Fwd: The Cosmic Conch

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,radha jagannathan ,"j.srinivasan" ,"cs.srinivasan" , Krish

,sukanya Murali sadagopaniyengar Sun, 07 Mar 2004 16:28:29

+0530 The Cosmic Conch

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

The Cosmic ConchWeapons are

usually ugly, literally and figuratively. No one calls a machine gun beautiful,

or a grenade, much less an armoured tank (except perhaps a terrorist). They

have absolutely no redeeming feature to them, being meant solely for mass

destruction, meant only to cause sadness and sorrow and to take away that

precious thing which most of us take for granted-Life. We thus find that

anything that deals out death and destruction and little else, can never be

beautiful in any sense.Hence if I say that weapons also double as adornments,

people would definitely look at me strangely and would probably construe that I

am referring to terrorists, who constantly tote guns and grenades, considering

them to be adornments to their person. Though none would believe it, it is the

Lord I refer to, who is always armed to His teeth, ready to rush to the rescue

of a devotee in distress-"sadA panchAyudhee bibhrat sa na: SrIranga nAyaka:" It

is a well-chronicled fact that the Lord totes several

weapons in His hands and whenever we picturise Him in our mind's eye, it is as

accompanied by these weapons.One important difference between the Lord's

weapons and others' is that the former are used for both protecting and

preserving devotees on the one hand and for destroying their detractors. Unlike

weapons of human creation, which are meant solely to cause damage and

devastation, the Lord's arsenal is for a dual purpose, as indicated. Hence it

is no wonder that the divine armoury is extremely beautiful and enticing to

look at, serving at once as lethal weapons and luminous adornments to the

Lord's arms.All are agreed that the Lord's principal weapons are five-The

Shankham, The Chakram, The GadA (Mace), asi (Sword) and the ShArngam (Bow). Of

these five, it is the Chakram or Sudarsanam, which commands primacy and is

known as the King of Weapons-"HEti RAja". As such, SudarsanAzhwan has a lot of

stotrams composed on him-the SudarsanAshtakam, the HEti

RAja stavam, the Sudarsana Satakam (poorva and uttara satakams, comprising two

hundred slokas in all) etc. to name a few. At several divyadesams, separate

sannidhis have been allotted to ChakrattAzhwar and devotees delight in

circumambulation in his shrine, as could be seen at Srirangam and other

places.However, there is another worthy, who is no less magnificent, no less

Sudarsanam (good-looking), no less potent and no less dear to the Lord, who

does not attract as much attention and adulation as the Chakram, but is all the

same a strong, silent performer worthy of all our admiration. Whenever there is

an enumeration of the Lord's weapons, it is his name that is mentioned ahead of

others', indicating his primacy in the divine scheme of things. You may refer to

not one but any number of instances, where the Lord's weapons find mention-in

all of them, the Shankham is always mentioned first, followed by the other

AyudhAs. Look at the following for

example-"Shankha chakra gadA pANe! DvArakA nilaya! Achyuta!" (Draupati's appeal

while being disrobed in the Kaurava darbAr)"Tamasa: paramaO dhAtA Shankha

chakra gadAdhara:" (Mandodari's tribute to Sri Raghava, in Srimad Ramayanam)

"Shankha chakra gadA asi ShArngAdi asankhEya divyAyudha! (Sri Ramanuja in

Gadyam)"Sangennum chakkaram ennum tuzhAi ennum-igganE sollum""SanginOdum

nEmiyOdum tAmarai kaNgalOdum""Sangu vil vAL tandu chakkara kaiyyarkku""VeLlai

suri SangOdu Azhi Endi tAmarai KaNnan""Sangodu chakkaram kaNdu ugandadum

tAmarai kaNgalukku attru teerndadum"(Sri Nammazhwar)All these denote in no

uncertain terms the primacy the Shankham enjoys, among the Lord's weapons. What

could be the reason behind this phenomenon of the Shankham being accorded pride

of place, despite the Chakram being obviously more popular and enjoying greater

visibility?The answer to this puzzle lies

in the NAcchiyAr Tirumozhi of Sri Andal.Perhaps to compensate in advance for the

lack of adequate mention by PoorvAcharyas, Sri Andal devotes all of ten pasurams

for the adulation of Sri PAnchajanyam, the glorious shankham adorning the Lord's

left hand. ChakrattAzhvan might be the much- adulated arsenal of the Lord, but

it is the Lord's Shankham that gets to taste the incredibly sweet lips and

mouth of Emperuman. It is therefore to the Shankham we must turn, as Sri Andal

does, if we want to get a true picture of how tasty the Lord's lips are. For,

when the Lord blows the Conch, His coral lips and fragrant mouth come into

close contact with the Shankham, affording it a delectable taste, which is

normally the exclusive preserve of the Divine Consorts."Is the Lord's mouth

fragrant as scented camphor? Or is it the type of fragrance exuded by the

lovely lotus?" Sri Andal seeks confidential information (which is known only to

Sri Devi and

Sri Bhoodevi) from Sri PAnchajanyAzhwan-"Karuppooram nArumO kamala poo

nArumOTiruppavaLa sevvai tAn tittitirukkumO?"Maruppositta MAdhavan tan vAi

suvayum nAttramumVirupputtru kEtkindrEn sol Azhi veN SangE!"Since this is a

divine secret, Sri Andal places Sri Panchajanyam in the position of an Acharya

and seeks upadEsam on the taste and fragrance of the Lord's lips, says Sri

Azhagia MaNavALa PerumAL nAyAnAr-"Karuppooram nArumO! Kamala poo nArumO!..endru

dEsikarai kEtkum padiyAna soundarya sArasyam uLLitta bhOgyataiyai udayOmum nAm

allOmO endrA pOlE"We are able to glean quite a lot of information about the

Shankham, from these ten pasurams of Sri Kodai Nacchiar. For instance, we get

to know that the Shankham, though originally from the unfathomable depths of

the ocean, grew up in the body of an asurA known as "Panchajanan", from which

it attained the name "PAnchajanyam". It is pure white in colour,

symbolising the epitome of Sattva guNam, of unalloyed goodness. Sri Andal's

descriptions of the PAnchajanyam are indeed glorious and graphic. The Lord

looks like a huge mountain-"Pacchai mA malai pOl mEni". On this mountain, the

pale wintry moon, the "Sharat Chandran" rises slowly and beautifully. This is

what the Shankham, with its pearly white complexion, looks like, sitting on the

Lord's left arm, resembling the glorious Moon in colour, in affording immediate

bliss at sight, etc.-"Tada varayin meedE sharat kAla ChandiranidaiyuvAvil vandu

ezhundAl pOl"The Shankham's resemblance to the Moon is emphasized in the next

pasuram-"Chandira mandilam pOl DAmOdaran kaiyilantaram ondru indri Eri".We are

told by the PanchAyudha Stotram that the PAnchajanyam resembles not one, but

millions of Moons shining simultaneously-"Tam PAnchajanyam sashi kOti shubhram

Shankham sadAham sharaNam

prapdyE"Sri Andal speaks with envy about the several distinctions the Shankham

has managed to garner. If we need some favour from the Lord, it is to the

Shankham that we have to apply and not to any other acolyte, for, the

PAnchajanyam "has the Lord's ears", so to say, nestling close to His left ear,

as it does. From its vantage position, it looks as if the Shankham is forever

whispering secrets and sweet nothings into Emperuman's ears, unbeknownst to

others and also putting in a word on behalf of devotees who need the Lord's

favours-"avan seviyil mandiram koLvAyE pOlum valam puriyE!"We know how

difficult and strenuous it is to visit holy places, for having a spiritually

cleansing dip in the various puNya teertthams. Whether it be the Ganga or the

Yamuna, they lie at a great distance, involving a lot of time, expenditure and

physical strain to bathe in them. With absolutely no effort on its part, the

Shankham is able to bathe

daily in the holiest of waters, holier than any of those known to mankind, viz.,

the sweet juices from the Lord's mouth-"SeNkaN Mal tannudaya vAi teerttham

pAyndu Ada vallAi ValampuriyE!". Swami Desikan confirms this in Sri Devanayaka

Panchasat-"VamsEna Shankha patinA cha nishEvitam tE bimbAdharam"Food and

Shelter form the essential requisites for any person. Some can eat just

porridge "Kanji"), while some are able to do justice to a sumptuous meal. While

some reside in humble huts, some are fortunate to have palaces for their stay.

However, more fortunate than any one, as far as food and shelter are concerned,

is the PAnchajanyam, which has the sweet juices of the Lord's mouth for its

staple food and sleeps comfortably in the most exalted of shelters, viz., the

Lord's lotus-like, soft and supple palm. Can the glory of the Shankham be

measured at all, asks Sri Andal-"Indiranum unnOdu selvatthukku ElAnE",

"ShankarayA! Un selvam sAla

azhagiyadE".By monopolising access to the Lord's fragrant lips and mouth, the

Shankham generates immense envy in the minds of the fairer sex, who too would

like their share of the treasure. The Shankham's incalculable good fortune, in

having for its constant consumption liquids sweeter than nectar and holier than

the holiest of sacred waters, make the 16000 and odd Consorts of the Lord green

with envy and livid with fury, says Sri Andal-"peN padayAr un mEl perum poosal

chAttrugindrAr""PadinAram ayiravar dEvimAr pArtthiruppamadhu vAyil kondAl pOl

Madhavan tan vAyamudampoduvAga uNbadanai pukku nee undakkAlchidayAro! UnnOdu

sol Azhi VeNsangE!" The Shankham is not only the symbol of Shuddha Sattvam, it

is also the embodiment of immeasurable wisdom. It was through a mere touch of

the Shankham that the infant Dhruva, bewildered beyond measure by the sudden

appearance of the Lord before his eyes and unable to

find the right words to praise the Lord, was afforded eternal wisdom, which made

him burst into verses filled with devotion and erudition-"Shankha prAntEna

Govinda: tam pasparsha kritAnjalimutAnapAdam anagham dvija varya! Jagatpati:"

