Fourth Kalasam ( Atharva Vedam ) : part 11.3

[Guest guest]

Dear VedAbhimAnis :

 

I will complete the remaining 9 manthrAs

of the Atharva Vedam and move on to the subject

of " Sri RanganAthA , The SarvOpanishad SvarUpan "

in my next posting .

 

10. SRI RANGANATHA KAVACHAM ( A.V : XII.3.24 )

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Agni pachan rakshathu tvaa purasthAdh

IndrO rakshathu dakshiNathO MaruthvAn

VaruNas tvaa dhrumhAddharuNE pratheechyA

uttarAth tvaa Soma: sam dhadhaathai

 

( Meaning ) : May the Omniscient Lord strengthening thee ,

protect thee from the Eastern direction ; May the Opulent ,

splendorous Lord guard thee from the Southern direction ;

May the supreme Lord support thee from the western

direction with His strength and power . May our Lord ,

the cosmic creator hold thee together from the north .

 

11. A PRAYER FOR PURIFICATION AND LONG LIFE (AV:XII.2.13)

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asmin vayam samkasukE Agnou riprANi mrujmahE

abhUma yaj~niyA: suddhA; pra Na aayugumshi tArishath

 

(Meaning ): We dissolve our blemishes away with the anugrahm

of our Lord , the Omniscient . We have achieved the state of

purity in His company and have become qualified to do Yaj~nams .

May the benevolent Lord give us long lives !

 

12. SRI RANGANATHA: SARVA SAAKSHEE ( AV: XIII.2.41)

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arvA disa: samacharadh rohithOadhipathir diva:

divam samudrAdh bhUmim sarvam bhUtham vi rakshathi

 

(Meaning ) : God , the Emperor of light penetrates

all regions. He watches over the celestial region ,

the Oceans and the earth and all the beings ,

He has created .

 

13.VEDIC KNOWLEDGE AND SRI RANGANATHA (AV: XV.6.9)

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ruchAm cha vai sa saamnAm cha yajushAm cha

BrahmaNasccha priyam dhAma bhavathi ya yEvam vEda

 

(Meaning ) : He who is Brhamavidh ( Knower of Brahmman )

becomes the chosen abode of the four VedAs .

 

14. A PRAYER FOR THE EMBRACE OF THE LORD (AV: XIX.15.4)

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urUm nO lokamanu nEshi vidhvAnthsvar-

yajjyOthirabhayam svasthi

ugrA ta Indra sthavirasya bAhU

upa kshayEma saraNA bruhanthA

 

(Meaning ) : O Glorious Lord ! Thou take us by hand to

the vast riches , bliss and to Your parama padham ,

where shines the light of knowledge , perfect peace

reigns and one is free form fear of any kind . Your

divine arms are strong and powerful . They are steadfast

in coming to our rescue; Your arms are firm in lifting us

over all dangers . May we be blessed to find ample refuge

as PrapannAs in Your strong arms .

 

15. A CALL FOR LORD'S HELP ( AV: 20.26.1)

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yOgE yOgE tavasthram vAjE vAjE hjavAmahE

sakhayA IndramUthayE

 

(Meaning ) : O Lord , As BhagavathAs devoted to

Your service , we seek Your help and guidance

in every act of meditation undertaken by us ;

we seek Your assistance and blessings in

every act of acquiring true knowledge about

Your commands and SaasthrAs .

 

16. ACHAARYAA'S COUNSEL TO THE PEOPLE ( AV: 20.48.2)

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anarsarAthim vasudhAmupa sthuhi bhadrA Indrasya rAthaya:

sO asya kAmam vidhathO na rOshathi manO dhAnAya chOdhayan

 

(Meaning ) : O SamsAri ! worship the Lord , whose gifts

are flawless.He is the generous grantor of riches and

wealth beyond your imagination . He is VaradrAjan , the king

of boon-givers . Those boons are the most auspicious and

they are bountiful . He is the Lord of immeasurable fortunes .

He does not turn down the wishes of His devotees in anger ,

but He has vowed to grant the boons that you seek .

 

17. ACHAARYAA'S DESCRIPTION OF THE MIGHTY LORD (AV:20.50.1)

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YyO Adhribhith prathamajA ruthAvA

BruhaspathirAngirasO havishmAn

dvibarhjmA prAgarmasathpithA na aa

rodhasee vrushabhO rOraveethi

 

(Meaninmg ) : Our Lord ( Sri RanganaathA ) is the great

protector of His vast universe. He is the Master of

the Vedic knowledge . He is the banisher of the dark

clouds of vipareetha j~nanam and evil.He is

the First revealer ( prathamAchAryaa) . He is indeed

the ordainer and the regulator of the laws of nature .

He is the one , who enters the created beings as

antharyAmi Brahmmam . He is the one , who supplies

the nourishment to the embryo in the mother's womb and

food to the thErai inside the stone . He is firmly

positioned in Heaven and Earth . He is resolutely

linked to devotees , knowledge and action . He is

the One , who provides the heat and light to the burning

Sun . He is our protector and nourisher like a father to

His children and showers His blessings on us unfailingly .

Hark ! Listen ! He loudly proclaims His instructions

all around the earth and Heavens through His AchAryAs

and sends His nithyasUris as His messengers to help us

reach Him .

 

18. SVASTHI MANTHRAM (AV: XX.CXLIII.8 )

 

In this manthram before the very last manthram

of Atharva Vedam , benedictions to the world and its

beings are housed and an appeal is made to follow

the saastraic injnctions of our Lord RanganAthA :

 

madhumatheerOshadheer dhyAva aapO

madhumannO bhavathanthariksham

KshEthrasya pathirmadhumannO

asthvarishyanthO anvEnam charEma

 

(Meaning ) : May the Oushadhis ( plants and medicinal

herbs) be sweet and efficacious to us ! May the Heavens ,

the waters and the mid-regions be all sweet , healthful

and invigorating for us ! May the producer of food

be sweet, friendly and helpful to us ! Let us follow

our Lord and engage in acts that please Him and stay

away from acts that displease Him , perform Prapatthi and

be free from the disease of SamsAram and chase away

all of our troubles !

 

With this crescendo of a prayer , Atharva Vedam

comes to a close .

 

May the Lord of Srirangam accept this offering

and sprinkle us with the pavithra theertham from

His four Veda Kalasams and provide us the wisdom and

strength to complete His Aalaya NirmANa kaimkaryam

at Pomona , New York .

 

Sri Ranganaatha ParabrahmaNE nama:

Oppiliappan Koil VaradachAri SadagOpan