Experiencing Swami Desika - 42

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SrI:

Shrimate Shri Lakshmi Nrusimha Parabrahmane Namaha:

Shrimate Shri Seetha Ramachandra Parabrahmane Namaha:

Shrimate Shri Ramanujaya Namaha:

Shrimate Nigamantha Maha Desikaya Namaha:

Shrimate Shrivan Satagopa Shri Narayana Yateendra Mahadesikaya Namaha:

 

"SrimAn VenaktanAthArya: kavithArkika kEsarI!

VedAnthAchArya varyO mE sannidhatthAM sadhA hrudhi"!!

 

Shri Kumara Varadarya and Shri Prativadi Bhayankaram Annan

saw Swami Desika as an avataara of our Lord Shri Vishnu.

We saw this in our earlier postings. Shri Kumara Varadarya

sees our Swami as an avataara of Lord VenkatEsA and

addresses Swami as VenkatEsA vadArOyam. A Sloka in

Sankalpa Sooryodayam complements this thought.

 

Many learned scholars accept Swami Desika as

Lord Vishnu's Avataara. This can be seen in the

following Sloka:

 

"vidyAranyO vividam

venkatasoorai: vishotya vairAgyam

yam vishnOravatAram mene

seve tamAgamAntagurum"

 

-- vaibavaprakashika.

 

It is a fact that our Swami impressed one and all

during his time and after. Our Swami's contemporaries

and successors held our Swami in awe and were spell-

bound on realising Swami's superior knowledge and service

to humanity. They learnt from our Swami's works and

discourses in Sanskrit and Tamil and were sure that

our Swami was an avataara of either Lord VenkatEsA or

of Bhagavad Ramanuja.

 

There are other devotees who revere our Swami as our

Sriya:Pathi's sacred bell - the bell that brings in

the best and keeps up with Lord.

 

"Utpreksyate budha-janaih upapatti - bhuma

ghanto hareh samajanista yadat maneti"

 

-- Sankalpa Sooryodayam (Act 1. 14)

 

"It is considered by wise men that the bell of Hari

was born as Vedanta Desika. This is done on the

strength of abundant and appropriate reasons."

 

Shri Dindima Kavi, a junior contemporary of our Swami

Desika, pays his tribute to Swami as follows:

 

"vEdEsanjata-khede muni jana vacane prapta nityAvamAne

sankIrne sarva varne sati tadanugunNe nishpramaNe purANe !

mAyAvAde samOde kali kalusa vasat sunya vAde vivAde

Dharma trAnAya yo bhut sa jayati bhagavan Vishnu ghantavatAra:!!"

 

 

"There was confusion all around as a result of the

turbid nature of Kaliyuga;

the Vedas were in great distress

(because of misinterpretation);

wise sayings of seers were completely ignored;

there was an unholy intermixture of all castes;

and quite in consonance with this sorry state,

all the sacred epics lost their validity;

the mAyAvAdA was in all glee;

and the school of nihilism was having undisputed

acceptance by all.

 

It was at this critical juncture that Sri Vedanta Desika

came into this world as an incarnation of the great

ringing bell of Lord Shri Vishnu for the establishment and

protection of Dharma. He shines all victorious".

 

The mahans during Swami's times state that Swami's

avataaram is vilakshanam. Swami himself points this

out as:

 

"Avataara rahasya jnannargal, padmAsanena

parichaaravidhou prayuktA

utprekshyatE puta janai: upapattiboomnA kantA

hare: samajanishta yatAtmanEti"

 

-- Sankalpa sooryodaya

 

Elders say that this Sloka from Sankalpa Sooryodaya

confirms that the Lord's bell - the bell that is used

for Sriya:Pathi's Thiruvaradana - has taken the birth

of our Swami. In line with this many mahans wish thus:

 

"Thirumalai mAl ThirumaniyAy sirakka vandOn vayiye"

 

Ofcourse, there are other Mahans who emphatically state

that it is Lord Shri VenkatEsA who has arrived as our

Swami Desikan.

 

 

"Kavi Taarkika Simhaaya Kalyaana guna SaalinE!

SrimatE VenkateshAya VedAnta Gurave nama !!"

 

....To be continued!

 

 

dEsikan tiruvaDigaLE SaraNam

 

Praveena nAmni Ramanuja dasi

25th Oct 1999