem of exaggeration

in Her case, since She has all the Auspicious qualities to a state of

perfection.

Her Kalyana Gunaas are also so abundant that there is no shortage on the

subject matter to praise. Her Kalyana Gunaas are limitless and there is no

possibility of exhausting them or exaggerating them.

 

Verse 4: O, Maha Lakshmi! It is impossible to praise adequately

Your Kalyana Gunaas with tongue or mind and do justice to them.

It therefore becomes a laughable matter, when one atttempts to go

about this impossible task. My effort is likethat of the Chakora bird that

does not hold back its tongue back and engages itself in drinking

gluttonously ALL of the cool rays of the moon as.its food , while being fully

aware of its limited power to complete that imposible task. Similarly, I am

not holding back in my effort to praise all of Your Kalyana Gunaas adequately.

 

Verse 5: O, Maha Lakshmi! I am not ashamed to engage in my praise of You

inspite of my inadequacies and disqualifications. I know that I have neither

exemplary conduct or a sharp intellect informed by Sastra Jnanam. Inspite

of these limitations, my praise of You will not become impure. The situation is

similar to the lowly dog licking the most sacred waters of Ganga to quench its

thirst. The River Ganga is not polluted by the dog"s act and the dog gets its

thirst quenched. Here Kuresa equates the sanctity of Maha Lakshmi to the

holiness of Ganga and himself to the undeserving dog.

>From hereon, the stotram begins in earnest.

 

V.Sadagopan