" Naama KusumamulachE" Krithi in Majestic SrI Raagam : ThiruvahIndhrapuram RathnAngi kaimkaryam Postings: Part 47

[Guest guest]

Rameshr SrI:

 

Dear BhakthAs of SrI Raamachandra!

 

Today , we will enjoy the moving krithi of Saint

ThyagarAjA on Raama Paadha Sevanaa Bhakti , which is

one of the nine kinds of Bahkthi (nava vidha Bhakthis)

saluted by Bhaktha prahladha : (1) Sravanam (2) Keerthanam

(3) Smaranam (4)PaadhasEvanam (5)Archanam (6)Vandhanam

(7)Sakhyam (8)DhAsyam and (9)Aathma NivEdhanam .

 

One may wonder whether this krithi should be classified under

Archanam or Paadha Sevanam mode of Bhakthi. Professor Sambamoorthy

has classified this krithi under Paadha Sevanam . others have

grouped this krithi under Archana mode , which can be

KaayikA ( with the limbs )or MaanasIka (with the mind).

 

Lord Raamachandra was Jagath PraTama MangaLam for

ThyagarAja SwamigaL . His mood and penchant for

worshipping Raamabhadran alone is echoed by

a SrI Venkatesa SthOthra SlOkam , where the poet

sees Lord VenkatEsa as SrI Raamachandran

( SrI VenkatarAghavan):

 

Sumukham Suhrudham Sulabham Sukhadam

svanujam cha sukAyam amOgasAram

apahAya RaghUdhvaham anyamaham

na Katanchana kanchana jAthu bhajE

 

(Meaning): At no time and in no way , adiyEn will

worship any one except Raama, the elevator of the vamsam

of King Raghu. This Lord of mine has an enchanting face ,

a compassionate heart for His devotees, easily attainable

by one and all and has celebrated brothers . He has

dhivya gAthram ( most beautiful/divine body)and His

arrows never fail.

 

SwamigaL worshipped His dearest Raaman through Kaayika and

MaanasIka Pooja . He built a navarathna maNi MaNTapam

in his house for Raaman and Family and celebrated

9 days of SrI Raama Navami uthsavam every year

and worshipped his Lord with freshly blossomed

flowers and TuLasi leaves.

 

There were times , when SwamigaL engaged in MaanasIka

Pooja , which he describes in ReethigouLa Krithi:

"ParipAlaya ParipAlaya ParipAlaya RaghunATA "

with 12 charaNams. The meaning of this Maanasa

Pooja or Bhaava PoojA krithi has been summarized by

Dr.Raghavan this way:

 

" My body is Your favorite abode (pooja graham) ;

my steadfast mind , Your golden throne ; my meditation

of Your beautiful feet is the GangA water; my attachment

is Your beautiful dress; my praise of Your glory is

the sandal fragrance ; my rememberance and recital

of Your name is the full blown lotus for You ;the fruits of

all my past misdeeds is the incense to be burnt before You;

my devotion to Your feet is the all-day lamp to You

(nandhA ViLakku); the very fruit of this kind of

superior worship that I do is the food-offering to You;

the lasting bliss that I derive is the paan (TaambhUlam)

for You; my darsanam of You is the waving of the dheepam

before You."

 

Such is the depth of SwamigaL's MaansIka Archana.

He has offered his 8 aathma GuNAs as flowers at

the sacred feet of Raamachandran . He has offered

Mallikai, Jaathi, Sambhangi and Lotus flowers in

a Kaayika sense at the redeeming feet of His Master,

Lord RaghunAthan. SwamigaL was a garbha BhAgavathA

like PrahlAdhA and has been immersed in the archanam

and Paadha sEvanam of the Lord from conception onward

until his dEha vyOham.

 

The Naama Kusumamulache krithi is a gem of a MaanasIka

AarAdhana Krithi of RamachandrA's Paadham .It can also

be considered as a Maanasa sambhOdhana Krithi , where SwamigaL

addresses his mind and offers counsel.He points out to

the mind that sreshta (superior) nara janmam (life as

a human being) is the one , where the human being

spends his life in worshipping the Lord with flower

offerings accompanied by the recitation of some of His

thousand names :

 

AbhirAma-GuNAkara DaasaraTE

JagadhEka Dhanurdhara ! dheeramathE !

TagunAyaka ! Raama! ramesa ! VibhO!

varadhO Bhava dEva! DyAjaladhE!

 

How tall that flower offering should be is indicated by

another slOkam heard on the top of the Seven Hills:

 

aanUpurArpitha sujAta sugandhi pushpa

saurabhya saurabha-saurabha-karau sama-sannivEsaou

Soumyou sadAnubhavanEapi navAnubhAvyou

SrI VenkatEsa Charanou SaraNam prapadhyE

--SrI venkatesa Prapatthi: SlOkam 3

 

(meaning) : adiyEn seeks refuge at Lord VenkatEsA's

sacred feet , which add fragrance to the scent of the sweet

smelling flowers offered resting upto the handsome anklets ,

which are well placed from the ashtOtthara and sahasra

nAmArchanais of the day . This sevai of the Lord's Thiruvadi

decorated with the heap of flowers upto His anklets

is the most enjoyable that looks newer and newer

as one enjoys that sevai.

 

adiyEn will continue with the salutations

to the SrI Raaga Krithi of ThyagarAja SwamigaL

that instructs on the mahimai of Naama KusumAnjali

at Lord Raamachandran's sacred feet.

 

SrI DevanAtha parabrahmaNE Nama:

Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri sadagOpan