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Dear Members of the Bhakti List,

 

I would like to offer my sincere appreciation and thanks to Sriman

Sadagopan for his wonderful summary of chapters 15-32 of Sri RPS. Has

succinctly captured the essence of each Paddhati and used carefully

chosen Shlokams to highlight the important aspects of each chapter.

To my unrestrained delight, I read this post as I was listening to

Smt. Subbulakshmi's rendition of Sri Venkateshwara Suprabatham this

morning. As I was reading his post, a number of thoughts crossed my mind

some of which I shall share with you. I seek forgiveness if the following

reflections sound indulgent.

 

First, the RPS summary set off the thought of Daya being an important

Kalyana GuNam of the Lord of Seven Hills. In this context, I was reminded of

the Daya Shatakam salutation "Bhavitam Srinivasasya Bhakta Doshehvadarshanam"

(Lord Srinivasa overlooks the faults of his Bhaktas). The reference to Vamana

Avataram in Sri Sadagopan's note was very pleasing to read for it immediately

brought to mind the role of Dadhi in Tirumanjanam. Dadhi Priyo Devata is

Vamana. Dadhi (Vamana) is glorified through the Vedic hymn "DadhikraviNNO

Akarushan...". Dadhi confers strength (Pushti Vardhanam). The inner meanings

of Dadhi Vamana can be gained from the Upanyasams of Sri Srivatsankachariar

Swamigal who states that Dadhi imparts a pleasing odour to the mouth and

it gives strength to the tongue (Simhasanam of Bhagavan Hayagriva) to speak

nothing but the truth. Vamana Avataram also illustrates another important

statement from one of Sri Sadagopan's prior summaries of the RPS, i.e.,

the Padhukas have the characteristic of humbling the arrogant ones while

elevating the humble supplicant. Mahabali ridiculed Vamana for seeking three

paces of land (as measured by his feet). To his dismay Mahabali found that

Trivikrama in two paces took away all of his possessions! When Mahabali

humbly offered his head for the third pace of Vamana to rest on, he was

blessed with the boon of becoming Indra during a future Kalpa!

 

These thoughts then led me to contemplate on the Tiruvadi of Malola Lakshmi

Narasimhar. Lakshmi Narasimhar is the only manifestation of Lord Narayana

who is seen wearing his Padhukas constantly-an indication that he is always

ready to rush to the succour of his Bhaktas. This then set me thinking on

the Pida Pariharam (for Bhaktas), Pida Pradanam (for Dushtas) and Sarva

Rakshakatva aspects of Bhagavan Narasimha and his abode the Sudarshana

Chakram. Thoughts of Bhagavan Narasimhar reminded me of Lord Srinivasar

due to the Venkata-Narasimha connection. This along with the reference to

Nammazhwar, Satakopatvam and Swami Desikan's tributes summarized in

Sri Sadagopan's note led to contemplation on the Guru Parampara salutation

in the Daya Shatakam "Srinivasa Dayambodhi: Parivaha Parampara", which

when examined in details reveals the connections between the feet of

Tiruvenkatan and Nammazhwar, beautifully summarized by Swami Desikan

(Ghanta Nada Swaroopi of Tiruvenkatan). If Nammazhwar had not instructed

Nathamuni in the holy collects, there would be no Guru Paramapara to salute!

 

As these thoughts occured to me, I heard the Dashavataram line

of the Venkateshwara Suprabatham "Meena Krute...", which caused me to

reflect on the Padhukas of Lord Ramachandra, with which I could associate

the Raghuveera Gadyam salutation "PadhukAgriyabisheka Nirvartita Sarva Loka

Yogakshema". This also brought back the idea of the Ramayanam itself being a

SharaNagati to the Padhukas of Lord Rama. The mention of KrishNavataram in

the Suprabatham caused me to reflect on the Madhusudhana Padhukas which

graced Arjuna and spelt doom for Duryodhana when both of them approached

Lord Krishna for help before the Mahabharata war. A final thought that

occured to me was to offer homage to the Divya Mani Padhukas of Lord

Ranganatha and seek their constant protection.

 

Sri Ranganayika Sametha Sri Ranganatha ParabrahmaNe Namaha,

 

Muralidhar Rangaswamy