DehaLeesa Sthuthi : Part 3--Vamana /Trivikrama AvathAram

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs :

 

I will cover in this posting three items as a prelude

to the actual coverage of DehaLeesa sthuthi . These are :

(1) Srimadh Bhagavatham's coverage of vamAna /Trivikrama

avathAram (8th Canto ) that inspired Swami Desikan (2) His own

reference to this meaningful avathAram in the 8th verse of

MummaNikkOvai and (3 ) Sri NaarAyaNa Bhattadhiri's anubhavam

of Sri GuruvAyurappan as Vaamana -Trivikraman in his

Sri NaarayaNeeyam's 30th and 31st sargams .

 

BhAgavatham 's coverage

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When amrutham was obtained as a result of the Lord's

assistance as KUrma mUrthy , Indra and the DevAs got

the upper hand in their battle with the asurAs and the kings

of the asurA clan like MahA Bali were killed . The guru of asurAs ,

SukrAchAryA with his power of penance brought back to life ,

MahA Bali and his retinue throught the performance

of a MahA Yajnam known as Visvajith .

 

MahA Bali and his associates got restored to their lives and

went after IndrA and the DevAs and drove IndrA

from his kingdom . The mother of IndrA , Athithi Devi

appealed to her lord , Kasyapa PrajApathi and

asked him for guidance on redressing the sufferings of their

son , IndrA . Kasyapa PrajApathi advised his wife that the performance

of the PayOvratha hOmam consisting of the aahuthi of rice cooked in

milk would please Sriman NaarAyaNA would lead to the birth of

a son , who would help IndrA regain his kingdom . Athithi Devi

performed with austerity the recommended hOmam and

had the good fortune of having Sriman NaarAyaNA Himself

as her son ( Vaamana MUrthy ) . She appealed to her new -born

dwarf-staured son to help His brother , IndrA and restore his kingdom .

 

MahA Bali was restored to life not only because of the manthra balam

of SukrAchAryA , but also because of the vow given by the Lord during

NarasimhAvathAram to PrahlAdhan that He will not kill any of his

descendants . MahA Bali was the grandson of PrahlAdhA . Hence ,

Sriman NaarAyaNA brought him back to life and to enact his avathAra

kaaryam as Vaamana -TrivikramA .

 

Sriman NaarAyaNA responded to the austere performance of

PayOvratham by the Deva MaathA . She had prayed to Him at

the end of observance this way and the Lord responded as He

does to the sincere prayers of His bhaktha SikhAmaNis :

 

YagnEsa YagnyapurushAchyutha theerthapAtha

theerthasrava SRAVANA MANGALA NAAMADHEYA I

aapanalOka vrijinOpasamOdhayAdhya

sam na: krudheesa Bhagavannasi dheenanAtha : II

--- Srimadh Bhagavatham 8-17-8

 

(Meaning ) : O Lord of the Yaj~nAs ! O Yaj~na rUpi !

O Achyutha , who does not let down any one , who sought

your refuge ! O Lord , who has the Ganga theertham flow

from Your sacrd feet ! O BhagavAn , who quenches the thirst of

the SaraNAgathAs ! O Primeval Lord (Aadhi PurushA ) ! Please

bless us with auspiciousness . Are not You indeed the one

who comes to the rescue of the meek and downtrodden

(dheenAs ) ?

 

The Lord entered the Veeryam of Kaasyapa PrajApathi in response

to the prayers of Athithi . Our sAsthrAs state that the Jeevan stays in

the Purusha Garbham for two months and then enters the wife's

garbham through garbhA dhAnam and stays there for ten months

before coming out as a child .

 

The Lord appeared as a son of Athithi after 12 months and

incarnated on the day when SravaNa nakshathram and

Dwadasi thithi were in unison . He appeared with sankham

and chakram in the Prakata ( shining , illustrious )

VaishNava RUpam ( in the divya rUpam as VishNu ) :

 

prAsUtha cha prakata VaishNava divya rUpam

saa dvAdasi srAvaNa puNyadinE bhavantham

--- Sri NaarAyaNeeyam : 30.4

 

In the asramam of Kasyapa and Athithi , the Lord was born with

VishNu chihnams and the blessed parents eulogized the Lord

and AT THAT MOMENT , the Lord assumed the form of a dwarf

brahmachAri :

 

BhadvAnjaleem Jaya JayEthi nutha: pithrubhyAm

tvam Tath KshaNE patutamam vaturUpamAdhA :

--Sri NaarAyaNeeyam: 30.5

 

(Meaning ) : At that instant , when the parents were

saluting the Lord with folded hands , He transformed

Himself into a brisk BrahamchAri rUpam .

 

The great sage , Kasyapa performed Upanayanam for

his" brahmachAri " son and the mother , BrahmA , Sarasvathi ,

Saptha Rishis and KubEran presented Him

with the insignias of Brahmacharyam

such as Munji belt made out of dharbha grass , PalAsa

dhandam , deer skin ( KrishNAjinam ) , KankaNam , loin cloth,

Kamandalu , umbrella and , bikshApaathram . The Lord is never

without His consort , MahA Lakshmi . He had her as always

on His chest and here in this brahmachAri rUpam , he

had her covered under the deer skin .

 

The Lord shone with these symbols associated with

the celibiate status and was ready for UpAkarmA /

VedhArambham . Surya Bhagavan blessed the Lord with

Gayathri Manthra UpadEsam , since he is the athishTaana

daivam for Gayathri manthram . He replaced the father's

usual role here . The Deva Guru , Bruhaspathi had presented

earlier the Lord with YajnOpaveetham . Kasyapa PrajApathi tied

the munji belt around the waist of the Lord , his son . This

munji belt according to AtharvaNa vedam banishes the

rOgam associated with the bladder for BrahmachAris .

 

BhUmi Devi presented Her Lord with KrishNAjinam

to confer long life . The wearing of the deer skin on

the celibiate's body wards off Kshaya rOgam

(tuberculosis ) as well . Chandran presented the Lord with

palAsa dhandham ( samith ) .BrahmachAris carry palAsa

dhandham to protect their memory of the VedhAdhyananam .

PalAsam is the name of Purasa tree , which has the three

branched growth in reverence to the TripAdha Gayathri

that the DevAs meditated upon under it .

 

BrahmachAris performing VedAdhyayanam have to

rush to their Guru"s side for performing service at all

times including the mid day , when the sun is at its apex .

Hence , an umbrella is useful to them . When the heat

from the sun affects the delicate circulation of the thin

region of the skin covering the ears , the circulaton to

the brain is affected and hence , BrahmachAris have to

protect themselves against the sun .

 

Veda Viths must always have water for achamanam

and prOkshaNam . Hence Kamandalu is carried by

the ones exposed to the VedhAs . Brahma DevA gave

the kamandalu to the Lord anticipating the use of his

own kamandalu theertham to serve as Paadhyam

for the Lord's feet as it shot up towards his own home,

SatyalOkam .

 

The BikshApAthram was given to the Lord by KubhEran ,

the Lord of wealth . UmA Devi as Anna pUrNi gave the first

Bikshai . Normally , the BrahmachAri asks his mother or

sister after Upanayanam for Bikshai ( Bhavathi BikshAm DEhi ) .

The reason is that the BrahmachAri does not want to

encounter a negative response for his first Bikshai .

Srimadh Bhagavatham says in this context :

 

" BikshAm Bhagavathee SaakshAth

UmAdhAdhambikhA sathee "

 

Brahmin's wealth is his penance . Brahma sUthram ( pUNal)

protects that accumulated Tapas . Hence Brahspathi

BhagavAn appeared in person and presented the pUNal

to the Lord .

 

Surya BhagavAn initiated the Vaamanan with Gayathri

manthram for Loka kshEmam . Gayathri is recited

according to Bhishma for the preservation of

auspiciousness in the world and to avoid akAla mrithyu

( Na tathra mriyathE bAla: Gayathri yathra japyathE ) .