(Sri Vishnupuranam)However, a major doubt assails us-we have been speaking of

the Shankham as an "Ayudham", a weapon, and all that we have seen so far

indicates only a docile disposition. Is the Shankham really effective as a

weapon and if so, how can it cause harm to the Lord's opponents, not being

endowed with a "cutting edge", like other weapons of distinction like the

Chakram and the Sword? Nor can the PAnchajanyam be used as a "blunt instrument"

to cause damage, like the Mace KoumOdaki!The Shankham is by far superior to the

other components of the Lord's arsenal, endowed with the power of making foes

drop dead due to sheer fear, shock and trauma, occasioned by its benumbing

boom-"VishnO: mukhOttAnila pooritasya yasya dhvani: danava darpa hantAtam

PAnchajanyam sashi kOti shubhram Shankham sadAham sharaNam prapadyE".The

Shankham does a clean job, with its victims just dropping dead, unlike the gory

and bloody deaths caused by its peers like the Chakram and the Sword. As proof

of the PAnchajanyam's potency, we find that the moment Sri Krishna and Arjuna

blew their conches in the battle field of Kurukshetra, the Kaurava army

practically dropped dead with fear and shock, making Arjuna's job of disposing

them off much easier than it would have been otherwise. The following Gita

slokas attest to this-"MAdhava: PANdavaschaiva divyou Shankhou

pradadhmatu:PAnchajanyam HrisheekEsa: DEvadattam Dhananjaya:"sa ghOshO

DhArtarAshtrANAm hridayAni vyadArayat"Expanding on these beautiful verses, Sri

Ramanuja says that victory for the Pandavas was a foregone conclusion, once

the deafening and terrifying boom of these Shankhas tore through the hearts of

the Kauravas-"SarvEsvarEsvara: ParthasArathI rathIcha PANdu tanaya: trailOkya

vijayOpakaraNa bhootE mahati syandanE stitthou trailOkyam kampayantou, Sreemat

Panchajanya DEvadattou divyou shankhou pradadhmatu:". The words "TrailOkyam

kampayantou" appear to be a verbatim translation of the Tiruppavai lines,

"GyAlatthai ellAm nadunga muralvana", testifying to the deep roots that this

prabandam had taken in the mind of the Tiruppavai Jeer.Sri Periyazhwar performs

mangalAsasanam to this Shankham, which boomed terrifyingly, reducing opposing

armies to mere jelly-"padai pOr pukku muzhangum ap Panchajanyamum pallANdE!"

The normal position of the Shankham is on the left hand of the Lord-"kooonEru

sangam idatthAn". Lest we get the wrong idea that the Shankham's principal role

is destructive, to assure us that it indeed has a supportive, protective and

preservative role too, the Lord sports the same in His right hand, at

Tirukkovilur, says Swami Desikan in Sri DEhalIsa Stuti-"Chakrasya daitya

danujAdishu vAma bhAvamShankhasya cha Ashrita janEshu dakshinatvamVyaktam

pradarsayasi GOpapurAdhirAja!Vyatyasya noonam anayO: kara samprayOgam".The

strains from the Shankham, while being unbearably terrifying to opponents'

ears, are indeed sweet music to those of devotees. We hence see Sri Kodai

Naachiar wishing the Shankha nAdam to be part of the marriage festivities, at

Her divine wedding with the Lord-"mattaLam kotta, vari sangam nindru ooda"Have

you seen the Lord holding only the Shankham? You would be prompted to reply

even without thinking that it could not be so, for the Lord is always seen at

all divya desams sporting both the Divine Discus and the Cosmic Conch. However,

just to prove you wrong, the Lord does hold only the PAnchajanyam, at

TiruvallikkENi,

in His bewitching role as PArthasArathy, adhering to His promise that He would

not touch a weapon during the Kurukshetra war. However, little did the ignorant

DuryOdhana know that the innocent-looking Shankham could be as potent a weapon

as the dreaded ChakrAyudham. Compared to the burning and brilliant

SudarsanAzhwar ("anal Azhi"), true to its origins,(the ocean), the Shankham is

cool and comforting, and shares its birthplace with Sri Mahalakshmi, a

distinction unavailable to the other AyudhAs. And being dear to the Divine

Consort, the PAnchajanyam automatically occupies the pride of place in the

Divine Household, enjoying the dual advantage of privity to both the Lord and

His Consort.To cut a long story short, the Shankham is the "coolest" of the

Lord's weapons, incorporating the dual-purpose technology of protectiveness and

pleasurable ness to devotees and striking terror in the hearts of others. It has

not only the Lord's ear, but His mouth

too, and, due to its vantage position, is the object of not only "Neighbour's

envy" (of Sudarsanam) but also that of the Divine Consorts. Srimate

SriLakshmINrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra

Mahadesikaya nama:dasan, sadagopan[Non-text portions of this message have been

removed]R.Srinath srinath_atreya

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