Second (dvitIya) jitanta stotram (1-4)

[Guest guest]

Dear Bhagavatas,

 

We may continue with the second Jitantastotram, which seems to have

inspired as a guide and model many of our purvacharyas in composing their

stotrams and stavams. Adiyen has given brief meanings and indicated the

location of some of its echos in some acharyakritis. This has 40 slokas in

all and we hope to cover it in about 8 postings.

 

Sri: SrImate RAmAnujAya Nama:

 

DvitIyajitantA stotram (1-4)

 

**jitante pundarIkAkSha pUrNaShAdguNya vigraha /

**parAnanda parabrahman namaste paramAtmane // 1 //

 

Meaning::-- --jitante-- You have conquered (our souls). --pundarIkAkSha--

Oh lotus-eyed. --pUrNa ShADguNya vigraha-- Your person is made up of the

entire set of Six qualities. --parAnanda-- Your bliss is beyond

measurement. --parabrahman-- Oh supercosmic entity. --namas te--

Prostrations to You. --paramatmane-- to the supersoul.

 

Notes:: As before, the lord is addressed as pundarIkAkSha, the lotus eyed

one for which He is called 'kannan' by means of which He captivates all

souls. Unlike sankarshana, pradyumna and aniruddha, in whom only pairs of

qualities that make up a bhagavan dominate, vasudeva is replete with all

the six qualities that entitle him to be called bhagavan.

 

*jnAnam balam vipulam Ishana vIrya shakti tejAmsi cha triyuga

bhUyamupAgatAni ; pUrNAni ShaT cha parigruhya bhavamschaturdhA - bhaktam

janam tvam anujagrahiThAnurAgAt ;* This sloka of KurattAlvan from

AtimAnuShastava tells that God divided Himself into four persons, in whom

knowledge and power, governance and valour, energy and effulgence and all

these six gunas respectively are predominant, for the sake of devotees in

the various worlds. Sri Parasara bhattar graced in Uttara satakam of Sri

Rangarajastavam (39) that Lord Rangaraja incarnated in the four vyuhas or

shells with four forms respectively. Of them, one who is replete with the

six gunas is enjoyed by the muktas as ParavAsudeva; with the domination of

gunas of knowledge accompanied by power, in SankarshaNa, He destroys the

creation and produces the scriptures; with governance and valour

qualities dominating in Pradyumna, He carries out creation and establishes

dharma; and with the pair, energy and effulgence dominating in Aniruddha,

He protects the creation and preaches philosophy.

 

His bliss is unmeasurable and infinite. In order to get a taste of the

immensity of His bliss, the vedas started by quantifying step by step the

bliss enjoyed by an ideal orthodox man, the manushya gandharvas,

devagandharvas, the pitrus, the gods by birth and the gods by deeds, the

gods, Indra, Brihaspati, Prajapati as one hundred times more in each step

and ultimately imagined the bliss of the lord. Then veda said '' yato

vAcho nivartante aprApya manasA saha. Anandam brahmaNo vidvan na bibheti

kutascha neti ", being unable to precisely define the quantity of Ananda,

which is one of the ananta kalyana gunas of the lord. Thus, he is

parAnanda, having superbliss.

 

 

**namaste pItavasana nama: kaTakadhAriNe /

**namo nIlAlakAbaddhaveNIsundaravigraha // 2 //

 

Meaning::-- --namaste-- prostrations to You. --pItavasana-- wearing yellow

robes. --nama: kaTakadhAriNe-- bowing to You decked with the thick wrist

ring. --namo nIlAlakAbaddha veNI sundaravigraha-- bowing to You with

enthralling beauty enriched by the bluish curly hairs matted into a long

plait.

 

Notes::-- The personal attributes of the lord like, physical beauty,

dress, ornaments eulogised here have caught the imagination and inspired

many a purvacharyas as explicite in their works. Sri Alavandar in

Stotraratnam has repeatedly mentioned about the curly hairs in slokas 33,

34 and 35 of Stotraratnam, *shlathAlakAbandha vimarda shamsibhi:*,

*kundalAlakAvaLI bandhura kambukandharam* , *lalATaparyanta

vilambitAlakam*. Swamy Ramanujar in SrivaikunThagadyam exclaimed about the

ornaments and other effects in *hAra keyura kaTaka srivatsa kaustubha

muktAdamodarabandhana pItAmbara ..* , *atyujjvala pItavAsasam*,

*lalATaphalaka divyAlakAvalI virAjitam*, *kundalAlakAvalI bandhura

kambukandharam*, *karNabhUShaNa shlathAlakAbandha vimarda shamsibhi:*

where the word "alakA" denotes the curly hairs dangling on the forehead

and the sides. This sloka and the subsequent slokas have launched many

many echos in our purvacharya kritis. In particular, this entire second

Jitanta stotram has been a model for many great religious poets in

sanskrit and tamil, to compose their prayers.

 

**sphuradvalayakeyUra nUpurAngadabhUShaNAY: /

**shobhanAYrbhUShitAkAra kalyANaguNarAshaye // 3 //

 

Meaning::-- --sphurat valaya keyUra nupura angada bhUShaNai:-- by the

scintillating and dazzling ornaments like bangles, armlets, anklets and

forearm rings. --shobhanai:-- which are auspicious and beautifying.

--bhUShitAkAra kalyANa guNa rAshaye-- Your person is bedecked and You are

a treasure house of auspicious benevolent qualities.

 

**karuNApUrNahrudaya shankhachakragadAdhara /

**amrutAnandapUrNAbhyAM lochanAbhyAM vilokaya //4//

 

Meaning::-- --karuNA pUrNa hrudaya-- Oh lord whose heart is overflowing

with mercy. shankha chakra gadAdhara-- bearing the conch, the discus and

the mace. --vilokaya-- cast a glance at (me). lochanAbhyAm-- with both the

eyes. --amrutAnanda pUrNAbhyAm-- which are inundated with nectar and

bliss.

 

Notes:: The Lord's heart is filled with mercy when He looks at the jIva

immersed in sorrow *jIve du:khAkule viShNo: krupA kApi upajAyate*. When

jIvas are locked helplessly in an endless cycle of samsAra, God melts with

sympathy and provides them with sense organs and executive organs and

scriptures as lamps to find exit from the samsara. But it is another

matter that they misuse them for personal ends and continue to be stuck in

the quagmire of samsara.

Why does god always carry all weapons as if always on a warfooting? Sri

Parasara bhattar has an answer in *pAtu praNata rakShAyAm vilambam

asahanniva; sadA panchAyudhIm bibhrat sa na: sri ranga nAyaka:* He never

brooks delay in protecting His devotees and so always carrys the weapons

on hand to avoid searching for them when necessary.

Why should god look at me? Alavandar, Swamy Ramanujar and Kurattalvan

among others have pleaded with the lord to cast merciful nectarine

blissful glances at them in no uncertain terms. It is said that *jAyamAnam

hi puruSham yam pashyet madhusudana: ; vaishnavassa tu vijneya: sa vai

mokShArtha chintaka: * that person whom Madhusudana glances at the time of

being born, is identified as a vaishnava and he alone will contemplate on

moksha as purushartha. Obviously I was not seen by the lord when being

born; hence atleast now look at me so that I may become a vaishnava. In

Stotraratnam *aviveka ghanAndha dinkmukhe bahudhA santata du:kha varShiNi;

bhagavan bhava durdine patha:skhalitam mAm avalokayA achyuta*. In

Gadyatrayam *Atmabhogena anusamhita parAdikAla divyAmalakomalAvalokanena

vishvam AhlAdayantam*, *tato bhagavatA svayameva AtmasamjIvanena

avalokanena avalokya sasmitam AhUya ..dhyAtvA..*. Sri Kurattalvan graced

with almost the same words as in this Jitanta slokam in Panchastavam as

*praschotat premasArAmrutarasa ... vanagirinilayo vIkShatAm IkShaNAbhyAm*

(sundarabAhustava - 44) *yannAbhavAma bhavadIya kaTAkShalakSham...* since

we had not become the target of Your kaTAksham we are still wandering in

this grand canyon of samsara. In varadarajastava (99) *imam janam hanta

kadAbhishekshyate tvadakShi nadyor varada shramApahA .. ..vIkShaNa

vIchisantati:* when will this person be rained down by a refreshing series

of glances from the river of Your eyes, coming like waves, oh varada.

*dAsastaveti varadAsmi tavekShaNIya:* I am to be looked at as Your servant

through the Guruparampara sambandham.

 

contd....

 

Adiyen

Ramanuja dasan