Digest of Paramacharya's Discourses on Soundaryalahari(DPDS-77)

[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 -

77

(Digest of pp.1252-1259 of Deivathin Kural, 6th volume,

4th imprn.)

 

Shloka #75 says further about the breast milk of ambaa. It

generates, says the shloka, everything superlatively noble

– like wisdom, compassion, beauty, knowledge, and the arts.

“sArasvatam iva”, meaning, everything for which Sarasvati

is the source. They all flow like a flood from the heart –

“hRdayataH payaH pArAvAraH”. It was that milk of wisdom,

Oh Mother, that you fed to that child of the Dramila

country. And that child became a noted poet among great

composers – “kavInAM prouDhAnAM ajani kamanIyaH kavayitA”.

 

 

“prouDha-kavi” means a poet rich with poetic talent. The

feminine word “prouDhA” denotes a girl who has attained

puberty. Just as the physical tejas attains maturity, a

person whose poetic talent has attained perfection and

maturity is called a “prouDha-kavi”. Ironically, a

“prouDha-kavi” is also prone to be proud! And in the

poetry that flows from such a one there is likely to be a

mischievous air of superiority. It may not appeal to the

heart. But the milk of wisdom, which flows like a flood

from this ocean of ‘SArasvata’, generates poetic

inspiration that captivates the heart. By using the words

“payaH pArAvAraH parivahati” – the milk ocean flows like a

flood – the Acharya has added one more ‘lahari’, namely,

the lahari of breast milk that represents all that is great

in the Mother, to the various lahari’s mentioned in

Soundaryalahari -- cidAnanda-lahari, shRngAra-lahari, etc.

When this ‘kshhIra-lahari’ (the flood of milk) is tasted by

the dramila-shishu (Tamil child), the latter becomes a poet

who composes captivating songs that make him distinguished

among even ‘prouDha’ composers!

 

Now who was this ‘dramila-shishu’? The immediate feeling is

that it should be the well-known Sambandar, also known as

‘JnAna-sambandar’ of the Tamil region, who flourished in

the seventh century A.D. But the Acharya’s time was in the

sixth-fifth century B.C., approximately.

 

[ Here the Paramacharya takes for granted

his own elaborate thesis-like discussion

on the date of Shankara,

that runs to hundreds of pages,

in his earlier discourses. These have been recorded

by Ra. Ganapati in the 5th volume of his book

‘Deivathin Kural’. So I am not able to enter into that

topic here. VK]

 

The story about the child JnAna-sambandar is that the

Mother Goddess fed her breast milk to the three-year old

child and the child burst into ecstatic singing glorifying

Lord Shiva and Parvati. Commentators on Soundaryalahari

opine that a similar incident did happen in the case of the

Acharya himself when he was a child and therefore conclude

that the ‘dramila-shishu’ refers to the Acharya himself!

Instead of saying ‘I have that experience’ he is saying it

in third person, in all modesty. But even here one can ask:

How come the Acharya talks about his own poetic talent in

such superlative terms? Is this in keeping with his

well-known modesty? Well, the point to note here is that

the matter is not about poetic talent. The significant

point is the glory of the milk of wisdom that flows from

ambaal. Actually the Acharya has talked about himself as

‘the farthest of the lowly’ (daviyAmsaM dInaM) in shloka

#66. And the significance now is that even such a ‘lowly’

person has reached poetic heights of excellence by the

divine milk of wisdom.

 

On the correct interpretation of ‘dramila-shishu’ there

have been controversies from very early times. Several

commentators have debated this issue. No definite

conclusion has been accepted by all. But let us not stay

on that issue. What we need is not the correct meaning of

‘dramila-shishu’ but the truth that we should seek that

wisdom that flows incessantly like milk from ambaal’s

grace!

 

shrutInAM mUrdhAno dadhati tava yau shekharatayA

mamApy-etau mAtaH shirasi dayayA dhehi caraNau /

yayoH pAdyaM pAthaH pashu-pati-jaTA-jUTa-taTinI

yayor-lAkshhA-lakshhmIH aruNa-hari-cUDAmaNi ruciH // 84 //

 

mAtaH : Oh Mother,

yau tava caraNau : Those feet of Yours (which)

shrutInAM mUrdhAnaH : the crests of the vedas (namely, the

Upanishads)

dadhati : bear

shekharatayA : as (their) head ornament,

yayoH : for which (feet)

pashu-pati-jaTA-JUTa-taTinI : the river (Ganga) in the

matted locks of hair of Lord Shiva

pAdyaM pAthaH : (become) the water-offerings at the feet,

yayoH : for which (feet)

aruNa-hari-cUDAmaNi-ruciH : the red brilliance of the

diadem of Vishnu

lAkshhA-lakshhmIH : (becomes the brilliance of red lac,

dhehi : please condescend to keep

etau : such feet

mama shirasi api : on my head, too

dayayA : out of compassion.

 

The description of Mother Goddess from head to foot

finally comes to the divine feet. The divine feet are

requested to be placed on this devotees’s (The Acharya’s)

head. This is a kind of ‘Guru DikshhA’ , that is, spiritual

initiation by the Guru. But it is not openly said to be so.

Because, such initiations always have to be guarded as

secret. Kenopanishad details how the Mother Goddess

appeared to the devas and gave spiritual initiation to

Indra, their King. The words ‘umA’ ‘haimavatI’, ‘strI’

‘bahu-shobhamAnA’ used in that narrative are the only

instances where the Absolute is specifically mentioned as

manifesting as Guru in the vedas. The deities ‘Shiva’ or

‘Vishnu’ are never mentioned in the Vedas in the capacity

of Guru. The two times Shivam and Vishnu are mentioned are

in Mandukyopanishad and Kathopanishad; but in both cases it

is a state that is described and not a Person. It is

therefore in the fitness of the wisdom of the vedas that

the Acharya here describes the divine feet of ambaa as the

head ornament of the Upanishads!

 

The praise of the divine feet goes on for several shlokas.

In shloka 88, the Acharya asks: Mother, How did thy

Consort, Lord Shiva, with all His softness (“dayamAnena

manasA”) towards You, have the heart to place them with

his hand on a hard granite grinding stone at the marriage

rite? -- “upayamana-kAle, bAhubhyAm AdAya dRshhadi

nyastaM”. The word “ upayamana” stands for a marriage

ceremony. Just as ‘upanayana’ stands for the rite that

initiates a boy into the spiritual path, by initiating him

into the Gayatri, so also the ‘upayamana’ stands for the

rite that initiates a girl into married life. In this rite

the bridegroom places the feet of the bride on a granite

pasting stone as a part of the rite. The Mother Goddess

Herself is considered here by the Acharya as an ordinary

bride going through the same marriage rite.

 

The act of placing the feet on a granite stone attains a

spiritual significance in the context of ambaal. For this

we have to go to Shivaananda-lahari shloka #80 where the

Acharya asks: “Oh Lord! Why are You dancing on this hard

granite? On the auspicious day of Pradosha why can’t You

dance on a softer surface, in fact made up of flower

offerings? Is it because you have anticipated that I will

be born with a hard heart on this earth and You have to

dwell and dance in that hard rock-like heart?” Taking cue

from this we can now interpret this shloka #88 of

Soundaryalahari as saying: “Oh Mother, the Lord is having

compassion towards You and wants to train You to dance

along with Him in the hard hearts of people of this earth.

That is why He is placing Your soft feet on the hard

granite as a preview for Your feet”!

 

It is those divine feet of ambaaL that have to be meditated

on by us for melting our hearts. There is no other way!

Particularly it is our ego that stands solidly like a rock

between us and mokshha. And that is why, for our sake, the

Acharya has put in the words “mama api” in shloka #84.

 

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]

Professorji mentioned about Thiru Gnana saMbandhar , one of the 63

nayanmars!

 

here is the story ...

 

Tiru Jnana Sambandar

In sacred Sirkali (which, according to a legend was the Noah's Arc

during a cosmic dissolution) there lived a pious Brahmin by name

Sivapada Hridayar with his virtuous wife Bhagavathiar. Both of them

were ardent devotees of Lord Siva. They refused to embrace Jainism

and give up Saivism, even though the forces of Jainism were powerful

and devastating. Sivapada Hridayar prayed to the Lord for the boon of

a worthy son to him who would reestablish the glory of Saivism. The

Lord granted this boon, and Bhagavathiar soon brought into this world

a radiant male child. They brought up this child with great love and

devotion, knowing fully well that it was a purposeful gift from the

Lord. The child, too, would weep for his separation from his divine

parents Lord Siva and Parvathy, though ordinary people mistook it for

a baby's crying habit.

 

One day Sivapada Hridayar and his wife took the child with them to

the temple tank in which they wanted to bathe. The child had insisted

on being taken with them. They left the child on the bank and went in

to bathe. The child looked at the tower of the temple and began to

cry for his parents. This outwardly appears to be a mere childish

action, but the Lord knew its inner meaning. Lord Thoniappar wanted

to bless the child. So, He appeared with Mother Parvathy and asked

Her to feed the child with the milk of divine wisdom. To obtain His

grace and divine knowledge, the grace of the Mother is necessary,

Mother Parvathy fondled with the child and suckled him with the Milk

of Wisdom. From that moment he was known as Aludaiya Pillayar or one

who enjoys the protection of the Lord: and also as Tiru Jnana

Sambandar as he attained divine wisdom through the grace of Lord Siva

and Parvathy. From the moment he drank the Milk of Wisdom, he began

to sing soul-stirring songs in praise of Lord Siva. The collection of

these songs is called Thevaram.

 

After finishing their bath, the parents came to the child, and found

a golden cup in his hands (the cup in which Parvathy gave him the

milk) and milk overflowing from his mouth. Sivapada Hridayar thought

that somebody had given milk to the child: he did not like that his

child should accept milk from all sorts of people. So, he brandished

a cane before the child and asked him who gave the milk. The child,

shedding profuse tears, pointed to the Lord Who appeared in the sky

along with Mother Parvathy. He also sang a song in praise of the

Lord. Sivapada Hridayar could not see the Lord, but guessed from the

child's behaviour that he must have had a vision of the Lord. He

followed the child into the temple, as he went towards it. Many

devotees had also come to the temple. They had come to know of what

had happened to Pillaiyar and glorified him. The parents were very

happy. They took the child on their shoulders and went round the town

in a procession. The people had decorated the town nicely and

received Sambandar with great devotion.

 

 

to read the entire text ...

 

go to

 

http://www. divinelife. org

 

ps in the tiruchi rockfort temple (ucchi pillaiyaar kovil) this

beautiful story is engraved on the wall right at the bottom of the

temple ! i was fortunate to visit this temple during my recent outer

pilgrimage and did i climb the 423 odd steps to view Pillaiyaar ? of

course! nothing deters a true devotee not even a steep climb!!! lol!