PrakeerNa Paddhathi : Part 6 ( Slokams 871-880 of RPS )

[Guest guest]

Dear PadhukhA sevakAs :

 

I will cover the ten veses of RPS from 871 to 880

in this posting .

 

Slokam 871 of RPS/ Slokam 41 of PKP

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Swami Desikan elaborates in this verse the theme ,

he touched upon earlier in the verses 85 and 86 of RPS

housed in the PrabhAva Paddhathi . In those two verses ,

he compared the vaibhavam of the PaadhukhAs to the

glory of Bhumi Devi . Here , he says : " Oh , MaNi PaadhukhE !

You are like Bhumi Devi in that you forgive the trespasses of

every one . Like Her , you are the source of all goals of life

( purushArthams ) . Like Her , you join the feet of the lord

intermittently .You are also firm and strong like Her. I consider

you therefore as an incarnation of Bhumi Devi " .

 

When the Lord wears the PaadhukhAs , He is untied with them

(SamyOgam ) ; when He separates from them at times like His

yoga NidrA , there is separation ( viyOgam ) . Similarly , Bhumi Devi

has times of union (samsrujyam ) and separation ( Vibhajyam )

from the Lord . Both Bhumi Devi and the PaadhukhAs are firm

( sthirA ) and forgive the apachArams of all kinds ( sarvam SahA ) .

In all these aspects , paddhukhAs resemble Bhumi Devi and can

therefore be considered as an incarnation of Her .

 

This beautiful slokam containing these thoughts is as follows :

 

sthirA svabhAvAn maNi paadhukhE ! tvam

sarvamsahA svAdhupalaprasoothi : I

prthveeva padhbhyAm paramasya pumsa :

samsrujyasE Devi vibhajasE cha II

 

The inner meaning of this slokam is that NammAzhwAr

and the other SadAchAryAs are by nature firm in their

devotion to the Lord in times of union with Him as well

as during the times of separation . Whether they are in

a happy mood due to union with the Lord or in a sad mood

due to separation from Him , they never fail to think about

the hitham of their devotees and forgive their offenses. In

this aspect , the sadAchAryAs are like the PaadhukhAs

and Bhumi Devi .

 

Slokam 872 of RPS/ Slokam 42 of PKP

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Oh, RanganAtha PaadhukhE ! During their times of worship ,

your devotees shower you with flowers . Those flowers

in conjunction with your row of blue sapphires appear to

the Lord's consorts as the chord of manmathA's bow fitted

with pushpa bhANam (flower arrow ) . Their love for the Lord

increases by the visulaization of this scene .

 

Swami Desikan compares here the rows of blue sapphires to

the rows of blue bees that form the chord of ManmathA's bow

and the row of flowers to his pushpa BhANam aimed at the Devis .

 

Slokam 873 of RPS/ Slokam 43 of PKP

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Oh, PaadhukhE ! On the banks of Cauveri at Srirangam ,

you raise your long hands ( spreading rays from the gems )

and raise your sweet voice resulting from your movements

as if you are warning Kali purushan to stay at a considerable

distance form Srirangam .

 

The inner meaning is that NammAzhwAr through his

Sri Sookthis has established the vaibhavam of ArchAvathAram

of the Lord at Divya Desams like Srirangam . As a result , Kali is

banished from Srirangam and other KshEthrams celebrated

by the AzhwAr .

 

Slokam 874 of RPS/ Slokam 44 of PKP

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Swami Desikan visualizes here the paadhukhAs sitting

on the throne of Raghus adorned with white pearls and

fire red rubies . In this vision , BharathA is seated in front of

the PaadhukhAs and is receiving the taxes from the kings of

the realm . This beautiful vision reminds Swami Desikan of

a scene in the Vedic weddings . He says : " Oh, PaadhukhE !

When you sat on the throne of Raghus and ruled over

the kingdom , your throne looked like a resplendent sacrificial

pit ( Agni kundam ) , where your perals and rubies resembled

the parched rice ( PoRi, Laajam ) and the tongues of fire .

 

The scene looked like a wedding , where BharathA was

conducting the marriage ceremony known as Laaja Homam ,

when handfuls of parched rice are thrown into the sacrificial fire .

BharathA receiving the homage and tributes from the subordinate

rulers ( SiRRarasargaL ) of his realm was like the pouring of the

parched rice in the sacred fire to consummate the marriage

between the ruler and the ruled " .

 

In this analogy , the pearls on the paadhukhAs are equated to

the units of parched rice. The rubies of the paadhukhAs are

the flame tongues of Agni .Saptha JihvA ( tongue ) is one name

for Agni . The throne on which paadhukhA sat is the Agni Kundam .

 

The inner meaning is that , Just as BharathA with great effort

acquired Lord's paadhukhAs , established them on

the throne of Raghus and with their prabhAvam (glory )

ruled the world and created auspiciousness , Naatha Muni

took enormous effort and through the power of his penance

( Tapas ) brought back the Sri Sookthis of SatAri Suri that

had disappeared . Naatha Muni established NammAzhwAr

on the throne as ParamAchArya and celebrated him as

the Prapanna Jana SanthAna kootasthar and thereby

protected the Sri VaishNava sampradhAyam and created

lasting auspiciousness to the world .

 

Slokam 875 of RPS/ Slokam 45 of PKP

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Oh, PaadhukhE ! With your many gems forming the shape of

the two wings and your golden body , you appear to be

a miniature version of GarudA assuming a small form to

move freely in the sport pavilion of the Lord .

 

The inner meaning is that the paadhukhAs ( NammAzhwAr )

are like the Veda Murthy , Garudan . Just as Garudan brings the

Lord to His devotees like GajEndrA , SatAri Suri brings

the Lord close to His devotees through his Tamizh Vedam

( Vedam Tamizh seytha MaaRan SatakOpan ) .

 

Slokam 876 of RPS/ Slokam 46 of PKP

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Swami Desikan points out here that the PaadhukhAs can take both

the gigantic form and the miniature form referred to in the previous

verse. He says : " Oh , PaadhukhE ! When MahA Bali became the enemy

of the DevAs , your Lord became his enemy. He incarnated as

TrivikramA and grew to measure the earth and sky with

His gigantic form and step . In the sky , you grew with Him

and your rows of pearls looked like a huge bunch of

white flowers on which the blue sky was caught as bees

trapped in that flower bunch " .

 

The inner meaning is that noble minds of the great souls with

the nirmalathvam of the sky appear to be like the blessed bees

entranced in the tasting of the parimaLam (fragrance )

and ruchi of NammAzhwAr's divine paasurams and

are deeply immersed in that blissful experience .

 

Slokam 877 of RPS/ Slokam 47 of PKP

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Oh , RanganAtha PaadhukhE ! Your foot-holds (YanthrikAs) are

adorned with soft pearls to comfort the entry of the fingers

of the Lord's feet . The effulgence of those pearls spread over

long distances , when your Lord moves and reaches out

to confer many blessings on your devotees " .

 

Since the pearls are of white color , Swami Desikan suggests

that the rays from the pearls enhance the satthva guNA of

the devotees.

 

The inner meaning is that those who fully understand the

special meanings of NammAzhwAr's paasurams enhance

their satthva guNam and Aathma KshEmam .

 

Slokam 878 of RPS/ Slokam 48 of PKP

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Swami Desikan states here that the cluster of pearls

attached to the foot -hold of RanganAthA's paadhukhAs

confer the blessings on its devotees at all times . It does

not ration its blessings only to the occasions , when

RanganAthA uses them . He says : " After the Lord's

travels on you , He engages in the act of Yoga NidrA on

Adhi sEshA . During those times of separation from you ,

your Lord entrusts you wiht the responsibility of protecting

the world . Knowing that , you will perform this duty for Him ,

He sleeps without any worry " .

 

The inner meaning is that the Lord follows His Dhushta

Nigraha , Sishta ParipAlAna Dharma sthApanA duties

as adumbrated in His statement :

 

parithrANAyaa SaadhoonAm vinAsAya DushkruthAm I

Dharma samsthApanArthAya smabhavAmi yugE yugE II

 

When these duties are carried out , the Lord entrusts then

the responsibilites of protection of the universe to the SadAchAryAs

and rests on Adhi sEshA in KsheerAbdhi . He needs the help

of the SadAchAryAs particularly at this time . When the Lord

incarnated as KrishNA and moved with great ease among

the people of the world through His sowlabhyam , the Maharishis ,

VithurA , Uddhava and BHEESHMAACHAARYA pointed

out to the world that Sri KrishNA is SAAKSHAATH PARABRAHMAM

and that His upadesams through Sri Bhagavadh GeethA are

the essence of the SaasthrArthAs and Vedam

as well as Upanishads .

 

Slokam 879 of RPS / Slokam 49 of PKP

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Swami Desikan suggested in the previous verse that RanganAthA

delegates a lot of His responsibilities to the PaadhukhAs , which

accepted the delegation of those duties and rose to the occasion .

He says : " Oh , Madhusoodhana PaadhukhE ! Righteous people

practise Prapatthi YogA ( saraNAgathi ) after realizing their inability

to travel through the difficult routes of Bhakthi YogA , J~nana Yoga

and Karma YogA . Out of your compassion , you accept their

prapatthi and confer on them the blessings of Moksham through

your intercession with the Lord .

 

Swami Desikan refers here to one of the SaraNAgathi mArgams

known as AchArya Nishtai . The reference here is to the statement,

" sva pravritthi vinivarthanAnvitham sthiram ANTHIMAM UPAAYAM " .

This statement implies that one can get MokshAnugraham by

direct prapatthi to the Lord ( Svanishtai ) and can also achieve

the same goal throught he intervention of the AcharyAs with

the Lord on our behalf .

 

Slokam 880 of RPS / Slokam 50 of PKP

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In the previous verse , Swami Desikan referred to the help

given by the PaadhukhAs to the righteous people . Here , he talks

about the help given by the paadhukhAs to the Lord at the time of

His battle with the poisonous snake , KaaLiyan . He says : " Oh,

PaadhukhE ! Your Lord's tender feet can not even tolerate

the pressure from the pressings of Sri Devi's hands . Such tender

feet danced on the rough stone (gem ) present on the head of

the powerful serpent , KaaLiyan and subdued him . Your Lord

was not affected from the exertions of dancing on the hot and

hard head of the snake , thanks to your strength and support " .

 

Sri RanganAtha MaNi paadhukhE ! THubhyam nama:

Swami Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Oppiliappan Kovil VaradAchAri sadagopan