Thuppul PiLLai- 21- archA avathAra anubhavam

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SrI:

SrImathE Nigamantha Mahadesikaya namah:

SrImAn venkatanAthAryaH kavitArkika kesarI |

vedAntAcArya-varyo me sannidhattAm sadA hRdi ||

 

May the glorious Venkatanatha, the greatest of teachers of Vedanta, and the

lion among poets and debaters, reside forever in my heart.

 

Dearest Srivaishnavas,

 

His learned contemporaries called him, “Kavi taarkika simham”- lion among

poets and dialecticians or logicians. The Supreme Being Bhagawaan Ranganatha

of Srirangam, conferred on him the title of “Vedanthacharya” [the preceptor

of the Vedantha] and his divine consort Sri Ranganayaki that of

Sarvathanthraswathanthrar [supreme master of all sciences]. Sri Vedanta

Desika refers to this in Adhikarana saaraavaLi- as follows: That Supreme

Lord Sri Ranganatha who created the forms and gave the names to all things

in the universe, conferred on me this appellation. Vedanthacharya and here

is an attempt of mine to make that title significant and meaningful by

writing this poem Adhikarana Saravali [ the garland of the essentials of the

Adhikarana, which is a Digest of the teaching of Brahmma sutras]

 

viSvasmin nAmarUpAni anuvihithavatA thEna davEn dhatthAm |

vEdAnthAchArya samjnAm avahitha bahuvith sArThamanvarThayOmi ||

 

Being impelled by devotion to Lord Hayagriva and with a desire to express

his gratitude for His grace, Sri Vedanta Desika composed hymn of Hayagriva

consisting of 33 verses in which he sings about the form, greatness and

qualities of the Lord and also indirectly refers to the mantra.

 

vyAkhyAmudrAm… mAnasE vaagaDheeSa: [Hayagriva sthOthram- 32]

 

The Lord of speech, Hayagriva possessed of a never fading splendour holds in

his four lotus like hands the symbol of instruction [vyAkhyAmudrA], book,

conch shell and chakrA, and is seated on a lovely lotus, shining like a

newly cut white crystal, may the Lord of flawless greatness drench me by His

cool and nectar like saying and take His seat in my heart

 

In third sloka, Sri Vedanta Desika describes thus: The sweet neighing sound

of Horse faced God is a collection of the Saama Veda songs; is a replica of

Rig Veda hymns and is the abode of Yajur Veda. It is destroyer of all

obstacles and is the singing waves of the sea of knowledge.

[samaahaarasaamnaam… hayavadhana hEshA hala halah:]

 

The next hymn composed by Sri Vedanta Desika is Garuda panchasath on Garuda,

who is a vehicle of Bhagawaan Narayana and is also the king of all birds.

Garuda is a Nithyasuri. This sthothra is in fifty verses comprising five

sections describing respectively (1) his five forms (2) the espidoe of his

fetching the nectar, (3) the story of the conquest of the serpents (4) his

decoration and (5) his exploits of wonder. From the last sloka, we learnt

that Sri Vedanta Desika composed this hymn carrying out the command of

Garuda. The sloka says: Venkatesa, the lion among poets and logicians

composed this hymn of fifty one verses on Garuda the son of Vinata, the she

eagle bearing on head i.e. respectfully carrying out his command and with

the desire of propitiating him. Those who practise them repeatedly will be

free from the inflictions of the poisonous serpents, diseases and divine

beings and will also realize the foremost of their desires, why talk of

other fruits.

 

It looks as though the indebtedness Sri Vedanta Desika towards Garuda is so

much that he makes it a point to refer to garuda in both the sthothras

composed by him – Garuda panchasath and Garuda dhaNdakam. In the first [in

first sloka] he says that it is a mantra on which the first word is PraNava

and the last word is SvAha with two letters, and middle two syallabled word

is Pakshi or its letters interchanged (as ksh its syllables interchanged).

 

In the fourth and the last section of Garud dhaNdaka, he refers to the

mantra as follows: manuh anugatha pakshi vakthrasphurat taaraka chithra

bhanu priya sEkharah- that mantra of thine (Oh Garuda) which begins with the

excellent praNava followed by the word pakshi with letters interchanged- and

which has at its end the word svAha is the name of the loving consort of the

God of fire.

 

Sri Vedanta Desika was drawn towards Thiruvaheendrapuram by its sanctity

with its Garudanadhi and Aushadhri – the realization of Garuda and Hayagriva

there had endeared it to him. So he decided to stay there for some time

worshipping Lord Devanatha, the presiding deity of the shrine. Every time he

visited the temple, the Lord was pleased to manifest His auspiciousness and

beautiful form with the result that the devotion and love of Desika to the

Lord grew more and more intense, could not resisit the temptation to sing

the glory of that Lord and so burst forth with songs, sweet and melodious in

three languages, Sanskrit, Prakrit and Tamil. Of the many deities that eh

has sung about, Devanatha is the only one deity who has been praised in

three languages.

