The Finest of Flowers-2

[Guest guest]

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri

Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

The Finest of Flowers—2

 

We saw how the Lotus has an extremely intimate connection with

the Lord, with almost all His avayavAs resembling one, with His navel

generating the Cosmic Lotus charged with the function of Creation,

etc. The Divine Consort is an inseparable part of the Lord and His

equal in all respects, sharing identical tastes and likings. Is it

any wonder therefore, that She too has an extremely close connection

with this flower? In fact, one might say that the “Lotus

Connection” is more pronounced in the case of Piratti, who has

conferred a singular honour on the flower by carrying it in Her

glorious name. “PadmA”, “KamalA”

“PankajA” are some of the sobriquets relished by Her and

by Her devotees too, if one were to go by the profusion of such names

among our womenfolk.

 

The name “PadmA” has the distinction of acceptance by the

Shruti, which uses several variants of the sobriquet to adulate

Piratti. Swami Desikan exhorts us to recite this name a lot, as it is

capable of saving us from the quagmire of Samsara—

“lakshmI PadmA jaladhi tanayA VishnupatnI indirEti

yat nAmAni shruti paripaNani Evam Avartayanta:

nAvartantE durita pavana prEritE janma chakrE”

 

The SrisUktam, the Lakshmi ashtOttharasatanAma stOtra and others make

much of Piratti’s infatuation with the Lotus. Each of the

associated tirunAmAs portray a particular aspect of the association,

as can be seen by the following:

 

“PadmavarNAm”—Piratti’s complexion is that of

a divine lotus, says the Shruti. There are two types of lotuses

which are popular—the white one or “VeN tAmarai”

and the red one, the”SenthAmarai”. Both these appear to

be appropriate as TirumagaL’s hues.

 

“PadmE sthithAm”—The Lotus is the residence of

Piratti. It is Her permanent address, so to say. Apart from the

Shruti pramANam for this, Azhwar sreesooktis too confirm

this—“alar mEl mangai”, “TAmarayAl Agilum

chidaguraikkumEl” “poovin misai nangai”

“malarAL” “tEn amarum poo mEl Tiru”

“aravinda malar pAvai” “adayAr kamalatthu

alarmagaL”etc. “Sarasija nilayAm” and “Padma

vanAlayAm” are tirunAmAs that confirm that the Lotus is Her

favourite abode.

 

By association, the Lord too sports sobriquets like “KamalA

kAnta:”etc. Referring to Srinivasa, Swami Desikan calls Him

“KamalA vAsa:”

 

“Padma mAlinIm” “Padma mAlAdharAm”--TirumagaL

is not content with the myriad associations She has with the Pankajam

and adorns Herself with a garland of beautiful, fresh lotuses. We see

in some sannidhIs that Piratti is flanked by elephants sporting

lotuses in their upraised trunks, apparently poised to place them at

Her feet in adulation. Thus, just as the Lord wears TiruttuzhAi on

all parts of His tirumEni (“tOLiNai mElum nan mArbin mElum

sudar mudi mElum

tALiNai mElum punainda taN am tuzhAiyudai

ammAn”)

His Consort delights in adorning Herself with lotuses, all over.

 

“Padma gandhAm”—It is natural that we acquire the

smell of what we are closely associated with. For instance, the

milk-vendor reeks of dairy products and the vendor of onions can

never shake off the smell, however hard he might try. Similarly,

having the Lotus as Her residence and holding one in Her hand

constantly, Piratti’s natural fragrance is tinged with that of

the red flower. This is indeed a sacred scent, as Her tirunamam

“PuNya gandhAm” indicates.

 

“Padma mukhIm” “PadmAnanAm”--Just as the

Lord’s face resembles a lotus, Piratti’s too is veritably

a blooming lotus. Just as the Lotus blooms at the sight of the Sun,

Piratti’s face is also wreathed in smiles, at the sight of the

Lord.

 

“Padma priyA”—the very fact that Sri Mahalakshmi has

the flower as Her permanent residence indicates Her liking for the

Lotus. This fondness for the flower is prompted not only by aesthetic

considerations, but principally by the fact that the Lotus is

extremely dear to Her Consort, whose entire tirumEni resembles the

bloom, as we have already seen. Whenever Piratti looks at the flower,

it reminds Her of Emperuman and is hence extremely dear to Her heart.

 

“Padma hastAm”—As the Lord does, His Lady Love too

holds a lotus bloom in Her hands, as the arcchAvatAra moorthies in

various sannidhIs would vouch for.

Why does She hold a padmam in Her hand? The answer to this question is

found in Sri Daya Satkam, where Swami Desikan tells us that DayA dEvi

sports it for amusing Herself, as a matter of fancy-“tava kELi

padmai:”.

 

It is not only the Lotus which is beautiful, even its leaves are.

Those who have seen the broad and ciruclar leaves lying flat on the

pond surface would attest to this. The eyes of both the Lord and His

Lady Love resemble not only the lotus, but its leaves too, says the

Scripture—“Rama: kamala patrAksha:”, “Padma

patrAkshI”

 

Just to dispel doubts that lotus feet might be a monopoly of Periya

Piratti, Sri Andal’s vAzhi tirunAmam claims the distinction for

Her too—“vaNpuduvai nagar Kodai malar padangaL

vAzhiyE”.

 

Another unique feature of lotus leaves is their non-stick nature.

Water is not absorbed, but just runs off them. Hence they are often

held out as examples of how unattached we should be, even in the

midst of this Samsara which attaches itself to us willy

nilly—“Padma patram iva ambhasA” “nalinI dala

gata jalam ati taralam” etc. Thus lotus leaves, which, despite

being rooted in water, are able to shake it off with no effort,

provide us an inspiration for cultivating VairAgyam and detachment,

even while remaining in this mundane morass.

 

The Lotus is indeed a Srivaishnava par excellence, for it

doesn’t stop with performing kainkaryam to the Divine Duo, but

relishes service to bhagavatAs too, as behoves a true SEshA. The

flower serves as comparison not only for the tiruvadis of the Lord

and His Consort, but also for the holy feet of His distinguished

devotees. We thus see the Bhashyakara likening the tiruvadi of Sri

Alavandar to a brilliant lotus,capable of destroying all

blemishes—

“yat pada ambOruha dhyAna vidhvasta asEsha kalmasha:”

In turn, Sri amudanAr adulates the lotus-like tiruvadis of Sri Ramanuja—

“pon arangam ennil mayalE perugum irAmAnusan mannu mAmalar tAL ayarEn”

 

Not only does Lakshmana Muni’s tiruvadi resemble a lotus, but

his palm too, extended in the vyAkyAna mudrA, appears to be a

beautiful lotus, blossomed just then—“vyAkhyAna kELi

rasikEna karAmbujena”

 

The tiruvadis of Sri Tiruvarangatthu amudanAr, the venerated author of

the irAmAnusa noottrandAdi, resembling lovely lotuses, have the power

of ridding us of the fear of Yama, says a taniyan—

“munnai vinai agala moongil kudi amudan

ponnnam kazhal kamala pOdu iraNdum

en cheenikku aNiyAga sErtthinEn-ten pulatthArkku

ennukaduvudayEn yAn”.

Swami Desikan is so enamoured of the Acharyas that Sri Bhashyakara

left behind, that he yearns for adorning his head with their

lotus-like rtiruvadi—

“satAm vahAmi charaNAmbujam”(Yatiraja Saptati). Perhaps

the “SatAm” or the holy men referred to by Tooppul Pillai

here are Sri AppiLLAr and his own Acharyas, as is evident from Sri

KumAra VaradAchArya’s lines, ascribing all of Swami

Desikan’s distinctions to his boundless reverence for his

Acharyas—

“kAvalar engaL KidAmbi kulapati appuLLar tam

tEmalar sEvadi sErndu paNindavar”

 

Sri NainArAchArya pays a similar and eloquent tribute to the charaNAmbujam of Swami Desikan--

“vadivazhagu Arnda vaN Tooppul vaLLal men malaradi mEl

adiyavar Oda andAdi irupathum AynduraitthEn”.

These lotus feet of Swami Desikan so captivate his son and disciple

that the latter refers to them time and again—“Tooppul

dhurandharan too malar tAL”.

 

It is indeed impossible to depict the magnificence of the lotus-like

tiruvadis of the Lord, His Consorts or of Azhwars and Acharyas. It

would also appear that, with friends in such high places and such

exalted associations, it is well-nigh impossible to describe fully

the glory of the Lotus too.

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri

Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

Dasan, sadagopan