Sri VenaktEsa Prapatthi: Part 1

[Guest guest]

Dear Sri SrinivAsa BhakthAs :

 

Prapatthi or the surrender of one's self at

the feet of Sriman NaarAyaNaa is a fundamental

doctrine of Sri VaishNavam. The performance of

Prapatthi is for attaining Moksha Siddhi

and for not returning to the cycles of

births and deaths ( apunarAvrutthi ).

 

Our AzhwArs and AchAryAs have established that

aakinchanyathvam ( recognition of one's utter

helplessness to practise Bhakthi, Karma and

Jn~Ana yOgams ), ananyagathithvam ( total

dependence on the Lord and Lord alone for

one's salvation)are the two essential requisites

to perform successful Prapatthi .It is in

this context Sri AlavandhAr declared in

his sthOthra rathnam :

 

aakinchanO ananyagathi: SaraNya !

Tvath Paadhamoolam SaraNam prapadhyE

 

(meaning): Oh My Saviour ! adiyen offers my

Prapathti at your lotus feet as a totally

helpless one with no recourse other than You .

 

AchArya RaamAnujA following the foot steps

of AlavandhAr declared in his Sri Vaikunta

Gadhyam :

 

anAgathAnantha kaala-samIkshyAapyadhrushta -

samthArOpAya: -nikila janthu jAtha SaraNya!

SrImann! NaarAyaNa ! tava charaNAravindha yugaLam

SARANAM AHAM PRAPATHYE

 

(meaning ): I perform SaraNAgathi at the feet

of the Lord with the full conviction that adiyEn

has no recourse other than this deed to gain

mOkshAnugraham ; adiyEn knows that there is no other

means even if adiyEn waits for thousands of kalpams

(aeons) except to complete prapatthi at Your sacred feet .

 

Swamy Desikan , who extolled the greatest kalyaNaguNam of

the Lord as DayA and visualized that GuNam as one

of His five devis revealed to us the significance of

Prapatthi for a Sri VaishNavan :

 

Santha: SrIsam svatanthra prapadhana -

vidhinA mukthayE nirvisankaa:

 

(meaning ): The great ones without any doubt

approach the Lord of MahA Lakshmi to gain

Moksha Siddhi through the prescribed route of

Savtanthra Prapatthi ( Prapatthi that is performed

without Bhakthi as an angam ).

 

Many indeed are the Sri Sookthis that have

been bequeathed to us by our AchAryAs that

describe their Prapatthis to the presiding

deities of Srirangam , Kaanchipuram ,

ThiruviNNagar and Thiruppathi .

 

Sri VenaktEsa prapatthi belongs to this tradition

of sacred works that performs Prapatthi to the Lord

of the seven hills . The author is a key dsiciple

of the great AchAryA , MaNavALa MaamunigaL. There

are sixteen slOkAs in this Sri Sookthi . The first

slOkam offers Prapatthi to Sri MahA Lakshmi in

the time honored tradition of Sri VaishNavam . Rest

of the slOkams address their appeal to Sri VenaktEsA

and beseech His divine grace to accept this AchAryA's

Prapatthi . The general meanings of these sixteen

slOkams are given below along with the text of

these slOkams :

 

(1) IsAnAm jagathOsya Venkatapather-

VishNO: parAm PrEyasIm

Tadh vakshalsthala nithyavaasa rasikAm-

tathkshAnthi samvardhinIm I

PadhmAlankrutha paaNi pallava yugAM-

PadmAsanasthAm Sriyam

VaathsalyAdhi-guNojvalAm BhagavathIm-

VandhE Jaganmaatharam II

 

(Meaning): Sri AlamelumangA is the Mother of all

the universes and their beings . She resides always

on the chest of Sri VenkatEsA and is His dearest consort.

Through Her proximity to Her Lord with Her eteranl

residence on His chest , She enhances the compassion

for us , the errring-jeevans . Our Mother , Sri

Alamelumanga is seated on a lotus and carries two

lotus flowers on Her tender lotus-stalk like hands.

She is reputed for Her benovolent qualities such as

affection and compassion for us , Her children .

After bowing to Her and obtaining Her blessings ,

adiyEn approaches my Father, Lord SrinivAsA without

any fear to perform Prapatthi at His sacred feet .

 

(2) Srimann KrupaajalanidhE krutha SarvalOka

Sarvag~na Saktha Nathavathsala sarvasEshin I

Swaminn Suseela SulabhAsritha Paarijatha

Sri VenkatEsa CharaNou SaraNam prapadhyE

 

(meaning): Oh Lord of MahA Lakshmi ! Oh Ocean of

Mercy !You pervade all universes. You are

the witness to all happenings in this and other

universes and as such You are aware of every thing.

You are omnipotent . You treasure those , who seek

Your holy feet . You are the ultimate and residual

entity of every thing. You are indeed the undisputed

Supreme Lord. You come to the rescue of those ,

who call out to You in their states of utter

helplessness. You serve as the cool boon-granting

PaarijAthA tree to those , who surrender themselves

at Your sacred feet . Therfore , adiyEn also performs

the SaraNAgathi at Your divine feet .

 

(3) aanUpurArpitha sujAtha sugandhi pushpa-

sourabhya sourabhakarou samasannivEsou I

soumyou sadhAnbhavanEapi navaanubhAvaou

Sri VenkatEsa ChaaraNou SaraNam PrapadhyE II

 

(Meaning ): Oh Lord of Venkatam hills! Devotees place at

Your holy feet fragrant flowers during their worship.

That assembly of flowers reach up to Your ankles and

cover the ornaments adorning Your ankles .As a result

of their association with Your holy feet , the fragrance of

these flowers get multiplied manyfold. Although adiyEn

worships Your tender flower-covered feet everyday ,

adiyEn's enjoyment of Your sacred feet increases

day by day. AdiyEn is never satiated by the thought of

Your divine feet; on the contrary , the glory of Your

sacred feet enhances adiyEn's desire to worship them even

more every day. Those paadha kamalams are a delight

to adiyEn's eyes and mind. AdiyEn offers now my Prapatthi

at those sacred feet of Yours.

 

(4) sadhyO vikAsi samudhithvara saandhrarAga-

sourabhya nirbhara sarOruha saamyavArthAm I

samyakshu saahasapadhEshu vilEkhayanthou

Sri VenkatEsa CharaNou SaraNam prapadhyE II

 

(Meaning ): Oh Sri VenaktEsA ! Lotus flowers might be

the best among all the flowers because of their

tenderness , fragrance and color.It is not however

correct to equate the beauty of Your feet to them .

It would indeed be a gross exaggeration to compare

the lotus flower to the benevolent attributes of Your

holy feet . Such attempted comparisons are indeed

the foolish efforts of ignorant poets , who do not

understand the magnitude of greatness of Your divine

Paadha kamalms. Indeed , there is nothing in the world

that can come near the unique auspicousness of Your

sacred feet. AdiyEn performs my prapatthi at those

matchless feet of Yours.

 

...To Be Continued