nrsimha-jayanti & KamasikAshtakam

[Guest guest]

srimathe lakshmi-nrsimha parabrahmaNe namaha

sri vedanta gurave namaha

 

Dear BhAgavatOttamA-s,

 

Today is Swati; it is a blessed day for it is the "jayanti" of our Great

Lord of Ahobilam, Sri.MalOlan.

 

It must be "tirumanjanam" time now at several "Nrsimha-kshetrams" all

around India --- at the shrine of "prahlada-varadan" at Ahobilam,

"yoga-nrsimhan" at Sholinghur and Nammakkal,at "Nrsimha-sannidhi's" at

VedAdri, Mattapalli and Wadapalli right along the fertile and meandering

banks of the River Krishana, at Simhachallam and at Yaadugirigutta.....

 

Grand would be all the special rituals at all these "kshetrA-s".

 

At Chennai, the festivities at the "nrismha-sannidhi" in the

Parthasarathi Temple at Triplicane are really agog !

 

Today is a joyous occasion indeed for all of us ! It is the day of

descent of the Great Lord Lakshmi-nrsimhan amongst us!!

 

On this blessed day, the sounds of "veda-parayanam" and "prabhandham"

ring sonorously in the high-roofed portals of the "nrsimha-sannidhi"....

 

The refrain of Tirumangai Alwar's famous "pasuram-s" on the Lord of

Ahobilam lingers like a rare, haunting fragrance in the hallowed

ambience of the Parthasarathy Swami temple here in Chennai....

 

At the nearby Ahobila Mutt the sweet rhymes of the

"nrsimha-karAvalamba-stotram" fill the din raised outside the temple

precincts by the distant blare of "nadaswaram" music and the jingle of

temple-gongs.

 

The sweet yet pungent smell of rich "pAnaggam"(scented jaggery-water)

rents the air...

 

As sweet as the smell and taste of "pAnaggam" is, I tell you, so are the

exquisite rhymes of Verse 3 of Swami Desikan's famous dedication to Lord

Nrsimha-murthy, the 8-stanza "kAmAsikAshtakam".

 

Most of you "nrismha-bhaktAs" are already aware of the lines:

 

"bandhumakhilasya janto-ho

bandhura paryanka bandha ramaniyam

vishama-vilochana meeDay

vegavati pulina narsimham"!!

 

This is one verse in the whole hymn that simply, absolutely captivates

my heart!!

 

Four simple lines are packed indeed with an astounding wealth of ideas

which would otherwise fill tomes and volumes of scriptural exegesis.

 

The kavi-simham's choice of phrases like "bandhU", "bandhura",

"vishama-vilOchana" and "kEli" are also so apt and evocative. You dwell

on each of the expressions for as much as a moment and you find you

simply can't help being overcome by a flood of allusions and associative

ideas.

 

"BANDHU", for example, is a very commonplace term that suddenly assumes

rich 'vedic' flavour --- what scholars would call, "nigama-parimalam"

--- as a result of the way in which the "kavi-simham" employs it.

 

"bandhU" in Sanskrit, we know, means "kinsman", "kith", "protector" or

"one who provides succour and refuge". But the most popular connotation

of the word is quite simply : "friendly relative". In French, it is

perhaps a little more expressive: "mon ami".

 

Now what is so poetic, we may be tempted to ask ourselves, in describing

the Lord as "friend", our "bandhU"? It seems really to be a rather banal

statement of the obvious, isn't it? A bland statement of this sort

indeed does little more than bring a number of associative material from

the "puranA-s" and "ithihAsA" immediately to our minds, isn't it ? It

brings to mind the "bandhU" who came to the rescue of Draupadi, the

"bandhu" who saved "prahlada", the "bandhu" who swiftly relieved

Gajendra of his misery, the "bandhu" who freely gave his protection to

even the undeserving AjAmilan .... and so on, so forth ...

 

Yes, the term "bandhu" would indeed be a very banal term of description

applied to our Lord Nrsimhan but for the expression "akhilasya janto-ho"

which Swami Desikan appends to it.

 

"akhilasya janto-hO" signifies "all creatures of the world" and

"bandhumakhilasya janto-hO" hails the Lord as "the Kinsman of all

Creation" --- the 'Great Friend' of everything that might crawl,creep,

breathe, walk, swim or fly in this world.

 

The question that we should ask here is (and here indeed is the "rasa"

or the special flavour of the poetry involved ) if the Lord is to be

described as "bandhum-akhilasys janto-hO" or the "kinsman of all

creatures" does it mean He is the "bandhu" of REALLY ALL creatures ---

good, evil and indifferent?

 

If the Lord is declared to be the "bandhu" of those who have sworn

eternal allegiance to him (vide Sri.Andal's "yettraikkum yEzh-yEzh

piravikkum, undhannodu uttrOmmE yAvOm, unnakkE nAmAtcheivOm...etc.") we

know the matter is exactly as it ought to be.There is no great wonder or

surprise in all this! We know from not one but 5 "charama-shlOkA-s" in

the scriptures that the Lord Himself solemnly executed 'vedic'

affidavits to the effect that He shall never fail His "bhaktA-s", that

He shall guarantee redemption to His "prapanna-s" and that He shall ever

remain the "bandhU" of those who surrender unto Him?

 

But what is so greatly poetic or extraordinary in all this ?

 

What is un-poetic (in this line from the "kamAsikAshtakam") is certainly

the apparent reference to the Lord being the "bandhu" of those who are

His "bhaktA-s" or "prapannA-s"!! The real poetic excitement, however,

lies in Swami Desikan's tacit and tongue-in-cheek hyperbole contained in

the statement that the Lord is 'bandhum-akhilasya-janto-ho" ie. The Lord

maintains the RELATIONSHIP of a primordial KINSMAN of ALL CREATURES and

not just only with those that are His "bhaktA-s" or "prapannA-s".

 

There is an element of grand and overarching pantheism here.

 

This point needs a bit of patient explaining if the poetic subtlety of

Swami Desikan's verse in the "kAmAsikAshtakam" is to be even vaguely

grasped by us.

 

Consider this please : We cherish a relationship when we realise its

true nature and worth. If we do not realise a relationship or remain

wholly unaware of it there is no way we can cherish and nurture the

relationship. In other words, we cannot keep a personal, business or

social relationship "going" (as we commonly say) unless we keep

constantly "working" at it.

 

We cannot sustain a relationship with our spouse, for example, unless we

take pains to undertand the nature, intensity, scope, the undercurrents

and dynamics that rule the relationship. Similarly, even in our working

lives we have to take pains, willy-nilly, to firmly establish, nourish

and nurture healthy inter-personal relations with peers, subordinates

and superiors. We know we really have to "care" about the many little

relationships that go to make up the warp-and-woof of our life. When the

relationships really "work" (as it is commonly described) there is a

certain fullness and richness that characterises our lives. When the

"relationships" are not "worked hard upon" --- be it with spouse, boss

or friends --- a certain staleness and ennui grips our lives.

 

The question to ask now is : The great "bandhu", the Lord, does he

extend His Grace only to those who "work" assiduously on their

"relationship" with Him as "bhaktA-s" or as "prapannA-s"? Does His grace

as "bandhu" NOT extend to those who are unaware of or who have not

realised their relationship with Him (the "mUDAtmA-s")? If the latter

case is true, then, is not Swami Desikan using an inappropriate poetic

flourish in hailing the Lord as the Kinsman of ALL Creatures --

"bandhumakhilasya janto-ho"!

 

Our ancient "AchAryA-s" have a very interesting analogy to drive home

this point of our "relationship" with the great "bandhu". We must take

keen note of it for it will help us understand better Desikan's line.

 

Here is the analogy:

 

Once upon a time there lived a happily wedded couple in a village. A

year after their marriage however great tragedy struck. The husband died

suddenly leaving behind a widow who was pregnant with his child.

 

A year later the widow gave birth to a son.

 

Widowed mother and part-orphaned son eked out a very difficult existence

without paternal support. They struggled through many difficulties in

life.

 

Yet, through all their strife in life, for the widow at least there was

always a silver lining in the clouds that appeared without fail on the

first day of every month all her life. On the first day of each month

she found that through the agency of some anonymous and mysterious

benefactor all the wholesome necessities of her household were being

provided gratis!

 

She'd open the doorway of her home in the morning and find at the

doorstep all the groceries, foodstuff, clothing and appliances that she

and her son would require for an entire month!!

 

It was a real mystery to her as to who the anonymous good samaritan was

!! It continued every month, every year, unceasingly, unfailingly!

 

In spite of her efforts of many years the poor widow could never

discover the identity of the anonymous and elusive benefactor who not

once failed to supply the poor widow and her son with all necessities

and comforts of life.

 

Many years elapsed. The son grew up to be a handsome young youth. He

also grew up to be an extremely successful merchant. His prosperity knew

no bounds. In good time he too married and raised a family and lived

very happily.

 

It was finally time for his mother, the old widow, to depart. On her

death-bed her tearful son queried, "My dearest mother, the time has come

for you to depart. How shall I ever repay the great debt I owe you, my

dear mother, for all that you gave me in life? You provided me with

everyting that I needed in life to grow into the happy and prosperous

person that I am today. Ah, mother of mine, how shall I ever repay thee

your kindness?!".

 

The widow then smiled and said, "Your gratitude, my dear son, ought to

go to an anonymous benefactor of our family! Indeed it is he who has

provided us with all the good things in life we have enjoyed all these

years!! My love and my care that have been lavished on you all these

years, my child, all that too has been really enabled by the unseen

samaritan! Your debt to me shall be more than recompensed if only you

could discover who this great and elusive benefactor of ours is and who

has never shown himself all these years in any way other than through

his abounding generosity".

 

The son was simply stunned with the discovery after all the years that

he and his widowed mother owed everything in life to an unknown,

mysterious, hidden benefactor who had never once shown up!

 

Before breathing her last the widowed mother whispered to her son,"My

son, I have wasted away my life simply taking for granted all the means

of enjoyment the silent, unseen benefactor ("bandhu") bestowed on us. I

know not who he is, what he is and why he showers us with his unceasing

blessings. I have'nt fathomed the relationship between us and him."

 

"I leave now for the other world, my son. But the task of discovering

this benefactor and understanding the true kinship with him is now

yours. It is perhaps your life's work and happiness... and your life's

fulfillment....It is the only way you can repay the debt you say you owe

me, my son".

 

So saying the widow died.

 

And the son.... even to this day (our "AchAryA-s" tell us).. the good

son is still engaged in the eternal quest of his true kinship with a

great Unseen, Mysterious, Anonymous Benefactor.....

 

The spiritual predicament of the son, if you think deeply about it, dear

"bhAgavatOttamA-s", is really no different from our own, is it?

 

How charming indeed is the way our "achAryA-s" describe the misery

wrought by our spiritual aches through a simple and stark story!

 

Now it is THAT very same "Benefactor",the "bandhU" who showers His Grace

on all creatures alike -- those that like the widow and the son who had

no inkling whatsoever of their true relationship with an unseen

benefactor and also those like Draupadi or Gajendran of our scriptures

who fully realised the nature of their ties with the Lord --- it is

precisely that "bandhu" that Swami Desikan refers to in his

'kAmAsikAshtakam' as "bandhumakhilasya janto-hO"!

 

That verily is the exquisite poetry, dear "bhAgavatOttamA-s", of the

line in Verse 3 of Swami Desikan's hymn which otherwise appears to us as

a pretty banal statement of the Lord's image as a "bandhu"!

 

In His own 'avatara' as Nrsimha, the Lord proved that he was the

"bandhu" of all "jantus" of all "akhila"! The Lord was in fact the

"bandhu" of even the evil Hiranya-kasipu although in a very slanted sort

of way!!

 

In the esoteric doctrines of SriSampradayam and as explained by Swami

Desikan in his Rahasyatrayasaram, the ultimate moment of communion for a

soul with the Lord in "parama-padam" is conceived as the moment when the

"jivA" ( the individual soul) after having re-gained its form of

"suddha-sattva" or "ap-prAkrita svarupam" (a form completely dissociated

with "prakriti" i.e. entirely free of "tri-gunAs"), after having

regained its true form, the "jivA" is chaperoned into the Lord's

presence by an archangel -- a "vidyut-purushan". The "jivA' then

clambers up onto the lap of the Lord who welcomes him into His arms and

embraces him with great love while whispering many expressions of great

endearment.

 

For the 'jivA' the very act of being seated on the lap of the Lord

constitutes the consummative moment of bliss -- the "anandA" of "mokshA"

that even the ancient Upanishads describe only inadequately!

 

The joy of such consummative experience -- the experience of being

seated or lying supine upon the Lap of the Almighty as in "parama-padam"

-- that same act .... was it not bestowed upon Hiranya-kasipu by our

Lord Lakshmi-nrsimhan even in the apocalyptic moment of his

destruction?!

 

Therefore, was not the Lord then a "bandhu" to even an evil "jantu" of

this "akhilam" -- a despicable creature of this world -- like

Hiranya-kasipu ?

 

How wonderfully poetic and expressive therefore it is, is it not, that

Swami Desikan hails the Lord as "bandhumakhilasya janto-ho" .... the

"bandhu" of not only those (a) who have fully realised their "kinship"

with him and thereby enriched their lives ... (b) He is also the

"bandhu" of those of us who like the widow enjoy the benefactions of

life and yet perhaps may die away without once knowing the true identity

of the Unseen Benefactor ... and © He is also a "bandhu" of an unusual

sort to one as eggregiously evil as Hiranya-kasippu!!

 

The Lord is indeed therefore the "bandhu" of all creatures, isn't it ---

of the good, of the bad and...and of the indifferent even!!

 

Swami Desikan, the "kavi-simham", the leonine poet, isn't wrong at all,

is he ??!!

 

srimathe srivan satagopa sri narayana yathindra mahadesikaya namaha

sudarshan