The Peerless Pedestrian

[Guest guest]

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra

Mahadesikaya nama:

The Peerless Pedestrian

 

To the newborn infant, which would you say is the most attractive

part of the mother’s anatomy? The baby is unable to focus yet

on the mother’s face, which is wreathed in smiles, nor is it

able to look her in the eye and encounter the brimming love and

affection it reflects. Nor even is the little one aware of her warm

hands holding it with all gentleness. The one and only part of the

mother the baby is instinctively and immediately aware of is her

breast, which serves as its sole source of sustenance.

 

Now, putting ourselves in the position of the babe (which, in any

case, people like me are, in terms of wisdom and maturity) and

picturising the Lord as the mother (which also shouldn’t be

difficult, considering His being the progenitor of all beings), which

would we find to be the most important part of His tirumEni, in terms

of affording us the greatest bliss, security, sustenance and succour?

Whole volumes might have been written on the beauty of the

Lord’s captivating eyes, His blooming countenance, His broad

and beautiful chest housing Sri Mahalakshmi, His long and sinewy

hands holding weapons which serve at once as destroyers and

adornments, and so on. However, to suffering mortals like us steeped

in sin and blundering eternally in the mundane maze, which would be

the part of the Lord’s torso that is most useful to us, that

affords us the most relief and bliss and ultimately serves as a

beautiful boat ferrying us across the treacherous waters of Samsara?

 

Much more than any other part of His glorious tirumEni, the

Lord’s holy feet (“Tiruvadi”) are the ones that

find repeated mention in the Shruti, which is, for us, the ultimate

authority on any matter under the Sun. The SamhitAs and BrAhmaNAs are

replete with adulatory references to these Tiruvadis. Here are a few,

for a sample—

 

“VishNO: padE paremE madhva utsa:”

 

The incredibly sweet and glorious feet of the Lord secrete nectar,

says the Shruti, which Sri Nammazhwar translates thus—“un

tEnE malarum tiruvadi tAmarai”. When we consider that these

tiruvadi are likened to freshly bloomed lotuses (“PAda

pankajam”, TAmarai adikkaL”, “Pankaya TAL”,

etc.), there is nothing strange or unnatural about their secreting

nectar. While ordinary Nectar obtained from the depths of the Milky

Ocean is supposed to confer immortality on the consumer, the nectar

emanating from the Lord’s feet afford eternal bliss and

emancipation, which are a billion times more desirable than mere

immortality. Sri Alavandar too confirms that the Lord’s

tiruvadi is the source of this incredible secretion—“Tava

amruta syandini pAda pankajE”.

 

Talking of secretions, it is worth remembering that the Lord’s

feet were also the source of the holiest of all rivers, the Ganga.

Legend has it that when the Lord’s feet, in their conquering

spree during the TrivikramAvatAra, visited SatyalOka, BrahmA

performed tirumanjam to it with water from his

“kamandalu”, which then became a veritable torrent, later

brought to the mundane worlds through the marathon efforts of the

IkshvAku Emperor BhagIratha. “VishNu pAdAbja sambhootE, GangE!

Tripada gAminI” is a tribute to this sacred river, indicating

its holy origins.

 

Why should the Lord’s feet be likened to the lotus, when there

are any numbers of other blooms? There are several similarities

between the Lord’s tiruvadi and the TAmarai. For one thing,

both are a bright and beautiful red. Both are incredibly soft and

supple. Both secrete delectably sweet juices, the former nectar and

the latter, honey. Both bloom at the prompting of external stimuli,

the lotus at the rising sun and the Lord’s feet at the

proximity of devotees. Just as a bee, which has tasted the pollen

from the lotus, would never ever look again at a thorny shrub, one

who has been fortunate to savour the flavour of the divine tiruvadi

would look askance at any other mundane pleasure.

(“tava amruta syandini pAda pankajE

nivEsitAtmA katham anyat icchati

stitthEravindE makaranda nirbharE

madhuvratO na ikshurakam hi veekshatE”

--Sri Alavandar).

 

It is not only Nectar and the Ganga which owe their origins to the

Lord’s feet—even this big, broad world and numerous

others like it, along with the innumerable galaxies and universes,

originated from the holy tiruvadi, says the Purusha

Suktam—“PadhbhyAm Bhoomi: disa: shrotrAt”. These

were again the incredible feet, which transformed a dust-coated

wayside stone into an extremely beautiful Rishi patnI (AhalyA). (So

much so that the boatman Guha had initial reservations about letting

Sri Rama set foot on his boat, lest the ferry be transformed into a

bewitching feminine form.)

These again were the holy feet, which gave life to UttarA’s

foetus, which was reduced to a handful of ashes and were thus

responsible for the very life and breath of ParIkshit Maharaja. And

these are the tiruvadis which SreedEvi and Bhoomi Piratti massage

gently with their soft hands, says Swami Desikan-

 

“PAshANa nirmita tapOdhana dharma dAram

bhasmani upAhita narEndra kumAra bhAvam

samvAhitam TridasanAtha! RamA MaheebhyAm

sAmAnya daivatam usanti padam tvadeeyam”

 

The most-talked about exploit of the Lord’s tiruvadi is, of

course, the measuring of the worlds above and below, during the

Trivikramavataram. The tiny, delicate feet of the VAmana Brahmachari

grew into colossal ones capable of spanning the entire universe with

one giant step. And in the process of measuring the world, these

sacred tiruvadis, which only the Divine Consorts have any hope of

seeing or touching, placed themselves on the heads of all beings,

right from the most exalted of Emperors to the humblest of menials,

with absolutely no distinction as to caste, creed, colour, economic

or social status. Even non-sentient objects were favoured by this

purifying contact with the holy feet, which they could not dream of

in innumerable births. Sri Alavandar, who was not around when the

Trivikramavataram took place, longs for a momentary touch of the

Lord’s triuvadi on his head—“Trivikrama ! tvat

charaNAmbuja dvayam madeeya moordhAnam (kadA) alankarishyati!”.

And it is this exploit that the Shruti chronicles time and again,

making this the most talked-about avatara—

 

“TreeNi padA vichakramE VishNu: gOpA adAbhya:”

“trEdhA VishNu: urugAyO vichakramE”

“VichakramE prithivImEsha EtAm” etc.

Thus, it is the Lord’s glorious feet and their exploits that

afford Him the distinction of repeated mention by the Shruti.

 

When we come to think of it, in the process of Asrita RakshaNam

(protection of the sAdhUs) it is the Lord’s feet which are put

in use the most and are also the part of the divine torso which

strain the most. The event that comes to our mind immediately is the

long walk of Chakravartthi Tirumagan, from Chitrakootam to Lanka,

roaming throughout the jungle trails of DandakAraNyam, strewn with

sharp stones and thorns. Though the Prince of Ayodhya did have

sandals on His feet when He set out for the jungle sojourn, Sri

Bharata took them away at Chitrakootam, with the result that the

entire remaining journey was completed by the Purushottama on bare

feet. Just think of it, a Prince of the celebrated IkshvAku dynasty,

used to all the magnificent comforts of the palace, unused to the

hardships of the inhospitable forests, traversing the interminable

distance between Chitrakootam and Lanka on foot, barefoot that too,

with the delicate soles, unused to hard surfaces, being exposed to

stones, thorns and whatnot, besides being forced to walk in hot sun,

numbing cold and pouring rain!

 

Even in Sri Krishnavatara, the Lord walked a lot at the bidding of His

devotees, we are told. When the PandavAs, as a last ditch effort to

avoid war with the KauravAs, needed someone to carry a message of

peace and compromise to the latter, it was Sri Krishna they chose,

because none else could represent their viewpoint with absolute

commitment and wisdom. And Sri Krishna accepted this assignment with

all enthusiasm, despite the rather low profile that a messenger

carries, and walked with the message from the Pandava camp to that of

the Kauravas—“Daruman irandadu isaindu chendrana”

says Swami Desikan, referring to the Lord’s feet, which engaged

themselves in the lowly occupation of a messenger, at the request of

the Pandava.

 

Are the Lord’s feet capable of only such innocuous deeds? Do

they play no part in proactive destruction of evil elements, which

pose a threat to the good and holy? Indeed they do, says Sri Andal,

(“pondra sakatam udaittAi pugazh pOttri”) recounting the

Lord’s childhood exploit of kicking a wheel and breaking it

into pieces—“uru sakatam udaya oru kAluttru

uNarndana”. This was no ordinary wheel, but a messenger of

death dispatched by Kamsa to eliminate Sri Krishna. Upon being

administered a well-aimed kick from the Lord’s lotus feet, the

mortally wounded asura regained his natural form and fell down dead.

 

And then there is the episode of the kutti Krishna subduing the

venomous serpent KALiya, by dancing on the latter’s head--

“adal uraga padam madiya Adi kadindana”. The normally

lotus-soft feet of the Lord acquired an unbearable heaviness and

punch, and each step of Krishna’s ballet descended on the

serpent’s hood like a bolt of lightning, taming the snake in no

time at all.

 

>From all the aforesaid, it is clear that the Lord’s feet have

indeed undergone untold strain. Is it because of all this strenuous

walking and other exercise that He adopts a recumbent posture, ask

Azhwars—

“andru iv ulagam aLanda asavE kol?”

 

Sri Nammazhwar too poses such a rhetorical question to the Lord,

querying Him as to the reasons for His apparent tiredness-"KodiyAr

mAda KOLuragatthum PuLingudiyum MadiAdhu indrE nee tuyil mEvi

magizhndadhu tAn adiAr allal tavirttha asavO andrEl ip padithAn

neeNdu tAviya asavO, paNiyAyE""You were after all a young boy during

Vamanavatara. Still, your holy feet had to traverse the entire

universe and the heavens too. Has this been so much of a strain on

you that You had to lie down to rest? Or are You fatigued by

attending to frequent calls for succour from distressed devotees?"

enquires Azhwar , seeking the reason for the Lord's supine posture.

 

“nadanda kAlgaL nondavO?” inquires Tirumazhisai Piran too.

 

A more modern poet, expanding on the Azhwar's theme, adduces a variety

of possible reasons for Emperuman's kidandha tirukkOlam. Could it be

due to the strain of covering innumerable miles on foot during the

vanavAsa as Sri Rama? Or is it due to running after the elusive

MArIcha, who, in a bid to isolate Sri Mythily, dragged Sri Rama quite

far from His Ashrama in hot chase? Or is it due to the constant

roaming in the hot sun, tending to cows, in the boisterous company of

gOpa brats? Listing all these, the poet plaintively asks the Lord-"En

paLLi koNdeer IyyA?"

 

It is to cure the Lord’s feet of all the possible ache and pain

the aforesaid activities must have caused, that Sridevi and Bhoodevi

massage His feet gently, with their soft and supple palms. Even their

extremely spongy palms leave Emperuman’s indescribably delicate

feet red, says the Venkateswara Prapatti—

“sa prEma bheeti KamalA kara pallavAnAm

samvAhanEpi samatikramam AtatAnou

KAntA vAngmanasa gOchara soukumAryou

Sri Venkatesa charanou sharanam prapadyE”

Swami Desikan confirms this—“Malar MagaL mai varuda malar pOdil sivandana”

 

Be all this as it may, we are more interested in learning what the

Lord’s feet mean to us mortals. We are told that

Emperuman’s tiruvadis are our ultimate refuge, a sanctuary par

excellence, a safe haven from the jungle of Samsara filled with

terrifying wild animals, an admirable asylum from the pursuing

predator of Karma and a shady shelter from the scorching sun of

TApatrayam (the three kinds of heat that make us dehydrated

spiritually). It is a place of eternal peace, rest, relaxation and

recuperation for souls battered by the constant buffeting of the

winds blowing across the mundane morass. It is in the comforting

shadow of these divine feet that we can experience the unique and

unprecedented bliss that only the Lord can afford us.

 

It is due to all these reasons that we seek refuge in

Emperuman’s tiruvadi, as ordained by the magnificent Dvaya

Mantram. However, this is an esoteric formulation, obtained only by

the elite few. What about the rest of the suffering masses who do not

have access to this magnificent Mantra? To all those in the latter

class, Emperuman at Tirumala reveals the secret of happiness in this

and other worlds, by pointing His right palm at His holy feet,

indicating to us that it is only through surrender to them that we

can rid ourselves of our mundane coils and attain liberation.

 

When a thousand slokas could be composed on the sandals adorning the

Lord’s feet, how many million verses could be devoted to the

actual tiruvadis themselves! Let me end this piece with just one of

them, from Swami Desikan’s NavamaNi Malai, which boasts of a

lovely, lilting metre—

 

“oru madhi anbar uLam kavarndana

ulagam adanga vaLandu aLandana

oru sadai ondriya Gangai tandana

uraga padangaL arangu koNdana

 

Darumam uyarndadu idu enna nindrana

Daruman irandadu isaindu chendrana

Sakatam udaindu kalanga vendrana

TamargaL arundum marundu idu enbana

 

TirumagaL seyya karangaL ondrina

Tigazh tuLavu undu maNam kamazhndana

Chezhu maNi konda silambu ilangina

Selai tanil andru oru aNangu umizhndana

 

Varu marai andam amarnda paNbina

Ayan mudi tannil amarndu uyarndana

AruL tara eNNi ayindai vandana

Adiyavar meyyar malar padangaLE”

 

Srimate Sri lakshmINrisimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri

Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

dasan, sadagopan

[Guest guest]

Dear sri vaishNava perunthagaiyeer,

 

As is always our sri Sadagopan iyengar [sI] from coimbatore gave a wonderful

article on the glorious feet of my sri krishNa.

 

Just as a sort of clarification i want to raise this point on the following para

in the writeup.

 

SI wrote quote - "When we come to think of it, in the process of Asrita

RakshaNam (protection of the sAdhUs) it is the Lord's feet which are put in use

the most and are also the part of the divine torso which strain the most. The

event that comes to our mind immediately is the long walk of Chakravartthi

Tirumagan, from Chitrakootam to Lanka, roaming throughout the jungle trails of

DandakAraNyam, strewn with sharp stones and thorns. Though the Prince of Ayodhya

did have sandals on His feet when He set out for the jungle sojourn, Sri Bharata

took them away at Chitrakootam, with the result that the entire remaining

journey was completed by the Purushottama on bare feet. Just think of it, a

Prince of the celebrated IkshvAku dynasty, used to all the magnificent comforts

of the palace, unused to the hardships of the inhospitable forests, traversing

the interminable distance between Chitrakootam and Lanka on foot, barefoot that

too, with the delicate soles, unused to hard surfaces, being exposed to stones,

thorns and whatnot, besides being forced to walk in hot sun, numbing cold and

pouring rain!" unquote.

 

It is said once sri raama met hanumaan near the rishyamooka parvatham [as we

could see in kishkindha kaandam] [hanumaan - the siriya thiruvadi - as hanumaan

is called in our sampradhaayam] afterwards raama never set his foot on the

ground, for he was always carried by hanuman on his shoulders. Even when the

sEthu was built at the behest of raamaa by that special engineer naLan, [not the

king naLan who is an expert cook also besides being a king] all these vaanaraas

walked over the stones which floated in the ocean. but not sree raamaa - for he

was carried on the shoulders of hanumaan.

 

later when raamaa was on the war front he was on the shoulders of hanumaan. that

is why at the crucial stage king dhEvEndhran sent his chariot with the saarathy

the charioteer just before killing raavaNa.

 

while returning raamaa wanted to set his foot on the bridge but since the time

was short to return they flew over the bridge in the pushpaka vimaanam along

with seetha and thus it is said sethu did not have the sparsam of that lotus

feet of sree raama.

 

so is it correct to say chithrakootam to lanka or is it that the distance is

limited to chithrakootam to rishyamookam.

 

this is mainly to enjoy raamaa as well as hanumaan's glory and do a little more

discussion in enjoying the glories of the feet

- the lotus feet and the small feet

- thaamari thiruvadi and the siRiya thiruvadi

-and not to puncture or reduce the taste of that excellent writeup about our

peerless pedestrian sri krishNa.

 

dhaasan

 

vasudevan m.g.