Swami Desikan"s PadhukA Sahasram : Part 1

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SRIMAN VENKATANAATHAARYA: KAVI THAARKIKA KESAREE i

VEDHANTHAACHARYAVARYO MEH SANNIDHATATHAAM SADHAA HRUDHI ii

 

SRI RANGANATHA MANI PAADHUKHAABHYAAM NAMO NAMA :

 

 

Dear Members of the Prapatthi Group :

 

Sri RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram (RPS) is one of

the most magnificient literary , philosophical and theological

compositions of Swami Desikan . The other kAvyams such as

Sankalpa SuryOdhayam , YaadhavAbhyudhayam , Hamsa Sandesam

and Subhashitha Neevi have their unique merits. For instance ,

Sankalpa SuryOdhayam is an allegorical play , where the cardianl

doctrines of SrivaishNavite philosophy are covered . The Hamsa

Sandesam modelled very much after Mega Sandesam of the immortal

bard KaaLidAsA , the literary and poetic talents as well as his knowledge

of the Indian subcontinent of Swami Desikan come to the fore . In his

kAvyam on the life and history of Sri KrishNA-- the Yadhava kula Tilakam --

known as YaadhavAbhyudhayam , Swami celebrated the scion of the

Yadhu kulam .The Subhashitha neevi is an "didactic lyric " containing

the wise and pithy statements similar to the ones found in the Niti Sataka

of poet Bharthruhari . The uniqueness of PadhukhA Sahasram is that it is

an intgrated essence of the literary , poetic , philosophical and theological

and last but not the least , the Bhakthi of Swami Desikan at its full bloom .

 

In this multifaceted master-piece of a Kavyam of RPS , Swami Desikan

has celebrated the glories of the two PAADHUKHAAS (sandals )

adorning and supporting the lotus feet of the Lord of Srirangam .

This suprasiddha (highly revered ) kavyam

has 1,008 verses housed in 32 chapters (Paddhathis ) . It is said that

Swami Desikan composed all of these 1008 verses in one Yamam of

a night in response to a challenge set by a SrivaishNava of Srirangam .

The challenger suggested that whoever completes 1,000 slokams on

ANY subject of his choice in ONE NIGHT will be the winner of the title

as the MahA Kavi . Swami Desikan was least interested in acquiring a title

or enter into a competition with the ego-driven local poet/ SrivaishNavA of

Srirangam . He accepted however this challenge as a command of

Sri RanganAthA for him to compose an eulogy on HIS anantha KalyANa

guNams . Swami chose the subject of the sandals of the Parama

Purushan of Srirangam and created the 1,008 verses celebrating

their glories . The competitor chose the subject of the Paadha Kamalam

of Sri Ranganatha and barely completed 300 verses during the course of

the night and gave up his futile attempt. During the next morning , Swami

Desikan presented to the Lord of Srirangam his grantham entitled ,

" Sri Ranganatha PadhukhA Sahasram " at the temple and was duly honored

by the scholars and devotees assembled there and most importantly

received the blessings of the Lord Himself .

 

According to another version , Swami Desikan settled down in Srirangam

after many years of residence at Thiruvaheendrapuram and was engaged

in the SiddhAntha Pravachanam to his disciples . His MedhA vilasam

and brilliance in intrepreting Bhagavadh RaamAnuja SiddhAntham was

admired by the residents of Srirangam. A group of scholars appealed to

Swami Desikan at this time to compose a Uttama Kaavyam on the Lord of Srirangam

 

to celebrate the unmatched devotion of their AcharyA to Periya PerumAL .

Swami Desikan accepted their wish as the Lord's command and composed

the bhakthi-laden verses of Sri Ranganatha PadhukhA Sahasram (RPS ) . In that

extraordinary kaavyam , he explained that the Lord's sandals and NammAzhwAr

are one and the same . He pointed out further that the sacred sound arising

from the movement of the Lord on His padhukhAs is equal to the sacred sound of

Thiruvaimozhi arising out of Sri SatakOpA's mouth and RPS emanating

out of his own mouth .

