Sri NaarayaNIyam : the 99th and the 100th Dasakams

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Some four hundred years ago, a great BhakthA from KeraLA

by the name of Sri NaarAyaNa Bhattadhiri composed

a grantham , which is the essence of Srimadh BhAgavatham .

He placed it at the lotus feet of the Lord of GuruvAyUr

and received the Lord's poorna Sampath .

 

Srimadh Bhaagavatham or the Holy Book of Bhagavaan houses

3,946 slOkams in Twelve cantos. Sri Bhattadhiri used little

more than 1,000 verses to condense the essence of Srimadh

BhAgavatham in his grantham ; after his recitation of each slOkam

in front of the Lord of GuruvAyUr, the Lord nodded His head to indicate

His approval of the incidents described by His BhakthA in that

slOkam as authentic. The Lord provided AngIkAram to the query of

Bhattadhiri : " Is that how it happened ? " .He nodded

thru the movement of His head and indicated it was

a correct description .This Bhaktha -Bhagavath sambhAshaNai

is the heart of Sri NaarAyaNIyam .

 

These 1,000 plus slOkams sanctified by the Lord Himself form

a great khAvyam on Sri KrishNa Bhakthi contain gems dealing with

the Tattva Thrayam .The most important among the 100 dasakams

of Sri NaarayaNIyam are the last two (99th and the 100th )

dasakams (decads). They are related to the 12th canto of

Srimadh BhAgavatham ,whose theme is the apAsrayam

(ultimate support )aspect of Sri KrishNA .The 99th Dasakam

is Veda Saaram and the 100th Dasakam houses the ecstatic

description of the athi-adhbhutha soundharyam of Sri KrishNan

( GuruvAyUrappan ) as Sri VaikuntanAthan as seen

by Sri NaarAyaNa Bhattadhiri inside the garbha graham of

the Lord of GuruvAyUr .

 

The final slOkam of the 100th decad (the 1034th sLokam )

contains the aparAdha KshAmaNam of this KrishNa bhakthan

for any apachArams to the Lord and includes a prayer for

all devotees reciting Sri NaarAyaNIyam to be blessed

with long life , auspiciousness and perfect health.

Sri GuruvAyurappan is known as Kaliyuga Varadhan

and performs miracles every day at GuruvAyUr.

Sri GuruvAyUrappan has Sriman NaarAyaNa LakshaNam

in His archA form with His four hands adorning

the divine disc , conch, a Lotus flower and the Mace.

 

AdiyEn will summarize the meanings of these 20 slOkams

of the last two decads and comment on them .These are

the two most auspicious decads and their PaarAyaNam

will confer great blessings leading to ceaseless

rememberance of the Lord , wherever we happen to be

in His LeelA Vibhuthi .

 

99th Dasakam : Asking for the boon of Residence in Sri Vaikuntam

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The First slOkam is the essence ofthe following Rg Veda

manthrams ( excerpts from the First ashtakam , second adhyAyam ,

24th vargam : Rg Vedam I.154.1 ,4 and 5 )quoted below .

We recognize them as part of the VishNu Sooktha manthrams:

 

VishNOrnukam veeryANi pravOcham ya: paarthivAni vimamErajAmsi

yO askabhAyadhuttharam sadhastham vichakramANas trEdhOrugAya:

--Rg Vedam I.154.1

 

(Meaning ): Intensely I eulogize the mighty deeds of

the all-pervading Lord , who has created the terrestrial

bodies , who is lauded earnestly and who upholds the vast

cosmos , distinguished by its three kinds of movement as Agni

on the earth, Vaayu in the midspace and AdithyA in the sky.

 

Yasya thripUrNA madhunA padAnyakshIyamANA svadhayA madhanthi

ya u thridhAthu prithvim utha dhyAmEkO dhAdhAra bhuvanAni VisvA

--Rg Vedam : I.154.4

 

(Meaning ): I glorify the One in whose "imperishable ,

delightful and self-ordained three regions " thrives and

rejoices the World , and who singly upholds the terrestrial

and the celestial regions with its three fold elements.

 

tadhasya priyamapi paathO asyAm narO yathra dEvayavO madhanthi

urukramasya sa hi bandhur itthA VishNO: padhE paramE madhva utsa:

--Rg Vedam I.154.5

 

(meaning ): May I be blessed to reside in that enviable

position of His (Sri Vaikuntam ) , where the Godly and virtuous

mukthAs find delight . In that exalted station of this

all-pervading Lord (VishNu , the sarva vyApi ), there is a

eternal fountain of felicity and our Lord stays there

forever as a friend of the earnestly active . This parama padham

is the highest step of the wide-striding VishNu as Thrivikraman.

 

Now we can relate these Veda Manthrams to the first slOkam

of the 99th Dasakam , where Sri Bhattadhiri prays for the boon

of Sri Vaikunta Vaasam from the Lord of GuruvAyUr:

 

VishNOrveeryANi kO vaa kathayathu dharaNE kasccha rENUnmimIthE

yasyavAngri thrayENa thrijaghadhabhimitham mOdhathE poorNa sampath

yOsou visvAni dhatthE priyamiha paramam dhAma tasyAbhiyAyaam

tadhbhakthA yathra mAdhyanthyamrutha rasamarandhathya yathra pravAha:

 

(Meaning reflecting the essence of the above Rg Veda manthrams):

 

Oh GuruvAyUrappA ! Who indeed can adequately describe

the valor and glories of VishNu , whose three steps

measured the three universes and made them filled with

the greatest wealth and auspiciousness and who upholds

the celestial and terrestrial and the in-between regions

through His parAkramam ?Who can indeed count the number

of dust particles of the Universe accurately ? Such indeed

is the futility of the effort to describe adequately

the full dimensions of the paraakramam of Yours .

Further , May I be blessed by You to attain Your

Sri Vaikunta Lokam even in this birth , where Your

dear devotees reside and where the eternal fountain

flows with the honey of amrutham .

 

Sri GuruvAyurappan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam .

Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan