saundaryalaharI - 3

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shrI lalitAyai namah

 

 

avidyAnAmantastimiramihiradvIpanagarI

jaDAnAM caitanyastabakamakarandasrutijharI

daridrANAM cintAmaNiguNanikA janmajaladhau

nimagnAnAM damsTrA muraripuvarAhasya bhavatI 3

 

 

 

(from verse 2) O Mother, the speck of dust from Your lotus feet

 

 

avidyAnAM: for the spiritually ignorant

antah timira: for the darkness called aj~nAna that is inside

mihiradvIpanagarI: the island city that is at the place of sunrise

jaDAnAM: for the slow learners (dull-witted)

caitanya: intelligence

stabaka: cluster of flowers

makaranda: honey

sruti jharI: flowing stream

daridrANAM: for the people suffering from poverty

cintAmaNi: the wish-fulfilling diamond

guNanikA: a string (of gems)

janmajaladhau: in the ocean of saMsAra of births (and deaths)

nimagnAnAM: the one deeply immersed (without knowing a way out)

muraripu: vishNu, the one who killed murA

varAhasya: (the incarnation of) wild boar

damsTrA: the tusk

bhavatI: becomes

 

 

O divine Mother, the speck of dust from Your lotus feet:

removes the avidyA of the spiritually ignorant, like the

sunrise removes the darkness; for the dull-witted, (the

dust from Your lotus feet) is like an ever-flowing stream

of honey of clusters of flowers of the kalpaka tree of

consciousness; for the destitute,(the dust from Your lotus

feet) is like the cintAmaNi in bestowing their heart's desire;

and for those deeply immersed in the ocean of saMsAra of births

and deaths,(the dust from Your lotus feet) is like the tusk

of the wild boar incarnation of vishNu.

 

 

commentary:

 

This verse is a continuation of the show of reverence and

adoration of shrI devI's lotus feet, described in verse 2.

In verse 2, the importance of this dust to the Gods (brahma,

vishNu, maheshwara) is brought out. In the present verse,

it is explained how this dust dispels avidyA, jaDatvam,

dAridryam, and attachments to the worldly life for the

mortals.

 

This verse is a delight for sanskrit lovers with the

alaMkArAs profusely included throughout the text. However,

the discussion here will be confined to the essence which

is devI-stutI.

 

avidyA: avidyA is lack of knowledge of the supreme. avidyA

envelops the soul and makes humans incapable of knowing the

sameness of Atman and Brahman. It may be construed that

mortals with avidyA include (i) those who indulge in the

rituals of the karma kANDa as the final step, (ii) those

who are under the delusion that the world entirely depends

on brahma, vishNu and maheshwara, while in reality, it hangs

on the mercy of shrI devI whose dependents the three Gods are.

 

At dawn, the sun seems, to one standing on the sea-shore,

to rise from an island in the middle of the sea. As the

sun rises, darkness is dispelled. In the first line of this

verse, the speck of dust from shrI devI's feet is compared

to the sun. The sun of knowledge dispells the darkness of

ignorance from the mind of the ignorant.

 

jaDa: the dull-witted; those who cannot distinguish between

what is to be done and what is not to be done.

 

caitanya: is the power that kindles the mind to know and

understand the real meaning of jeeva. This caitanya is

spoken as a cluster of flowers of the tree of Atmaj~nAna.

The speck of dust (from shrI devI's lotus feet) is a flood

of fragrance emanating from the cluster of flowers of the

kalpaka tree of caitanya.

 

daridrANAM cintAmaNiguNanikA: Reference is made to cintAmaNi,

the celestial gem, which is capable of satisfying all desires

of its possessor. The speck of dust from shrI devI's feet

grants man's earthly desires and also spiritual aspirations;

i.e., shrI devI is the embodiment of dAna-shaktI.

 

janmajaladhau nimagnAnAM: nimagnAnAm means fully immersed,

not knowing a way out. janamjaladhau is the ocean of saMsAra

with the associated births and deaths. The human is fully

immersed in this ocean.

 

muraripu varAhasya daMsTrA: murA is a rAkshasa killed by vishNu

and muraripu refers to vishNu. This context refers to the

incarnation of vishNu as the wild boar. HiraNyAksha, the demon,

stole bhUloka and disappeared with it to pAtALa. vishNu, incarnated

as a wild boar, reached pAtALa, redeemed the bhUloka and rose above

the sea with the bhUloka on his tusk. Thus, the tusk of the wild

boar is considered the saviour to lift something from a deep ocean.

The last line of this verse draws a comparison between the particle

of dust of shrI devI's feet and the tusk of the varAha. The dust

of devI's feet can salvage human beings from the cycle of births

and deaths and lead them to eternal bliss.

 

This verse is significant in that it shows how worship of shrI

devI's feet will help humans that have four types of aflictions:

(i) shedding of the inner darkness of avidyA for those aflicted

with avidyA; (ii) for providing a continuous flow of consciousness

for the dull-witted; (iii) for those who desire worldly happiness,

there is dAridrya nirmUlanam); and, (iv) for those who are caught

in the cycle of births and deaths, how worship of shrI devI's feet

lead to the Knowledge of the Self and to moksha.

 

 

Regards

Gummuluru Murthy

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