 

The individual verses arising from the power of Swami Desikan's

Hayagreeva mantrOpAsanam are very powerful in their mAntric

significance . The Andavans of Srirangam , who worship the MaNi

PaadhukhAs of Sri RanganAthA in their daily AarAdhanam have identified

individual slokAs for japam and DhyAnam to realize specific siddhis .

The Lifco company of Madras has produced a small monograph on

the individual slokams with such maantric significance and have

given the sankalpams for the japam of these slokams of RPS with the

guidance of the Andavans of Srirangam . This booklet also contains the

yantrams with bheejAksharams at the center for the ladies of the house

to draw in the pujA grahams of their houses as kolams (RangOlis ) as

the accompaniment to the japam and to invoke (aavAhanam ) of

the Lord wearing His sandals ( Lord and NammAzhwAr ) on individual

days of the week. There has been repeated demonstrations of the siddhis

arising out of such japams of the individual slokams of RPS in many people's

lives . People performing Mantra japam of individual slokams

have attained the fruits of their efforts to achieve loukika and Vaidhika

purushaarthams . In essence , RPS is a celebration of one's AcharyAs

and the celebration of the acharya-bhagavadh sambhandham . It is therefore

a PaarayaNa grantham like Srimadh RaamAyaNam of sage Valmiki . When

one does PaarAyaNam of RPS , one enjoys the Lord of Srirangam

directly ( pratyakhshamiva Samvruddham ). When we recite the hundred

slokAs of the chapter of RPS (paddhathi ) known as Naadha Paddhathi

with devotion , the Ranganatha sevakA can experience literally the

" GathAgathAni " (the hither and thither Sancharam ) of the bell-studded

padhukhAs of the Lord of Srirangam . The most beautiful sounds of

his sanchaAram as the Lord leaves His aasthAnam in Srirangam and

coming to our Puja Grahams have been captured by Swami Desikan .

One experiences the different mellifluent sounds of the Lord's bell-studded

PaadhukAs as His Paadam Thaangis ( Periya and Siriya Thiruvadis ) carry

him on their back and engage in the steps used in transpoting Him

known as Simha Gathi , vyAgra gathi and others .

 

Thiruvaimozhi and RPS

**************************

Swami Desikan has closely modelled RPS after NammAzhwAr's

Thiruvaimozhi with its 100 decads. In view of the importance of

RPS to us , Therezhundhur Aandavan created a Tamil commentary

for us . He completed the commentary upto 860 slokams and could

not continue further due to his illness. He commissioned then Sri

Aakkur Andavan to complete the work . The year was 1955 and the

extremely valuable commentary along the Andavan tradition was

released in that year. For many years thereafter , this monograph was

out of print. Thanks to the efforts of the disciples of Aandavan , this

sacred monograph was rereleased in 1995 in two parts . Sri Uttamur

Swami had released his own VyAkhyAnam on RPS earlier and it is also

out of print now. I was blessed to receive in 1994 the last copy of

this brilliant commentary of RPS form the son-in-law of Uttamur SwamigaL

(Sri K.G.KrishNan )at Madras . I had the good fortune to translate

this version into english in 1995.

This English version may be released in 1997 with the help of

Sri K.G.KrishNan and Swami Desikan scholars such as Sri V.N.Vedantha

Desikan , the author of "AzhwAr ThiruvuLLam " and Dr. S. PadmanAbhan,

the author of Parasara Bhattar's works and a descendant of the ThevanaarviLagam

Jeeyar of Ahobila Mutt . I am now bridging the two traditions

of commentaries - that of Uttamoor SwamigaL and Srirangam

Aandavans -- so that we can appreciate the integrated essence of the two

schools offering their devotion to Sri Ranganatha Divya MaNi PaadhukhAs .

 

I will sumamrize in the next few postings the architectonics of RHS

and the brief summary of the subject matter of the 32 paddhathis

of RPS .

 

May the Divya dampathis of Srirangam bless this effort and bring it

to a successful conclusion !

 

Sri RanganAyikA Sametha Sri Ranganatha ParabrahmaNE nama ;

 

Oppilaippan Koil VaradAchari Sadagopan