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Garuda Dandakam Continued

 

Nama Idha Mahajat Saparyaaya Paryaaya Niryaata Pakshaanilaasppalanodhvela

Pathoti Veechi chapetaahataagaadha paatala Bhankara sankrutta nagendra

peedasrunee bhava bhasvannakasrenaye chandatundaya nrtyat bhujanga bhruve

vajriNe dhamshtrayaatubyam Adhyaatmavidyaa vidheyaa vidheyaa bhavat

dhasyamaapaadhayetadhayetaasccha meh I

 

O Garuda Bhagavan! Great scholars offer their constant eulogy to you.

During flight, your wings generate mighty winds that stir up

all the oceans and make them overflow their boundaries.

The waves that rise and fall from those powerful winds reach down to the

netherworld (Patala) and the effect is like a violent blow given by the palm

of one's hand. A fearsome sound heard as "Bham" (closest description of

Bhankara) resonates around the world at that time. The powerful elephants

guarding the quarters (Ashta Dik PAlakas) are shaken up by this thunderous

sound of "Bham" and run to attack you, the generator of that sound. Your

sharp nails acting as the elephant goad attack those angry elephants of the

quarters and easily rout them. Your mighty beak instills fear in the minds of

your enemies. The squinting of your brows looks like the movement of the hood

of a cobra. Your cannines resemble Indra's Vajra and strikes terror in the

hearts of your enemies.

 

I salute you of such unbounded glory! I seek your blessings so that Brahma

Vidyas are readily possessed by me! Please bless me out of your infinite

compassion so that I can have the good fortune to offer kainkaryam to you .

 

Manuranugata Pakshivaktra spurattharakas taavakaschitrabhanupriyaa

sekharastthrayathaam nastrivargaapavarga prasuthi: paravyoma dhaman

valadweshidharpjjvalat vaalakilya Pratigynaavatheerna sthiraam tatvabuddhim

paraam bhaktidhenum jaganmoolakandhe Mukundhe

mahaanandadhogdhreem dhatitaa mudaakaamaheenamaheenaanthaka II

 

O Garuda Bhagavan residing permanently in Sri Vaikuntam! (Here the reference

is to the Vishnu Sooktam Salutation: Tad VishNoh Paramam Padam..)

Recitation of your mantram confers the four fold PurushArthas (Dharma,

Artha, Kama, Moksha). Your Mantram consisting of 5 syllables, begins with

Pranavam as its first syllable and ends with the syllable associated with the

wife of Agni. May the mantram of that structure protect us! (Srimans

Rengarajan and Sadagopan are extremely knowledgable in the Prayogam of this

Mantram. I request them to post their insights from their AtmArtha Anubhavam

of Pakshi Rajan).

 

Once, Indra became extremely arrogant over

his powers and insulted the sages with the name of Valakilyas. The sages got

angry and cursed Indra that Indra's arrogance be destroyed by an

incarnation of Sankarshana (Garuda) at a future time. You were born as a result

of the Valakilyas' curse that the mighty arrogance of Indra be destroyed by

you and you fulfilled their vow. You serve as Yama for mighty serpents that

challenged you. Please bless me with the intellect to distinguish between

true (superior) and false (inferior) knowledge.

 

Your Lord is the fundamental and principal cause of all the universes.

(Observe the connection here with the Narayana Upanishad Salutation:

NarayaNe PravartantE I NarayaNe Praleeyante II) Please bless me to have the

cow representing the limitless devotion to your Lord, so that It can yield

for me its delectable milk. (The genius of Swami Desikan is evident here

for in a short salutation he brilliantly captures the essence of two

beautiful Shlokas, i.e., one from the Dhyana Shlokam of the Bhagavad Gita:

ParthO Vatsa Sudhir Bhokta Dughdam Geetamrutamahat and another from Sri

Bhashyakara's Ranganatha Gadyam: Asrita Vatsalyaika Mahodadhe)

 

May that devotion of mine be free from the distractions of the

insignificant and evanescent pleasures of life. (This salutation can be

viewed in the context of the Rahasya Traya Sara message, where Swami Desikan

dwells at length on the significance of the Ashtakshara Mantram in terms of

Tatva Hita and PurushArtha) I beseech you to confer on me the boon of

possessing such a superior devotion to your Lord and True Knowledge about Him!

 

Shuttrhimshatganacharanoh Nara paripaati naveena Ghumbhagana: I

Vishnurathadhandakoyam Vikatayathu vipaksha Vahini Vyuham II

 

Recitation of this Garuda Dhandakam, destroys the formations of the enemies,

who have assembled to do battle with us and scatter them to the winds.

 

Vichitra siddhidada: Soyam Venkatesa Vipascchitaa I

Garudadhwajathoshaaya Ghito Garudadhandaka: II

 

This Garuda Dhandakam was composed and sung by the Vidwan known as

Venkatesa to please the Lord, who has Garuda on his flagstaff. The recitation

of this Garuda Dhandakam will confer on the recantor multifold blessings and

fulfill their heartfelt wishes of every kind (Chintita Manoratha PrApti).

 

Kavithaarkikasimhaaya Kalyanagunasaalineh I

Srimathe Venkatesaaya Vedanthaguraveh nama: II

 

Pakshi Rajan Tiruvadigale SharaNam,

 

Muralidhar Rangaswamy