Sri Devaraja MangaLam of Sri MaNavALa mAmuhigaL--Part 1

[Guest guest]

Dear members of the Bhakthi group :

 

After reading the brilliant postings on the Daya of the Lord SrinivAsa

by Sri Sudarshan , I could not help thinking about the peruruLALn

and his consort PerundEvi ThAyAr of VishNu Kanchi . Swami Desikan

as well as Sri RamAnujA have adored the DayAlu at KAnchipuram .

 

Swamy Desikan and Yatirajar were born near Kanchipuram and can be

considered as native sons of Kanchi . Swamy Desikan has saluted

Sri Varadarajan aka Devarajan aka PeruruLaLan aka Hasthi gireesan

in many of his sthoras such as Divya Desa MangaLAsAsanaA ,

Varadaraja PanchAsath , Hasthigiri MahAtmyam,Prapatthi dasaka ,

( Sanskrit Version of the Tamil work , adaikkala Patthu ) ,

Thirucchinna mAlai and last but not least , NyAsa Dasakam ,

where he offered his own saraNAgathi to VaradarAjan.

 

In today's posting, I would like to focus on another great AcharyA,

who came after Swami Desikan and blessed the Sri VaishNavAs

for all times . I am referring to Visatha Vaak sikhaamaNi Sri MaNavALa

Maamuni and his work known as Sri Devaraja MangaLam . There are

13 verses in this work to remind one of the TrayodasAkshari mantram

of Sri RamachandrA . I will invoke the blessings of PeraruLaaLa PerumAL

and PerundEvi ThayAr prior to attempting to muse on these 13 slokas .

 

Taniyan by Sri AppiLLai , direct disciple of MaNavALa MaamunigaL

 

yacchakrE DevarAjasya mangaLAsAsanam mudhA I

tam vandEh ramyajAmAtrumunim visatha vAk varam II

 

(Meaning ) : I salute Sri MaNavALa Maamuni celebrated as

Visatha Vaak sikhAmaNi ( crown jewel among those poets

with pellucid diction ) , who out of his devotion for VaradarajA

eulogized Him with great joy.

 

Verse 1 : mangaLam vedasO vedhimedhini gruhamedhinE I

Varadhaaya DHAYAADHAAMNEH dhirOdhaaraaya mangaLamII

 

ManagaLam to the one ,who arose from the homa kuntam of BrahmA at

Atthigiri . MangaLam to that house of Dayaa( dayA dEvi ) ,

VaradhA , whose courage (heroism ) and generosity

are legendary .

 

Verse 2 : vAjimedhE vapA homE dhatuttaraveditha : I

udhithAya hudhAthAt agnErutArAngAya MangaLam II

 

MangaLam to VaradarAja , who rose from the fire of BrahmA's

YAgam and stood at the UttaravEdhi with a most beautiful body.

He appeared this way at the juncture, when Brahma used the

VapA (the marrow from his own body) as Aahuthi (offering )

and poured it into the sacrificial fire.

 

Verse 3 : yajamAnam vidhim veekshya smayamAnamukhasriyE I

dayamAnadhrusE tasmai DevarAjAya MangaLam II

 

MangaLam to DevarAja , who appeared in front of the yajamAna

of the sacrifice , BrahmA , with a bewitching smile on His face ,

when BrahmA wished to have the darsanam of the Lord as a

boon from the performance of the Yaagam on Hasthigiri . (The supreme

sacrifice of VapA homam of Brahmaa touched the Lord and He

could not wait anymore on the wings ) .

 

Verse 4 : vaaridha syAma vapushE virAjath peethavAsasE I

vAraNachala vAsAya vArijAkshaya mangaLam II

 

MangaLam ( PallAndu ) to DEvarAja PeruMAL residing on atthigiri

with lotus eyes, resplendent peethAmbharam around His waist

and the most beautiful hue reminding us of the dark blue clouds

of the rainy season .

 

Verse 5 : adhyApi sarvabhoothAnAm abheeshta PaladhayikE I

praNathArthiharAyAsthu prabhavE mama mangaLam II

 

MangaLam to my Lord VaradarAja , who blesses the assembly of

boon-seekers even today , just as he responded to the wish

of BrahmA in days of Yore . He is my Prabhu , who removes all

the obstacles and difficulties that we face on this earth .

 

Verse 6 : divyAavaya soundharya divyAaabharaNahetayE I

dhanthAvaLa gireesAya DevarAjAya mangaLam II

 

Pallaandu to the lord of Hasthigiri, DeavarAjA , who shines

beautifully with his beautiful limbs , jewelery and weaopons .

TanthAvaLam is one name for the elephant just as hasthi,

vAraNam et al . IrAvadam , the eelphant of IndrA is said to

have taken the form of a hillock at Kanchi serving as

the UttaraVedhi for BrahmA's YAgam. This was the same sacrifice ,

which was saved by YathokthakAri as VeghA sethu ,

when the furious Saraswathi attempted to destroy

her husband's sacrifice .

 

Verse 7: purushAya PurANAya punyakoti nivAsinE I

pushpithOdhAra Kalpadhru kamaneeyAya mangaLam II

 

Pallandu to the most adorable , ancient Purusha celebrated in

the four Vedas through Purusha Suktham rks ! mangaLam to

the beautiful Kalpaka tree with beautiful blossoms sanctifying

the PuNya Koti vimAnam at Kanchipuram .

 

I will conclude this part with a recollection of Swami Desikan's

own tribute to VaradarAja in his VaradarAja PanchAsath.

MaNavALa mAmuni had the highest regard for Swami Desikan

and has expressed his respectful affection for Swami many times.

Therefore , it is interesting to recognize the unity of thought in their

works of tribute to VaradarAja . Swami's choice of words in his

eulogy find their echos in Maamuni's tribute .

 

Swami's words and Maamuni's words are juxtaposed with

latters in paranthesis .

 

SyAmaLa : ( syAma VapusE ) ; kalpa sAki ( kalpa dhru ) ;

KaaruNya Raasi: ( DayA dhAmnE ) ; kari saila nAtha: ( VaaraNAchala VAsa: ) ;

Swamin (PrabhO ) ; Kareesa ( DhanthAvaLa gireesa ) ;

KamalA gruha MedhinE ( vedimedhini gruha medhinE ) ;

Nityam, param , sarva Gadham , susukshmam ,

nishpandhanandhathu mayam bhavatha: svarupam --everlasting,

superior to every thing and being , all-pervasive, sarvaantharmayam ,

having the nature of unalloyed bliss, divine form of Yours

( purushAya, PurANAya, mahA krupAya , DevarAjAya MangaLam ) .