 

There are nine hymns on Lord Devanatha, of which Deivanayaka panchasath is

the first. It consists of fifty three verses in Sanskrit describing

greatness of the Lord as creator the charming limbs of the Lord from head to

foot beginning with the sparkling diadem on the head and ending with the

shining nails to the toes.

 

The next hymn is Achyutha sathakam- in 101 verses in the soft and sweet

prakrith which a dialect of Sanskrit. It is in this language that the women

characters in the Sanskrit Drama speak. Probably the devotion of Sri Vedanta

Desika had developed into the love of a maiden and he becomes the bride who

speaks to her lover. In this also there is a beautiful description in more

than twenty verses of every limb of the Lord from head to foot. There is a

connection that lady in love enjoys the beauty of her lover beginning from

his head whereas a male devotee begins the praise from the saving feet of

the Lord. It may be said that Vedanta Desika who is now maiden, follows this

convention. She well read in scriptures which can be inferred from the way

in which her words are reminiscent of Vedic passages and the fundamental

doctrines of Vishstadvaita philosophy about Tattva[Reals], Hitha[means] and

Purusharttha [goal] are depicted though not directly since the whole hymn is

for the praise of the Lord.

 

When we come to the poems in Sweet Tamil by Vedanta Desika on Lord

Deivanayaka, we find that Sri Vedanta Desika has been completely transformed

into Venkatanayaki, a lady in intense love for the Lord. Her thoughts, words

and actions are all surcharged with erotic love. She experiences great joy

when she is with her lover (here Lord Devanatha) and untold pangs of

separation when she is away from Him. There are occasions when the suffering

is so great that she falls down unconscious and her sorrowful mother, foster

mother or maiden friend describe in grief stricken words the condition of

the beloved Venkatanayaki. [it may be noted that other Alwars, Desika is the

only Acharya who went into nAyikA bhAvam and sang verses]

 

There is clear internal evidence to show that seven poems in Tamil have been

composed which in mellifluous language the joy in unison with and pain in

separation from her lover Lord Devanatha of Venkatanayaki, the lady in love.

Of these seven, the first and the last are long poems and the rest should be

short. The first ten verses only of the first poem which should have had 30

verses and the last poem in full are all that are available now for us.

Unfortunately, the remaining 20 verses of the first and all middle five

short poems are lost. The meters and the language follow the rules of

prosody and poetics of the classical tamil of the Sangam age. All these

seven poems fall under the class of one or other of 96 kinds of compositions

of Tamil literature.

 

The first poem is MummanikkOvai. According to the Tamil poetics, this kind

of poem should consist of 30 verses divided in 10 groups, each one of have

three verses in three different gem like meters (mum maNi) which will of

same kind in all 10 groups. The verses will be in AntAdi form. The last word

(anta) in the preceding verse must be the first word (aadi) in the

succeeding verse. All these rules are closely followed in this

mummaNikkOvai. As stated only the first ten verses are available and the

rest are lost. This poem begins with a description of the six main qualities

of Sri and then of the greatness of Devanatha, and ends with the fruit of

self- surrender (Saranagati) at his lotus feet. Here we have verses in which

the female friend or the foster mother of Venkatanayaki describes the pangs

of separation of the heroine.

 

The last and seventh poem is Nava maNi maalai of ten verses couched in nine

gem like meters. In this Sri Vedanta Desika describes the divine nature of

the feet of Devanatha Bhagawaan and His incarnation, his auspicious

qualities, and supreme powers. There is reference to one of the most popular

festivals known as festivals of sea bath- massikadalaadi magizhndhu

varuvaarE…- in which the Lord Devanatha is taken to the sea here on the

Magha asterism in maasi month for bathing in the sea for enjoyment to His

devotees.

 

The concluding verse is of special significance since it gives us the names

of all the works of Vedanta Desika on Lord Devanatha in the serial order.

 

anthamil seerayindhai nagaramarndha nAThan

aDiyiNaimEl adiyuraiyaal aimbathEtthi

chinthaikavar praakrutham nooRu kOOrich

senthamizh mummaNikkOvai seRiyac chErtthup

pandhusuzhal ammAnai OOsal yEsal

paravu navamaNimaalai sonnEn

mundhaimaRai mozhiya vazhi mozhi nee yenRu

mukunthan aruL thandha payan peRREn naanE.

 

Lord Devanatha, possessed of countless auspicious qualities has chosen

Thiruvaheendrapuram (ayindhai) as his pleasing abode and remains there. As

an offering at His lotus feet I composed the Hymn Devanayaka Panchaasath

consisting of fifty verses in the ancient classical language (i.e.

Sanskrit). I sang a hundred songs in the heart captivating prakrit language

(under the name of achyutha sathakam). I placed at the feet of Devanatha, in

a fitting manner the poem of mummaNikkOvai in the sweet Tamil language. Also

sang the poetical compostions Pandhal, Oosal, Kazhal, ammAnai, Yesal, and

the NavamaNimaalai praised by all. Thus, have realized the front of mercy

bestowed on me by Lord Mukunda who in a tone of command, said- Go on,

compose works in the wake of the language of ancient holy Vedas.

 

It may noted that the five poems pandhu, oosal, kazhal, yEsal, ammAnai are

lost now> A mention about them may not be out of place here. All of them

cone under the class of love poems in Tamil literature and they describe the

various ways in which a princess in love tries to entertain herself in

Separation from her dear lover. The poem named pandhu declares the lady in

love as playing with flower balls with her female friends in the garden of

the harem. The compositions Kazhal describes the play of heroine in the hall

of the palace with small marble like smooth nuts of a shrule of that name. A

poem that portrays the play of the heroine and her friends with small bell

shaped wooden toys goes by the name of ammAnai in which they sing the

praises of the Lord. In Oosal poem, usually we see the heroine seated in an

oscillating swing suspended from the green branches of a flowing in the

garden probably with recollections of the happy time spent with her lover.

There are some oosal compositions in Tamil literature in which the lady love

sings about the beauty and the glory of the lover who is seated in a swing

that moves to and fro. yEsal is that composition which depicts a lady in

love in anger taunting the lover with insincerity since he has not kept his

word to come at the fixed committed time because of his dalliance with some

other lady even though he may try to pacify her with words and acts of

apology. In those works, Sri Venkatanatha has elevated causal love to divine

love and devotion – into Bhagawath kaama as shown very beautifully and

esoterically by Alwars. It is unfortunate that they are lost.

 

Sri Vedanta Desika stayed in Aindhai for nearly a decade worshipping Lord

Hayagriva on the hills and Lord Devanatha on the river bank. Then he left

that city to go to kanchi. On the way, he visited Gopapura [ThirukkOvaloor]

a shrine- sanctified by the visit of three alwars (Poigai, Bhutham, and Pey

AzhwArs). In the course of their pilgrimage it so happened that the three

alwars came to Gopapura on the same day and they all took shelter on that

rainy night in a small corridor [narrow passage] in a small house in front

of the temple. The local deity, Gopapura adhisa, drawn by the presence of

the three highly pious souls and easger to have the touch of their bodies

appeared in their midst in such a narrow place in an invisible form. The

saints felt that they are being sqeezed suddenly and felt the presence of

another stranger among them but could not see one. So Poigai and

BhUthathAzhwAr lit lamps and Pey AzhwAr say the divine Lord with Sankhu

ChakrA with the Divine Consort in his chest. Three Alwars sang 100 verses

each imbued with greatest devotion sweet and melodious – one lamp removed

the external darkness of the world, the other dispelled the internal

darkness of the mind and third lamp presented the visoon of the Lord with

his consort – the Divya Dampati. All the three hundred glorify the lovely

form and qualities of the Lord. This marks the beginning of 4000 Divbya

prabandham of 12 Alwars. These three Alwars are thus called first Alwars

(Mudhal Alwars). The Lord thus was proud to associate himself with them and

to assume the name of Dehaaleesa (the Lord in the narrow passage). Swamy

desika has sung the hymn called dhehsaaleesa sthuthi- in praise of this Lord

wherein he portrays the Lord as the sugarcane and the three Alwars for

crushing instrument and the resultant juice is the three centums (three

nooRRanthAdhi) out of which the sweet sugar candy, namely Dhehaleesa took

shape.

 

Sri Vedanta Desika reached Kanchi where he was received with great love and

enthusiasm by the residents. First he went to the temple of Varadaraja, who

was his tutelary deity. As he stood before the Lord visions of his early

life flashed before his mind’s eye, boyhood under the care of his uncle, the

blessing of Vaathsya Varadarya (AmmAL) and study of all saasthras under

AppuLLAr. Slokas flowed from his heart and lips which give in a nutshell

about all that one should know about Paramathma – His transcendental glory

and mercy, forms and incarnations, his festivals and his devotees, That is

Varadaraja panchaasath- fifty verses on Varadan.

 

Towards the end of the sthOthra, Sri desika apostrophising Lord Varadaraja

says: Oh Lord of the elephant Hills! If you lest keep me in the vicinity, in

the company of thy exclusive devotees is vouchsafed to me and if there is an

unalloyed stainess devotion in me to you is ensured due to your grace, I for

ever swear that this world [with all its foibles] is verily salvation. Such

is the Bliss that flows from the archa avatara.

 

Swamy Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Regards

Namo narayana

dAsan

kavi-tArkika-simhAya kalyANa-guNa-SAline |

Srimate venkateSAya vedAntagurave namaH ||

 

Salutations to Sri Venkatesa, in whom all perfections reside, who is the

teacher of Vedanta and the lion among poets and debaters

 

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