 

The Lord equipped with all the insignias of a celibiate

who has performed His upAkarmA walked towards the

Yaaga SaalA of MahA Bali :

 

chathram sadhandam sajalam kamandalum

vivEsa vipraddhayamEdha vAtam I

mounjyA mEkalayA veetham

upaveethAjinOttharam II

jatilam VAAMANAM vipram mAyA mANavakam Hari: II

 

( Meaning ) : Hari NaarAyaNan travelled thus towards the

yAgasAlA of the AsurA king wearing the kusA rope belt ,

carrying the umbrella , kamandalu , palAsa dhandham

and hiding His extraordinary power and the gigantic form

that he was going to take soon .

 

Bhagavatham says in the next slOkam that

the Bhumi bent under the weight of

this Kapata Vaamana rUpi .

 

The Yaaga SaalA was on the banks of NarmadhA river .

SukrAchArya and the assembled ruthvikhs were dazzled

by the tejas of the dwarf that presented himself there .

He came there not so much to punish MahA Bali for his

trespasses , but to bless him as the grandson of His

devout BhakthA , PrahlAdhA . MahA Bali stopped his

Yajnam and greeted the Brahmin dwarf full of Vedha

Sampath . He washed the feet of the Vaamana mUrthy

and placed that water on his head out of respect .

 

Srimadh Bhagavatham describes MahA Bali's happiness

over the arrival of Vaamanan at his Yajnam :

 

adhya na: pithara: trupthA : adhya na: Paavitham kulam I

adhya : svishta: krathurayam yadh bavAn aagathO gruhAn II

---Srimadh Bhagavatham 8.18.30

 

(meaning ) : Today , my pithrUs (ancestors ) are very pleased

(fulfilled) ; my vamsam is sanctified by your arrival ; my yajnam is

fructified .

 

Then , he goes on to say that he is freed of all sins by

placing the paadhOdhakam from the Vedavith and the whole

yaaga saalA has become purified . MahA Bali then asks

the vaamana mUrthy to choose a gift . The kapata Vaamanan

asks for three feet of land . MahA Bali is offended by this

modest request . He goads the Vaamanan to ask for some thing

more fitting his rank as an emperor. The kapata Vaamanan

insists on just three feet of land ( BhUmim paadha traya parimithAm

prArhtayAmAseetha tvam ) . SukrAchArya begins to understand

the intent of the Kapata Vaamanan and warns his sishyan

against giving such a dhanam requested by the dwarf , whom

he recognizes as none other than Hari NaarAyaNan . MahA Bali refuses

to go back on his word and deeds the gift requested . He pours

the water on the hands of the Dwarf BrahmachAri and AT THAT

INSTANT , the Lord transformed from the Vaamana to Trivikrama

rUpam and shot up skyward and measured both the sky and the

entire earth with His two steps .

 

The Lord then asked MahA Bali as to where He should place

His third step . THe AsurA king begged the Lord to place His

third step on his head and the Lord obliged . Out of His affection

for the gandson of PrahlAdhA , the Lord created a lOkam known as

Suthalam and settled MahA bali there with his family and retinue

and protected the asurA kng there by being as his rakshakan .

 

Swami Desikan's celebration of TrivikramAvathAram

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In the eighth verse of MummaNikkOvai , our AchAryA

salutes the Trivikraman this way :

 

aaraNangaL thEda vayindhainagar vandhuthittha

kAraNanAi ninra kadalvaNNan --nAraNanAr

ippatikku mikkanreduttha paadhankazhuva

meypadikka maanathu pon verpu

 

(Meaning ) : The Lord , who is being sought by the VedAs

appeared and settled at Thiruvaheendrapuram as

DevanAthA and illumines this kshEthram as the primeval

cause of this world ( Jagath kaaraNa bhoothan ) . This Lord

having the hue of the bluish ocean excelled once before as

Trivikraman , who measured with two steps the earth and

the sky and had His son , BrahmA wash His sacred feet with

the Kamandalu theertham , which was received by the golden

mountain , MEru serving as a receptacle ( receiving/storing

vessel ) .

 

Sri TrivikramAya Nama : Sri VaamanAya Nama :

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri sadagopan