Sri RanganAtha PadhukhA Sahsram (RPS ) : part 14.1(Nadha Paddhathi )

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Dear Members of the Prapatthi Group :

 

In the last slokam (verse 5 )of the previous posting , we heard

the KamalA Nupura manju sinjithAnAm PrathisallabhAm

( the responses of the anklet bells of Ranganayaki as She

rushed forward to meet Her husband as He approached

the inner chambers with the mellifluent sounds

raised by His PaadhukhAs ) . SallAbham is friendly conversation .

Prathi SallAbham is the resonse to that conversation .

 

Verse 6

 

Swami Desikan says here that the MaNi PaadhukhAs of

the Lord are ecstatic about their lot and as a result seems

to engage in Sama GhAnam . He says : " O MaNi PaadhukhE !

You have received the great bliss through Your attachment to

the lotus feet of Lord RanganAthA . You seem to indicate

through Your ecstasy Your great joy. Your NaadhA resembles

at this time the Sama GHAnam known as " AhammannAdha"

section of the Taittiriya Upanishad . AhamannAdha means I enjoy

Brahman . PadhukhA thus seem to declare its supreme

bliss through the sounds of Sama GhAnam , Aham Annadha : .

 

Verse 7

 

Here Swami Desikan points out that the NaadhA arising from

the happy PadhukhAs are like an Arishta Saanthi mantram .

He says : " O PadhukhE ! Having reached the lotus feet of Your

Lord , You are meditating on them . The NaadhA arising from

Your movements during these occsions appear like the rare

incantations (MantrAs ) aimed at the destruction of Your listeners'

sorrows " .

 

Verse 8

 

Here Swami Desikan states that the svarupa VisEsham of

the Lord could not be desacribed adequately by the VedAs

and yet those attributes are well described by the Naadham

associated with the PaadhukhAs (NammAzhwAr"s Thiruvaimozhi ).

 

He says : " O MaNi padhukhE ! VedAs are unable to describe the divine

qualities of the Lotus feet of Your Lord . The glories of the Paadha Kamalam

are so profound and beyond description that the VedAs fail in their

attempts to characterize them as of this kind or that kind. Where the VedAs

have failed , it appears that You are successful in defining the auspicious

qualities of the Lord"s Aravindha CharaNam through the sweet sounds

emanating from You ( Thiruvaimozhi ) ".

 

Verse 9 :

 

Here Swami Desikan describes the experience of the Rishis

who have practised YogA . He says : " O MaNi PaadhukhE !

with single-minded concentration , Yogis meditate on You

and You alone ; thereafter , they hear Your NaadhA , which is

equivalent to OmkAram (OmkAra Tulyam ) . "

 

Swami Desikan points out that the Yogis reflect on the PraNavA

sound , since it is associated with the NaadhA of the PaadhukhAs,

which in turn is in a state of union with the Lord's sacred feet .

When they hear the NaadhA of the PaadhukhAs through such meditations ,

they know that the PaadhukhAs and the Lord are near by . Thus the reflection

on the NaadhA of the PaadhukhAs , the equivalent of PraNavam ,

brings the Yogis close to the Lord ( Bhagavadh Saameepyam ) .

 

Verse 10 .

 

Madhuram MaNi PaadhukhE ! pravrutthE

bhavathi rangapathErvihAra kaalE I

abhayArthanayA samabhupethAn

avisamvAdhayatheeva manjunAdhai : II

 

(meaning ) : O RanganAthA's bejewelled PaadhukhE !

When You travel with Your Lord , You seem to indicate

through Your NaadhA Your consent to protect those , who

approach You closely and seek Your refuge. You assure

them freedom from any fear through your sweet sounds .

 

When the Lord travels on the main streets of Srirangam on the

back of the PaadhukhAs , the devotees of the Lord beg Him to

grant them desired boons . At that time , your Naadham seems

to tell them that you agree to grant them thier desired wishes.

You seem to say , "So Be It ".

 

Sri RanganAtha MaNI PaadhukhE ! Thubhyam NamO nama:

Swami Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan