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Desika, nyaasa tilakam

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Dear Members,

 

Can someone explain the meaning of Sri Vedanta Desika's

sloka from Nyasa Tilakam starting with "'Om' ity abhyupagamya..."?

 

Mani

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Dear Sri Mani Varadarajan :

 

The slokam of interest to you is the 30th

slOkam of Sri Nyaasa Tilakm , which shines as

the Tilakm on the forehead of Sri RanganathA .

 

In this prapatthi grantham , Swami Desikan elaborates

thru 32 slokams , what he covered succinctly

in Nyasasa Dasakam and Nyaasa Vimsathi.

 

In the 29th slOkam , Swami Desikan declared his

determination not to approach any other "Gods " ,

while Sri RanganathA was there to protect him .

He said " tvayi sathi --paimitha desa kaala

paladhAn paladhAkruthikAn Vidhi Siva pramukAn

katham adhikurmahE ? " He declared his disinterest

this way : While You stay there at Srirangam as

the embodiment of KaruNA for SaraNAgathAs , why

would we run after other "god " as Brahmaa ,

SivA etal for their limited blessings ? You are the One ,

who empowers them even those limited blessings

circumscribed by time and desam .Hence , We will

perfrom SaraNAgathi at Your sacred feet ALONE to gain

the permanent sukham of Moksham .

 

In the 30th slOkam , Swami Desikan comes out with

his request for the boon of Moksham :

 

Om ithi abhyupagamya Ranga NrupathE

ananyOchithAm sEshathAm

SvAtanthra aadhi mayeem apOhya mahatheem

aadhyAma vidhyA sthithim I

nithyAsankhya viseema bhUthi guNayO :

yaayaamanayAsatha :

sEvA sampadham IndirEsa yuvayO:

eikAnthi aathyanthikeem II

 

The salutations are for the IndirEsan

( the Lord of MahA Lakshmi ) and then to

the King of Srirangam ( Ranga Nrupathi ) .

 

Both are saluted as " Nithya asankhya viseema

bhUthi gunayO : YuavayO : " (i-e) the couple

with the everlasting and limitless auspiciousness

and benovolent attributes .

 

The boons sought from these divya dampathis are :

 

1 . Boon of everlasting servitude (sEshathvAm

BASED NITHYA KAIMKARYAM )to the Lord and Periya Piraatti ,

which does not become appropriate for anyone else

( ananya uchithAm sEshathAm ).It does not

fit with anyone else .

 

2. Their granting of the above request

and acceptance of his saraNAgathi

( Om ithi abhyupagamya ) with the

statement : Let that become so !

Swami requests the divya dampathis

to say , let it be so ! Please say that " We are accepting

your BharanyAsam . It is our duty to

protect you " .

 

3. Removal of the great aj~nAnam of long standing

nature that made Swami Desikan think that

he is an independent entity before( svAthantrya aadhi

mayeem aadhyAm mahatheem avidhyA sthithim apOhya )

 

4. The exact prayer for the Boon is :" eikAnthika

aathyanthikeem sEvA sampadham anAyasatha: yayAm " .

I seek the nithya kaimkarya Sri that belongs to

You both alone , which I wish to gain without

parama prayAsam ( anAyaasatha: ) . Because of Your

Omnipotence and the apAra KaruNA , I will realize

effortlessly the boon of nithya kaimkarya bhAgyam

at Sri Vaikuntum to serve You both .This is

the MahA VisvAsam aspect of the SaraNAgathi .

 

I am the adiyEn to both of You .I do not belong to

no one else . I have fully understood now this

dependence on You both as Your sEshan ( sEshathva

JN~Anam ) .The ahankAram (Me) and the mamakAram

( mine) are gone now and I have broken thru with

Your grace ,the dark cloud that surrounded me for

the longest of times , which made me think that I am an

independent entity .There is no limit to your vibhUthis and

KalyANa guNAs .They shine forth eternally .To such an

illustrious Divya Dampathis , I long to offer my

service without let in Your permanent abode of Sri Vaikuntam

effortlessly . May Thou accept my prayer and say " be it so "

and grant me the boon dearest to me as Your sEsha bhUthan .

 

The 31st slOkma is an elaboration of this prayer

to the divya dampathis and the 32nd and concluding

slOkam of NyAsa Tilakam is a pala sruthi that states

that those who recite NyAsa Tilakam will be blessed with

Kainkaryam here on Earth at Srirangam and as well as

at Sri Vaikuntam at the end of their mortal lives .

