Mantra Pushpam and Narayana Sooktham

[Guest guest]

Dear Shri Sadagopan:

 

I am eagerly looking forward to your completing the translation of

mantra-pushpam (Yo-Apam...). You had started the translation in the previous

Bhakti-Digest. If you would like to pick-up the thread from where you had

left, I can send a copy of your earlier posting. Yo-Apam..is in vogue in most

of the temples vis-a-vis what Vaishnavas are used to (Agni Meede...).

 

To Sundar: Thanks for your efforts to translate Narayana-Sooktham. A

translation (in Tamil) is available in Vaishnava Dinacharya (Vishishtadvaita

Pracharini Sabha). If you want a copy please let me know. I think there are

subtle differences between the recensions which Vaishnavas are used to

reciting (from at least Yatirajar's time) to what we find in RKMutt and similar

publications. I have been faithfully following our Acharya's - Navalpakkam

Swami and others "Patam" (as covered in Vaishnava-Dinacharya). For eg: in the

very first verse our patam is "Paramam Prabhum" instead of "Paramam Padam".

Similarly in the end - we don't say Sa Hari as it alters the metre or rhythm of

the verse. Also Brahma, Siva and Indra are all glories of Narayana and Hari is

Narayana Himself. Vide Srimad Bhaghavata "Krishnasthu Bhaghavan Swayam".

Ramanujacharya makes this distinction quite strongly in his Vedhartha Sangraha.

 

Finally, I would like to thank Prof. Vasudha Narayanan for sharing her thoughts

on festivals, which incidentally brought home the point - the value of making

children recite stotras aloud, and which I didn't realize before.

 

Vijayaraghavan