Sri ManavALa Maamuni"s YathirAja Vimsathi(YRV) : part 6

[Guest guest]

Dear Members of the Bhakthi group :

 

I will discuss a few slokams of YRV in this posting .

 

Slokam 6:

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AlpApi mE na bhavadheeya padhAbhja Bhakti :

SabdhAthi bhoga ruchi: anvaham yethatE haa I

madh pApamEva hii nidhAnam amushya nAnyath

tath vaaraya Aarya YathirAja Dhayaika SindhO II

 

( Meaning ) : O Ocean of Mercy ! O my Crown Jewel of

an Achaarya ! I do not possess deep attachment to your

lotus feet . I do not seem to have even a small measure

of that bhakthi to your sacred feet. My desire for the

worldly pleasures keeps on growing day by day .

What a pity ! The fundamental reason for this phenomenon

is the underlying paapams of mine. I can not think of any

other causative factor for this state . Therefore , I beg you

to banish my paapams with your grace .

 

Slokam 7:

 

vrthyA pasu: naravapu: thvahameedhrusOpi

sruthyAthi siddha nikhilaathma guNArayOyam I

ithyAtarENa krithinOpi mitha: pravakthum

adhyApi vanchanaparOhtra Yatheendhra varthE II

 

(Meaning ) : O King of Yathis ! I am an animal edition

of human existence. I have the body of a human being

(nara Vapu ,but by deeds , I am closer to an animal

(Pasu Vrutthi ) . Inspite of this , I mislead others and

make them think that I am a model of one shining

with aathma GuNAs celebrated by the VedAs and

VedAngAs . I am completely different than the impression

I give them. I am a poli Bhagavathan(pOtkan ) . What a Pity that

I am in this despicable state !

 

(Comments ) : Sri MunigaL is in a state of NaichyAnusandhAnam

or SvanikarshAnusandhAnam . He is in a repentive mood

contemplating on his unfitness . He remembers the adage :

J~nEna Heena: Pasubhi: SamAna : " . He cries out that he has no

true knowledge ( J~nana Heenan ) and is poor in anushtaanam

(AnushtAna Vaikalyam ) . He says : "Others describe me as

the treasure house of all of the celebrated aathma guNAs

saluted by the sruthis . What a tragedy ? I am totally unfit

to be called a BhagavathA . O Ocean Of Mercy ! O DayA SindhO !

Please save me from this self-generated calamity !

 

Slokam 8

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In this and the next two slokas , Our Aachryan describes

himself as a Moorkan or undisciplined ruffian . He pleads

for Acharya RamAnujA's grace . The 8th slokam is as folows :

 

dukkhAvaha : aham anisam tava dushta chEshta :

sabdhAdhi Bhoga Niratha: saraNAgAthAkya : I

Tvath paadha bhaktha iva sishta janowka madhyE

mithyA charaami YathirAja TadhOsmi Moorka : II

 

(Meaning ) : O YathirAjA ! What a ruffian and vesha Dhaari

(actor ) I am ! I carry the title of Prapannan and yet I am engaged

in the performance of deeds not permitted by sAsthrAs . I create

great sorrow for you with my conduct . I am not fit to be seen in

the company of your devout sishyAs and yet I pretend that I am

one of your very dear disciple and thus practise falsehood .

You must take mercy on me and lift me up .

 

AcharyA's Mental state of NaichyAnusanthAnam

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This state is also known as Aathma GarhaNam or Self-

depreciation . In this state , the bhakthan recounts one's

shortcomings and prays for the Lord"s or one's Acharyan's

compassion ( AnukmapA and DayA ) . Such Acharya PurushAs

like MaNavALa Maamuni had no particular defects or

shortcomings . This mood however is a sanchAri Bahvam

born out of Nirvedam and helplessness .

 

There are many instances of VaishNava AcharyAs , who cry out

with naicchiyam in a spirit of identification with our inadequacies

and misdeeds . Thyaga Brhamam was a Rama Chaithanyaa

and had a spotless life devoted to the worship of Sri Ramachandra.

He lamented however about his unfitness and sought the dayA

of Sri RamA in the following krithis :(1) Tudukku Gala (Gowlai ) ;

Etula BrOthuvO teliya ( ChakravAham ) ; PrAlabdha ( SvarAvaLi

raagam ) ; TelinE jEyu ( Kokila dhvani ) ; nOrEmi Sri RaamA (VarALi ).

 

I will take the Gowlai krithi to compare the state of mind of

MM to that of another great BhakthA , ThyagarAjA ,

who blessed this earth with his presence few centuries later .

 

This krithi in RaagA Gowlai starts with the pallavi ,

"Tudukku Gala nannE dora koduku prochurA yenthO ".

In this second pancha Rathna Krithi , Saint ThyagaraajA starts

in the lower rishabha svaram indicative of his agitated mental state.

He asks as to which dorai magan ( son of the powerful Master/

Chakravarthi Thirumagan ) is going to come to his rescue . He

suggests that Dasarathi , the son of Dasaratha chakravarthi is

the only one , who can save him from his aparAdhams .

 

Professor Saambhamurthy describes the mental state of

NaicchyanusandhAnam of the Saint this way : " The sahityam reflects

the pathetic state of mind and the penitent mood the composer

had at that time . The sahitya is confessional in tone ; but the fact is

ThyagarAjA never committed the sins enumerated therein . Indirectly ,

it is provided as a lesson to others to desist from committng such sins . "

 

Sadhguru SwamigaL has gone on to compose many krithis

expressing similar aathma GarhaNa mood for our benefit .

Some of them are : YennALLu tirikEthi ( MaaLava Sri ) ,

Yetula KaapAduthuvO ? Sri RamachandrA ! ( Aahiri ) ;

Nenandhu VedakudhurA , Hari ( Hari KaambhOji ) ;

Sikku Maali naa ValE tara -nEvaru thiruga jaalarayaa

(KedAra Gowlai ) ; Nimmana valasinadhEmi ? Raama

nannavalEnugaaka ( kalyANi ) ; Gattigaanu nanu

chEyi BattE tEnnadi ko ( Begada) ; Paahi KalyaaNa-

sundara Raama maam ( Punnaaga VarALi ) ;

Nee chitthamu nirmalamani ninnE namminAnu ( DhanyAsi).

 

Earlier VaishNava AchAryA's Aathma GarhaNam

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MM followed a traditional method set by earlier AachaaryAs

in including many Aathma GarhaNa slokams in his YathirAja

Vimsathi .

 

AaLavandhAr's 11th verse in Sthothra Rathnam

starting with , " Na Ninthitam karma tadhasthi lokE

sahasrasO YannamayAvdhAyee " is a case in point.

Here , the great AachAryA cries out to Lord MukhundA :

" O Lord ! There is not a sin that I have not committed

tens of thousands of times . I do not know of any

sin that I have not committed. All of these sins have

now ripened and are ready to yield their fruits . At this

time of desperation and terror , I stand before you

screaming as to who is going to protect me .

 

Swami Desikan states elsewhere :

 

jaanan anaadhi vihithaan aparAdha vargaan

Swamin bhayaath KIMAPI vakthumaham na saktha :

 

(Meaning ) : O SarvesvarA ! I AS THE BEARER OF LIMITLESS

LOAD OF ANCIENT SINS am standing before you with terror

in my mind and am dumb to describe your glories . I stand

muted before you weighted down by my paapa Raasis.

 

Swami Desikan also has described himself in yet another

sthothram as " Adharma pravaNAnAm agra skandha

pravruttham agatamaana vipratheesAram maam " .

Here he describes himself as the one standing in the front row

unrighteous and as one , who has no compassion for

fellow jeeva Raasis .

 

This is the Aaathma GarhaNa , Aakinchanya Mood

that MaNavALa Maamuni that he engages in this

and other slokams to follow to seek the compassion

of DayA sindhu , Sri RaamAnujA.

 

Sri MaNavALa MaamunigaL ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Oppiliappan KOIL VaradAchAri Sadagopan