Like a Diamond in the Sky

[Guest guest]

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Like a Diamond in the Sky

 

They sparkle like diamonds in the night sky, so many of them

glittering and gleaming, lighting up the nocturnal firmament. Their

light is not harsh, glaring or hot like that of the Solar orb, but a

soft, translucent glow that is at once pleasing and soothing. It is

they which contribute considerably to the so-called magic of the

night. They are to be seen in different bewitching groupings or

constellations, shaped variously like a hunter, a scorpion and so on.

Even if you were able to count the sands on the beach, you can’t

tot up the number of the twinkling faces in the sky. They may be

millions of light years away, but their influence over our lives is

remarkable. It is they which decide who marries whom and when

auspicious things should be done or avoided---in reckoning a

matrimonial match, it is the mutual compatibility of the stars of the

bride and groom-to-be, that is the decisive factor in proceeding with

or discarding the alliance. According to Astrology, the star under

which a person is born is a fair indicator of his character, conduct,

fortunes and future. Though there are innumerable stars dotting the

sky, only twenty-seven are considered significant, as enumerated by

the blemishless Shruti. These nakshatrAs are classified into two

groups, DEva nakshatrAs and Yama nakshatrAs, the ones from KrittikA

upto VisAkham forming the first group and the ones from anUrAdha to

BharaNi comprising the Yama nakshatras. Here are a few facts about

these distant deciders of our destinies.

 

Though the popular enumeration of stars commences with AsvinI,

BharaNi etc., the Veda Purusha puts KrittikA first-“KrittikA:

prathamam”. However, KrittikA is not considered an auspicious

star-the Overlord of this Star is the all-powerful Agni, who,with his

immense destructive potential, can burn houses down in a

trice-“grihAn ha dAhukO bhavati”.

 

Next in line is the hallowed star ROhiNI, made immeasurably holy by

the birth of Sri Krishna under the aphorism. Predictably, PrajApati or

the Paramapursha is the Overlord of this particular star. The

Celestials are extremely fond of this star, presumably due to its

association with the glorious Lord-“priyA dEvAnAm”.

 

Though the Bhagavata Purana is quite categorical that Lord Krishna

was born under this star, Azhwars are a bit equivocal on this. For

instance, we have Sri Periazhwar telling Kannapiran that He was born

under Shravana nakshatram-“ nee piranda TiruvONam, indru nee

neerAda vENdum”. “Bathe atleast today, as today is the

star under which you were born!” exhorts Sri Periazhwar,

coaxing the divine kid, stinking with the odour of dairy products, to

have a bath. We are unable to dismiss this as oversight, firstly

because of the unblemished wisdom the Azhwar was blessed with and

secondly because he reiterates this elsewhere too-“ tiNnAr

veNsangu udayAi tirunAL TiruvONam”. “attattin pattAm nAL

tOndriya Achuthan” says he further, confirming the birth of the

mischievous brat under the Tiruvonam star which is the tenth, when

counted from Hasta nakshatram. How is this possible, we wonder. Is it

possible for Sri Krishna to be born under two stars, which would be

quite in tune with His other extraordinary exploits, and with the

Shruti dictum, “ayAyamAnO bahudhA vijAyatE”?

 

The truth of the matter is that the Shruti earmarks Tiruvonam as the

Lord’s own aphorism-“ShrONA nakshatram Vishnu:

dEvatA”. As such, whatever be the avatara the Lord assumes, and

whatever aphorism He is born under, that aphorism is considered to be

but an aspect of Tiruvonam. We see this repeated in the Thiruppallandu

too, where Sri Nrsimha (reputed to have manifested under the star

SwAtI) too is described to have Tiruvonam as His star-“TiruvONa

tiruvizhavil andi ampouzhudil ari uruvAgi ariyai azhittavan”.

However, if we were to justify the Azhwar’s assertion that the

Lord was born on the tenth day of the Hastham star, we could count

forwards (if we count backwards, the tenth is Tiruvonam) and arrive

at Rohini as the tenth one from Hastham, thus reconciling the

apparent contradiction. The primacy of Tiruvonam is abundantly

apparent when we note that it is the birth star of other avataras

too, such as Trivikrama and Hayagriva. Not only Emperuman, but also

Azhwars (Sri Poigayazhwar) and Acharyas (Swami Desikan and Sri

Pillailokacharya) have glorified this nakshatram by their birth under

the same. The Shruti praises this star as the holiest and most

meritorious of all-“PuNyAm”. Sri Periazhwar too adulates

this nakshatram, by pointing out that those born under this aphorism

would rule the earth-“TiruvOnatthAn ulagALum enbArgaLe”.

 

Another nakshatram that comes in for glorification by Vedas is

PunarvasU, and predictably so, for it is under this star that the

Magnificent Monarch of the Raghuvamsam, the peerless Paragon of

Virtues, the repository of all auspicious attributes, Sri Rama was

born. “nakshatrE aditi daivatyE” says Sri Valmiki,

recounting Sri Raghava’s birth under this star, the presiding

deity of which is Aditi, famed as the Mother of all

Celestials-“ aditi: dEva mAtA”. Predictably, this star is

adulated as the support of all worlds-“Visvasya bhartrI Jagata:

pratishttA”.

 

SwatI, the aphorism of the unparallelled avataram, that of Sri

Nrisimha, comes in for its share of praise too. This nakshatram is

prayed to for ensuring freedom from the torment of one’s

detractors and for the latter to vanish into the distance, turned

impotent and harmless by the awesome power of the Adbhuta Kesari

(“dooram asmat satravO yantu bheetA:”). Sri Nrisimha

ensures not only safety from one’s enemies, but bestows upon us

all that is auspicious, if prayed to-“tannakshatram bhooridA

astu mahyam”, for He is the personification of

auspiciousness-“Bhadram”. Nitya sUris like Sri VainatEya

and Sri Vishnuchitta of the Azhwar ghOshti, have adorned this

aphorism by choosing it as their birth star.

 

As against the twenty-seven popular stars, the Shruti enumerates one

additional nakshatram named “Abhijit” (“abhijit

nAma nakshatram, uparishtAt ashAdAnAm, avastAt shrOnAyai”),

that confers success in all our endeavours and victory in all

battles. This additional nakshatram is placed between UtthrAdam and

Tiruvonam and is supposed to have been the source of inspiration and

success for BrahmA himself.

 

Though it is tempting to cover in detail the glory of each of these 28

stars, let us conclude with a mention of the last one in the Vedic

order-Bharani. The Overlord of this star is the dreaded

Yamadharmaraja, who keeps meticulous count of all the sins we commit

(which we imagine to be unknown to others) and metes out just

punishment commensurate with the gravity of the offences. The Shruti

extolls his praise as the Lord of the Worlds (“lOkasya RajA

mahatO mahAn hi”), what with the power of penalty that he

wields over all inhabitants, irrespective of their social or economic

status. It is however interesting to note Yama himself confessing that

though he is all-powerful, his writ runs not over the devotees of Lord

Vishnu-“prabhu: aham anya nriNAm, na VaishnavAnAm”. The

memorable story of AjAmiLa is a case in point. Given his stature and

punitive powers, the Shruti voices a prayer to Yama that he should

make our lives easy, virtuous and fearless, so that we are spared the

unwelcome attentions of this terrifying deity-

“sugam na: pantthAm abhayam kriNOtu”.

 

We also hear of the magnificence of Dhruva, whom the Lord has made

an everlasting star in the eternal firmament, in recognition of his

boundless bhakti manifest at an extremely young age, the guiding star

of sailors the world over before modern day navigational aids were

invented. Another star to come in for Vedic adulation is ArundhatI,

held out to be a role model for women to this day, when no marriage

is complete without the newly-wedded couple having the star pointed

out to them-“ Saptarshaya: prathamAm KrittikAnAm

arundhatI” says the Shruti.

 

Stars occupy an extremely significant place in the divine scheme of

things, so much so that they are reputed to be the very form of the

Lord Himself-“nakshatrANi roopam” says the Purusha Sukta.

The first ashtaka of the Yajur Brahmana tells us that one who knows

the Paramapurusha as the embodiment of nakshatras verily knows all

that is there to be known in this world and others-“yO vai

nakshatriyam Prajapatim vEda, ubhayOr Enam lOkayOr vidu:”.

Describing Emperuman’s various angAs, the ashtaka lays down

that Hasta nakshatram is His hands, ChitrA His head, SwAtI His heart,

VisAkham His thighs and so on.

 

During TrivikramAvatAra, when the Lord grew from a dimunitive dwarf

into a Colossus spanning the three worlds, the fraternity of stars

formed a garland around His towering headgear. When He grew further,

they adorned His forehead as a glittering ornament. When He continued

His vertical journey, the nakshatrAs formed a sparkling necklace

around His beautiful neck, and later, a brilliant

“oddyANam” around His midriff. When the Lord grew

further, the stars formed themselves into adoring anklets around His

holy feet. When He outgrew this too, the stars remained vanquished,

knowing not in what form they could perform kainkaryam to the

ever-expanding tirumEni of Trivikrama. This enthralling imagery is

portrayed with perfection by Swami Desikan in Sri DEhalIsa Stuti.

 

Of the five angAs (tithi, vAram, yOgam, KaraNam and nakshatram), the

stars are the only ones to be bestowed with the honorific prefix,

“thiru”. We say “thirnakshatram” when

referring to the birth star of the Lord, Azhwars or Acharyas. Similar

honour is not afforded to the other four angAs-nobody says

“thiru ashtami” or “thiru subha yOgam”, even

while referring to auspicious ones. Nor are the other angAs glorified

by the Shruti, which reserves choice words of appreciation for the

stars. And nobody is bothered about under what tithi he was born in

or the Yogam or KaraNam of that day. It is the Stars which rule the

roost, all the way. They twinkle at us from millions of miles afar,

shaping our future, guiding our destinies and forming constant

reminders of the Lord and His magnificence.

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri

Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

Dasan, sadagopan

[Guest guest]

Dear SrIman Sukumar:

 

The entire sthotram on SrI Dehaleesa

Sthuthi has been archived in the Bhakthi List

( August 97 onwards).

 

In response to your another question,

PeriyAzhwAr is considered as the amsam of

Garudan.Today is the AzhwAr's birthday.

 

V.Sadagopan

 

 

Sri Krishnaya Namah!

 

Dear Swamin,

 

Humble Pranams!

 

 

Thanks a lot for a very informative piece on stars. Of these, one which

raised my curiosity enormously is on Trivikramavatara and I would be ever

thankful to you if you could let me know more on Swami Desikan imagery in

Sri DEhalIsa Stuti.

 

Also, while on this, in one of your articles, there was a mention on Sri

Andal praising Vatapatrashayi, though the details of which has not been

given. I would highly appreciate if you could provide info. on this.

 

 

Many thanks for your time.

 

 

 

Sukumar

 

Sri Krishnaparabrahmane Namah!

 

 

 

sadagopaniyengar [sMTP:sadagopaniyengar]

04/07/2003 9:18 AM

; ; tiruvengadam; Oppiliappan;

radha jagannathan; j.srinivasan; sukanya Murali; cs.srinivasan; mythily

ramadesikan

Cc: sadagopaniyengar

Like a Diamond in the Sky