Vairagya Pancakam - 5 (Conclusion)

[Guest guest]

Sri:

Srimathe Ramanujaya Nama:

 

Dear devotees,

Today is Purattasi Thiruvonam - Thiruvengadamudaiyan's

thirunakshatram and the thirunakshatram of the incarnation

of His bell, Sri Venkatanathar also known as Sri Vedanta

Desikar. It is appropriate to study the last shloka of

Swami's Vairagya Pancakam on this day. On this day, we

should allow at least a little of his vairagyam to seep

into our lives - to follow our acharyas, to praise His

name whenever and wherever we can, and to put aside our

petty differences and do everything only in His service.

 

Let us all celebrate this noble acharya's thirunakshatram

today in union of spirit and mind.

 

adiyEn madhurakavi dAsan

 

--

 

Sri Vedanta Desikar's Vairagya Panchakam

 

 

Shloka 5:

sharIrapatanAvadhi prabhuniShevaNApAdanAt

abindhanadhananjayaprashamadam dhanam dandhanam |

dhananjayavivardhanam dhanamudUDha govardhanam

susAdhanamabAdhanam sumanasAm samArAdhanam ||

 

 

Meaning:

May the thing that sends us to the danger of seeking

the kings till this body drops and which pacifies the

fire in our stomachs be destroyed. We do not want it.

Our wealth is that which supported and built Arjuna,

that which lifted the Govardhana mountain, that which

fulfills the needs of the devas, that which is the

means to acheieve anything, and that which never allows

anything bad to befall those who believe in it. That

is what we possess.

 

 

Sri PBA Swami's Commentary:

Those who bow before the lowly kings and accept wealth

have to keep doing that throughout their lives. That

they have to bow to them before gaining wealth is

obvious. But couldn't they leave the kings after

obtaining the wealth? No, they cannot. Because, in

order to protect the wealth that they got, they have

to keep praising the kings. Thus, tolerating the

destruction of their true nature, they earn wealth in

order to support their stomach. Such a wealth is not

needed for us. Our wealth is Him who will support us

in both the body's journey as well as the soul's

journey.

 

The phrase "abindhanandhanan-jaya" refers to the

jAtharAgni. That is, the fire that expects food and

water. The dhananjaya word stands for both fire and

Arjuna. Here it stands for fire and in the third line

it stands for Arjuna. In the second line, the wealth

talked about is meant to satisfy the fire in the

stomach. As opposed to that, the third line talks of

the wealth that protects Arjuna.

 

The word dhana repeats seven times in the second part

of this shloka. This is to show that the true wealth

that is Him, will be with us in all seven births

("eRRaikkum EzhEzh piRavikkum").

 

udUDha govardhanam talks about Him lifting the

Govardhana mountain to protect the yadavas from the

anger of Indra. Another meaning for "go" is speech.

So, the meaning that He protects speech is also

obtained here. That is, wealth of this world builds

the stomach, while this wealth build the mind.

 

susAdhanam shows that the usual wealth is the means

to get only the lowly items of this world, whereas

He is the means to get the superior things of the

other world. That is, the lowly means are to be given

up.

 

abAdhanam shows that the lowly wealth will get

depleted as it is used. He is the wealth that never

goes down. Dangers such as being stolen also do not

affect this wealth.

 

sumanasAm samArAdhanam says that He is the wealth

that gives great pleasure to the wise and the devas.

 

 

Vedanta Desikar Thiruvadigale Sharanam

Azhvar Emberumanar Jeeyar Thiruvadigale Sharanam

[Guest guest]

Oppiliappan, "vtca" <vtca> wrote:

> Sri PBA Swami's Commentary:

> Those who bow before the lowly kings and accept wealth

> have to keep doing that throughout their lives. That

> they have to bow to them before gaining wealth is

> obvious. But couldn't they leave the kings after

> obtaining the wealth? No, they cannot. Because, in

> order to protect the wealth that they got, they have

> to keep praising the kings. Thus, tolerating the

> destruction of their true nature, they earn wealth in

> order to support their stomach. Such a wealth is not

> needed for us. Our wealth is Him who will support us

> in both the body's journey as well as the soul's

> journey.

 

 

Dear Sri TCA SvAmin,

What a thoughtful statement indeed of Sri PBA's commentary!

Thank you for sharing these traditional vyAkhyAnams.

 

It shows why our old Masters were utterly devotional in their outlook

in life. Their devotion sprang from deep thoughtfulness.

 

regards

dAsan,

Sudarshan