 

Swami Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam ,

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan

 

 

 

 

At 04:41 PM 6/18/98 -0700, you wrote:

>

>Dear Members,

>

>Can someone explain the meaning of Sri Vedanta Desika's

>sloka from Nyasa Tilakam starting with "'Om' ity abhyupagamya..."?

>

>Mani

>

>

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Dear Bhakthi Group Members ;

I do not think that Sri Murali Rangaswamy

would mind sharing this private note that

would be of interest to many of you ,

while we are focussed on this slOkam .

Swami Desikan following the path of

Sri RamAnuja is most appropriate

as a maarga darsi .

 

V.Sadagopan

>Return-Path: rangaswamy_m

>X-Originating-IP: [198.151.159.54]

>"muralidhar rangaswamy" <rangaswamy_m

>sgopan

>Re: Desika, nyaasa tilakam

>Fri, 19 Jun 1998 05:59:16 PDT

>

>Dear Sadagopan,

>

>Thanks for a lovely summary of Swami Desikan's SharaNagati in the

>Nyasa Tilakam. In this work, Swami Desikan follows the footsteps of

>Sri Ramanujacharya. The similarities in the SharaNagati Gadyam and

>Nyasa Tilakam are remarkable. First, Sri Ramanujacharya seeks and

>receives the blessings of Periya Piratti before performing his

>Sva Nishtai Prapatti to Lord Narayana. The Acharya then celebrates the

>eternal oneness of the Lord and Sri, followed by a glorification

>of the Lord's KalyaNa GuNams, a confession of his shortcomings in a mood

>of intense Naichyanusandanam and finally, the formal surrender. Swami

>Desikan's work is a mirror image of Udayavar's SharaNagati

>again illustrating the Desika Mangalam salutation "Sri Bhashyakara

>Panthanam AtmanA Darshitam Puna:". The reference to Mahavisvasam

>and desire for eternal Kaimkaryam to the Divine Couple

>in Swami Desikan's work beautifully illustrate the Sri Ranganatha

>Gadyam salutation "DasyatIti VishvAsa Purvakam Bhagavantam Nitya

>KinkaratAm PrArthayE". Swami Desikan expresses similar sentiments

>in the Nyasa Dashakam salutation "Vishvasa PrArthanApurvam

>Atma Rakshabharam Tvayi". Thanks again for your wonderful note.

>

>Best Wishes,

>

>Muralidhar Rangaswamy

>

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Dear Sri Sadagopan,

 

You wrote:

> 2. Their granting of the above request

> and acceptance of his saraNAgathi

> ( Om ithi abhyupagamya ) with the

> statement : Let that become so !

> Swami requests the divya dampathis

> to say , let it be so ! Please say that " We are accepting

> your BharanyAsam . It is our duty to

> protect you " .

 

A wonderful sloka, and a very lucid explanation.

Thank you for it! To further clarify, does "Om" here

refer to the praNava? In other words, is the praNava

the supreme expression of acceptance, or saying "Yes"?

 

Thanking you,

daasan

Mani

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Dear Sri Mani Varadarajan :

 

1 . To the best of my judgement , "OM " here does

not represent PraNavam per se , but what it

stands for in the deeper ananlysis.

 

It is here " the supreme expression of

acceptance " , the symbolic notation for

the Divya Dampathi's acceptance

of the BharanyAsam request of Swami Desikan .

 

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

 

2 . I will attempt to answer the other question that

you had asked about the utterance of AshtAkshara

manthram with PraNavam by one and all or only for a

group , which had been initiated by AchAryAs .

 

It will be wonderful to get additional input from

Professor AzhwAr thru his contacts in India .

 

As background , Paancha Raathra is considered

a milky ocean and there are three kinds of nectars

(KarmAs) that arose out of it . First is Vaidhika

KarmA , Second is Taantrika KarmA and the third

is Vaidhika Taantrika KarmA. All are eligible according

to Naaradheeya Kalpam for the observance of Taantrika

KarmAs . Brahmins are alloted Vaidhika KarmAs and

the KshathriyAs are restricted to Vaidhika -Taantrika

KarmAs .The rest of the two VarNAsramAs have been

assigned the practise of Taantrika KarmAs for their

salvation .

 

Ashtakshara , DhvadasAkshara and Shadakshara manthrAs

are VishNu manthrAs with unlimited tEjas . When they

unite with PraNavam , they become Vaidhika ManthrAs .

When they are not united with PraNavam , they remain

as Taantrhika ManthrAs ( NamO NaarAyaNAya ) and are

accessible to every one . That is why the mentioning

of AshtAksharam without PraNavam , Svaram and AnganyAsam

are recommended for EVERYONE . That is why Thirumangai ,

who should know something about this AshtAksharam

says : Nadantha nampi naamam sollil Namo NaarAyanamE .

In mudal ThiruvandhAthi , Poygai AzhwAr declares therefore ,

" nayam ninRa nanmAlai kondu NamO NaaraNAvennum

soll maalai kaRREn thozhudhu " .

 

NaaradhIya kalpam has the convincing argument :

 

namo NaarAyaNAyethi manthra: sarvArtha saadhaka :

 

No one is thus excluded from doing japam of AshtAksharam

without PraNavam , Svaram and NyASams .Thru ThAnthrika

karmAnushtAnam , all the fruits of worshipping Lord

thru utterance of His powerful name are acheived

in as much as some one , who recites in the Vaidhika

manthrA fashion thru AchArya UpadEsam .

 

Namo NaarAyaNAya

 

AdiyEn Sadagopan

 

At 05:26 PM 6/19/98 -0000, you wrote:

>

>Dear Sri Sadagopan,

>

>You wrote:

>> 2. Their granting of the above request

>> and acceptance of his saraNAgathi

>> ( Om ithi abhyupagamya ) with the

>> statement : Let that become so !

>> Swami requests the divya dampathis

>> to say , let it be so ! Please say that

" We are accepting >> your BharanyAsam .

It is OUR DUTY to >> protect you " .

>

A wonderful sloka, and a very lucid explanation.

Thank you for it! To further clarify, does "Om" here

refer to the praNava? In other words, is the praNava

the supreme expression of acceptance, or saying "Yes"?

>Thanking you,

>daasan

>Mani

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On Sun, Jun 21, 1998 at 11:27:15PM -0400, Sadagopan wrote:

> Dear Sri Mani Varadarajan :

>

> 1 . To the best of my judgement , "OM " here does

> not represent PraNavam per se , but what it

> stands for in the deeper ananlysis.

>

> It is here " the supreme expression of

> acceptance " , the symbolic notation for

> the Divya Dampathi's acceptance

> of the BharanyAsam request of Swami Desikan .

>

 

Dear Sadagopan Maama,

 

Here is a belated reply. I agree, it is clear here

that "Om" has a double meaning. But it also appears

clear that Desika is cleverly revealing that the word

"Om" is an integral part of the mUla mantra by using

the praNava as a pun in this sloka. In other words,

the acharya's indirect meaning is perhaps actually

more his intended meaning!

 

Desika's son Varadacharya comments that this sloka clearly

brings out the direct meaning of the ashTAkshara mantra

(mUlamantra) in the same order as the words of the

mantra. If I read the commentary right, the explanation

is as follows:

 

"Om" in both the sloka and mantra refers to

one's being a sesha to the Lord, a part of the Infinite

that serves to enhance his glory. "namaH", according

to the sloka, refers to one's complete dependence on

Him and no one else. The word "nArAyaNAya" in the

fourth or dative case refers to the highest goal

of existence being service to Him.

 

[ ataH paraM mUlamantrasthapadakrameNa Seshatvasahitam

pAratantryaM prakASya nArAyaNa-padastha-caturthyabhipretaM

kainkaryarUpaM purushArtham api viSadayati Om iti | ]

 

Sri Madurantakam T.E. Veeraraghavachariar Swami, in

his Tamil comments, refers to "Om" meaning directly

the praNava:

 

mUlamantrattiluLLa mUnRu padangaLaalE muRaiyE

sEshatvamum, svaatantrya nivruttiyum, bhagavatkainkaryamum

prakaasikkinRana. avaRRai idil visadamaaka aruLicceykiRaar.

 

lakshmIkaantanaakiya SrIranganaathanE, praNavattil unakkE

-> seshamivvaatmaa enRadai adE sollaalE "Om" enRu isainduLLEn.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"yaanE-enRanadE" enRuvarum ahankaara-mamakaarangaLE ajnaanangaL

anaittukkum mudal vittu. avaRRait tuRandEn, nilaininRa

eNNiRanda ellaiyilaada vibhUtigaLaiyum guNangaLaiyumudaiyIrgaL

nIyum tirumagaLum. ungaLukku ekkaalattilum antaranga

kainkaryangaL ceyyakkadavEn. ivaRRai adiyEn aayaasaminRiyE

peRumpadiyaaka aruLavEndum.

 

[ entire comment on this sloka (v.30, nyAsa tilakam) ]

 

I think this sloka, along with the commentaries, demonstrates

that the praNavam as OmkAra has been cited in a publicly

recitable stotra by a pUrvAcArya.

