Mahaa SamprOkshaNam at Sri RanganAthA Temple: Lord RanganAthA 's sannidhi ( The Eighth of 8 Sannidhis: Sannidhi under PraNavAkAra VimAnam ): Final Posting in this series.

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs: This is the week of MahA SamprOkshaNam that

we have been waiting for the past 14 years. Please attend

if possible this grand event planned with great care and

attention-to-details by a host of devotees , who have dedicated

innumerable hours to realize this Kaimkaryam for

the Dhivya dampathis.

 

In this final posting , adiyEn will pay my tribute to

Lord RanganAthA . adiyEn will summarize here the large amount of

literature in the archives of the e-lists and select a few

key slOkams from our PoorvAchAryA's sthuthis.

 

Pomona Sesha Peetam at the bank of Hudson River

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Lord RanganAthA rests under the PraNAvAkruthi VimAnam

on the banks of Cauvery river at Srirangam . The sacred

vimAnam rests on the foundation of Sesha Peetam. VibhishaNan

placed the Sriranga VimAnam on top of the Sesha Peetam ,

when Lord ranganAthA decided to stay in the beautiful

island formed by the river Cauvery . Here at Pomona , NY

the Lord rests on another Sesha peetam constructed by His

devotees on the bank of river Hudson . Let us reflect on

the Sacred Sesha Peetam described by Swamy Desikan in His

Hamsa SandhEsa Kaavyam, which is set in RaamA's words :

 

theerE tasyA virachitha padham Saadhubhi: sEvyamAnam

SraddhA-yOgAth vinimitha tanu: Seshapeetam BhajETA:

Yasmin asmath KuladhanatayA Soumya SaakEtabhAja:

sTAnam bhavyam munibirudhitham SRIMATHO RANGADHAAMNA:

 

(Meaning): Oh Beautiful Swan! You will see on the banks of

Chandra PushkaraNI at Srirangam the Sesha Peetam worshipped

by the pious devotees and SadAchAryAs with great faith (SraddhA).

May You bend your body and offer your worship! It is about

this Sesha Peetam that Maharishis predicted that it will

form the foundation for Sriranga VimAnam of Lord RanganAthA ,

who is our paramparai (kula) dhaivam worshipped

now at AyOdhyA.

 

May we offer our own salutation to the Lord of Sri Rangam

resting on His new Sesha Peetam at Pomona!

 

Summary of Literature about Sri RanganAtha Sthuthis:

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1.AchArya RaamAnujA's three Gadhyams

 

2.Parasara Bhattar's Sri Rangaraaja Sthavam.

 

One slOkam from here is imporatant for understanding

our total dependence on the Adhi Dhaivam , Sri RanganAthan:

 

tava bharahamArishi dhArmika:

SaraNamithyapi vaachamudhairiram

ithi sassaakshikayannidhamdhya

maam kuru Bharam tava Rangadhurandhara

--SlOkam 2.102 , Sri Rangaraja Sthavam

 

(meaning): Oh RanganAthA! adiyEn has been made

your responsibility by my dhaarmic AchAryAs. adiyEn has

also uttered the word Saranam . You must keep these

two factors in mind and make me Your object of protection .

 

(3) Sri NyAsa Tilakam : Swamy Desikan performed SaraNAgathi

to Sri RanganAthan and explained what Sri RanganAthan,

resting on His bed of Adhi Seshan , does for the Prapannan,

who has sought His refuge:

 

iha amuthra aphi yEsha praNatha-Jana-chinthAmaNi-giri:

svaparyankE SEVAAM DISATHI PaNiparyanka-rasika:

--32nd slOkam passage of Sri NyAsa Tilakam

 

(Meaning): Both here in His Leela VibhUthi and in

the other world of Nithya VibhUthi, This Lord of

Srirangam finding pleasure in His Sesha Sayanam ,

remains as the boon granting hill for those who performed

SaraNAgathi to Him and blesses them with Kaimkarya Sri.

 

(4) Sri Bhagavath DhyAna SOpAnam of Swamy Desikan:

 

In this exquisite sthuthi filled with devotion

for Sri RanganAthA modelled after the ilustrious

AmalanAdhipirAn of ThiruppANar , Swamy Desikan's

devotiona for Lord RanganAthA shines forth.In the first

slOkam , Swamy slautes that great splendour(JyOthi) ,

who is the protector of all those without protection:

 

antharjyOthi: kimapi YaminAm anj~anam yOgadhrushtE:

ChinthArathnam Sulabham iha na: siddhi-mOkshAnuroopam

dhInAnAnaaTa vysana-samanam dhaivatham dhaivAthAnAm

dhivyam chakshu: SruthiparishadhAm dhrusyathE RangamadhyE

 

(meaning): There rests at the center of Srirangam a great

object of indescribable luminosity. That object shines in

the heart lotuses of Yogis; it is like coleryum to Jna~nakkaNN;

it is easily approachable on this earth; it grants us the boons of

pleasure in this world and Moksham in the other world;in this

aspect , it is like a boon-granting ChinthAmaNi gem ;

it destroys all sufferings; it is like the divine eye for

the assembly of VedAs; it is the God of all Gods; That

glorious object ( of our worship) is seen at the center of

Srirangam on the bed of AdhisEshan.

 

(5) Sri Abheethi Sthavam of Swamy Desikan:

 

Here , Swamy Desikan salutes " Sakruth praNatha rakshaNa

praTitha samvidha: samvidhan" and asks for the boon of

the appearance of the many forms of that Sri RanganAthan ,

who has promised in front of the world that He will come

to the rescue of any one , who has sought His protection

even once.

 

His prayer (7th SlOkam ) is a moving prayer to the Lord of

Srirangam:

 

RamA-Dhayitha RanghabhUramaNa KrishNa VishNO HarE

Thrivikrama JanArdhana Thriyuga NaaTa NaarAyaNa

ithIva subhadhAni ya: padathi naamadhEyAni tE

na tasya yamavasyathA Narakapaatha bheethi: Kutha:?

 

Addressing the Lord of Srirangam with delectable

Naamams , Swamy Desikan points out that any one reciting

the thousand names of the Lord of Srirangam will have

no fear of falling in Narakam and coming under the power

of Yama dharman.

 

(6) adiyEn had the bhAgyam of capturing the many tributes

to Lord RanganAthA from Vedam, Upanishads, PurANams,

Dhivya prabhandhams,NaadhOpAsaka's Krithis and, PoorvAchArya

Sthuthis in a series of twenty articles during the time frame of

March 29 to May 2, 1998 as a part of the 18 brick Kaimkaryam

fund raising for the Pomona Temple , NY . All of these articles

are housed in Bhakthi List archives. adiyEn refers Sri RanganAtha

BhakthAs to those archived postings for details on the anubhavam of

the AzhwArs and PoorvAchAryAs of SriranganAthan as Chathu-Vedha

Svaroopan and SakalOpanishad Saaran (essence of all Upanishads).

 

This posting is the last in the series saluting the 8 sannidhis

at Sri RanganAthA Temple at Pomona , NY.adiyEn takes leave now.

 

adiyEn looks forward to meeting number of you at the SriRanganAthA

temple during this weekend and hopes that many of you can

participate and receive the blessings of the dhivya Dampathis.

 

Your support in every way is needed for the successful

growth of the temple to serve ALL BHAKTHAAS of Sriman NaarAyaNA

during and after the MahA samprOkshaNam . It is YOUR temple.

Please help the temple to grow as the center of excellence for

offering our worship to the ord of Lords ,Sri RanganAthan.

Please help to the limits of Your ability with shrama dhAnam

and dhravya DhAnam . May Sri RanganAyaki's anugrahm be

with You and Your families always!

 

Sri RanganAthO Jayathi,

Asmath AchAryan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam,

DaasOham ,Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SatakOpan