Sri RanganAtha PaadhukhA Sahasram: SamnivEsa Paddhathi--Part 2 ( SlokAs 11-20 )

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Slokam 11 of SAMP /Slokam 791 of RPS

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O MaNi paadhukhE ! You are of worshipful form .

You serve as protection for the Lord's holy feet as

well as decoration for them . According to the demands

of the occasion , you switch from one role (protection )

to the other ( decoration ) readily . You move between these

two roles with ease and alacrity .

 

Slokam 12 of SAMP / Slokam 792 of RPS

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O Mother ! O PaadhukhE ! The other decorative objects

adorning the Lord's different limbs would be either small

or big depending on the respective sizes of the limbs .

O PaadhukhE ! although all the other jewellery of the Lord

can not change their shape or size , you are able to change

according to the changing occasion and fit your Lord's feet

exactly . You are a delight (NayanAbhirAmam ) for us to enjoy

on the Lord's feet with your exact fit on every occasion .

 

Slokam 13 of SAMP / Slokam 793 of RPS

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In the previous verse , Swami Desikan saluted the PaadhukhAs

as a delight to one's eyes . Here , he states that one needs

thousand eyes to fully aborb the beauty of the PaadhukhAs

adorning the Lord's feet . He says : " O PaadhukhE of the lotus-eyed

Lord ! The devotees of yours fondly enjoy your beauty

and yet thirst for more enjoyment . With the passage of time ,

their devotion ripens and they become born as thousand-eyed

IndrAs to take in fully your captivating beauty.

 

Slokam 14 of SAMP / Slokam 794 of RPS

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prathama pramANamithi vaadhinAm matham

madhujithpadhE mahathi maasama bhudhithi I

vyudhapAdhi tasya charaNAvani ! tvayA

nigamAthmanastava samapramANathA II

 

Swami Desikan's talent in using the multiple meanings of

the words is abundantly evident here . The words " Padham ,

ApramANam , Sama pramANam and Nigama " are used

cleverly by the kavi simham to convey the clear message that

the Lord's holy feet is equal in glory to the paadhukhAs or

vice-versa . "Padha " means either a step or a word. " Nigama "

means either VedAs or an object that moves in the proper gait .

" ApramANam " means something , which is beyond oral

explanation . "Sama PramANam " means one , which has the

same measure with another object . Using all of these words in a

subtle manner , Swami Desikan says : " O PaadhukhE ! You seem

not to support the view of the SaasthrAs that paadham of the Lord

is apramANam . You seem to suggest that both

the Lord's feet and yourself are of similar glory ,

since VedAs are the common link between

the two . You appear to hint that both the Lord's holy feet and

yourself are of equal measure in glory , since you are extolled by

the PramANam known as VedAs in equal measures .

 

Slokam 15 of SAMP / Slokam 795 of RPS

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Here , Swami Desikan answers the question posed earlier

about the relative glory of the PaadhukhAs and the Lord's feet .

He settles in favor of the PaadhukhAs and says that they are

slightly superior in glory to the Lord's holy feet . He says : As

the Lord's feet grew and enveloped the three worlds during

the ThrivikramAvathAram , the paadhukhAs measured and

covered the feet of the Lord , which can not be measured or

described easily by anyone. Such is your unique glory that

you did manage to measure His glory . " . Swami Desikan

states that the paadhukhAs did not fall one step behind

the growing feet of ThrivikramA and provided the exact fit

in real time .

 

The inner meaning is that the AchAryas succeed in taking

a true measure of the Bhagavadh svarupam that is not easy

for Brahma or RudrA to fathom .

 

Slokam 16 of SAMP/ Slokam 796 of RPS

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O PaadukhE ! You are like a basin or trench for watering the tree

of RanganAthA . The water from GangA residing in RudrA's head

flows in that trench , when RudrA bends before you , when He bends

His head to offer His homage to you . RudrA thus irrigates the tree

of Lord with your help .

 

Slokam 17 of SAMP/ Slokam 797 of RPS

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Swami Desikan compares the golden paadhukhAs

to the lotus fruit , which is surrounded by the sages

taking the form of bees to drink the nectar of Moksham .

Swami says : " The happy sages have taken the form

of bees to drink deep the nectar (pollen ) of Moksham

stored in the pericarp of your golden lotus form " .

 

Slokam 18 of SAMP/ Slokam 798 of RPS

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O PaadhukhE ! When Lord KrishNA as a grahasthA

(Married man ) fulfilled the desires of each of His

16,000 wives , He took 16,000 identical forms to be

with each of them in their individual homes. At that time ,

you multiplied two fold over His 16,000 forms to cover

each of the two feet of the Lord . Therefore , I consider

your form to be larger in number than that of the Lord Himself .

 

Slokam 19 of SAMP / Slokam 799 of RPS

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O PaadhukhE ! The Lord of Srirangam performs in many

dramas . You take part in every one of these dramas

orchestrated by Him and take the appropriate form

so that His efforts to instruct the world become totally

successful .

 

Swami Desikan considers the paadhukhAs as an accomplished

lady dancer (Narthaki ) , who accompanies the master cherographer

every step of the way in the dances that he designs . For instance ,

when the Lord took the form of VaamanA , PaadhukhAs became

small to fit His tiny form ; when He grew into the gigantic

form of ThrivikramA , the paadhukhAs grew with the Lord's

feet without missing a beat . PadhukhAs are thus never

out of step with its Lord , the master dancer/cherographer .

 

The inner meaning is that the AchAryAs follow precisely

the instructions of the Lord to save the people . For instance ,

NammAzhwAr and other AzhwArs were born in different kulams

to compose the Tamizh prabhandhams and to protect the Vedic

messages .

 

Slokam 20 of SAMP /Slokam 800 of RPS

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maanE param samaanE prathyakshENAgamEnApi I

HaricharaNasya tavApi thu vaishamyam RakshyarakshakathvAbhYAm II

 

In an earlier verse , Swami Desikan pointed out that

the PaadhukhAs take the appropriate forms fittiing

the Lord's feet to join His efforts to protect the world .

Actually , the PaadhukhAs change their sizes and shapes

to protect Him . Although Lord's feet and the paadhukhAs

have been proven to be equal in glory earlier , Swami Desikan

opines that the paadhukhAs are slightly higher in glory than

the Lord's feet , since they serve the Lord to protect Him in

all of His campaigns . He says : " O PaadhukhE ! By direct

and indirect (Vedic ) proofs , It has been shown that you and

your Lord's feet have equal measure of glory . However , You

exceed somewhat the glory of your Lord's feet from the point

of view of the protecting it . You have indeed reached a higher

status because of your role as a protector

of the Lord's holy feet .

 

The inner meaning is that the Lord's plans can not be carried out

unless He has AchaaryA' s help to execute them . In this sense,

the AchAryAs protect the Lord and His missions .

 

Sri RanganAtha Divya maNi paadhukhE ! Thubhayam Nama:

Sawmi Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Oppiliappan Kovil VaradAchAri Sadagopan