 

Mani

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SrI:

 

Dearest Sri Ubhaya Vedantha Vachaspathi (Sri Mani),

 

Hat off to you for your meanings in both Sanskrit and in Tamil. Your

interest, your depth of references, knowledge, enjoyment, is simply

excellent. A true ubhaya Vedanthi. A good example in Tamil and in Sanskrit.

 

 

You are a model for youngsters; a model for those who are born/brought up

outside India (why outside? even in India) and are not exposed to our

traditions at all, while you have been blessed by Divya Dampati to have

such great depths of involvement.

 

I take this opportunity to bring another point of attention to my Dearest

Sisters and Brothers that it is mainly parents who influence to a very

large extent for inculcating such interests in our children,- not possible

just overnight -.

 

Also, it is not right on our part to expect our boys (and girls) to do

sandhyaavandhanam and recite slokas regularly, when we can walk off to our

office with no such regular, daily prayers/Sandhyavandhanams. Set an

example to kids; (e.g :Hang the shirt in front of the children; they will

automatically follow us). No point in waking up, when they reach teens and

are beyond control.

 

Just a loud thinking. Not that I know. Nothing is of course in our hands;

It is He who does all. Let us pray to Him for His grace on us.

 

Ram Ram

 

Regards

 

Narayana dAsan madhavakkannan

----------

> Mani Varadarajan <mani

> bhakti

> Re: Desika, nyaasa tilakam

> Thursday, July 02, 1998 2:43 AM

>

> On Sun, Jun 21, 1998 at 11:27:15PM -0400, Sadagopan wrote:

> > Dear Sri Mani Varadarajan :

> >

> > 1 . To the best of my judgement , "OM " here does

> > not represent PraNavam per se , but what it

> > stands for in the deeper ananlysis.

> >

> > It is here " the supreme expression of

> > acceptance " , the symbolic notation for

> > the Divya Dampathi's acceptance

> > of the BharanyAsam request of Swami Desikan .

> >

>

> Dear Sadagopan Maama,

>

> Here is a belated reply. I agree, it is clear here

> that "Om" has a double meaning. But it also appears

> clear that Desika is cleverly revealing that the word

> "Om" is an integral part of the mUla mantra by using

> the praNava as a pun in this sloka. In other words,

> the acharya's indirect meaning is perhaps actually

> more his intended meaning!

>

> Desika's son Varadacharya comments that this sloka clearly

> brings out the direct meaning of the ashTAkshara mantra

> (mUlamantra) in the same order as the words of the

> mantra. If I read the commentary right, the explanation

> is as follows:

>

> "Om" in both the sloka and mantra refers to

> one's being a sesha to the Lord, a part of the Infinite

> that serves to enhance his glory. "namaH", according

> to the sloka, refers to one's complete dependence on

> Him and no one else. The word "nArAyaNAya" in the

> fourth or dative case refers to the highest goal

> of existence being service to Him.

>

> [ ataH paraM mUlamantrasthapadakrameNa Seshatvasahitam

> pAratantryaM prakASya nArAyaNa-padastha-caturthyabhipretaM

> kainkaryarUpaM purushArtham api viSadayati Om iti | ]

>

> Sri Madurantakam T.E. Veeraraghavachariar Swami, in

> his Tamil comments, refers to "Om" meaning directly

> the praNava:

>

> mUlamantrattiluLLa mUnRu padangaLaalE muRaiyE

> sEshatvamum, svaatantrya nivruttiyum, bhagavatkainkaryamum

> prakaasikkinRana. avaRRai idil visadamaaka aruLicceykiRaar.

>

> lakshmIkaantanaakiya SrIranganaathanE, praNavattil unakkE

> -> seshamivvaatmaa enRadai adE sollaalE "Om" enRu isainduLLEn.

> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

> "yaanE-enRanadE" enRuvarum ahankaara-mamakaarangaLE ajnaanangaL

> anaittukkum mudal vittu. avaRRait tuRandEn, nilaininRa

> eNNiRanda ellaiyilaada vibhUtigaLaiyum guNangaLaiyumudaiyIrgaL

> nIyum tirumagaLum. ungaLukku ekkaalattilum antaranga

> kainkaryangaL ceyyakkadavEn. ivaRRai adiyEn aayaasaminRiyE

> peRumpadiyaaka aruLavEndum.

>

> [ entire comment on this sloka (v.30, nyAsa tilakam) ]

>

> I think this sloka, along with the commentaries, demonstrates

> that the praNavam as OmkAra has been cited in a publicly

> recitable stotra by a pUrvAcArya.

>

> Mani

>

>

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