GowLai pancharathnam : CharaNams 8,9& 10--Conclusion

[Guest guest]

Dear Members of the Bhakthi Group :

 

In this concluding posting , I will cover the three

remaining charaNams of the GowLai Pancharathnam

of Sadhguru ThyagarAja SwamigaL .

 

Eighth CharaNam

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

 

chakkani mukha kamalamphunu sadhA naa madhilO

smaraNa lEkanE dhurmadhAndha janalu kOri

partithApamulachE dagili nOgili dhurvishaya

dhurAsalanu rOyalEkhE sathathamaparAdhinai

chapala chitthuDaina ( DuDuku Gala NannE )

 

This charaNam starts with panchama yeduppu .

In this long charaNam , we hear again the echo of

Swami Desikan's nirvEdham : asprusha chinthaa

padham AbhirUpyam . Here Swami Desikan states that

the Lord's paripUrNa soundharyam is beyond access

by the mind for full grasp . Saint ThyagarAjA says

in this vein : " O RamachandrA ! I failed to meditate

on the lotus like , beautiful face of yours and joined

the bad company of " kOkka saasthra vidhula Nara

( experts in kAma sAsthrA ) and abandoned the company

of " bhakthi sAsthra vidhula nara " ( experts in bhakthi

sAsthram ) . I have thus lost the sathsangham of BhagavathAs

of Yours . I did not understand the pain arising from

attachment to to young and beautiful women ( kaadhal seythu

iLayavar kalavi tharum vEdanai vinyathu veruvuthalAm

as Thirumangai pointed out in his Oppiliappan paasuram )

and fell at their feet for favors . I did not pay attention

to You and therefore ended up in garbha vAsam and other

dukkhams as the AzhwAr described earlier

( iRandhEnetthanaiyum athanAl idumpai kuzhiyil

piRanthEtthEyeyyatthozhinthEn ) . I am debilitatd from all

these dhurvishayAnuchAram and am dejected over my

terrible lot . Which dorai mahan is going to extend his

strong hand to rescue me ? Here , Saint ThyagarAjA expressed

his temptations for the enjoyment of the forbidden fruits

and his proclivity to committ multitudes of apachArams .

He crowned himself as an aparAdha chakravarthi

with a fickle mind bent down by the thought over

these apachArams . He asked another Chakravarhti's son

for rescue . He hinted that only Sri RamachandrA , the son

of Dasaratha Chakravarthi alone could rescue him from

the whirlpool of loka sukhams that is about to take him under .

He described his sordid state of seeking the company

of adhamAs and his practise of begging for favors from them

with a petty mind and demeaning himself . One of the passages

with similar melancholic thoughts from Swami Desikan's

conversations with the Lord is : " karmamaya dharma taptham

sukha mrugha trushNAbhi: kAbhiraNyanArdhram " . Elsewhere ,

Swami Desikan described his state as " NirAkarma nithya

upataptham " ( scorched always by the fruits of performing

asAsthraic deeds ) . Sadhguru SwamigaL in a similar vein

poited out that he is being scorched by the heat of high summer

and that he was longing to take a dip into the cool waters

of the sacred pond of Lord's feet .

 

Saitn ThyagarAjA's suffering and the poignant describtion of

his helpless state is similar to the conversation that NammAzhwAr

had with the Lord :

 

thazhuval pakkam nOkki nANI kavizhndurippan

tozhuvanEnai yunathALL sErum vahayE soozh kandAi

 

Here NammAzhwAr describes his durdasai . O Lord ,

I stand before You with a bent head because of the shame

that has encircled me from acquiring the bundles of sins from

durAchAra anushtaanams . I am weighted down by them .

You are the PurushOtthaman and I am the lowest of the lowly

(adhamaadhaman ) . I stand before you with a supreme

yearning to attain the sowbhaghyam of merging with Your

lotus feet . Please bless me , the meek and helpless one

and grant me this boon ! In a similar spirit of AthmagarhaNam

and naichyAnusandhAnam , Saint ThyagarAjA cried out to

Sri RamachandrA on the banks of river Cauveri .

 

Ninth CharaNam

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

 

maanava thanu dhurlabhamanuchu nEmchi

parmAnandha mOdhalEka madha matsara

kaama lObha mOhamulaku dAsudai

mOsabhOthigAka modhaDi kulajaDaguchu

bhuvani Kshudhrula panalu salpuchunu

yumDinagAka , narAdhamulu gOrisAraheena

mathamulanu sAdhimpa dhArumAru ( DuDuku gala)

 

This long charaNam reminds us of two famous

slOkams of AchArya ALavandhAr's sthOthra rathnam ,

where he condemns himself for his sinful conduct and his

performance of SaraNAgathi at the feet

of the Sarva Loka saraNyan .

 

The first slOkam is the one which starts with the paadham,

" JanithvAham vamsE mahathi ---" ; the second slOkam

starts with the first paadham , " AmaryAdha: Kshudhra:

chalamathi : asUyA parsava bhU : " .

 

The anvaya kramam for the first slOkam is as follows :

 

SaraNatha! aham jagadhi khyAtha yasasAm sucheenAm

yukthAnAm guNa purusha tatva sthithi vidhAm nisargAth

yEva , tvath charaNa kamala yEkAntha manasAm mahathi

vamsE janithvA , PaapAthmA tamasi adha : adha: nimajjAmi

 

( meaning ) : O Lord , who always shows the righteous path !

I am born of the renowned vamsam of sottai kulam of

Natha Muni , who is the peak of sadAchaaram and rectitude.

My predecessors are true comprehendors of tatthva trayam

( their svarUpams and sbvabhAvams ) and by natural

disposition rooted in Your Lotus feet . Even with all this

marking me as a branch of this sacred AchArya vamsa

Vruksham , I am remaining steadfastly as a PaapAthmA

and am floundering in the darkness surrounding me

and sinking in the bottomless ocean of SamsAram .

 

Our Saint ThyagarAjA identifies himself like AlavandhAr

in this charaNam as born in a renowned vamsam

( mothadi kula juDakusu ) . This is the echo of " janithvAham

vamsE mahathi jagadhi khyAtha yasasAm ." Even after hailing

from such a uttama kulam , saint ThyagarAjA condemns himself

for having wasted his days by not conquering arrogance ,

jealousy , desire , miserly trait , and infatuation with worldly things .

He says that he has wasted the life as a human being that is

so rare to be born in . He says : " I did not take great joy over

the good fortune of being born as a human being with opportunity

to engage in Bhagavadh ArAdhanam and Naama sankeerthanam .

Instead , I became the servant of despicable traits such as

arrogance et al ( Manava tanu dhurlabhamanusu nemchi

paramAnandha mondalakE )" . He admits that he engaged

in the activities normally chosen by wicked men and ended

up begging for his livelihood at he doorsteps of the proud and

rich . He also confesses that he went after many meaningless

religions and the anushtAnams recommended by them and

accumulated bundles of sins . He asks wiht great sense of

agitation as to which dorai mahan is going to save him from

his pitiable state .

 

This soul cry of Saint ThyagarAjA is a direct echo of another

of AlavandhAr's slokams housed in SthOthra Rathnam :

 

amaryAdha: Kshudra: chalamadhi: asUyAprasavabhU:

kruthagnO dhurmAni smara paravasO vanchanapara: I

nrusamsa: pApishta: kathamahamithO dukkajaladhE :

apArAth uttheerNa: tava paricharEyam charanayO : II

 

AlavandhAr describes himself as the one who has crossed

the bounds of established rules (amaryAdha: ) , Kshudran

( proclivity to engage in trivial pursuits ) , chalamadhi:

( unsteady , fickle mind ) , asUyA: prasava bhU : ( the birth

place of jealousy ) , kruthagana: ( Ungrateful one , who forgets

the help rendered by others ) , dhurmAnee ( one with ill feelings

towards fellow human beings ) , smara paravasa : ( one who

has fallen in the net of desire and impulses) , vanchanapara:

( skilled at cheating others ) , nrusamsa: ( engaged in violent

acts ) and paapishta: ( mahA paapi ) . Saint ThyagarAja describes

himself in this spirit with his statement , " kshudrulapanulu

salpachuunuyumDinigaka narAdhamlanu kOri sAraheena

madhamlanusAdhimpa tArumaaru " . He says : " I followed

paashandi mathams with no substance (saara heenam ),

associated with the lowliest people not known for their

spiritual acheivements and wasted my days .

O Dasaratha RaamA ! O Dorai mahan!

You must rescue me from my lowly lot " .

 

Tenth charaNam

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

 

sathulakai konnALLsthikai sathlakai konnALLu

dhanathatulakai dhirigithi nayya , ThyagarAjAptha

yituvamDi ( DuDuku gala nannE )

 

This charaNam starts with panchama yeduppu

( pa pa pamA ga ma ri sa ) .

 

Here our Saint asks as to which dorai mahan is going

to save him , who spent part of his life for the women ,

part of his life for accumulating wealth and running hither and

thither for that purpose single mindedly and wasting the noble

purpose of life . Then he hints that Sri Ramachandran alone can

rescue from his miserable lot in this wastedlife of his .

 

O Lord ! Did you not declare in one of your incarnations :

" na mE bhaktha: praNasyathi " . VaraguNa RaajAthi Raaja

Raama ! Great AchAryAs have described You as

" sritha jana samrakshakan " ( one who unfailingly

rescues those , who seek refuge in You ) and as

" bheemam nithyam bhavajala nidhou majjathAm

mAnavAnAm pOthapAthri bhavithri " ( the boat for those

to save themselves , when they are about to sink in

the deep and stormy waters of samsAram ) .

 

They have also described You assuringly as " SarANAgatha

praNaya bhanga bheethO bhavaan " ( one who is afraid

to turn down the plea of one who seks your refuge ) .

Further , they describe You as " vimuktha EkadhwAram

vikatitha kavAtam praNayinAm " ( the entrance gate that is

open at the temple of Moksham ) . I am emboldened

to approach You , the KaruNA Saarvabhouman inspite of

my lowly status as aparAtha chakravarthi .

 

I am offering my saraNAgathi in the spirit of Achaaryaa

AlavandhAr :

 

na dharmanishtOsmi nchAthma vEdhee

na bhakthimAn tvaccharaNAravindhE !

akinchanaOnyagathi : SaraNya !

tvadh paadhamUlam SaraNam prapadhyE II

 

O SarvarakshakA ! I have no accomplishments

to speak of in terms of AchAram or anushtAnam

or scholarship ! I do not practise bhakthi yOgam

at Your lotus feet ! I am without any capital . I have no

other recourse to speak of .Hence , I have concluded

that You and You alone are my sarvam and am seeking

refuge at the cool shade of Your sacred feet . I am reminding

myself about the vAkhyams of AzhwAr : " EmperumAn

adiallAl SaraN ninaipilum pirithu illai yenakkE " .

pOdalar nedumudi puNNiyanE ! RaamA ! Please establish

me in the path of performing kaimkaryam for You alone

and thus save me from the miserable life as a samsAri .

Please bless me with Your darsanam and engage me

to be Your servant . I am helpless. Please come to my rescue .

 

Thus , Saint ThyagarAja addressed the son of emperor

DasarathA as abhirAma GuNAkara Daasarathi and

performed SaraNAgathi in the paddathi of GOpthruva

VaraNam in his Gowlai Pancha Rathnam , while steeped

in the mood of athma GarhaNam and NirvEdham .

 

Sumukham suhrudham sulabham sugadham

svajanam cha sukAyam amOgasaram I

apahAya RaghUdhvaham anyamaham

na kathanchana kanchana jAthu bhajE II

 

Sadhguru ThayagarAja SwamigaL ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

AzhwAr AchAryAL ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan