Sri DehaLeesa Sthuti : Slokams 23-28 (--Part 1

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs of Mudal AzhwArs & Sri DehaLeesan :

 

On this Iyppasi Avittam day , when Sri BhuthatthAzhwar

was born , It is my pleasure to conclude today

in two parts this series of postings on

the Lord of the DehaLi .

 

On the occasion of Sri PeY AzhwAr's birth day tomorrow

in the constellation of Sathayam , I will conclude the series

on Mudal AzhwArs with comments on selected paasurams

of these three illustrious ones .

 

SlOkam 23:

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

 

AthmOnathim paranikarshamapeeha vAnchan

nimnE vimOha Jaladhou nipathAmi BhUya : I

tanmAmudanjaya tavOnnatha paadha dagnam

DehaLyadheesa guNithEna dayAguNEna II

 

This slOkam contains a prayer to the Lord of

ThirukkOvalUr to lift him up from the ocean of

nescience into which he has fallen .

 

( Extended Meaning ) : O Lord of the DehaLI !

I am one , who seeks my advancement and the

lowering of the fortune for others ( Athma unnathim

Para nikarsham iha vaanchan ) in this world of Yours .

I am the most selfish of the lot . Therefore , I have fallen

into the deep waters of the ocean of a~jnAnam . It is

the tradition to throw a strong rope to the one , who

has fallen into waters to lift him up . I beg You to lift

me with Yo rope known as KaruNA and bring me upto

the level of Your uplifted foot . Your Thiruvadi has shot

beyond the andam and when You bring me there , I

would have safely crossed samsAra mandalam and

thus will be blessed with Mukthi .

 

Sri D.R. Iyengar points out that this slOkam deals with

the passages of Utthara Kr.thyAdhikAram of Sri Rahasya

Thraya Saaram . There , our compassionate AchAryA

warns against the pride that goes before fall on

gaining limited insights on Bhagavadh Vishayam .

 

The one who has gained limited awareness of the

greatness of Our Lord thru apprenticeship as a novice

suddenly thinks that he is superior and looks down on

others and falls into " Padukuzhi " or camouflaged pit .

Swami describes it in RTS as " SvOthkarsha

paranikarshangaL aahira padukuzhi " .

 

Sri D.R . Iyengar cites other instances from Swami

Desikan's works , such as Sankalpa SuryOdhayam .

There , the characters DambhA ( Vanity ) and DarpA

( conceit ) are presented after the PurushA ( Jeevan )

gains limited victory over the inauspicious guNAs

like Kaama ( desire ) and KrOdhA (anger ) .

 

Swami Desikan's modesty , fairness and compassion

is well known . He forgave generously those , who offended

him . He has said clearly : " Naam periyOm allOm ,

nanrum theethum namakku uraippAr uLar yenru nAduvOmE "

( We do not consider ourselves great in acheivement ; We

continually seek those , who can instruct us on

the right and wrong ".

 

The recipe against " swollen head " offered by Swami

Desikan is a powerful and moving one .

 

SlOkam 24 :

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

 

aksheeNa kalmasha rasOpi tavAr.usamsyAth

Lakshmee samakshamapi vi~jApayAmyabheetha: I

bhakthOpamadha rasika svayamalpabhuddhE :

yanmanyasE mama hitham tadhupAdhadheeThA : II

 

( Extended Meaning ) : O Lord who enjoyed the pressure of

being squeezed by Your devotees at the dEhaLi ! My appetite

for increasing my sins has not abated a bit. Inspite of it , I dare

to appeal to You to rescue me based on my awareness of

Your dayAsvarUpam . I am emboldened further to engage in

this appeal , when I see the KaruNAmayi , my Mother seated

next to You . Therefore , please come to the rescue of this one ,

who has limited awareness of what is good and what is not .

Please consider what is good for me and bless me with that .

 

In the earlier slOkams , Swami had asked for one boon or the other .

Now , Swami realizes that he is of " alpa bhuddhi " and may not

therefore be fully aware of what is of lasting goodness to him .

In recognition of his limits , Swami apologizes to the Lord

and leaves it to the Lord to command what is the most

appropriate hitham for him in the spirit of

the JitanthE sthOthram pasage :

 

kvAham athyantha dhurbhuddhi:

kva cha aathma hitha veekshaNam I

yatthidham mama DevEsa !

tadh aa~jApaya Maadhava II

 

(meaning ) Who am I with my profoundly

ill-informed mind ? What would I know

of the subjects that are good for me?

Therefore , my Lord , Please command

for my upliftment , whatever is appropriate

for me out of the depth of Your kindness

and Sarva~jnathvam .

 

Swami Desikan chooses in this slOkam a word

from Srimadh RaamAyaNam ( aanr.usamsyam ) .

There , Sri RamachandrA has defined for His Devi

what is the most superior dharmam:

 

Aanr.usamsyam parO dharma : "

 

Sri RamA has been saluted by our Swami as

" DharmO VigrahavAn " or the embodiment of

DharmA in DasAvathAra sthOthram . This Dharma

svarUpan explains that aanr.samsayam

is the greatest of DharmAs. Anr.samsyam is

' the negation of wickedness or maliciousness "

in others . That arises from boundless , innate

compassion for those , who committ offenses

such as KaakAsurA . Once they performed saraNAgathi ,

the guNam of aanr.samsyam comes into the fore to

forgive the offenders . Adhi Kavi Vaalmeeki lists

this redeeming quality of Sri Raama as SaraNAgatha

rakshakan on top of all His auspicious guNAs as

PurushOtthaman .

 

Swami reminds us according to Sri D.R .Iyengar the

quotation by SithA piratti on Sri RamA's upadesam

that Anr.samsyam is the supreme dharmam .

When SithA piratti's statement comes to the fore ,

One can understand the fine point of Swami Desikan

seeking protection of the Lord in front of MahA Lakshmi

( Lakshmi Samakshamapi vi~jApayAmi ) .

 

In this slOkam , Swami admits that he may not know

clearly , what is good for him ( avidhitha nija yOga kshEma : )

and leaves it to the Lord to make the best choice for him

in the manner suggested by PeriyAzhwAr and

Thirumangai AzhwAr earlier :

 

ninnaruLE purindhirEnthEn ;

iniyen ThirukkurippE ( PeriyAzhwAr )

 

unn manatthAl yen ninaindhirunthAi ?

( Thirumangai )

 

Swami ceases therefore to pray for any specific boon

and leaves the choice upto the Lord .

 

SlOkam 25

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

 

manyE dayArdhra hrudhayEna mahadhanam mE

dhattham tvyEdham anapAyam akinchanathvam I

yEna sthanmdhayamiva svahithAanabhi~jam

nyAsee karOshi nija paadha srOruhE maam II

 

( Extended Meaning ) O Lord of ThirukkOvalUr !

AchAryAs have pointed out that those , who have

no other UpAyams are eligible to choose SaraNAgathi

as the UpAyam to receive MokshAnugraham . I am

incapable of practising any other upAyam . I do not even

know and am similar to an infant that does not know

what it has to do to nourish itself . You have blessed me

to perform my prapatthi at Your lotus feet and have

accepted it . When I reflect on this SowbhAghyam ,

it becomes clear to me that it is Your DayA that has made

you take pity on me , the helpless. You decided that I

should not go after hard-to-practise upAyAs and made

me incapable of going after them and experiencing

hardships . Thus I acquired the fitness to perform

Prapatthi . That fitness has made me rich to possess

the imperishable wealth of Moksham .

 

Swami Desikan thanks the Lord of ThirukkOvalur

for conferring on him the status of aakinchanathvam ,

the state of being poor and destitute and without any

means ( upAyam ) . That in turn led to the Lord to

Swami Desikan choosing SaraNAgathi as his means

for salvation and the Lord quickly accepting his self-surrender .

 

Sri D.R. Iyengar swami quotes the Daya sathaka slOka

passage to support this line of argument by Swami Desikan .

There Swami salutes the DayA Devi : " ManyE MaathA Jata iva

suthE VatsalA " . Here Swami says : " O Daya Devi ! I think that

You are fond of us in a manner and measure in which a mother

is fond of a child of hers with weak intellect " .

 

Swami Desikan's reverence to Akinchanyam as a great

wealth to possess has been recorded in the 47th slOkam

of DevanAyaka panchAsath ( Nishkinchinathva DhaninA ) ,

where he recognizes Akinchanathvam , as a state of

wealth and as a prerequisite to succeed in one's

saraNAgathi .

 

SlOkam 26 :

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

 

dhurvAra theevra dhuritha prathivAvadhUkai :

oudhAryavadhbhiranagasmitha darsaneeyai : I

DehaLyadheesvara dayAbharithai: apAngai :

vAcham vinApi vadaseeva mayi prasAdham II

 

Here Swami Desikan acknowledges the side

glances of the Lord of ThirukkOvalUr as the

powerful reason for the blessings that he earned .

 

(Extended Meaning ) : O Lord ! There is no limit to

the glories of Your katakshams . They have the power

to destroy the MahA paapams that can not be destroyed

by anyother means . Once Your glances fall on a MahA paapi ,

all his sins are destroyed totally . They are capable of granting

any desired boons . When those glances blend with the gentle

smile on Your face , it is the most delectable experience to have .

During those occasions , the flow of Daya from You will

become transparent .When those glances fall on me and

I am saved , I conclude that You blessed me by mere looks

instead of expressing yourself through Your speech .

 

Swami Desikan celebrates here the Lord's capacity to

speak thru His eyes , just as NammAzhwAr experienced

( Thoothu sey kaNNkaL kondonru pEsi ) . The glory of

apAngam (side glances ) over the direct look of the Lord is

celebrated here for its vAthsalyam ( dayA bharithai : apAngai: )

Those mercy-laden glances are sweetened by the smitha

darsaneeyai : ( beautiful smile /punsirippu ) . The end result

is limitless Joy .

 

Swami Desikan chose another word Prathi vaavadhuthukai :

to spell out the effect of those powerful glances . VaavadhuthukA

is a lawyer . Swami suggests that the Lord's glances cleverly

argue away our sins as DayA devi does .

 

Sri D.R . Swamin is eloquent about the Daya-laden

katakshams of the Lord ( dayA bharithairApAngA : ) .

He says : " To DesikA , DayA is an aprathaksiddha -

visEshaNam of the Lord's eyes and their glances.

Innumerable indeed are the references in DesikA's

works to the two of them ( dayA and KatAkshams )

together ..... (1) GOpAla Vimsathi : anukampAsaritham

bhujairapAngai : ( lotus floatiing in the stream of DayA

(2) Hayagreva Sthuthi : DayAtarangAnucharA : KatAkshA :

(3) DayA sathakam : sakeem thE SrinivAsasya dhrushtim

--49 th slOkam

(4 )tadh veekshaNai : sprusa DayE tava kELi padmai :

-- DayA sathakam : 98 th slOkam

(5) DevanAyaka PanchAsath: adhivEla dayOttharangam

vilOchanam

 

If AzhwArs lost themselves in the beauty of the Lord's

eyes , Desika has surrendered himself to the grace of His

KatAkshA .He says : vaacham vinA vadasi ( you speak

without words thru Your eyes ) . He saluted them elsewhere

as " anAma vAkhya Garbhai : " ( glances pregnant with

meaning ( saabhiprAyam ) . "

 

Swami acknowledges in Sri DehaLeesa sthuthi that

the Lord's faultless ( anaga apAngams)glances

have given him the anugraham without words .

That prasAdham is identified by Sri D.R .Swami

as the acceptance of Swami Desikan as

the servant of the Lord .

