(No subject)

[Guest guest]

Dear Members of the Bhakti List,

 

Today is the blessed Panguni Uttaram day. A number of significant events

took place on this sacred day. The marriage of Lord Rama to Sita was

solemnized by Vasishta at Mithila on this day. Some accounts of the Ramayana

state that Hanuman returned from Lanka and provided Lord Rama with the

good news of locating Sita. Lord Rama is believed to have set out on his

campaign to Lanka on this day. This is the only day on which the Divya

Dampatis of Srirangam are seen in Utsavam in the royal court. As a result,

it is not surprising that Sri Ramanujacharya chose this day, remarkably, for

delivering the Gadya Trayam. The following is a short account on some

salient aspects of the Gadya Trayam.

 

I posted an account of the Sri Ranganatha Gadyam on this list for Panguni

Uttaram last year and I shall forward the same article again in a separate

mailing. The term Desika means one who is very familiar with a place.

This title is most befitting for Sri Ramanuja Maha Desika, who was

extremely familiar with the path to Lord Narayana (see the Vaikunta Gadyam).

 

Sri Ramanujacharya returned to Srirangam after living in "exile" in Melkote.

Upon his return, he visited the Temple of Lord Ranganatha on Panguni Uttaram

day. Deeply moved by the sight of the Lord in Utsavam with his consort in

the royal court (at the Western entrance. Perhaps Sriman Sampath Rengarajan

could provide us with a detailed account of the Panguni Uttaram celebration.

Nothing can be better than a description this event from a local person who

is very familiar with the place [Desika].), Sri Bhashyakarar poured out his

heart in an intensely personal, highly moving and deeply emotional

SharaNagati in the SharaNagati Gadyam and the Sri Ranganatha Gadyam as a

result of which he was blessed with a beautiful vision of Sri Vaikuntam which

is brilliantly mirrored in the Sri Vaikunta Gadyam.

 

The SharaNagati Gadyam and the Sri Ranganatha Gadyam are very similar in

structure. More precisely, the Gadyams can be divided into three parts, i.e.,

glorification of the Lord by dwelling on his Anantha KalyaNa Gunams,

a confession of shortcomings on account of association with Karma as a prelude

to the ultimate SharaNagati in the concluding part of the Gadyams. The

Gadyam form of salutation has a unique prose-poem structure

in which long chains of adjectives and epithets are interspersed with

short strings to achieve a mesmerizing effect on the recantor and the

listener. For example in the Sri Ranganatha Gadyam, Ramanujacharya

uses the salutation "TadanubhavajanitAnavadhikatishaya PreetikArita

SheshavastOchitaseshasheshataikaratirupa. Nitya KinkarO Bhavani." Other

examples of such usages exist in abundance in the SharaNagati Gadyam,

Vaikunta Gadyam and Raghuveera Gadyam.

 

It is instructive to observe the Acharya's thought process while delivering

the three Gadyams. The SharaNagati Gadyam and Sri Ranganatha Gadyam are

unparalleled in establishing the doctrine of SharaNagati, fundamental to

Bhagavad Ramanuja Siddhantam. The SharaNagati Gadyam was a direct consequence

of our Paramacharyan's intensely personal Anubhavam of the Lord in Utsavam

with his consort. The beauty of Sri Ramanujacharya's description of the

Lord's limitless KalyaNa GuNams (Asankheya KalyaNa GunaganambramahArNavam)

and the Lord's Ayudhams in the SharaNagati Gadyam are unmatched. The Acharya's

request for Parabhakti, Parajnana and Paramabhakti as a result of this Bhagavad

Anubhavam were granted by the Lord of Srirangam by breaking his Archa Samadhi

and addressing Ramanujacharya thus "Remain in Srirangam constantly

engaged in reciting the Dvaya Mantram until thy body falls to the earth".

The conclusion of the SharaNagati Gadyam contains significant salutations from

the Ramayana (Ramo Dvirnabibashate) and the Bhagavad Gita (Charma Shlokam)

which are indicative of the Lord's compassion to those who surrender

to him (Atma Nivedanam). One can also associate the salutation "Narayana

SayujyamavApnoti Narayana SayujyamavApnoti" (from the Narayana Upanishad

of the Atharvana Vedam) with these aspects of the SharaNagati Gadyam.

 

Thrilled by this experience of the Lord, and having tasted the sweetness of

being close to the Lord, the Acharyan, in a state of ecstasy, thirsts for more

of the same. Fearful of being possessed by Karma, and thus being disturbed

from this ecstatic state of Bhagavad Guna Anubhavam, Ramanujacharya resolves

that the only way to overcome the bondage of Karma is by constantly being by

the side of the Lord. This can be achieved by being of

constant service to the Lord at all times, in all forms under all

circumstances. The Acharyan humbly requests this in the Sri Ranganatha Gadyam

which is my personal favorite (see for example in the salutation:

TadanubhavajanitAnavadhikatishaya PreetikArita

SheshavastOchitaseshasheshataikaratirupa. Nitya KinkarO Bhavani.)

.. An important salutation in this Gadyam is

"ParipurNam Bhagavantam" (Lord who is complete in all respects). This

reflects the Narayana Upanishad salutation "NishkalO NiranjanO NirvikalpO

Nirakyatha: Shuddo Deva EkO Narayana:Na DvitiyOsti Kaschit. Ya Evam Veda". I

shall try to summarize the important aspects of the Narayana Upanishad in a

separate post.

 

After the formal SharaNagati in the Ranganatha Gadyam, Emperumanaar was

blessed with a beautiful vision of Sri Vaikuntam. These are brilliantly

described in chaste sanskrit in the Sri Vaikunta Gadyam. The beauty and

majesty of the Vaikunta Gadyam defy translation. However, erudite members of

this forum could prove me wrong. Some aspects of the Vaikunta Gadyam (i.e.,

description of VishNu Parivaram) are best seen from the conclusion of the

Vishnu Sooktam "Tad VishNoh Paramam Padam Sada Pashyanti Soorayaha. Diviva

chakshurAtatam. TadviprAso Vipanyavoh Jagruvagamsassamindate. VishNoryah

Paramam Padam."

 

Note: This post is written very quickly from memory. Therefore please

accept my apology for all errors. Everything correctly stated is entirely due

to the grace of my Acharyan.

 

Sri Ranganayika Sametha Sri Ranganatha ParabrahmaNe Namaha,

 

Muralidhar Rangaswamy