Sri DehaLIsa Sthuthi --Part 7( second to Fourth SlOkam )

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Dear Members of the Bhakthi Group :

 

In the second slokam of Sri DehaLIsa sthuthi ,

Swami Desikan reveals the reason for his boldness

to eulogise the supreme Lord . He states that he was

tongue-tied and awe-struck at the thought of the Lord's

matchless act of measuring the earth and the space with

two of His strides and how at the same time He is readily

accessible to His devotees . Then , Swami Desikan says that

he reflected upon the simplicity of the act of the Lord letting

Himself crushed in the tight space of a dEhaLi and that

thought made his tongue loosen and let him become

almost " garrolous in His praise " .

 

The second slokam set in a confessional tone begins

to address the Lord in second prson directly :

 

dEhaLadhIswara tavEdrusamIswarathvam

thustUshathAm disathi gadhgadhikAnubhandham I

vAchAlayathyaTha cha maam kvachana kshapAyAm

kshAnthEna dhAntha kavimukhya vimardhanEna II

 

Anvya Kramam ) : DEhaLadhIswara ! tava yeedhrusam

Iswarathvam thushtUshathAm gadhgadhikA anubhandham

disathi . atha cha kvachana kshapAyAm kshAnthEna

dhAntha kavi mukhya vimarthanEna maam vAchAlayathi .

 

The key words in this slOkam are kvachana KshapAyAm

( on that one unforgettable night ) , vimarthanEna ( being pressed ) ,

dhAntha: ( those , who had achieved full control of their

IndriyAs ) and kavi mukhyA: ( pre-eminent poets in Tamil/

inn paadum kavigal according to NammAzhwAr and

pAttukkuriya pazhayavar moovar according to Swami Desikan ) .

 

(meaning ) : O Supreme Lord of the dEhaLi ! The immensity of

your superiority ( Lordship ) makes one attempting to

eulogize You , dumb-struck and tongue-tied and makes them

choke in their efforts . Their voice thickens , the tears swell

in their eyes . Overpowered by the thought of your grandness ,

they are unable to continue with their intention to sing Your

praise . Yet , the very same matchless Iswarathvam of Yours

instead of keeping me as one of the silent majority makes me

garrulous in my efforts to praise You . The very same Iswarathvam

of yours displayed in the small space of a dEhaLi on that

unforgettable night , when You permitted Yourself to be

crushed by those three pre-eminent poets known for their

total conquest of their senses( IndriyAs ) .

 

Swami Desikan explains here as to what emboldened him

to approach the Supreme Lord of ThirukkOvalUr and venture

to sing about His anantha kalyANa guNAs . He says that the very

same supermacy ( Iswarathvam ) , which made others self-conscious

liberated him and his tongue .Swami states that the very

thought of the Sowlabhyam of the Lord , which made Him mingle

with His three dear devotees in a dEhaLi removed the

inhibitions that he might have had like others engaged in

a similar effort . The Lord , Who is VachamAgocharam

( beyond words ) and aprAya manasA sa: ( unapproachable

even by the mind ) became accessible to Swami Desikan

as a result of his reflections on His sowlabhyam.

 

According to Sri D.Ramaswamy ayangaar , Swami Desikan

has explained his reasons for venturing the unapproachable

SarvEsvaran and His consort to eulogize them . In Sri VaradarAja

panchakam , it was the Lord's affection ( vaathsalyam ) that

made him bold ( vAthsalyamEva mukharIkarOthi ) . In GodhA

sthuthi , the auspicious guNAs of ANDAL makes him pour

out his heart ( Mowna dhruhO mukharayanthi guNAs tvadhIyA : ) .

Here in the case of dEhaLIs asthuthi , it is the supermacy

( Iswarathvam ) that unleashes his tongue .

 

SLOKAM 3

************

 

tvacchakravath drutha manEhasi gUrNamAnE

nimnOtha krama nidarsitha nEmi vrutthA : I

aarAdhya GopanagarE krupayOdhitham tvAm

svArAjyam argyam alabhantha surAsurEndrA : II

 

( anvaya kramam ) : tvadh chakravath dhrutham

gUrNamAnE anEhasi nimna unnatha krama : nidarsitha

nEmi vrutthA : sura asura IndrA : gOpanagarE krupayA

udhitham tvAm aarAdhya argyam svArAyam alabhantha .

 

( meaning ) : O Lord of GopapurA ! The wheel of Time spins

as fast as the ChakrAyutham ( Sudarsanam ) adorning

Your hand . The hundreds of edges of Your chakram

change their positions to up and down with time as it

rotates fast . Similarly , the creators ( BrahmAs ) and

the lord of dEvAs ( IndrAs ) and asurAs ( MahA Bali et al)

change from their superior to lower positions with the

spinning of the wheel of Time . They fully understand that

their rank and power are thus not permanent and hence arrive

at Your sannidhi in ThirukkOvalUr , perform aarAdhanam

for You , rid themselves of the bonds of karma this way and

attain moksham through engagement in Bhakthi or Prapatthi .

Some attain residency in svarga lokam through their

worship of You . Thus , the SurAs and AsurAs worship You ,

who appeared here out of Your own infinite mercy and

attain the objects of their desire through Your anugraham .

 

SlOkam 4

************

 

aakalpa pushpa subhagOnnatha bAhu sAka :

padhE sadhA paripachELima sathpalasthvam I

paNNAtaDa sprusi mruganDu tapOvanEsmin

chAyA nileena bhuvanOsi tamAla sAki II

 

( anvaya Kramam ) : PaNNA taDa sprusi asmin MruganDu

tapOvanE tvam aakalpa pushpa subhaga unnatha bAhu

sAka: paadhE sadhA sath pala : chAyA nileena bhuvana:

tamAla sAkI asi .

 

( Meaning ) : In this penance-grove ( TapOvanam ) of

sage MruganDu situated on the bank of the river PaNNA

( PeNNai aaru ) , You stand like the green TamAla tree

( nettilinga pacchilai maram ) with its tall branches resembling

your bounteous , long and lovely hands , its flowers like Your

beautiful ornaments adorning You . This tree has at its lower

portions ( feet of the Lord ) has always the ripe and nourishing

fruits ( boons of the Lord ) and protects the world and its beings

under it through its luminous shade ( rakshakathvam of the Lord ) .

You bathe the eyes of Your devotees with parmAnandham , while

you stand on the banks of PaNNA river like a TamAla tree in

the penance-grove of Sage MruganDu .

 

Here Swami Desikan compares the Lord to a tall , ever green

TamAla tree . The attributes of the Lord found in the TamAla

tree are (1) its long branches reminding Swami of the long and

lovely arms of the Lord praised by Thirumangai as" nedum taDakkai " ,

(2) Yielding of its fruits not on the top branches , but at branches

closer to the ground for one to pick them easily reminding

one of the statement in parmArtha sthuthi ( PraNathai :

GruhyathE palam ) . These fruits picked by the devotees

through the act of salutation of the Lord are ripe , sweet

and pure ( Suddha Satva mayam ) . Swami Desikan is also

reminded of the cool and far-enveloping shade of this tree

and compares it to the VaasudEva tarucchAyA , which with

its lustre and shade enlivens and protects the world . The

word ChAyA has been intrepretted by the commentators

as to mean both shade and lustre. The Lord's radiance makes

the Sun , Agni and the Moon lustrous and their effulgence is

thus directly derived from the Lord's chAyA . This VaasudEva-

Trivikrama TamAla tree extends its shadow far and wide

and envelops the entire world under its shade and comforts

the denizens of the universe .

 

The first slOkam of this Sthuthi spoke of the Lord's BhUmnA ,

the second of His Iswarathvam , the third of His position as

the Lord of the dEvAs and the asurAs and the fourth as the

fruit-laden , ever green tree to be enjoyed by one and all .

 

Swami Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan