SrI deSika stotra-s - 16. SrI devanAyaka pa~ncAsat - Part 2.

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SrI deSika stotra-s - 16. SrI devanAyaka pa~ncASat - Part 2.

 

Among the great kalyANa guNa-s of bhagavAn that svAmi deSikan has flowing

through his mind as he meditates on bhagavAn's tirumeni, a few are given

below:

 

1. The dIpti or prakASam emanating from His kirITam excels the jyoti that

can result from 1000 Suns shining simultaneously. This prakASam removes the

aj~nAnam from the minds of His devotees, and at the same time proclaims to

the world His paratvam or Supremacy over all the other devatA-s

(deveSvaratvam - Slokam 16).

 

2. The sweet soothing natural smile in bhagavAn's face which shines like the

full moon in the background of His curly dark hair which resembles the

night, sets the ideal scene for meditation on Him and can remove all

afflictions resulting from samsAra (Slokam 17). The natural beauty of

bhagavAn's face with His beautiful red lips and lotus-like eyes is further

enhanced by the added decoration of His golden ear-rings which shed light on

this beautiful face, creating an atmosphere which rejoices the devotee's

mind (Slokam 18). The Urdhva-puNDram on bhagavAn's forehead looks like a

streak of lightning (except it is not transcient light lightning),

illuminating the dark-blue beauty of His forehead, or like an auspicious

dIpam that has been lit for the purpose of removing the aj~nAna in the minds

of the devotees who meditate on this (Slokam 20).

 

3. Nothing about bhagavAn is for His own Self, and everything He has is for

the benefit of His devotees. Thus, even His tiruc-cevi-s are only for

constantly being on the alert to listen to the pleadings from His devotees

and rush to help them (Slokam 21).

 

4. When svAmi deSikan looks at bhagavAn's beautiful eyes, he is reminded of

the just-blossomed beautiful lotus flowers. They express the happiness that

He gets when He sees His devotees. They look like they are doing kuSala

praSnam - enquiring the well-being and safety of His devotees. When His

eye-sight falls on us, it makes us feel like we have just been drenched by

the shower of soothing nectar on us, and it relieves us of all our tApa-s -

both of the body and the mind.

 

5. svAmi deSikan continues to have his great anubhavam of bhagavAn's

tirumeni which spills out in superb poetry by describing His makara

(fish-shaped) kuNDalam, His beautiful eyebrows which can bring anyone under

their sway and which must have served as the model which brahma used to

create the bow that manmathan uses to bring people under his sway, His

beautiful Divine Eyes which resemble the Milk-Ocean which can bestow

anything the devotee wishes for and which look at His bhakta-s with the

compassion that is superbly soothing and comforting, His beautiful nostrils

from which the veda-s emanated, etc., and ultimately starts describing

bhagavAn's appearance with the Sa~nkha, cakra, etc. in His Divine hands.

While the abhaya mudra in His right hand indicates His ever being ready to

protect those who surrender to Him, the Sa~nkha and cakra in His other hands

just keep reassuring the prapanna that any enemy to His devotee will be

severely dealt with (Sloka-s 30 and 31).

 

6. As svAmi deSikan is describing devanAyakap perumAL's rUpa soundaryam, he

is reminded of the purusha sUkatam declaration - candramA manaso jAtah, and

describes bhagavAn's manas whose attributes are limiltless: in addition to

being the birthplace of all the different moons that are created during each

cycle of creation, His Mind reflects the qualities of the moons that have

their origin there. Meditating on this Mind of His gives us the light that

removes our aj~nAnam (tamo-mathanam), lifts us from our shortcomings and

leads us to realization of Him (Asrita tArakam), purifies us through Its

purity (Suddham), showers His kindness on us because of Its coolness and

kindness to us (Ardram), and leads us to moksham (sumanasAm amr*tam duhAnam)

(Slokam 34).

 

7. When svAmi deSikan thinks of bhagavAn's udaram (stomach), he is reminded

of bhagavAn swallowing the three worlds at the time of pralaya and

protecting them inside His udaram till the start of the next cycle of

creation, and of brahma originating from His nAbhI-kamalam as the first in

His cycle of creation after the pralaya (Slokam 35).

 

8. The darSanam of bhagavAn's thighs in His tirumeni immediately reminds

svAmi deSikan of purusha sUkta's "UrU tadasya yad-vaiSyah" (the vaiSya jAti

originated from His thighs). In addition, according to the purANa-s the

beautiful UrvaSi also originated from these same thighs which also served as

the great bed where the asura kings met their final end (referring to

hiraNyakaSipu, madhu, kaiTapa, etc.) and as the head-rest for His devi-s

(Slokam 38).

 

9. The darSanam of His Sacred Feet (tiruvaDi) reminds svAmi deSikan of the

incident of ahalyA Sapa vimocanam, and also the incident involving bhagavAn

entering uttarA's body and giving life back to the charred ashes of

parIkshit's body by the touch of His Sacred Feet. These are the same Feet

that are constantly served by bhU-devi and SrI-devi (Slokam 41).

 

bhakti vs. prapatti:

 

In Slokam 47, svAmi deSikan re-emphasizes the simplicity and efficacy of the

praptti mArga compared to the bhakti yoga, which we have seen over and over

again in the previous stotra-s we have covered. Bhakti yoga requires

specialized knowledge, effort, persistence, birth in the ASrama consistent

with the required observances, etc., and is not guaranteed to bear fruit in

this birth. On the other hand, prapatti mArga just depends on exactly the

full and unconditional recognition, realization, and acceptance of the lack

of any competency to liberate ourselves from the bondage of samsAra through

any means other than His dayA, and surrender to His Feet with this

realization as the only capital in our possession. This is guaranteed to

bear fruit in this birth itself, with no other constraint such as the birth

etc. If one compares the individual who pursues the bhakti yoga with one

who follows the prapatti mArga and has unconditionally surrendered the

responsibility for his soul to bhagavAn, svAmi deSikan declares that the

greatness of the former is not even one-one hundred crore part of the

greatness of the latter (Note that this statement is made to emphasize the

relative ease and greatness of prapatti mArga, and is not meant to speak low

of bhakti mArga).

 

It is important for us to understand that we belong to bhagavAn, and should

always be serving Him and nothing else. Anyone who thinks he/she is

independent is committing thievery of His property. As His property, we

should realize that He and He alone can protect us, and surrender all

responsibility for our protection unto Him. It is with this clear

realization that we should surrender our soul to Him (Atma samarpaNam, bhara

nyAsam, prapatti). Even though we steal His property and assume

independence for ourselves and act as we like, the moment we realize our

great apacAram and surrender to Him, His Immense kindness towards us makes

Him accept us and give His protection (Sloma 49).

 

The bhAvam with which we should lead our lives and surrender to bhagavAn is

seen in Slokam 50, where svAmi deSikan appeals to bhagavAn's dayA: "I am

the personification of aj~nAnam; I am the foremost among sinners; I have

violated the SAStra-s laid down by You repeatedly; I have done nothing that

qualifies me for Your Mercy. In fact, these are precisely my qualifications

that make me the ideal candidate for You to protect, since nothing else can

salvage me who is beyond redemption by anyone else. You can't find anyone

better than me to offer Your protection, and so please accept me under Your

Feet and protect me!". We have in nyAsa daSakam - nyasyAm-aki~ncana SrIman

anukUo"nya-varjitah | viSvAsa prArthanA pUrvam Atma-rakshA bharam tvayi ||

 

svAmi deSikan summarizes the stotram in the last Slokam (Slokam 53),

reminding us again about the innumerable kalyAna guNa-s of bhagavAn. He is

without any flaws, the God of all gods, the Cause of all that exists, has

existed and will exist, the Only One who can give relief from the cycle of

births, and most of all, One whose promise of protection to those who

surrender to Him is always true - niravadhi guNa-jAtam niya-nirdosham Adyam

narak mathana dakshm nAkinAm eka-nAtham vinata vishaya satyam).

 

-dAsan kr*shNamAcAryan