SrI deSika stotrams - 7. vairAgya pa~ncakam.

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SrI deSika stotra-s - 7. VairAgya pa~ncakam.

 

VairAgyam is translated by SrI rAmadeSikAcAryAr svAmi as "detachment from

worldly matters". The term pa~ncakam refers to the number 5. The

composition has its name because it is on vairAgyam and consists of 5

Sloka-s. We may recall that SrI dayA Satakam is a composition of 100

Sloka-s describing one guNa of the Lord, viz. dayA, with which He is

overflowing. VairAgya pa~ncakam is a composition on one guNa of man viz.

vairAgya, which is extremely wanting in most humans.

 

In order to appreciate the significance of this composition, it is useful to

take a diversion on the history behind this work. One of the childhood

friends of svAmi deSikan by name VidyAraNya became an influential person in

the service of the king of vijayanagaram when he grew up. In parallel,

SvAmi deSikan grew up to relish the kainkaryam of the Lord, and was serving

his Sishya-s through religious discourses etc., but as far as the monetary

side was concerned, he was living on u~ncavr*tti. SrI vidyAraNya very much

wanted to help svAmi deSikan by getting him to the palace so that he can

demonstrate his scholarship and skills in composing poems etc. by singing

the praise of the king, and in return be rewarded monetarily by the king.

So he sent a note to svAmi deSikan suggesting that he should visit the

king's palace. svAmi deSikan first sent a one-Slokam response to SrI

vidyAraNya declining the offer. The latter sent a renewed request because

of his sincere desire to help his friend. vairAgya pa~ncakam is the

response from the AcAraya in response to this second request.

 

The composition as it is presented in traditional text books consists of the

first Slokam and the second set of five Sloka-s presented together as six

Sloka-s under the tile of vairAgya pa~ncakam.

 

In vairAgya pa~ncakam, svAmi deSikan points out his dismay and wonder at the

action of the learned poets who praised the "kings" that ruled a tiny parcel

of land in this vast universe but felt a feeling of enormous superiority

because of this. He is at a loss to understand those who can indulge in

the praise of these petty beings when there is the "alpa santushTan" who can

be pleased with a handful of pounded rice offered by kucela and shower on

him all that can ever be sought. (The reference to the quote "alpa

santushTan" is from the vyAkhyAna of Sri aNNangarAcArya).

 

He is unable to understand why learned people live this kind of life when

all they need is a few grains that lay spilled on the paddy fields to take

care of their hunger, a palmful of water from the public pond to quench

their thirst, and a rag lying on the roadside to serve as a loin cloth. The

depth of his vairAgyam can be felt when he declares that no matter how high

the fire of hunger (jaTharAnalah or jaTharAgni) in his stomach burns, he

will not resort to asking for even a shread of grass from these kings and

waste his precious skills with words which are fragrant like the jasmine

flower because they are used for praising His guNa-s. He declares that he

has the greatest of wealths already in his possession in the form of the

charioteer of arjuna, and he bids good-bye forever to the humiliating

situation of waiting at the doorsteps of these kings for their convenience

to just have the opportunity to have a visit with them.

 

If we take a moment to really think about why we want to accumulate wealth,

it is clear that it is all for just filling this stomach. Think of what we

have to go through all our lives to painfully accumulate this wealth by

praising these so-called great people constantly all our lives till we die.

It is not as if we just accumululate this wealth once over a birelf period

of time, and then go on being happy doing other things. No, we have to keep

on praising these people just to keep what we have accumulated, since

otherwise we will displease them and our wealth will be at risk. Is this

worth it, svAmi deSikan rhetorically asks, when we already have at our

possession Lord kr*shNa the Eternal Wealth, the One who showed the path of

dharma to arjuna and gave him eternal fame, protected the people of

Ayar-pAdi with the govardhana mountain when they were exposed to hardship,

always fills those who pray to Him with joy, Indestructible, and can bestow

all that is needed.

 

SvAmi deSikan concludes this short work with the declaration that while he

neither has property accumulated by himself nor by his father, he has the

great wealth earned by the "grandfather" - pitA-maha (referring to brahma)

and stored on top of the hasti-giri, and so he does not need anything else

from anyone else. Recall that Lord varadarAja is in the svayam-vyakta

kshetram of kA~nci in response to bhrahma's intense penance, which we had

reviewed as part of SrI varadarAja pa~ncAsat. Given this Eternal wealth

sitting on top of hasti-giri, svAmi deSikan does not see the need for him to

seek the impermanent pleasures of the world.

 

Thus in very simple terms in a few verses, the great mahAn has explained how

simple and logical it is to renounce the worldly pleasures. If we meditate

on these concepts even intermittently, He will bless us with His karuNa so

that we realize the enormous Wealth that is always available to us in the

form of the Lord with no effort on our part.

 

-dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan