SrI deSika stotrams - 5. dayA Satakam.

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Dear bhAgavatottama-s:

 

This is the fifth in the series on SrI vedAnta deSika's stotra-s.

Both SrI Vijay Srinivasan and Sri Sudarsan have written on dayA

Satakam in mid-97, and these write-ups can be retrieved from the

bhakti archives. The following is additional information that may be

of interest.

 

 

 

SrI deSika stotrams - 5. dayA Satakam.

 

dayA refers to the guNa of Mercy or karuNA. Satakam means the number

one hundred. dayA Satakam thus refers to the stotram on Lord

SrInivAsa's guNa of dayA in 100 Sloka-s (there are actually 108

Sloka-s in the stotram).

 

It is worth noting that the stotram is not on Lord venkateSa per se,

but on His one guNa, dayA, to the exclusion of all His other guNa-s

such as j~nAna, bala, aiSvarya, vIrya, Sakti, tejas, sauSIlya,

vAtsalya, etc. Earlier we had noted that SrI deSika composed 1000

Sloka-s on the Divine sandals of Lord ranganAtha (The pAdukA

sahasram), which showed svAmi deSikan's poetic skills. dayA Satakam

is one more example. SrI D. rAmasvAmi Iyengar, in his introduction to

a vyAkhyAnam on dayA Satakam, points out that there is only one Slokam

in this stotra where Lord venkateSa is sung directly, the others

being devoted to the praise of His guNa of dayA. Even in this one

Sloka, He is referred to as karuNA varuNAlayam, the Ocean of Mercy,

where karuNA refers to dayA.

 

The Greatness of dayA Satakam:

 

In his vyAkhyAnam on dayA Satakam, SrI sevA SrInivAsa rAghavAcaRya

svAmi points out that the birth place of dayA is His Lotus feet (i.e.,

His dayA starts as soon as a devotee surrenders to Him), it grows in

the sweet and inviting smile of His face when He sees a devotee who

has sought His feet, and it thrives in the form His katAksham (Slokam

19).

 

sVami deSikan points out that even the veda-s could only begin to

describe His dayA'a mahimA, but could not complete it (Arambha mAtram

anidam prathama stuthInAm - Slokam 101). Even ancient sages such as

vAlmIki have chosen to stand at the shores of the Ocean of the

greatness of His dayA because they knew that it was too deep to

describe (prAcetasa prabhr*tayopi param taTasthAh - Slokam 102).

Sage vAlmIki stops with saying that Lord rAma forgave kAkAsuran and

offered abhayam to him because of His kr*pA.

 

However, SrI deSika says that being ignorant as he was, he boldly

jumped (mandasya sAhasam - Slokam 102) into the Ocean of Lord's dayA

and tried to describe it, and the outcome is dayA Satakam. He then

found that he could not find the depth of this Ocean, and is

struggling to keep himself afloat. But he says he is proud to have

even attempted it, because this has provided "amusement" to the Lord

(padmApateh prahasanocitam - Slokam 103) as He watched him "struggle"

to find the bottom of the Ocean in vain (atala-spr*Sam in the same

Slokam).

 

svAmi deSikan points out that this is a composition on Lord VenkateSa

by poet venkateSa (vekateSa kavir bhaktyA dayAmastuta - Sloka 107).

In fact, he says that it is Lord VenkateSa who really sang the song.

It was as if He was shy to praise His own guNa directly, and so used

venkateSa kavi as the means to put forth this stotram. He considers

that he was a vINA in the hands of Lord venkateSvara who played His

vINA and out came dayA Satakam (vaihArikeNa vidhinA samye gr*hItam

vINA viSeshamiva venkata Saila nAthah - Sloka 104). True to this

depiction, there are 10 different meters which are used in this

composition, and even a person who does not have any concept of meters

etc. will easily notice the change in the meter at the end of every 10

Sloka-s as one chants the stotram.

 

In the phala-Sruti, SrI deSikan points out that this praise of His

dayA should be repeatedly chanted (samyak abhyasyamAnAn - Slokam 106),

and Lord's dayA will ensure that we are crowned by the glory of His

Mercy, accepted as His prapanna-s and given mokha. This is unlike

what we saw in the previous stotra-s, where he asks us to just even

think of bhagavAn in those contexts. This may be because His dayA is

the base, the only requirement, but the necessary requirement without

which we cannot cross the ocean of samsAra.

 

Guru paramparA dhyAnam:

 

svAmi deSikan has devoted 8 out of the 108 Slokams in dayA Satakam

for paying respects to guru paramparA, AzhvArs, sages such as

parASara, vishvaksena, SrI devi, bhU devi, nIlA devi, and finally to

that Ocean of karuNA, Lord SrInivasa, before starting the praise of

His dayA. This is probably because His dayA has been praised alike by

the Acarya-s, AzhvArs, and sages like parASara and vAlmIki, and is at

the same time the incarnation of SrI devi, bhU devi, and nIlA devi.

I noticed that in pAdukA sahasram, with its 1008 Sloka-s, SrI deSika

has devoted only 4 Sloka-s that pay respects to the AcArya-s etc. The

first one starts with respect paid to all those who have had the good

fortune to have had the sacred contact with the SrI SaThAri, the

second one to SrI bharata who first showed us the greatness of His

pAduka-s, the third one to nammAzhvAr who bears the name of SrI

SaThAri (tan-nAmAnam munim), and the fourth to sage vAlmIki who made

bharata's worship of SrI rAma's SrI pAduka-s known to the rest of the

world.

 

SaraNAgati in dayA Satakam:

 

In Slokam 59, svAmi deSikan points out that our great AcArya-s such

as SrI bhAshya kArar and SrI YamunAcArya, induced by His dayA, have

taught us that there is no better upAyam than SaraNAgati or prapatti

for us to follow to reach His feet (yati-pati yAmuna prabhr*tayah

bharanyasanAt adhikam hitam jagati nah na iti pratayanti). In fact,

even those who have succeeded in controlling their desires for earthly

pleasures through control of their mind find it difficult to attain

moksha by observing all the a~nga-s or aspects of bhakti yoga, and are

afraid of resorting to this path and instead choose the easy path of

SaraNAgati (Slokam 62).

 

There are several Sloka-s where SrI deSika has repeatedly expressed

the anga-s of SaraNAgati in this stotram. In Slokam 12, we see

expression of kArpaNyam - absolute humility and realization of one's

impurity partly acquired from countless birth etc. Here he says that

his sins (our sins) are so enormous in size that even summing up all

the good deeds of everyone in this world will be like a fistful in

comparison, and His dayA is the only hope. One is reminded of the

famous tamizh saying - kaRRadu kaim maNNaLavu kallAdadu ivvulagaLavu.

 

In Slokam 10, he points out that dayA gives moksha to those in the

category of aki~ncana nidhi, or those who have no other means (such as

the ability to adopt the bhakti mArga etc.). SrI sevA SrInivAsa

rAghavAcArya in his commentary on dayA Satakam points out that

aki~ncanyatvam is an a~nga of SaraNAgati, and it is only when you

reach this stage that the realization comes that SaraNAgati is the

only means to attain the ultimate objective of this life.

 

In Slokam 29, we again see the expression of kArpaNya, the extreme

and utmost humility, when SrI deSika says that he is the epitome and

foremost among people committing sins which require the intervention

of His dayA for redemption. Again, there is the surrender in Slokam

32 - guNa lava rahitam mAm goptukAmA daye - His dayA wanting to

protect us who do not have the slightest good in us.

 

Slokam 51 is interpreted by both SrI sevA SrInivAsa rAghavAcArya svAmi

and SrI A. V. gopAlAcArya svAmi as an expression of kArpaNyam,

Aki~ncanyam or ananya gatitvam. SrI deSikan points out that even a

being (jantu here is interpreted as meaning that anyone and everyone

is eligible for this without any prerequisite or constraint) who has

done nothing to deserve His grace crosses the ocean of samsAra by

merely surrendering himself at His feet.

 

Slokam 56 is another instance of kArpaNyam (absolute humility) or

ananya-gatitvam (the realization that there is no alternative except

Him) which is a pre-requisite for kArpaNyam. The other means are

described as mitampacA - yielding insignificant fruits, taraLA -

transient, phala niyama ujjhitA - unpredictable in their ability to

yield benefits, punah snatapanAya - resulting on more suffering after

the transient benefit is enjoyed). Slokam 58 is a restatement of

ananya gatitvam and mahA viSvAsam, which says that those who are

blessed eliminate from consideration the many small water reservoirs

(bahushu jalASayeshu bahumAnam apohya), and instead will quench their

thirst from the shower of His Grace which can remove the heat of

samsAra (jani tApa harAm suvr*shtim upajIvya). anya-devatA upAsana is

what is referred to here in terms of bahushu jalASayeshu.

 

While most of the above instances were instances of kArpaNyam, Slokam

57 conveys three other anga-s of SaraNAgati - AnukUlya sankalpam (ony

doing things that are conducive to attain His dayA), prAtikUlya

varjanam (giving up anything that is antagonistic to Him), and mahA

viSvAsam (absolute and unshakable faith in Him). SrI deSikan gives

the simple parallel to the rule of the world - that a generous master

is kind to those who are good to him, punishes those who are not loyal

to him, and will always protect those who are loyal to him and do not

commit acts that antagonize him. When we know this is the rule of the

world, there is no reason to doubt the vedic declarations that He will

always protect those who observe the AnukUlya sankalpam and prAtikUlya

varjanam towards Him.

 

After describing the various instances of His dayA, svAmi deSikan

concludes the sotram with an expression of SaraNAgati through its

various aspects in Slokam-s 91 to 100. These include Atma-nikshepaNa

(placing oneself completely and directly under His care), mahA viSvAsa

(irrepressible and great faith in Godhead), kArpaNya (honest and

absolute humility bordering on lowliness and honest awareness of one's

own natural ignorance, impotence, and impurity), and goptr*tva (The

deliberate choice of God as the sole protector).

 

To be continued in Part 2...

 

-dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan