Sri DEvarAja Panchakam of DhoddyaachArya (MahAchAryA): Part II

[Guest guest]

Dear Sri VaradarAja BhakthAs:

 

In the second slOkam , DoddhAchAryar celebrates

the Lord's soundharyam further and pays

particular attention to the lotus hands that

adorn the abhaya-pradhAna Mudhrai :

 

mukthAdha pathra yugaLOpaya saamarAnthA:

vidhyOdhamAna VinathA-tanayAdhirooDam

bhakthAbhaya-pradha karAmbhujam ambhujAksham

nithyam namAmi Varadham ramaNIya vEsham

 

(Meaning): Lord VaradarAjan is radiant on the back

of Garudan --the son of Vinathai-- and is flanked on

both sides by the twin sets of white umbrellas and

Kavari deer tail chAmarams(fans). His sacred , lotus-soft

right hand is held in abhaya mudhrA pose assuring all

that He will free them from all their fears .His beautiful

lotus-like eyes rain anugraham on all the beholders . adiyEn

salutes always that Sarva MangaLa Moorthy emerging out of

His aasthaanam through the western gOpuram on the third

day of His VaikAsi BrahmOthsavam .AdiyEn enjoys

without let the most enchanting beauty of the Lord

(RamaNIya Vesham ) seated on the back of GarudAzhwAn

and resting His sacred feet on the broad palms of

His special vaahanam . GarudAzhwAn holds those Thiruvadis

with reverence and points out to us that they are

the refuge for all the chEthanams.

 

Additional comments(V.S): Swamy Desikan prayed for the boon

of enjoying Lord VaradarAjAn during His uthsavam days

as well as all his days on earth without closing his

eye lids :

 

turaga VIHAGARAAJA syandhana aandhOLikEshu

adhikam adhikam anyAm aathma sObhAm dadhAnam

anavadhika VIBHOOTHIM HasthisailEsvaram ThvAm

anudhinam animEshair lochanair nirvisEyam

--48th slOkam of Sri VaradarAja PanchAsath

 

Swamy Desikan points out here that the Lord of Hasthigiri

displays different aspects of His matchless beauty

when He uses the Horse, PakshirAjan , Car , Pallakku

as His vahanams during His BrahmOthsavam. Swamy says

that the soundharyam of the Lord is forever enhancing

as He mounts these individual vaahanams. With His soundharyam

and His VibhUthi ( Isvaryam) accompanying Him during these

occasions , He heightens the aanandhAnubhavam of the bhakthAs ,

who have assembled on the raaja veedhis of Kanchi to have

His darsana soubhAgyam. Swamy prays : " anavadhika vibhUthim

HasthisailEsvaram ThvAm animEshai: lOchanai: anudhinam

nirvisEyam " ( May adiyen be blessed to enjoy Your

incomparable beauty and Isvaryam every day wihtout

closing my eyes. He states that he does not want to

take his eyes off from enjoying the beauty of the Lord

even for a fraction of second .

 

Swamy AlavanthAr has a similar prayer for

the uninterrupted enjoyment of the Lord as

GarudAroodan in one of his SthOthra Rathnam

slOkams :

 

Daasa: SakhA vaahanam aasanam dhvajO

yasthE vidhAnam vyajanam Thrayeemaya:

upasthitham tEna purO GaruthmathA

Thavdangri SamarthakiNAnga sObhinA

 

(meaning): When will adiyEn stand before Garudan

the Veda Savaroopi , who serves as Your Daasan ,

Friend , Vaahanam (Transport) , seat , vidhAnam

( umbrella /cover over Your Thirumudi as at

BrindhAvanam , when You played with Gopa KumArans

in the heat of summer ),fan ( bringing in cool breeze

through the swift movement of his wings) ? That

bhAgyasAli, Garudan has the imprint of Your

sacred feet in His palms as He transports You around .

When will adiyEn have the bhAgyam of Your sevai

(Garuda Vaahana sEvai) ? Thus Swamy AlavanthAr

longs for the GarudArooda sEvai just as DoddhAcchAr

Swamy wisged later ?

 

Some of the VibhUthis of the Lord in display during

the Uthsavams are the elephant , horse , Chaamarams ,

umbrellas , flags and other indicators of His status

as the Emperor of the Universe and its beings(royal

insignias) . DoddhAcchAr Swamy refers to two of

the VibhUthis in his second slOkam : The two white Umbrellas

stitched with pearls and the two white chAmarams(Fans)

made of the tail hair of a special kind of deer(kavari Maan ).

 

The color of white pearls reminds one of Suddha Satthvam .

Another inner meaning of white pearls is that they

are AzhwAr Paasurams that celebrate the Sarva Seshithvam

of the Lord . The sEsha-sEshithva relationship is reminded

here with AzhwAr being sEshan and the Lord being the sEshi.

The paasurams of AzhwAr celebrate this indestructible

relationship between sEshan and Seshi. The MukthAmaNi

rasmi ( the radiant lustre of the rows of Quality

pearls) is auspicious because of their nirmala prakAsam

reminding one of prathipath chandrakalA (crescent moon on

prathamai day).Swamy Desikan refers to this in the MukthA

Paddhathi of Sri RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahasram.

 

The pearl-studded white umbrellas serving as protection

from the day's heat also reminds one of AdhisEshan

stretching His hoods over the Lord's Thirumudi and

performing his Kaimkaryam ( ThvAm Moorthim BhujangAdhipathE:

pratheema:) . In yet another slOkam of MukthA Paddhathi of

Sri RanganAtha PaadhukA Sahsram , Swamy Desikan compares

the row of pearls to the rows of Nakshathrams created by

the Lord for future ages .They provide coolness even during

the heat of the day by spreading Satthva GuNam all around.

 

Lord VaradarAjan is Yeka chakrAdhipathi ruling the Universe.

Hence , the royal insignias like White Umbrellas , White

Chaamarams remind us all of His status as SarvEsvaran.

 

While seated on Garudan , He is displaying Abhaya Mudhrai.

He sends out the message : " Maa Sucha: " . He provides

Abhaya PradhAnam with His Hastha Mudhrai. This avyAja-

vathsalan through His paasam ( affection ) for the suffering

Jeevans sends out a rejuvenating message of hope through His

abhaya mudhrai. Through His abhaya Mudhrai , Lord

VaradharAjan confers so many boons that it would be

impossible for us to count them or comprehend them:

 

azhiyAtha AruLAzhipperumAn seyyum

anthamilA udhavi yellAm aLappAr aarE ?

--UpakAra sangraham of Swamy Desikan

 

His udhavi ( help) has no end ( anthamilA udhavi).

Through His abhya-pradhAna mudhrai , Swamy describes

in the Charama SlOkAdhikAram section of ChillaRai

Rahasyam , Saara-Saaram the following doctrine :

 

" Oh Jeevan! You do not have the power to practise

Moksha UpAyAntharams ( the various means to seek

Moksham ). Perform SaraNAgathi at my feet and seek

my protection . I am SaraNAgatha-VathsalathvAdhi-

visishtan ( Natural affection towards those , who

seek My protection as SaraNAgathan). I will therefore

protect You as a Prapannan . I will remove all

obstacles that stand in the way of reaching Me

and make you a kruthArTan (" samastha-prathibhandhaka-

nivrutthi -poorvaka MathprApthiyAlE kruthArTan

aakuhirEn ").Therefore You do not need to fear

anything from here on.

 

The Lord is SarvalOka SaraNyan . His vaibhavam as

SarvalOka SaraNyan is indicated to all of us

through His Abhaya Mudrai. His SaraNya Vratha

VisEsha PrakAsam ( The Lord's vow and its greatness)

is revealed by Him in the famous Srimath RaamAyaNa

SlOakm:

 

sakrudhEva PrapannAya TavAsmIthi cha YaachathE

ABHAYAM SarvabhUthEbhyO dadhAmi yEdhath vratham mama

-- Yuddha KaaNDam: 18.33

 

In his second slOkma of the DeavrAja Panchakam ,

DoddhAcchArya MahA Desikan salutes the GarudArooda

Sri Varadha Prabhu of "RamaNeeya Vesham" for

" His Bhaktha abhaya-pradha KarAmbhujam "

and what that abhaya-pradhAna Mudhrai

signifies for us all .

 

Sri VaradharAja ParabrahmaNE Nama:

Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SatakOpan