AparyApthAmrutha DhyAna sOpAnam (ADS): SlOkam 7

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs of Lord AarAvamudhan of Thirukkudanthai :

 

AdiyEn will now restart the interrupted Kaimkaryam

of translating and commenting on the ADS slOkams

bequeathed to us by the Thirukkudanthai Desikan .

 

In our tradition , Thirukkudanthai Desikan is considered

the reincarnation of Swami Desikan , who followed the

exquisite anubhavam of ThiruppANAzhwAr's AmalanAhipirAn

and gave us Bhagavadh DhyAna sOpAnam . There are a total of

thirteen slOkams in ADS and we will enjoy the remaining seven

thru this and the subsequent postings .

 

Salutation to the Sacred Chest region of Sri AarAvamudhan

**********************************************************

 

RamA vAsasthAnam maNivara ruchA bhAsvath anagam

mahA hArOllAsam nikhila JagadhAdhi prakruthi bhU:

sunaddham soothrENa dhrutha kanaka bhAsvath svavapushA

sadhA vaksha: chitthE mama lasathu SaarngAkhya dhanusha:

 

prior to analysing this ADS slOkam focusing on the sacrednes

of the chest region of AarAvamudhan , one has to enjoy

the source slOkam of Swami Desikan celbrating the beauty

of Sri RanganAthan's chest in Sri Bhagavadh DhyAna sOpAnam

(Sixth slOkam ):

 

SrivathsEna prathitha vibhavam Sri padha nyAsa dhanyam

madhyam bhAhvO; maNi vara ruchA ranjitham RangadhAmna :

sAndhracchAyAm taruNa TuLasI chithrayA VaijaynthyA

SamthApam mE samayathi dhiya: chandhrikOdhAra Haaram

 

Swami Desikan in turn was captivated and inspired

by the ThiruppANAzhwAr's Tamil Paasuram celebrating

the glory of the chest of Sri RanganAthan in his

divya prabhandham , AmalanAdhipirAN (5th Paasuram ):

 

PaaramAya pazha vinai paRRaRutthu , yennait thann

vAramAkki vaitthAn vaitthathanRi yennuLL puhunthAn

kOra maatavam seythanan kolaRiyEnarangatthammAn , Thiru

vAra maarbahthanRO adiyEnai aatkoNDathE

 

It will be a great pleasure to compare the original

anubhavam of ThiruppANar , which gave birth to the slOkams

of Swami Desikan and Thirukkudanthai ANDavan .Due to lack of

space , We will foucus on the ADS slOkam only here .

 

The prose order & the word by word meaning for this seventh

slOkam of ADS are as follows :

 

RamA VaasasthAnam = That chest , which is the place of residence

of MahA Lakshmi

 

maNi Vara ruchA bhAsvath =That region , which is resplendent

with the effulgence of the king of gems,

Kousthubham

 

anagam = that chest region , which is blemishless

 

mahaa hArOllAsam = That chest region shining with

the great flower garland (Vana mAlai)

 

nikhila JagadhAdhi prakruthi bhU: = That region , which is

the place of residence of

moola prakruthi out of which

all the universe evolved

 

dhrutha kanaka bhAsvath sva vapushA}

soothrENa sunaddham }= = = = = = = = That beautiful chest region

adorned by the sacred thread ,

which shines with the resplendent

hue of molten gold

 

sArnghAkhya Dhanusha: Vaksha:= That sacred and beautiful chest of

the One , who holds the bow known as

Saarngam

 

mama chitthE sadhA lasathu = May that chest of the Lord of Thirukkudanthai

shine in my mind forever .

 

We will now comment in detail on each of the word or

group of words used by Thirukkudanthai Desikan here :

 

1.RamA VaasathAnam : MahA lakshmi is enchanted by the beauty of

Her Lord's chest and chooses to stay there and declares that

she will not leave that place even for a moment ( ahalahillEn

yenRu AlarmEl mangai Uraiyum iRai mArbhu ). The glory of

MahA lakshmi residing at the Lord's chest earns for the Lord

the titles such as "Kudanthai ThirumAl from NammAzhwAr .Kaliyan

went on to recognize the significance of the chest sanctified by

MahA Lakshmi by addressing the Lord as : Kudanthaip PerumAnai,

vArAr vanamulayAL malar mangai Naayakan ".

 

BhUthatthAzhwar focused on the ThirumArbhu with his

mangaLAsAsanam : " YengaL PerumAn ImayOr talaimahan nee ,

senkaNN nedumaal ThirumaarbhA ". AzhwAr puts the emphasis

on " ThirumArbhan " among the many qualifiers about

the glories of the Lord of Thirukkudanthai . He might have

the red lotus-like eyes , He might be the NedumAll , but

all of these naamams point to the holy chest of the Lord

( ThirumArbahn ). There resides and presides MahA Lakshmi

( RamA dEvi)and makes Him auspicious in every way .AzhwAr

seems to suggest that the Lord's SarvEsvarathvam would

evaporate quickly , if He had not the cause of His

auspiciousness staying on His chest to confer MangaLathvam .

This morning , Sri Rengaraajan commented on the significance

of the SenkkaNN of AarAvamudhan in his posting.

 

Even the VedAs comprehend what is the most supreme by

studying the location of the foot marks of MahA Lakshmi

Sri Padha nyAsa dhanyam ) . The very same Vedam declares

therefore confidently :" SradhdAyA dEvO devathvam asnuthE "

( The Lord achieves the status of DEvarAjan because of His

association with SraddhAdEvi/MahA Lakshmi onHis chest ).

That is why , the straight speaking Thirumazhisai stated

unambigously : " Thiruvillat thEvarai thERElmin thEvu ".

He gave us the upadEsam not to approach any God except

the One with MahA Lakshmi on His chest . Rest of them are

not capable of granting the parama purushArtham of Moksham .

That AarAvamudhan's chest is the elected place of

residence of MahA Lakshmi of the most beautiful limbs

(KOmaLAngi=KOmaLAmbhAL=KOmaLavalli ).

 

(To be Continued )

Daasan Oppilaippan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan