Sri RanganAtha PadhukhA Sahasram (RPS ) : Naadha Paddhathi --Part 14.3

[Guest guest]

Dear Members of the Prapatthi Group :

 

In this posting , I will cover the slokams of Naddha

Paddhathi of RPS from 16 to 20.

 

Verse 16/396

 

Here Swami Desikan addresses the Rangapathi"s Rathna

MaNi PadhukhAs and requests them to perform their alchemy

during the last moments of his life on this earth , when all his

ten IndriyAs would be in astate of agitation .

 

He says : " O Gem-studded PaddhukhAs of Sri RanganaathA !

When the ever present enemies of my body cause me pain and

sorrow , please fill my ears with your Naadham . It will serve as

soothing alchemy to drive my afflictions away " .

 

He describes his state at the last moments of His life

as" Vihvalasya mama sruthou "( Most agitated ear of mine ) .

The antidote for that state is described by

Swami Desikan as " Bhavatheeya Sinjitham svAdhu karNa RasanA

RasAyanam " ( Your delectable Naadham that is the tasteful

medicine/alchemy for the ear of mine serving as the tongue to benefit

from that medicine and to be cured of my afflictions ) .

 

Swami Desikan"s statement here is similar to the KrishNa RasAyanam

recommended by KulasekharA to cure the ills of samsAric afflictions.

 

Verse 17/397

 

Here Swami Desikan establishes the supermacy (Parathvam )

of Sriman NaarAyanA through the words of the MaNi paadhukhAs.

The corresponding slokam is as follows :

 

aham upari samastha devathAnAm

upari mamaisha vibhAthi Vaasudeva : I

tadhiha param na kimchidh asmAdh

ithi vadaseeva padhAvani PraNAdhai : II

 

Swami says :" O PaadhukhE ! When I hear the Naadham

generated by you when you travel with your Lord , it seems

to suggest that you are saying that you adorn the heads of

all the DevAs and therefore You are superior to all of them.

You seem to say next that the Lord is over your head and therefore ,

there is nothing in world is superior to Him " .

 

The inner meaning of this slokam is that NammAzhwAr (SatAri / PaadhukhAs)

hints through the verses of his Thiruvaimozhi that Para Vaasudevan

of Srirangam is the Lord and Master of all the DevAs.

 

Verse 18/398

 

In this slokam , Swami takes the liberty of comparing the happy,

sweet and bold Naadham of the PaadhukhAs to that of a happily

married wife , who addresses her husband in a state of intoxication .

He says : " O PaadhukhE ! Your Naadham some times sounds like

the bold speech of a drunken wife , who embraces her husband and

gets even bolder and gives assertive orders. When DevAs prostrate before

You , the fermented honey (Madhu/wine ) from their flower garlands

decorating their crowns fall on You . You become intoxicated with that

flow of Madhu . You embrace your Lord's feet and generate a sound

born out of happiness and intoxication. That Naadham emanating from you

at that time is sweet and bold " .

 

Verse 19/399

 

In this slokam , Swami Desikan pays tribute to the uniqueness of

the PaadhukhAs as attested by Sri RanganAthA .

 

He says : " O PaadhukhE ! During the day , your Lord performs all

the duties requested by the DevAs and receives their grateful

salutations . He goes hither and thither to protect them and becomes

the object of their adorations. Thereafter , he bids good bye His servants at

the appropriate places of His palace and hastens by Himself to the inner

chambers to join His consorts . You alone are with HIm at that time.

He does not seem to leave you behind because of His fondness for the sweet

Naadham generated by you , when you transport Him to the inner chambers" .

 

The inner meaning is that the general accoutrements of Sri RanganAthA

and His servants stop at the exterior gates of His palace . It is only

the sArrumurai of Thiruvaimozhi that takes place at the innermost

chambers (garbha Graham ) of the Lord of Srirangam .

 

Verse 20/400

 

Here Swami Desikan describes the low , almost inaudible Naadham

that arises from the PaadhukhAs , when RanganAthA makes His first

step after getting up from His bed of Adhi SeshA in the morning. The gems

decorating the PaadhukhAs get shaken up gently and make a low level

sound. As RanganAthA takes the next three steps , His lotus feet are

firmly inside the PaadhukhAs and the volume of the accompanying

Naadham gets amplified to louder and audible levels.

 

Swami describes the progressive growth in the Naadham generated by

RanganAthA's movements in this verse and compars that phenemenon

to the generation of sound by the human body in four successive steps

known as ParA , pasyanthi , MadhyamA and Vaikari .

 

The first stage of sound arising from the navel , when one

attempts to speak is known as ParA. When that sound wave

reaches the heart center from Naabhi , it gets a little louder and is

recognized

as Pasyanthi . When it reaches the next stage between the heart

and the vocal chords , the sound gets louder and by another dimension

known as MadhyamA ; finally , when the sound wave reaches the level

of vocal chords and comes out of the mouth in an audible fashion ,

it is called Vaikari . The first three stages of speech are not audible to

the human ear and yet they get progressively louder from the first to

the fourth stage. Each stage is assisted by one of the five life-winds

going up and down the body such as prANA , ApAnA , UdAnA et al.

Swami Desikan compares the steadily increasing volume of Naadham

as Sri RanganathA moves from his first step to the fourth step to the

stages of speech amplification in the human body controlled

by the life-winds.

 

The inner meaning is that the Naadham of the SatAri Suri is low

when he begins his enjoyment of the Lord"s auspicious

attributes ( Bhagavadh Anubhavam ) . As the intensity of

the anubhavam increases , the Naadham reaches a crescendo .

There is a krama pariNatha aspect to the anubhavam ( successive

stages of ascension ) .The parA state is a subtle experience

(SookshmAvasthai ) . Then it becomes gradually heightened and

comes out as distinct and loud Thiruvaimozhi paasuram .

 

Sri RanganAtha MaNi PaadhukhE !

Thubhyam NamO Nama:

Swami Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan