Introduction to Sankalpa Suryodaya of Sri Vedanta Desika--by Dr.NSA

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Namo Narayana

 

 

In Sanskrit, there are a number of allegorical dramas.

Of these, Prabodha Chandrodaya (PC) and Sankalpa

Suryodaya(SS) are the best known. PC, written by

Krishna Misra is devoted to the exposition of the

doctrine of Advaita philosophy. Krishna Misra is said

to have written this drama to teach the Advaita

doctrine to those who were interested in Kavya and not

philosophy. Sankalpa Suryodaya expoounds the doctrine

of Vishishtadvaita.

 

Before entering into a comparitive study of these two

plays, we will do well to understand the summary of

those plays and then devote ourselves to the

understanding of the doctrinal differences that are

depicted in these 2 plays.

 

The plot of Prabodha Chandrodaya:

 

The meaning of the term Prabodha Chandrodaya is

therising of the moon of spiritual knowledge.

"prabodha chandrodayasya udaya:" This is an

allegorical drama where different qualities take the

role of characters and appear before us. "purusha" is

the main character. According to Advaita, purusha is

identical with the Supreme Self or Brahman. 'maya' or

illusion is purusha's wife. 'manas' or mind is the son

of maya. This mind has 2 wives namely 'pravrtti' and

'nivrtti'.i.e.activity and renunciation. The issue of

'pravrtti' is 'mOha' or delusion whereas 'nivrtti'

gives birth to 'vivEka' or discremenation. The purusha

is bound by 'manas' assisted by 'ahankAra' or egoism.

'maya' deludes him.

 

How can this purusha be brought back to his real

nature"

It is only thro' the rise of knowledge (vidya) and

'prbodha' (spiritual awakening).

 

How can this knowledge arise?

Knowledge is possible only when the mind is quiet and

when there is discremenation. This discremenation is

to be united with the 'upanishads'.

 

How can this be achieved?

This can be achieved with the assistance of vishnu

bhakti.

 

The struggle bertween the two forces of the two sons

of the mind namely 'moha' and 'viveka' continues. The

followers of moha aree 'charvaka','kama', 'krodha',

'lobha'. 'charvaka' is a friend of moha. Kama krodha

and lobha are ministers. The 'mithyAdrsti' or error is

the wife of moha. 'vibhramavathi' is his wife's

friend. The wife of kama is rathi, of krodha is himsa

and of lobha is trsNA. They are all on the side of

moha.

 

The followers of viveka are as follows.

 

Reason or maathi and santosha or contentment are

friends. Enquiry into the reality of things or

'vastuvichara' is the servant and the others that

serve viveka are 'vishnubhakti', 'shanti', shraddha',

'kshama', karunA', 'upanishat' and others.

 

The battle ensues between these two forces. For

uniting with the upanishads, with the blessings of the

mind, vishnubhakti isalso honoured by manas. When the

mind becomes calm, the purusha gains his real nature.

When the mind has become quiet, the mind discards

'pravrtti, and nivrtti becomes his favourite.On

account of viveka and upanishads, purusha realises the

oneness of paramEswara. On account of the command of

vishnubhakti, nididhyasana (medidation) enters

purusha. At that moment, vidyaa bursts out of the

chest of manas and swallows moha and his followers and

disappears immediately. Now praabodha reigns supreme.

Purusha realises oneness with vishnu.

 

PLOT OF SANKALPA SURDODAYA:

 

WE will now briefly note the plot of Sankalpa

Suryodaya. Suryodaya means sunrise. Sankalpa means the

divine will to save man. So the meaning of this term

is :- dispelling the dark night of samsara by the will

of the Lord. This is here equated with sunrise.In this

drama also, qualities are different characters.They

are similar to the characters of prabodha chandrodaya.

There are certain additional characters also. For

e.g.'vyavasaya' (human effort), 'tarka' (logic).

Vyavasaya is the commander in chief of viveka. The

king and the queen working for the good are Viveka and

Sumathi. The opposite side is represented by

'Mahamoha' and 'Durmathi'. They fight against

goodness. Purusha is the battlefield for these warring

elementss. This can be compared to the forces of good

and evil mentioned in the case of Pandavas and

Kauravas. With the final victory of viveka, there will

be good. After the victory of Viveka, the Sankalpa

Suryodaya(divine will to save) arises and then the

Purusha attains moksha.

 

Viveka explains to Sumathi that the cause of samsara

is the 'avidya' or karma of the Purusha. Moksha or

liberation can be bestowed on Purusha only by

'Srimannarayana'. That grace of the Lord dawns on him

only when purusha gets rid of all his vices and

surrenders unto the Lord. For this, a guru is

absolutely essential. It is abssolutely essential to

have a proper understanding of the shastras in a

correct manner. So, one has to know the defects of

schools of thought to discard them. A discussion is

therefore necessary to refute the representatives of

vaarious schools. So, in this drama, a guru (Sri

Ramanuja) and shishya (Sri Vedanta Desika) are shown

as refuting the various view points of other schools

in the presence of Viveka and vyavasaya. This is

important as it expounds the authenticity of the

'siddhanta'. The conflict beetween 'rAga', dwEsha and

vairagya is pictured and vairagya succeeds.

Vishnubhakti and vairagya go to Viveka and help him to

gain his goal. Purusha can gain moksha only thro' the

grace of the Lord. The enemies like kama, krodha are

defeated. The Purusha has gained vairagya and

therefore dambha, darpa and others fail to entice him.

Now Purusha needs a suitable place for meditation of

the Supreme being . Viveka aassisted by tarka makes a

search of a suitable place for meditation throught the

country and come to Srirangam and find that

'Vrshagiri' and 'Hastigiri' are suitable places. But

Viveka realises that the best place for meditation is

the pure heart that is devoid of all impurities. The

next search is for a pure form of God for the

purusha's meditation. The several auspicious forms of

the Lord in various incarnations are thought to be

more appropriate. Now Purusha needs an acharya who has

to initiate the holy 'Moola mantra' and Purusha now

appears on the stage. The purusha with the help of

Viveka and Vishnubhakti gets rid of all his sins

thro'self surrender and wins the grace of the

Lord(Sankalpa Surya). He is now fit to attain the

highest abode thro' the archiradi. This is the short

summary of the play 'Sankalpa Suryodaya'.

 

Deep pranamams

Desikar thiruvadihale sharanam

dAsI

padmini

 

 

 

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