Sri Ranganatha PaadhukhA Sahasram --Part 11: SanchAra Paddhathi

[Guest guest]

Dear Members of the Prapatthi Group :

 

We will focus on some of the 60 verses of the SanchAra Paddhathi

of Swami Desikan"s RPS in this posting .

 

After describing the times of the day , when the Lord wears His

PadhukhAs ( VaithAlika Paddhathi ) followed by the description

of the bliss He experiences by union with them in

SringAra Paddhathi , Swami Desikan takes up in this Paddhathi

the journeys made by the PadhukhAs to assist its Lord

in the execution of His duties during His many incarnations.

 

In the first slokam of this Paddhathi , Swami Desikan points out

that even SitA Devi wanted to follow the Vritthi ( livelihood ) of the

PaadhukhAs because of its sacredness:

 

agarathasthE gamishyAmi mrudganthi kusakantakAn I

ithi SeethApi yadh vritthim iyesha praNamAmi thaam II

 

(Meaning and comments ) : O PadhukhE ! In observance of

your kaimkaryam to the Lord, you step on the sharp blades of

grass and thorns and protect the Lord's feet from them . It appears

as though you say that you will go ahead and remove the obstacles

that would have been faced by the Lord during His travel in the rough

trails of the forest during RamAvathAram . You stepped on the thorns

and sharp blades of grass and crushed them and thereby protected

the Lord's lotus-soft feet during His wanderings in the forest .

I bow to you , whose occupation of protecting the Lord's feet

was desired even by SitA Devi Herself.

 

The reference here is to the scene in AyodhyA , when RamA was about to

leave for the forest . He pointed out to SitA the dangers of forest life and

asked her to stay behind. Our Janaki MaathA , the PathivrathA SironmaNi

answered her Lord and said that she will go ahead of her Lord in the forst

so that she can spare her Lord's feet from the sharp blades of Kusa grass .

She expressed her desire to step on the sharp grass first and thus soften the

path of the Lord and spare Him any discomfort. Through this expression

of this wish , she wanted to have the customary noble occupation/kaimkaryam

of the PadhukhAs. Swami Desikan says here that he salutes the PadhukhAs

known for such noble Kaimkaryam , which SitA Devi herself wanted to emulate.

 

I will jump next to the last slokam of this paddhathi before commenting on

other slokams of this chapter :

 

sambhavathu paadarakshE ! satyasuparNAdhirowpavahyagaNa : I

yAtrAsu Rangabharthu: prathama parsipandha kaaraNam bhavathi II

 

(Meaning ) : O PadhukhE ! When RanganAthA has to use other means

of transportation , you transport Him first , where that transporting agent

is and get Him started on His journey. For instance , When RanganAthA

has to undetake His journey on the shoulders of GarudA known otherwise

as Satyan , SuparNan, Taarkshyan and Vihageswaran , He travels on your

back to the place , where GarudA is waiting for Him (vahana Mantapam )

eagerly . Therefore , you are intimately involved partly or fully in providing

transportation service to your Lord always .

 

We will now take up selected slokas of this paddhathi to illustrate

the beauty of construction , the lofty imagination and the deep

bhakthi of Swami Desikan for Sri RanganAthA .

 

In the second slokam Swami Desikan celebrates the gathA gathAni

or the coming and goings of the PadhukhAs with RanganAthA during

the many festivals at the Srirangam temple . The slokam is as follows :

 

sarada: sathamambha ! paadhukhE ! syAm samaya aahutha pitAmahasthuthAni I

maNimantapikAsu Rangabharthu: tvadhadheenAni GATHAAGATHAANI pasyan II

 

(Meaning ) : O Mother paadhukhE ! During the time of the temple festivals ,

BrahmA and the DevAs unite you with RanganAthA's feet to enable Him

to travel to the many gem-bedecked sanctums and offer their worships

at these sites in the classical manner established by the sacred texts .

May I be blessed by you to see these comings and the goings of

RanganAthA on your back for ONE HUNDRED YEARS .

 

In the third slokam , Swami points out the mutual dependence of the Lord

and His padhukhAs . VedAs and paancha Raatra aagamAs assert that

RanganathA and His consort are not controlled by anyone and yet they

are " yathokthakAris " as far as their devotees are concerned and respond to

their " commands " out of overflowing affection for them . It appears that they

are controlled by their devotees . Swami Desikan points out the similarity

of the PadhukhAs with the above attribute of the divine couple in this regard.

 

Swami Desikan says : " O PadhukhE ! Lord's movements are controlled by

you ; at the same time , your movements are under His control . He decides

where He wants to go and you decide on how to get Him there with every

comfort . Both of you are not controlled by anyone else. This relationship

between both of you endure forever. Each of you is dependent on the other

and yet you are independent of every one else.

 

The inner meaning of this slokam is : The blessings of acquiring a SadhAcharya

is through the Lord's grace ; The boon of attaining the Lord is however

through the

blessings of Aacharya KatAksham . Thus there is a unshakable interdependency

between the AchAryA (PadhukhAs ) and the Lord .

 

In the ninth slokam , Swami Desikan says : " O PadhukhE ! RanganAthA's ride

on you , the elegant steps that He takes with your help , His bodily movements

during these occasions are a delight for one's eyes. There is nothing more

pleasurable to watch in this world than that divine sight of RanganAthA's

movement ( oyyAra nadai ) . Those who are blessed to witness this blissful

scene have the additional dividend of the destruction of their accumulated

sins.

 

In the fifth slokam , Swami Desikan states tha the PadhukhAs out of

its kindness bring the Lord closer to the people , who do not make an

effort to come to the temple. Duirng the festival days , the padhukhAs

carry the Lord on its back and bring Him to the raja Veedhis of Srirangam

for one and all to see Him and receive His blessings. The inner meaning is that

the Lord will come to the place of one , who has been blessed by

the Acharya Kataksham .

 

In the fifteenth slokam , Swami points out that those , who have been

blessed to witness the sanchAram of the Lord of Srirangam on the back

of His padhukhAs will not travel the sorrowful road of repeated birhts

and deaths ( na puna: bhajanthE samsAra KaanthAra GATHAGATHAANI ) .

 

In the fourty seventh slokam , NigamAntha MahA Desikan states that

the PadhukhAs of the Lord (Acharyas ) transport and bring before human

eyes the Supreme Lord , who can not be easiy seen through strict observance

of celibacy , penance or studies of the VedAs . His vaibhavam is hardly

described

by the VedAs. We recognize their valiant attempts to describe Him ; their

effort is like trying to understand the immensity of the vast ocean by

reflecting upon a small amount of water held in one's palms . Swami Desikan

says that the PadhukhAs (AcharyAs ) make it easy for us to see HIm

and attain His blessings in this human life of ours .

 

In the fiftieth verse , Swami Desikan appeals to the PadhukhAs

to bring the Lord to his side during the last moments of his life

on earth , when he will be totally helpless . He says that compassionate

act of the most merciful PadhukhAs would cut asunder his bonds of

SamsAra and free him from additional births and deaths. This moving

slokam is as follows :

 

parisaramupayAthA paadhukhE ! pasya maatha : !

karaNa vilaya kedhAth kaanthiseekE vivekE I

Purusham upanayanthee PundareekAksham agrE

puna: udhara nivAsa klesa vicchedhanam na: II

 

O Mother PadhukhE ! My sense of discrimination (Vivekam )

would have run away with fear at the time of my anthima kaalam

due to the enfeebling of my senses ( KaraNa vilaya KhedhAth

vivekE kaanthisOkE ) . At that time , please bring the Parama Purushan

to my side on your back and cast your merciful glance on me .

That lotus eyed Lord ( PundareekAksham Purusham ) is the

one who banishes the ills of SamsArA ( repeated cycles of

births and deaths ) and give us the boon of moksham .

The inner meaning is that the darsanam(Meditation ) of the Lord and

Acharya should be in one's anthima smrithi to reach Parama Padham .

 

Sri RanganAtha MaNi PadhukhE ! Thubhyam Nama:

Swami Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan