Sri PVP vyakhyanam of Prathama Jitante stotram shlokam 8.

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Sri PVP vyakhyanam of Prathama Jitante stotram shlokam 8.

 

 

Srimate Ramanujaya Nama:

 

Sri PeriyaVachchan Pillai tiruvadigaLE sharaNam

 

 

shrImat kriShNa samAhvAya namO yAmunasUnavE ;

 

yatkaTAkShaika lakShyANAm sulabha: shrIdhara: sadA.

 

 

**8. aham bhItO (a)smi dEvEsha samsArE (a)smin bhayAvahE.

 

pAhi mAm punDarIkAkSha na jAnE sharaNam param. **

 

 

Meaning:: --dEvEsha-- Oh head of nithyasUris. --bhayAvahE-- in this

frightening. --asmin samsArE-- in this samsAra. --aham-- adiyEn.

--bhItO(a)smi-- am terrified. --punDarIkAkSha-- red-lotus-eyed lord!

--mAm-- me. --pAhi-- please protect. --param sharaNam-- other means. --na

jAnE-- I do not know.

 

 

Introduction:: (aham bhItOsmi..) In the previous shlokam, the chetana,

reiterated the enjoyability in the paramapadam. And because of that

reiteration, the fear of his incompatibility with this samsAra arose in

his mind. This shlokam implores the lord to eliminate that fear. After

all, one who can remove the fear of samsAra, is verily eligible as a

refuge. Even for a person who has comprehended the samsara inside out,

this samsAra is a source of terror. And even for one who has understood

one's svarUpa (characteristic) inside out, this samsAra is a source of

fear. Besides, even on reiterating the enjoyability of paramapadam, this

samsAra is a source of fear.

 

 

Vyakhyanam:: (bhayAvahe asmin samsAre aham) what is samsAra? why is it

terrifying? The answer is samsAra is but a conglomerate of ignorance

(avidya), actions (karma) trace memory (vasana), taste (for indulgence)

(ruchi), and bondage to nature (prakriti sambandham). Ignorance is

misunderstanding. i.e., the feeling of "I"ness in the body that I have

entered into, and the feeling of "mine"ness in the objects encountered by

the body as in "anAtmani AtmabuddhiryA asvE svamiti yA mati:" quoted by

sage Parashara.

 

Nammalvar said to himself "yAne ennai ariyagilAdE yAnE

entanadE enrirundEn" and advised others "nIr numadenrum ivai" . Since

ahankAram (egoism) smothers servitude (shEshatvam), it is a source of

fear. mamatA (possessiveness) smothers a sense of enjoyability in matters

of the God and hence is also a source of fear.

 

Karma has two forms of punya and pApa (merits and sins).

Sins lead to suffering in hells and hence are terrifying. But how

is merit terrifying? Merits result in enjoyments in heavens etc.

Since they nurture ahankAra and mamakAra (egoism and possessiveness)

which destroy the characteristic of the soul (svarUpa), they are

frightening. Since they encourage one to indulge in

sense objects like (music) sound sight etc they are frightening. The

bondage with the body, is terrifying owing to the mental and physical

afflictions, insults and victimisations by others and uncomfortable

weathers.

 

In the same vein, even traces and tastes are frightening. Why?

The first Bharata (jada bharata), owing to great interest in the fawn at

the stage of samAdhi (last stage of yoga), was reborn as a deer. Not that

he had love for a wrong object that gave him rebirth as a deer; it was the

strong trace (vAsana) of memory as the protector of the fawn, that

resulted in the rebirth. Hence, even traces and interests are dangerous.

Just like 'drishti viSham' (seeing itself is poisonous), ruchi or interest

is poisonous and dangerous. That is, for the samsAris, seeing itself is

dangerous, just as for a moth which by its ego, seeing a flame and taking

it as light, voluntarily falls into it and burns itself. "bhUmau

nipAtyamAno(a)drE: antarAstE svapanniva" just like a man on a long fall

from a mountain onto the ground, falls asleep on the way oblivious or

unaware of the impending crash. Similarly the people of samsAra please

themselves with pleasures not bothering about the impending calamity.

Just as in "nalam antamilladOr nAdu", an entire vibhUti, vaikuntham, is a

total happiness, this samsAra is fully submitted to fearsome nature.

 

(aham bhItO(a)smi ) having realised the samsAra as a reservoir of endless

adversities, I am consumed by fear. The use of present tense (asmi)

implies that I do not see a way out to eliminate the fear. Is there an

opportunity for the removal of fear? yes, one who has transferred his

onus of self-defence to God, would be fearless. But even that transfer of

onus will not make me fearless. Because of excessive adoration for the

goal (prApya), if impatience and haste to reach Him are born, one cannot

contain himself and remain unagitated just with the thought of having

transferred the onus of protection to Him. In spite of having full faith

in Him, as declared in "kaLaikaN maRRilEn" and "nAgaNai mishai nam pirAn

sharaNE sharaN namakku", Alvar, realising the enjoyability of that

promised special land as stated in "anthamil pErinbatthu adiyarOdu

irundamai", goes ahead later to yell and scream as in "muniyE nAnmuganE"

for immediate release.

 

 

(dEvEsha) As in "ayarvaRum amararhaL" when You and the nityasUris are

enjoying in isolation in paramapadam, how can You be indifferent to me who

is suffering here but nevertheless equally deserving as the nityasUris to

enjoy Your company? Even mother goddess (pirAtti), staying as She did in

the terrifying Lanka, groaned "hA rAma! hA lakshmaNa!" as did Alvar in

"imaiyOr talaivA" and "viNNuLAr perumAnEyo"!

 

 

(mAm pAhi) Save me, who having realised the enjoyability in paramapadam

as in "yOgAnAm paramAm siddhim" is hastening for liberation. As in "Ehi

pashya sharIrANi" (sages to Rama in Aranyakandam) he displays the marks of

suffering on his body.

 

 

(pAhi) having severed my connection with the body You would take me in the

path of archirAdi to that land free from fear.

 

 

(pundarIkAkSha) please, look at me with your attractive eyes and cool me

down. There will be great difficulty when I put a lot of effort to remove

my own fears. If You wish to remove my fears, it will be a very easy job,

alas. Do You need those qualities of vAtsalya etc (making You a good

refuge) and jnAna shakti etc (necessary for the attainment of the fruit)

to save me? Just as, in the first step, You removed my external

distraction to other objects as stated in "jitante pundarIkAkSha", pray

remove my fears and save me.

 

 

(na jAnE sharaNam param) I am not aware of any refuge except You. Even

though the srutis commanded "nididhyAsitavya:" and You, the saviour also

proclaimed "manmanA bhava madbhakta:", I am totally unaware of any other

means. What is the reason behind it? Because, including the chetana or

jIvAtma and including his assistant sense organs, all are totally

subordinate to You as explained in "namastE(a)stu" and "hriShIkEsha". Even

God proclaimed "matta: smritir jnAnam apohanam", i.e., remembrance,

knowledge and forgetting are all caused by Me!

 

When the first shlokam is the summary, this shlokam is the

elucidation of the word "pundarIkAkSha".

 

 

...contd.

 

 

Adiyen dasan

 

Ramanuja