Digest of Paramacharya's Discourses on Soundaryalahari (DPDS-71)

[Guest guest]

  Namaste.

Recall the Note about the organization of the ‘Digest’,

from DPDS – 26 or the earlier ones.

V. Krishnamurthy

A Digest of Paramacharya’s Discourses on Soundaryalahari -

71

(Digest of pp.1211 -1217 of Deivathin Kural, 6th volume,

4th imprn.)

 

Shloka No.63:

 

Smita-jyotsnA-jAlaM tava vadana-candrasya pibatAM

cakorANAm-AsI-datirasatayA canchu-jaDimA /

atas-te shItAmshor-amRta-laharIm-AmlarucayaH

pibanti svacchandaM nishi nishi bhRshaM kAncika-dhiyA // 63

//

 

This is another shloka of poetic charm, now dealing with

the charm that flows from ambaal’s smile. Earlier in shloka

42 She was said to have the moon in Her crown. Now Her

face (vadanaM) itself is the moon (vadana-candra). VadanaM

also means ‘mouth’. The root word ‘vad’ is ‘to speak’.

‘Satyam vada’ – Speak the truth. Therefore one can say that

the primary meaning of ‘vadana’ is ‘mouth’. But here it is

‘vadana-candra’ – the moon-like face. There is no

expression like ‘moon–like mouth’!

 

Moonshine flows from the moon–like face. The moon in the

sky displays a dark spot on it. But ambaal’s face-moon

(vadana-candra) has, in its centre, arrays of sparkling

teeth.

 

tava: Your

Vadana-candrasya : moon-like face

Smita-jyotsnA-jAlaM : (smile – moonlight – luminous sweep)

luminous sweep of the moonshine of your smile

 

In other words, it is the smile that illuminates as

moonlight from your face. Now what happens to this

moonlight? The cakora bird drinks it. There is a tradition

in Sanskrit literature that the cakora bird feeds on the

nectar flowing from moonlight rays.

 

pibatAm cakorANAM : of the cakora birds which drank

 

Here the cakora birds have drunk the moonlight flowing from

ambaal’s face. What then happened to the cakora birds?

They became insensitized by saturation of the sweetness of

the drink.

 

ati-rasatayA: by the extreme sweetness

canchu: the peaks

cakorANAM : of the cakora birds

jaTimA AsIt : became numb (were numbed).

 

Now how to correct this? The cakora birds were intelligent

enough to make the correction themselves.

 

ataH: Therefore (i.e., because of the numbness of their

peak)

te : these cakoras

Amla-rucayaH: (seeking to have) a taste of the sour

bhRshaM : heavily

pibanti : drink

nishi nishi : night after night

amRta-laharIM : the wave of nectar (i.e., the moonlight)

shItAmshoH: of the cool-rayed moon,

svacchandaM : to their heart’s content

kAncika-dhiyA : taking it to be the sour antidote (for the

satiation of sweetness).

 

Usually it is the privilege of Sanskrit poets to take great

pride in fancying that the cakora birds drink the nectar

flowing from moonlight for their very sustenance. This

certainly makes the category of cakora birds unique among

all birds or beings, because they are the only ones which

live on just moonlight. But our Acharya soars higher, in

his poetic fancy, over all other poets. He makes the cakora

birds even higher on the scale by saying that they drink

the grandest nectar that flows from ambaal’s smile. That

makes the ordinary moonlight nectar pale into

insignificance because it is, as depicted here, a sour

drink when pitted against the divine drink of moonlight

flowing from the smile of ambaal’s moonshine-face.

 

In the first part, Anandalahari, it was said that Lord

Shiva is the only one who survives even the pralaya whereas

these divines who partook of the nectar would all be

consumed by that pralaya. And the reason was said to be

that ambaal Herself is the Nectar of Consciousness, far

superior to the material nectar and it is the eternal

association with Her that protects Him. Now we know that,

even superior to that material nectar churned out of the

milk ocean, there is the Nectar of the smile from Her

moonshine face. So higher than the Nectar of Consciousness

(chaitanya-amritam) is the nectar of Her Beauty

(saundarya-amRtam), which is Her form, nay, Her face; not

even that, it is Her smile from that face.

 

All this the poet in the Acharya could have said simply

that Her smile is more fascinating in beauty than

moonlight. On the other hand he brought in the cakora bird,

made moonlight the tasteful food for the cakora and

pronounced ambaal’s smile sweeter than that taste. Putting

together all these ideas, we see that it is the wave of

Consciousness (chaitanya-laharI) that becomes a tasty food

for the eyes by becoming the wave of ambaal’s beauty

(Soundarya-laharI) and becomes also a tastier-than-nectar

object for the tongue. Thus Chaitanya (Consciousness),

Soundarya (Beauty) and Madhurya (Tasteful excellence) – all

of these are in essence Her shower of Love. It is that

moonlight shower of Love that we should be consuming, in

the form of cakoras, deliciously relishing the moon

light-food!

 

Maybe we are not able to ‘eat’ moonlight like the cakora.

But we take delight in eating our own food under moonlight,

especially on a full moon night. The moon then cools the

very atmosphere that surrounds us and makes it very

pleasant to us. The full moon is certainly very pleasant

to all of us. But the Sun of Wisdom is not so pleasant.

Ignorance is darkness; wisdom is light. Though the wisdom

is given by jnAna-sUrya (the Sun of Wisdom), it may also be

unpleasantly hot, because it is the Sun that is giving it.

On the other hand the moon gives both light (of wisdom) and

pleasant experience. The Goddess of jnAna (JnAna-ambaal)

removes our Ignorance while at the same time being

pleasant. In the Purushha sUkta we are told that mind arose

from the moon. So the mind should be both cool and

pleasant. That is why ambaal who is most pleasant to us is

always associated with the moon. She Herself resides in the

region of the moon. ‘Chandra-maNDala-madhyagA’ says the

sahasranAma. And that is again the reason why the Pournami

(full moon) day is important for ambaal and we do special

pUjA for ambaal on that day.

 

She wears the Moon on Her head. In the head of the Yogi She

descends as the full moon and pours out the nectar. For us

laymen also, our Acharya has brought to us the moonshine of

Her smile.May we cherish and remember it for ever. May we

become the little cakoras drinking to our heart’s content

the nectar-shower of Her Grace!

 

To be Continued

Thus spake the Paramacharya.

 

PraNAms to all advaitins and Devotees of Mother Goddess.

profvk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

=====

Prof. V. Krishnamurthy

My website on Science and Spirituality is http://www.geocities.com/profvk/

You can access my book on Gems from the Ocean of Hindu Thought Vision and

Practice, and my father R. Visvanatha Sastri's manuscripts from the site.

Also see the webpages on Paramacharya's Soundaryalahari :

http://www.geocities.com/profvk/gohitvip/DPDS.html

[Guest guest]

Thank you professorji for another beautiful installment specially on

this auspicious day dedicated to Sree LALITHAMBIKA!

 

We all know that Adi Shankara was not only a great Saint but was a

wonderful poet! He was known for using 'similies' and 'metaphors' in

his devotional verses with a great deal of elegance and ease.

 

You

The cakora bird drinks it. There is a tradition

in Sanskrit literature that the cakora bird feeds on the

nectar flowing from moonlight rays.

 

pibatAm cakorANAM : of the cakora birds which drank

 

Here the cakora birds have drunk the moonlight flowing from

ambaal's face.

 

and you add

 

But our Acharya soars higher, in his poetic fancy, over all other

oets. He makes the cakora > birds even higher on the scale by saying

that they drink > the grandest nectar that flows from ambaal's smile.

That makes the ordinary moonlight nectar pale into

nsignificance because it is, as depicted here, a sour

drink when pitted against the divine drink of moonlight

flowing from the smile of ambaal's moonshine-face.

 

In a vachana (devotional verse) , the kannada=poet saint Basvanna

sings thus

 

 

The Chakora bird longs for the moonlight,

The lotus longs for sunrise,

The bee longs to drink the flower's nectar,

Even so my heart anxiously longs for thee, O Lord.

 

well, professorji, will it be o.k. to say , we devotee also long to

hear the praises and read the divine glories of Ambaa-l through the

Sri-mukham of Kanchi periyavaal!

 

Thank you for these beautiful verses from aDI sHANKARA'S WAVES OF

BEAUTY (SAUNDARYA LAHARI)

 

salutaions to Sri Rasa-sevadhih ( The Ocean of Bliss) Sree LALTA MAHA

TRIPURASUNDARI ON THIS BEAUTIFUL FRIDAY!

 

anata koti namaskarams to professorji and Jagat Guru Shankara AND

PARAMA GURU KANCHI MAHA PERIYAVAAL !