SrI deSika stotra-s - 12. SrI vegAsetu stotram.

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SrI deSika stotra-s - 12. SrI vegA setu

stotram.

 

vegA-setu means "the dam for the river vegavati". This name arises

for the Lord in the kshetram called tiru-vehkA since He lies across the

river vegavati like a dam. The Lord is also called yathokta-kAri in

samskr*t, and its equivalent in tamizh, "Sonna vaNNam Seyda perumAL", or

"One who did as He was told". The history behind this is that once

tirumazhiSai AzhvAr requested bhagavAn to pack up his snake bed and move

out of kA~nci because of the local king's insult to a bhakta. BhagavAn did

exactly what He was told. When BhagavAn moved out of the king's land,

there were immediate signs of impending darkness and suffering in the

kingdom. The king realized his mistake and begged forgiveness from the

AzhvAr. AzhvAr forgave the king, and asked perumAL to return back, unfold

His snake bed and lie down again in His old place, and bhagavAn heeded this

request as well, and the kingdom returned to normalcy again. Thus the Lord

in this kshetram is fondly called yathokta-kAri.

 

Like hasti-giri, tiruvehkA is also a svayam-vyakta kshetram. We learned in

SrI varadarAja pa~ncASat that varadarAjap perumAL is on a small hill called

hasti-giri, and appeared there in response to brahma's aSva medha yAgam.

We may recall from the write-up of the sthala-purANa-s of these temples that

when sarasvati rushed in the form of vegavati river to obstruct brahma's

yAga prior to its completion, perumAL just lied down on His snake bed in the

path of the river, and sarasvati subsided and went underground. Thus

bhagavAn protected brahma's yAga in this instance, and stayed here in this

arcA-mUrti form in response to brahma's request.

 

In the short 10 Sloka-s of this stotra, svAmi deSikan points out the

following key aspects of bhagavAn:

 

1. He is like a dam that helps the cetana-s in crossing the Ocean of samsAra

(eshah setuh gamayitum pAram IshTe - Slokam 2). This is the vegA-setu

aspect of this perumAL. In fact, svAmi deSikan refers to bhagavAn as vishNu

setuh in Slokam 4, and as jagadeka setuh - The only dam that can help

cetana-s, in Slokam 3.

 

svAmi deSikan emphasizes the aspect of bhagavAn being a dam that helps in

crossing the ocean of samsAra in other stotra-s as well. Thus in dayA

Satakam Slokam 87, he points out that in His rAma incarnation He created the

setu to cross the ocean to get into Lanka, which is in itself a great act of

compassion on His part. The very sight of the setu or dam is sufficient to

remove all the sins - prakr*shTa bahu-pAtaka praSama hetunA setunA.... In

SrI varadarAja pa~ncAsat, he refers again to the very sight of the dam that

was created by Lord rAma being able to lead the cetana-s to cross the ocean

of samsAra (Slokam 25 - tam vIkshya setum adhunA'pi SarIravantah sarve

shadUrmi bahuLam jaladhim taranti).

 

2. He is One who subjugates Himself to His devotees, and does whatever His

bhakta-s want Him to do. (bhaktimatAm yathoktakArI - Slokam 5; Srita jana

para tantram - Slokam 7; SaraNam upagatAnAm AdeSa kArI - One who obeys the

orders of those who have surrendered to Him- Slokam 8; bhakta anugantuh -

One who follows His devotees - Slokam 6). The response of perumAL to

tirumazhiSai AzhvAr's request to role down His snake bed and get out of

kA~nci, and later to return back to kA~nci, has already been covered in the

previous write-up on the sthalapurANam of this kshetram. This is the

yathoktakAri aspect of this perumAL.

 

An alternate interpretation for the name 'yathoktakArI' is that bhagavAn

will give moksham to those who have surrendered to Him as He has declared in

His rAma and kr*shNa incarnations.

 

3. He removes all obstacles that face His devotees. This is illustrated by

His protecting brahma's yAga against the ferocious force of vegavati.

(praSamita hayamedha vyApadam padmayoneh - Slokam 7). Also in Slokam 8 we

have Him described as sarva jantoh Samayati paritApam - One who removes the

sorrows of all beings.

 

4. Surrendering to bhagavAn not only ensures moksham at the end of this

life, but it quells the unrest caused by the waves of samsAra while the

cetana still spends the rest of his life in this world. The prapanna leads

a life of bliss in this world by dedicating himself completely to the

service of the Lord (samsAra jaladhi kallolAn praSamayati - Slokam 3). In

Slokam 6, bhagavAn is described as "pratyAdiSanti prajAnAm bhava sa~ncaraNam

- One who puts an end to the wanderings of people in the ocean of samsAra.

 

5. vegAsetu perumAL appeared first, followed by varadan later according to

the kshetra purANa-s. svAmi deSikan nicely interprets this as Lord first

appearing as vegAsetU peru.mAL in the form of upAyam or the means, and then

the same Lord appearing as Lord varadarAja in the form of result (phala) -

Slokam 1. Another way he enjoys the vaibhavam of these two arcA-mUrti-s is

by crediting vegAsetu perumAL as One who removes the obstacles of His

devotees (in this case the obstacels to brahma's yAga), so that varada can

concentrate on His job of bestowing the devotees' wishes (e.g., by

appearing as a pratyaksham to brahma according to His wishes) - Slokam 8.

 

In conclusion, svAmi deSikan points out that worshipping vegAsetu perumAL

will lead to bhagavAn fulfilling the wishes of the devotees, as well as

giving moksham in accordance with bhagavAn's own declaration in His rAma and

kr*shNa incarnations.

 

-dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan