Thuppul PiLLai- 61- Sanskrit works of Swamy- Group 2 and 3

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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,

Let us continue to enjoy other sanskrit granthas of Swamy under 2nd and 3rd

Group

 

The second group contains three works all ending with the work raksha in

their titles. Among these, NikshEpa raksha which is written in the saastraic

lines of reasoning and arguments, has two parts. The first part states the

prima facie (Poorva paksham) view that the doctrine of self –surrender is

invalid in as much as its nature, characteristics and difficulties in

putting it into practice loom large. Besides there is no valid authority in

its favour.

 

The author devotes the latter part of the work to the rejection of this view

and establishes the doctrine on valid grounds. The title nikshEparaksha

receives justification on the ground that the doctrine of self-surrender

(saraNagathy) gets well fortified.

 

Prapatti or SaraNagathi was being observed as a direct means to mOksham,

even before Ramanuja and Ramanuja gave a reorientation to it in his

Gadyatrayam. It is known from the jitantE sthOthram, that prapatti is a

direct and sufficient means to mOksham. Even for the commencement of Bhakti

yOgam, Prapatti is absolutely essential. It is the grace of the Supreme Most

compassionate Lord who grants the fruit of any sAdhana as siddOpAyam, while

Bhakti yOgam and Prapatti is the saadhyOpAyam.

 

Swamy Sri Vedantha Desikan’s Srimad Rahasyatraya saaram has stood as an

authority on the religion of SaranAgathy. Desika deals exclusively with

SaraNagathi in a number of his sthOthras also, such as nyAsa dasakam,

SaraNagathi Deepika, nyAsa thilakam, Nyasa vimsathi. Aaikkalappatthu, a

prabandham in Tamil, deals with this doctrine of self-surrender. More than

all these, Vedantha Desika wrote a work in Sanskrit namely nikshEpa rakshaa

in defense of prapatti. NikshEpa raksha os one of the finest granthas

written by Swamy Desikan ( says Dr. Sri NS Anantharangachar in his article)

 

The second work of this kind is Saccharitharaksha, which is divided into

three parts with the titles:

 

SudharsanapaanchajanyadhAranavidhi

UrdhvapuNdra dhAraNa vidhi

BhagavannivEdhithOpAyOga vidhi

 

Of these, the first enjoins the sacrament of a Vaishnava’s having the marks

of Chakra and Sanghu. The second division stresses the need to wear the

UrdhvapuNdram (vertical sacred mark) on the forehead with white mud with

streak of red or yellow ochre in the middle. Third division stresses that

the food prepared for consumption is to be offered to the Lord first and

then only to be partaken by others in their houses. These three acts mark

the good conduct of a Vaishnava and Swamy Desikan establishes them with

saashthra pramANam.

 

The Paancharaathraraksha is the third work in which Acharya indicates the

validity of the Paancharaathra Agama. Siddhaantha vyavasthapana,

Nithyanusanthanasthaapana and Nityavyakhyana are the titles of three

divisions of this work. This Agama is of four kinds, which are Agama

siddhaantha, Manthra siddhaantha, tanthra siddhaantha and Tantrantura

Siddhaantha. Each is defined and the scope of its application is indicated.

The second division describes the practice of the daily routine which is

divided into five parts, namely, abhigamana, upAdAna, IjyA, swAdhyAya and

yoga. The third division is devoted to the exposition of Sri Ramanuja’s

nithya, a work on the method of worshipping God. The Paancharaathra raksha

thus establishes tenets of Paancharaathra, which are made well secured in

this work of Vedantha AchArya.

 

Swamy Desikan starts the Sacharitharaksha which establishes the absolute and

prime need of Pancha samskaram:

 

(meaning of 1st sloka): Let us carry the people on our head who bear the

mark of Sudharsana and Paanchajanya; who wear the UrdhvapuNdra (ThirumaN

kaappu); who consume only the food offered to the Lord and by virtue of the

above who are saluted even by NithyasUris.

 

SruthyA smruthyA purANEna sEthihAsEna jabyathE |

PancharAThrENa viprANAm thapthachakrAdhiDhAraNam ||

 

Sruthis, Smruthis PurAnAs Ithihasas, ordain that Brahmins should bear

Sudharsana and Panchajanya marks..

 

Swamy establishes the thaapa samskara quoting from Brahma samhitha,

MahOpanidhad of Atharva vEda.

 

Bear chakra on right shoulder; and shankhu on the left.

 

dhakshiNe thu bhujE vipra vibhuyAdDhai sudharsanam |

savyE thu sankham vibruyAdhithi brahmavidhO vidhu: ||

 

An objection on the basis of cruelty can not stand since Utsarga apavada

rule is valid (for every rule, there is an exception). In mImAmsa, the

general rule is “na himsyAth sarvAbhUthAni- has an exception which is

“agnishOmiyam paSumAlabEtha | Sandilya smruthi says: Cow, Son, and other

household articles should be stamped with Shanka and Chakra and named with

Srivaishanava names.

 

Vasishta smruthi : The chakra chinha (stamp with chakra) has to be done by a

person to his son (or disciple) at the time of jaata karma or Chowla (after

third or fourth year to make the child wear shikhA) or at the time of

upanayanam or sending to the Gurukulam to learn Vedas.

 

In the conversation among Yama, Arjuna and Lord Krishna, contained in Matsya

purANA, Krishna says:

 

“It is rare to come across a person who is devoted and who bears the mark of

my chakrA. This person does not get into the clutches of Yama (mrithyu)

which means he does not go to hell.”

 

Let us talk more about the FAMOUS UrdhvapuNdradhAraNa vidhi (ThirumaN-

SriChoorNam)

All of us have these doubts as to where the saasthRAs says that one should

wear Thiruman kappu. Swamy Desikan has beautifully explained it in this

work.

 

Vedic authority of Urdhva puNdram dhAraNam is:

 

GruthOdhvapuNdra: paramESithAram nArAyaNam saankhya yOgAdhi gagyam | jnAthvA

vimuchyEtha nara: samasthai: samsaara paaSairiha chaiva vishNu: ||

 

MahOpanishad statement above sys: One who wear Urdhva puNdra and meditates

on lord Sriman Narayanan and realizes Him through his mid gets liberated

from the bondage of samsaara.

 

In Paancharaathra samhitha it is said:

 

yagnO dhAnam thapou hOma: bhOjanam pithru tharpaNam

sarvE bhavanthi viphalaa: Urdhva puNdram vinAkruthA:

 

Yaga, charity, penance, daily sacrifice, taking food, offering libations of

water to manes (argyam?) etc., is all null and viod if one does without

wearing Urdhva pUndram. Libations means pouring of water in honour of God.

Manes means spirit of the dead (deceased Father, Mother. Grand father, Grand

mother, Great grand father, Great grand mother et al). pithru tharpaNam

means offering water with sesame seeds to those twelve Pithru dEvathAs.

Hence, wearing Urdhva pUndram is essential. The shape of Urdhva pUndra

should be in the shape of HaripAdakruthi (in the shape of the

Lotus Feet of Sriman Narayanan). In Varaaha pUrAna Lord says:

 

yEkAnthina: mahAbhAgA: math swarUpa vidha: amalA:

sAntharAlAn prakurvIran puNdrAn *mama padhaa kruthin*

 

As per Brahmaanandha purAna, in the middle of every Urdhva puNdra, which is

wide and good looking, Lord Sriman Narayanan stays with His Consort Goddess

Mahalakshmi. The symbol of Mahalakshmi is Sri choorNam which may be either

in red or yellow colour. It is also equally important not to wipe off the

Urdhva puNdram.

 

Bhagawan NivedithOpayOga vidhi (the third work listed above) which means

every Srivaishnavan has to eat only the food offered to Lord Sriman

Narayananin His archA form which may be His aatthu perumAL duly consecrated

according to the prescribed procedure mentioned in Paancharaartha Saasthra

and worshipped daily, or Saaligraamam at home. In Saaligraama, the Lord is

ever present and no AvAhanam (consecration) is necessary;

 

The opening verse in the chapter is

 

aTha: chakshupmathAm saasthrai: chathuvargAbilAshiNAm |

vishNO: nivEdhE thasyaiva bhOjyEthvam prathipAdhyathE ||

 

(Meaning) For those who see things through saasthrAs (scriptures) only; ( in

other words) for those whose conduct, actions and daily routine are strictly

according to the saasthrAs and for those who are desirous of attaining four

goals which are dharma, artha, kaama mOksha- the food to eat is that offered

to Lord Vishnu only.

 

After dealing with the objections to the above mentioned, Swamy Desikan

overrules the objectsions and refutes the opponents’ arguments, quoting

elaborately from Vedas, Pancharathra Samhithas, Ithihasas, and Saatvika

PurANas, establishes the above three works which can never be revoked by

anybody. “na bhUtho; na bhavishyathi:”

 

Thus, Swamy Desikan in the three chapters, establishes by his beautiful and

inimitable style and power of arguments based strictly on scriptures, the

three important customs and rituals of Srivaishnavas which are Pancha

samskaram, UrdhvapuNdradhAraNam and partaking of the food offered to the

Lord Sriman Narayanan in archa form.

 

There is no Srivaishnava sampradayam without these three customs. In this

connection, a fervent appeal is made to every Srivaishnava to strictly

adhere to the above customs and eschew any contact or worship of any deities

other than Lord VishNu. (The above article is based on write up of Sri U Ve

Anantha Naarasihmachariar Swamin of Srirangam)

 

To the third group of Saasthra works belong (1) DramidOpanishad Taatparya

RathnAvaLi and DramidOpanidhad saara. The first work contains 130 verses in

Sanskrit summarizing the contents of each century of the thousand hymns

(Tamil) of Nammalwar’s Thiruvaymozhi. The hymns in each century are

summarized in a sloka for each decad. The introductory part covers ten

slokas and the concluding portion has six slokas. The Acharya speaks in

support of the use of Tamil language by the AzhwArs to express their

devotion and expresses his admiration for the Thiruvaymozhi of NammazhwAr.

The other work contains twenty-six slokas offering the essence of the

Thiruvaymozhi in brief. Both these works are invaluable in as much as the

composition Thiruvaymozhi of NammAzhwAr is treated as Upanishad in Tamil.

The former work gives the purpose and the latter the essence of Nammalwar’s

composition.

 

Eight works are in the form of commentaries in Sanskrit. The Acharya’s

Sarvaarthasiddhi is the commentary of his own Tattvamuktakalapam. The crisp

and rather unfamiliar technical expressions in Tattvamuktakalapam should

have made the Acharya offer his own explanation and interpretations to them

and explain the contexts.

 

The second work is TattvatIka, the commentary on the Sri Bhashya. It is

incomplete and breaks off in the MahasiddhAntha section of the Sri Bhashya.

The AchArya remarks at the beginning that this commentary is neither too

brief nor too elaborate. This commentary was written, as the Acharya says,

when the Sri BHASHYA WAS TAUGHT TO HIS PUPILS WHO BELONGED TO THE 28TH SET

FOR THS STUDY OF THIS WORK OF SRI RAMANUJA.

 

The commentary has an abrupt end. Following the practice of the ancient

writers, the Acharya includes within his commentary which is written in

prose, several slokas composed by himself for the sake of clarity.

 

The third and foruth works are ChathuslOkibhAshya and SthOthrarathnabhAshya,

which are comementaries on YamunchArya’s ChathuslOki and SthOthrarathna

respectively. The first mentioned work which is called ramAsthuthi by the

AchArya at the end of his commentary. The number of slokas which is four has

suggested the title by which name it is known. SrI is shown on the strength

of evidences, to be ever associated with VishNu. Both are One Brahman having

the same status. The SthOthrarathnabhAshya is said, by the Acharya, as

containing the purpose of Dwayamanthra. Prapatti is thus created in this

work. Both are commentaries are part of Rahsyaraksha, a name indicative of

fortifying the Rahasyas of Vaishnavam.

 

GithArthasangraha Raksha is the fifth work of the Acharya. It is commentary

on Yamunacharya’s GithArthasangraham, an epitome of the Bhagavath GitA.

Yamuna is said to have offered the correct impact of the Bhagavadgita, which

he received from his AchArya Sri Ramamisra.

 

The Taatparyachandrika is the sixth work of the Acharya. It is an exhaustive

commentary on Sri Ramanuja’s GitA bhAshya. In most of the contexts, the

Acharya anticpates the possible objections which the exponents who are

opposed to the VisishtAdvaita tenets would raise and refutes them without

allowing any room for ambiguity. An attempt at maintaining the tents of the

system as recorded by Sri Ramanuja in his GitabhAshya has not been taken up

by any Acharya in a successful manner like Vedantha Desika. While commenting

on the BhAshya on the Charamasloka (BhagavdgIta 18.66), the Acharya tells

that all misunderstandings and wrong interpretations of the teachings of

Gita are to be set right by following the lines of the writings of Yamuna

and Ramanuja.

 

The seventh work is the commentary on the IsAvAsyOpanishad. This Upanishad

forms the concluding portion of the Vajasaneyasamhitha, which is another

name for Suklayajursamaveda. The Acharya says that the commentary is written

by him on this Upanishad to make clear that all the Vedic injunctions found

in this samhitha are all meant to be of helping the learning of the

Brahmavidya, though specific results are stated for those injunctions.

Ultimate reality is the Lord. The vidyas are the means through meditation

upon them. The Goal is the attainment of Brahman. These are treated as the

main purpose of the Upanishads.

 

The AchArya commented on the Vedaarthasamgraha of Ramanuja which is now

lost.

 

There are seven works, Swamy wrote in Sanskrit which form part of literature

gems about which we will discuss in subsequent posts....

 

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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