Pleadings-Posting - 1 (2.1 to 2.2)

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SwAmi VEdAnta DEsika's "NaichyAnusanthAnam" and "SAtvika ThyAgam "

(As gleaned from his StOtras.) - Part 2- Swami pleads

Pleadings-Posting - 1 (2.1 to 2.2)

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Dear Bhagavatas

Hope you empathized with the mood of anguish of SwAmi Desika posted so far.

We now, pass on to see how our SwAmi pours his heart out pleading to the Lord

and how we should feel one with him in our own cases.

Come. Let us join our SwAmi in pleading through his words.

Dasoham

Anbil Ramaswamy

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[As already mentioned in the Introduction, the NaichyAnusanthAnam is

applicable to us only and NOT to Swami Desika, we have to substitute

ourselves wherever Swami Desika extrapolates these to himself]

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2.1."YOU ARE THE HOME FOR THE DESTITUTE"

 

nAnAvidhAnAm agathih kalAnAm

na chApi theerthEshu krithAvathArah /

dhruvam thava anAtha parigrahAyAh am

navam pAtram aham dayAyAh //

(Hayagriva Stotram- SlOkam 30)

 

Meaning

"I am not proficient in arts nor have I learned anything. You are known to

shelter the destitute. So, you must consider me as one deserving your

sympathy"

 

Comment:

In this and following slOkas, Swami pleads to the Lord to save him citing

various reasons. In this one, he characterizes the Lord as a huge "Helpage

Home" for the destitute.

 

SwAmi implies that His mercy can have any meaning only in the case of the

destitute that have no qualifications. It is no big deal if mercy saves those

who have some qualification.

 

In fact, paradoxically, it is the lack of any qualification (to adopt other

means) is *the only* qualification to deserve Lord's mercy.

 

ManavALa MAmunigal in his Arthi Prabandham (14) echoes the same sentiment

when he says:

"adhikAram unDEl arangar iranguvArO?

adhikAram illAthavarkkanrO - ethirAja!

nee iranga vENDuvathu? neeyum adhikArikaLukkE

irangil en seyvOm yAm?

 

2.2. "TAKE WHATEVER I HAVE DONE AS APPROPRIATE"

 

yad adhya mitha buddhinAbahuLa mOhabhAjA mayA

guna grathitha kAya vAAng manasa vrittivaichitriyatah /

atharkitha hithAhitha krama visEsham AarabhyathE

thadapi uchitham archanam parigrihANa rangEswara //

(Abheethi Sthavam SlOkam 3)

 

Meaning:

"Oh! Rangeswara!

My knowledge is nil; My illusion is worse; my ignorance is abysmal; My mind,

word and deed are bound by the three gunas of Satva, Rajo and Tamas which

drag my mind, speech and deed in different directions into the clutches of

kAma, krOdha, lObha, mOha, madha , mAtsarya etc. I am afraid even this

attempt of mine to celebrate your glory is part of these forces only because

I am not doing this with any clarity of thought that only singing your praise

is good (hitam) and all else is bad. You have to accept even this as the

proper act of worship (uchitham archanam)"

 

Comment:

The Abheethi Sthavam proper starts with this SlOkam since the first two dealt

with the six auspicious qualities of the Lord. Here he refers to the six

disqualifications he suffers from due to the mischief played by the trigunas.

He is afraid that even this attempt is impelled by the temporary display of

sathvam in the mixture of the Trigunas. As Periyazhwar puts it in his

Tirumozhi 5-1-3 "nanmai theemaigal onrum ariyEn" he says that it is by chance

that he started praising the Lord. AlavandAr in SlOka 59 at the end of

StOtraratna expresses similar sentiments saying that the hymns came not from

his heart but were tainted by rajas and tamas and beseeched the Lord to

accept his words though worthless out of sheer compassion.

 

2.3. "CAN ANYONE OBJECT?"

 

vishAdabahulAd aham vishaya vargatO durjayAth

bibEmi vrijinOttaras tvad anubhoothi vcichedatah/

mayA niyatha nAthavAn Ayam ithi tvam arthapayan

dayAdhana jagadpathE dayitha ranga samraksh mAm //

(Abheethi Sthavam SlOkam 17)

 

Meaning

'Oh! Ranga! I am constantly committing countless sins. The so-called worldly

pleasures are in reality only painful. I am afraid that I cannot overcome

these impediments to reach you. Only you have to show mercy and protect me.

Nobody can object if you do this because you can always explain saying 'Since

he has surrendered to me, it is my duty to protect him'"

 

Comment:

Swami reflects the fear and helplessness which all of us feel at some time or

other. It is a cry of distressed heart (vishAdam) like what is commented upon

Nammazhwar as "aartha dwaniyAlE koopidugirAr". (kanDu kETTuutru mOndhu uNDu

uzhalum aingkaruvi kaNDA inbam" etc)

 

2.4. "I AM A SUCKLING BABY"

 

api nikhila lOka sucharitha mushTindhaya duritha moorchanAjushTam /

sanjeevayathu dayE mAm anjana giri nAtha ranjanee bhavathi //

(DayA Sathakam-SlOkam 12)

 

Meaning

"Oh! DayA DEvi!

Let me tell you the magnitude of sins committed by me. The amount of my sins

would far outweigh the totality of both Punya and Papa of all the rest in the

world. My Papam is so powerful as to gobble up in one gulp all this totality

in a trice. Like a mother who would use soothing medicinal herbs to heal the

ailments of her suckling baby, you who are living in TiruvEnkaTa hills full

of emollient herbs should administer them and remove my sins and make this

baby of yours worthy of your consort, Lord Srinivasa, the supreme

incomparable doctor.

 

Comment:

In this and the next two instances, Swami likens himself to a suckling baby

and pleads for the mother's protection.

 

(To Continue)

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