The Treasure Chest

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa SrivanSatakopa

Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

The Treasure Chest

 

How nice would it be if one were to find a hidden Treasure

Chest buried in one’s backyard? One comes across reports in

the newspapers from time to time, telling one of the discovery of

pots full of gold or silver coins, relating to ancient times, when

fields or gardens are dug for something or the other. Thus a Treasure

Chest is what one would like to find, for attaining instant prosperity

and affluence. However, there is another type of Chest, which would

bestow on us not merely material wealth and riches, but also

indescribable mental bliss and eventual liberation from the mundane

morass. Do read on to discover this wonderful Chest.

 

Though this would invite accusations of employing poor puns,

the Chest I refer to is the upper tirumEni of the Lord. On second

thoughts, however, it doesn’t appear to be such a bad pun, for

it is the abode of the most valuable of all treasures,viz., Piratti.

Thus the Lord’s is the Chest that houses the most magnificent

of Treasures—valuable not only because of Her propensity to

grant everything that a devotee seeks from Her, but also due to Her

penchant for interceding on our behalf, whenever the Lord takes stock

of our misdeeds. But for Her strong recommendations, our innumerable

and indescribable transgressions would ensure our rotting in hell

forever. What better Treasure can we aspire for, and in which other

Treasure Chest can we find it?

 

Which part of the Lord’s chest does Piratti occupy? It is the

right side, categorically says Sri Periazhwar—“nin vala

mArbinil vAzhgindra Mangai”. However, Tiruvenkatamudayan is

loathe to leaving the left side of His chest bare, and accomodates

Bhoodevi too in the space. Piratti illuminates the beautiful black

chest of the Lord, just as a flash of lightning through a dark

cumulus, says Sri Peyazhwar—“polindu iruNda kAr vAnil

minnE pOl tOndri

Malindu Tiru irunda mArban”

 

Puns apart, the Lord’s chest has been an object of utter

fascination for His votaries, be they poets, philosophers or

devotees. The first and foremost of KAvyAs, Srimad Ramayanam, has Sri

Valmiki waxing eloquent over the breadth and beauty of Sri

Rama’s chest-

 

“MahOraskO MahEshvAsO gUdachatru: arindama:”

 

Chakkravartti Tirumagan’s chest was broad and beautiful. The

word “MahA” prefixed to the word “uraska:”

indicates a person with a great chest: here, greatness could also be

interpreted to mean the presence of Piratti. What better greatness

could there be than Her glorious attendance?

 

Not only was Raghava’s chest broad, it was fleshy too—not

the flabby flesh of an idler, but the firm one of a fine

warrior—“peena vakshA visAlAksha: kambugreevO

mahAhanu:”. Sri Valmiki never tires of describing the

Lord’s chest and throughout the epic there are any number of

mentions of the same. When SitA Piratti tests Hanuman’s

bonafides by asking him to describe Sri Rama’s physical beauty,

Tiruvadi obliges readily and with pleasure. In doing so, he too

comments on the toughness of Raghava’s chest--

“Tristthira:” (He is strong in three places—chest,

wrists and knees).

 

If we leave the Vibhava avataras and set our sights on the magnificent

archhAvatara, we find Sri Tiruppanazhwar losing himself in the beauty

of Sri Ranganatha’s upper torso—“arangatthammAn

tiru Ara mArbadu andrO adiyEnai AtkoNdadE!”. The perfect

dresser that He is, the Lord’s chest is never bare. It is

always full of ornaments, whch add to their own brilliance by

association with His tirumEni. When you consider how fond women are

of jewels, it is but natural that the Lord is forced to adorn His

Consort, and, in the process, His own chest, with bewitching jewelry

round His neck and on His chest.

 

Another adornment to His chest is the brilliant and beautiful

“maru” Sri Vatsam, which is the presiding deity for the

“Prakriti” tatvam. This “maru” too finds

adulatory mention in several places—for instance, Sri

Tondaradipodi Azhwar considers it important enough to make it part of

the Lord’s name, by calling Him ”TirumarumArba!”, in

an approximate tranlation of the Sanskrit sobriquet,

“SrIvatsachihna:”, which was the given name of Sri

Koorattazhwan. Says Sri Alavandar, “visAla vakshastthala

shObhi lakshaNam”, referring to this beautiful ensign on

Emperuman’s broad chest. Swami Desikan expands on this in his

inimitable words—“ati vishAla bhujAntara shObhamAna

prakriti tattva niroopaka LakshmI nivAsa SrIVatsa lakshaNam”.

 

What would be the best adornment for a MahAveerA’s chest?

Innumerable scars resulting from battle with mighty foes, of course.

These scars shine as magnificent medallions, attesting to the wars

waged and victories won, all in the course of the noble mission of

Sharanagata Rakshanam. Swami Desikan says that the Lord’s broad

chest is decorated with such impressive vestiges of His encounters

with dastardly and demonic forces, adding considerably to the beauty

bestowed by Piratti, Srivatsam and the VanamAlA. Srivatsam is by

nature blue, Piratti of a golden hue, the Koustubha Ratnam radiates

red rays and the VaijayantI hAram is multi-coloured, investing

Emperuman’s chest with a kaleidascope of brilliant

colours—

“durdAnta daitya visikha kshata kpatra bhangam

Veerasya tE Vibudha nAyaka! BAhu madhyam

SrIVatsa Koustubha RamA vanamAlikAngam

ChintAnubhooya labhatE charitArtthatAm na:”

 

The VaijayantI is by itself so beautiful that Swami Desikan devotes a

separate verse to it, paying tribute to its bewtiching array of

colours, its composition consisting of a bewildering variety of

blooms, its unfading fragrance and the exalted company it keeps, of

Piratti and the Koustubha MaNi—

 

“VarNaramENa VibudhEsa! VichitritAngI

SmEra prasUna subhagA VanamAlikEyam

HridyA sugandhi: ajahat KamalA MaNIndrA

NityA tava sphurati moortiriva dvitIyA”

 

With all the fragrant garlands of Tiruttuzhai and flowers that He

wears, the Lord’s chest is indeed aromatic and sweet-smelling.

And when He embraces Piratti, some of the KastUri She wears rubs off

on HIm, making His chest more perfumed—“SrI stana kastUri

vAsanA vAsita urasE!”. It is known that during their romantic

interludes, a husband and wife do not generally preserve the decorous

interaction that prevails otherwise. We thus have Sri Krishna

beseeching to Radha (according to the Gita Govinda) to place her

lovely feet on His head. Similarly, we are told that the Lord’s

chest too bears vestiges of the decorative dye that Piratti wears on

Her tiruvadi—“LakshmI charaNa lAkshAnga sAkshAt Srivatsa

vakshasE!”. All that has been said so far about the

Lord’s chest has been summarised by Swami Desikan in a sloka of

Bhagavat DhyAna sOpAnam—

 

“SrIVatsEna prathita vibhavam SrIpada nyAsa dhanyam

madhyam bAhvOr maNivara ruchA ranjitam RangadhAmna:

Sandhra cchAyai: taruNa TulasI chitrayA VaijayantyA

SantApam Me samayati diya: chandrikOdAra hAram”

 

More than a part of His own tirumEni, the Lord’s chest serves as

a palace beyond compare for an illustrious Empress, viz,, Sri

Mahalakshmi. What principal items do we find in any palace?

1)Pervasive fragrance,2) Festoons of pearls and gems hanging all

over, 3)bright lighting with the most brilliant of lamps, 4)the walls

adorned with paintings of various hues, 5)bedsteads made of the

softest of swan’s feathers and the most supple of down and so

on.

 

We find all these and more characterising the Lord’s chest,

making it an ideal castle for the Consort.

 

1) First of all, Emperuman’s tirumArbu is festooned with

any number of garlands, made of the most precious of gems and pearls,

of the brightest of blooms comprising the VaijayantI hAram, the pure

white YagyOpavItam lying across the black chest like a slash of

lightning amidst dark, rainbearing clouds, etc.

2) As to fragrance, there is no dearth of it in the Lord’s

chest, coated as it is always with thick sandalwood paste mixed with

perfumed camphor.

3) This broad and beautiful castle housing Piratti is lit with

the brightest of lamps, viz., the Koustubha MaNi, emitting the most

brilliant of lustre, shining like a resplendent Moon, amidst the

encircling stars represented by the gleaming gems on various

garlands.

4) The scars resulting from the Lord’s encounter with the

seven deadly bulls (which He vanquished to win the hand of Sri

Nappinnai) form strange and bewitching patterns on His chest, giving

the impression of its being decorated with beautiful images and works

of art.

5) The numerous garlands of soft and fragrant flowers lying

across the Lord’s chest form an ideal bedstead for Piratti.

With all this, is it any wonder that Sri Bhattar describes the

Lord’s tirumArbu as a veritable palace for

Piratti? Here is the beautiful sloka from Sri Rangaraja Stavam—

 

“Malayaja shasi liptam mAlatI dhAma talpam

sumaNi sara vitAnam Koustubha svasti deepam

danuja vrusha vishANa ullEkha chitram cha LakshmI

lalitha griham upAsE Ranga sarvam sahOra:”

 

We can safely aver that it is the Lord’s chest which serves as

the chief indicator of His supremacy, for it is Sri Mahalakshmi,

residing there constantly, who is the defining mark of the

Parabrahmam, who identifies the Lord to us as the Paramapurusha,

distinct and different from other demigods who cannot boast of the

distinction. This is evident from the following sloka of Sri

Bhattar—

 

“VakshastthalyAm Tulasi KamalA Koustubhai: VaijayantI

SarvEsatvam kathayati tarAm RangadhAmna: tat AstAm”

 

It is impossible to portray fully the breadth and the beauty, the

magnificence and majesty, the softness and splendour of the

Lord’s chest, which, readers would now agree, is a matchless

Treasure Chest indeed. Let us conclude with Sri PAN PerumAL’s

paean of praise to this glorious part of Emperuman’s

tirumEni—

 

“BhAramAya pazhavinai pattru arutthu—ennai tan

vAram Akki vaitthAn vaitthadu andri ennuL pugundAn

ghOra mA tavam seidanan kol ariyEn arangattammAn tiru

Ara mArbu adandrO adiyEnai AtkoNdadE”

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri

Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

Dasan, sadagopan