 

The katakshAs of the Lord are the integrated essence of

their four attributes : purity , generosity ( oudhAryam ) , beauty

and grace . Such a rich and powerful glance of the Lord

has led to the anugraham of Swami Desikan at ThirukkOvalUr .

 

SlOkam 27 :

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

ayamanavama sUkthairAdhi bhakthairyathAvath

visadhitha nija tattvO visvamavyAdhabhavyAth I

ratha charaNa nirUta vuanjanAnAm janAnAm

dhuritha mathana leelA dOhaLee DehaLeesa : II

 

This slokam is a celebration of the anugraham

of Sri DehaLeesan for those , who have received

Pancha samskAram .

 

( Extended Meaning ) : The three azhwArs were blessed

to see the Lord in the dehaLi as a result of His squeezing

them there . That divyAnubhavam led to the advent of

the three great andhAthis . They celebrated the Lord's

svarUpam , thirumEni and kalyANa guNAs .This Lord

wears the Sudarsanam and Paanchajanyam on His

hands and sportively destroys the mahA paapams of

thos who worship Him . This He has taken as a vow .

May this magnificient Lord protect this world and its

beings from any inauspiciousness !

 

The first slOkam of this sthuthi is a prayer for Swami's

personal protction by the Lord. This slokam is a prayer

for the protection of the entire world .

 

The Lord's dOhaLee (sankalpam ) is to protect this

world. Swami reminds Him of that vow . May the Lord of

DehaLee ( DehaLeesa : ) protect this world ( Visvam

avyAth ) !

 

Pala Sruthi slOkam : 28 th slOkam

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

 

Iyamvitha varNA varNaneeya svabhAvAth

vidhitha nigama seemnA VenkatEsEna geethA I

bhava maru bhuvi thrushNA lobha paryAkulAnAm

disathu palam abheeshTam Dehaleesa sthuthirna : II

 

( extended Meaning ) : This sthuthi on the Lord of Dehalee

was composed by VenkatEsa kavi , who has seen the banks

of VedA . There is not a word in this sthuthi , which is false

in meaning . The errors will come only when we sing about

ordinary mortals . Where is the chance for a false note

to be struck , when one sings about the SarvEsvaran ?

We have a great attachment to worldly goods and pleasures .

We are misers , when it comes to parting with our wealth .

Therefore , we get stuck in this desert land . This sthOthram

is able to bless all such people to overcome their miseries and

receive all they desire from the lofty Trivikraman of Gopapuri

celebrated thru these slOkAs .

 

Swami Desikan points out that we are wandering aimlessly

in the desert of SamsArA and undergoing all kinds of sufferings .

We long for the blessings to end these unbearable sufferings .

Swami Desikan states that the recitation of this sthOthram

on the supreme Lord of Gopapuram will grant them the boons

to overcome their sufferings .

 

Sri D.R .Swamin states that the power of this sthOthrasm

arises from the powerful combination of three factors :

Prabhandha VailakshaNyam , Vakthru vailakshaNyam and

Vishaya LakshaNyam . Prabhandha vailakshaNyam arises from

the purity and truth of all the varNAs ( aksharAs and letters)

used in this sthuthi . Vakthru and Vishaya VailakshaNyams

relate to the qualifications of the poet and the glory His subject .

All go together to enhance the sanctity of this sthOthram .

 

The divya desam is also connected with the three mudhal

aazhwArs , who did a great service : " poruL mihuttha

maRai viLanga bhuviyOr uyya -- vandhu udhittha " .

The three AzhwArs as aadhi bhakthAs of the Lord

described the real nature and attributes of the Lord

in easy to understand Tamil paasurams , which are

the essence of the difficult-to-understand Vedic rks .

All of these go together to enhance the power and

greatness of DehaLeesa sthuthi .

 

I offer my profound salutations to Sri VedAntha

Desika for blessing me to write about this

extraordinary sthuthi on Sri DehaLeesan .

 

Subhamasthu !

 

kavithArkika simhAya kalyAN aguNasAlinE I

SrimathE VenkatEsAya vEdAntha GuravE nama: II

 

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan