SrI deSika stotra-s - 17. SrI acyuta Satakam - Part 2.

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SrI deSika stotra-s - 17. acyuta Satakam - Part 2.

 

6. avatAra rahasyam:

 

(Slokam 31): Why did bhagavAn take so many incarnations among us?

svAmi deSikan reminds us of Lord krshNa's declaration in the gItA

(4.8) - partitrANAya sAdhUnAm vinASAya ca durkrtAm, dharma

samsthApanArthAya sambhavAmi yuge yuge - through his Slokam 31.

vipaksha nikshapita - for the destruction of the enemies of His

devotees, samsthApia parama dharmAh - establishment of the best of

dharma-s, and sAdhu paritrANa - for the protection of the good. SrI

rAmadeSikAcArya svAmi observes that while bhagavAn could have done all

this while being in SrI vaikunTham itself, He really wanted to be with

us in form, and show us how to be a good son, a good husband, a good

friend, etc., and it is His souSIlyam that made Him take all these

incarnations - just for the sake of His devotees.

 

7. The Importance of worshipping the arcA mUrti in Temples:

 

The question can be asked - why should we worship the form of bhagavAn

in the temples - the arcA mUrti? svAmi deSikan gives a simple analogy.

When a treasure is hidden underground, people walk on it without

knowing its location. There are those who are called siddha-s, who can

provide a dark collerium which can be applied in the eyes and which

will then help identify the location of the treasures. BhagavAn's true

nature - His divya Atma svarUpam - is not realizable except through His

own Grace, and is like the treasure hidden from our reach. But if we

keep worshipping the dark arcAmUrti of bhagavAn with devotion

uninterruptedly, this will serve like the dark collerium that will help

in ultimately realizing the divya Atma svarUpam of bhagavAn over time.

(Slokam 45).

 

The bhakta-s are so moved by having the sevA of bhagavAn's tirumeni in

temples that they shed tears of joy and their whole body experiences

extreme excitement (kadamba goLa nibha kaNTakAyamAna nijAgnAn - with

mayirk-kuccu - hairs standing erect on the body like budding kadamba

flowers -58).

 

8. BhagavAn's tirumeni:

 

svAmi deSikan briefly describes devarAjap perumAL's tirumeni through 10

Sloka-s (34 to 43) in this stotra. We have seen the similar anubhavam

of svAmi deSikan in a few of his stotra-s before e.g., through 11

Sloka-s in SrI bhagavad dhyAna sopAnam and through 30 Sloka-s in SrI

devanAyaka pancAsat.

 

BhagavAn's tiru mukham resembles the moon, His kirITam is like the Sun,

and His beautiful dark hair resembles the darkness of the night. How

is it possible for the Sun, the moon, and the darkness to co-exist

simultaneously? svAmi deSikan's beautiful anubhavam - bhagavAn is the

aghaTitaghaTanA Saktan - He is One who can make impossible things

happen (Slokam 34).

 

BhagavAn's beautiful face far exceeds the beauty of the full moon, and

His eyes resemble the just-blossomed lotus flowers. Meditating on His

divine face will remove even the sins committed knowingly, and serve as

the prAyaScitta (remedy) for these sins (Slokam 35). The sight of His

divine shoulders reminds svAmi deSikan of the might of these shoulders

under which the different gods including brahma (vidhi pramukha deva

janah) have sought refuge (Slokam 37). Having the darSanam of

bhagavAn's tiru udaram (belly) reminds svAmi deSikan of His saving all

the brahmANDa-s in His stomach during the pralaya. His navel reminds

him of the creation of brahma in a lotus flower from the nAbhIkamalam

(Slokam 38).

 

Looking at bhagavAn's deep red pItAmbaram, svAmi deSikan meditates on

bhagavAn's acts of crushing the asura-s madhu and kaiTabha, and the

resulting profuse stream of blood soaking into bhagavAn's pItAmbaram

and thus imparting this deep red color (Slokam 40). The mekhalA

(waist-band) kindles memories of the great chain that has been put

around bhagavAn the manmathan like a chain around a mad elephant (the

rasam here is that those who meditate on this mekhalA of bhagavAn will

be relieved of the pursuit of trivial pleasures in this world - SrI

rAmadeSikAcArya svAmi).

 

In SrI devanAyaka pancAsat svAmi deSikan's anubhavam of the darSanam of

bhagavAn's Divine thighs was that they were the death-bed for the cruel

asura-s such as hiraNyakaSipu. In the current Slokam his anubhavam is

that they are like the strong pillars that support the mansion where

the three worlds are stored (reference to bhagavAn's stomach being the

heavy mansion where all the worlds rest at the time of pralaya) (Slokam

41).

 

The darSanam of bhagavAn's Lotus Feet reminds svAmi deSikan of the

sacred gangA flowing from His Feet during the time of His trivikrama

incarnation and sanctifying all the three worlds, and their offering

protection to anyone who surrenders to them (Slokam 43).

 

9. We Always Belong to Him and Are Never Independent:

 

We have to realize that we are His possession and belonging and are not

independent, and are always subservient to Him who is the Supreme Lord.

We are like a wooden doll which has been tied by the ropes of the

three guNa-s, sattva, rajas, and tamas, and bhagavAn alone can release

us from this bondage (82). We came across this same concept in SrI

devanAyaka pancAsat earlier (Slokam 8 - sUtrAnubaddha Sakuni kramatah).

 

-To be continued.

 

-dAsan krshNamAcAryan

 

 

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