High Brow Stuff

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta

Desika Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

 

High-Brow Stuff

 

Each and every part of the human anatomy has been designed by an

expert divine engineer, with an eye both for aesthetics and utility.

Almost all components of our physique have an indispensable function

to perform, the eyes leading us straight on our path and letting us

see the myriad objects in God’s Creation, the ears enabling us

to grasp sounds, the nose and nostrils filtering the air we breathe

in, the tongue enableing communication with others and so on. Every

part of our body thus appears to have a highly utilitarian role, so

much so that its absence or impairment cripples us badly. Even the

insignificant eyelashes appear to perform the important function of

keeping dust and grime out of our eyes.

 

However, think as we might, we are unable to find any practical

utility for one part of the human anatomy, viz., the Brows. We are

hard put to divine what exactly they are meant for, for they

apparently have no real use, situated as they are on top of the

eye-socket. It is then that we remember that the Divine Architect,

who designed our physique, had in mind not only utilitarian but also

artistic and aesthetic considerations. Perhaps He wanted the human

body to be not only a high-performance mechanism, but also one which

was easy on the eye. But for this artistic consideration, the human

anatomy would perhaps have been as much of an eyesore as the robots

that we humans have designed. If we really stop to think about it,

the human physique could very well have been made strictly

functional, without any of the frills and embellishments that add

some colour, beauty, softness and general good looks to it. That the

Creator has chosen to endow us with not only functional efficiency

but also some element of seemliness, indicates consideration and

kindness of a very high order, for which we have to remain eternally

thankful to Him.

 

Coming back to the Brows, it appears pretty clear that this particular

part of our physique has little practical utility and is meant solely

to enhance our looks. Those of you who have any doubt as to whether

the Brows serve as adornments to our face, would only have to look at

some of the strange specimens of humanity, who chose to shave off

their brows for reasons best known to themselves—the rather

strange and unseemly spectacle that these creatures present is enough

assurance to us that the Brows do have a function to perform, that of

making our visages more seemly.

 

Everything about Emperuman is beautiful, sweet and

magnificent—“MathurAdhipatE: akhilam madhuram”.

This being so, His Brows are no exception and are as exquisite as the

rest of His divine anatomy. They are perfectly shaped semi-circles

situated above His broad and beautiful eyes, representing a hairy

adornment to them. They resemble a magnificent Bow in shape and

instantly enchant devotees whose glances happen to stray on to these

brows. Swami Desikan says that in creating Manmatha’s famous

bow (with which he lets loose flowery arrows on people, instantly

inducing romantic thoughts in them), it was the Lord’s Brow

that served as a model to the creator Brahma, but for which the

latter would have been hard put to design the same—

’Evam chEt akhila jantu vimOhanArhA

Kim mAtrukA bhavati KAma sharAsanasya?”

 

Not only in shape, but also in enchanting and enticing all onlookers,

it is the Lord’s brows which have served as a role model for

ManmathA’s bow.

The Lord’s Brows serve as a Welcome Arch, a

“TOraNam” for devotees, who wish to treat themselves to

the beauty of His splendorous eyes.

 

Is it any wonder then that Sri Kodai Nacchiar loses Herself in the

boundless beauty of these Brows? She tells us that the Lord’s

brows are as bent and beautiful as the magnificent Bow SArngam that

He holds in His hand. (“Tan kai SArngam aduvE pOl azhagiya

puruva vattam”). She also seems to imply that the Brows are no

less deadly than the SArngam, flooring opponents with a rain of

lethal arrows. In fact, the Brows are worse than the SArngam in one

respect. While it is only the opponents of the Lord and His votaries

who form the victims of the Bow, the Brow, on the other hand, floors

His devotees too. They are unable to hold their own against its

onslaught and surrender meekly to the Lord, with cries of

“JitantE! PundarIkAksha!” (“We are won over,

despite ourselves”). Even if one wants nothing to do with the

Lord, His beautiful Brows fell the unwilling devotee with a single

shot, with arrows from the lotus eyes coated with overwhelming love

and affection, to which no human being or celestial is immune. Thus,

whether it is devotees of the Lord or His sworn enemies, none is

proof against the onslaught of the beautiful bow comprising of the

Lord’s brows.

 

It is significant that the words “Bow” and

“Brow” are very much alike, with but an “r”

to distinguish them—for, from the aforesaid, they appear to be

extremely similar in appearance and function too. It is also worth

noting that the word “Brow” in English, is but a

derivative of its equivalent in Sanskrit—“Bhruva:”,

to which the Tamil “Puruvam” also owes its origin.

 

It is thus not at all strange that the Lord’s Brows have

innumerable admirers—Sri Periazhwar, Sri Nammazhwar, Sri Andal,

Sri Alavandar and Swami Desikan, to name but a few.

Sri Vishnuchitta is so captivated by the arched Brows of Sri Krishna,

that not only does he feast his eyes on their beauty, but invites

everyone in the world to partake in his bliss—

 

“Paruvam nirambAmE pAr ellAm uyya

Tiruvin vadivu okkum Devaki pettra

Uruvu kariya oLi maNi vaNNan

Puruvam irundavA kANIrE, pooN mulayeer vandu kANeerE”

 

Sri Nammazhwar too expresses his utter fascination with the beautiful

Brows of Tirukkurungudi Nambi, commenting incidentally on their

length--”tokka sOdi toNdai vAyum neeNda puruvangaLum

Takka tAmarai kaNNum pAviyEn Aviyin mElanavE”

 

Since the eyes are long (“neeNda ap periayavAya kaNgaL”),

it is but natural that the Brows are long too—“neeNda

puruvangaL”.

 

Sri Alavandar tells us that Emperuman’s Brows are not only

beautiful, they are slender too, long like a creeper and stylishly

bent, so as to instantly capture the hearts of

onlookers—“sa vibhrama bhroo latam”. The

Lord’s brows are not “Beetle Brows”, thick and

unseemly, but slender, like a creeper. Nor are the brows straight as

a bar, but bend stylishly like a bow, enchanting everyone who sets

eyes on them. We find so many women paying fortunes for shaping their

eyebrows—they can save themselves a lot of money, if they adopt

the Lord’s Brows as models for their own.

 

Here is Swami Desikan’s tribute to the bewitching Brows, in Sri Devanayaka Panchasat-

 

“nEtum sarOja vasati: nijam Adhi rAjyam

nityam nisAmayati DEvapatE! Bhruvou tE

Evam na chEt akhila jantu vimOhanArhA

Kim mAtrukA bhavati KAma sharAsanasya”

 

Though the function of Creation has been delegated by the Lord to

BrahmA, the latter looks to the former at each and every stage of the

creative process, for approval and agreement. Such consent of the Lord

is expressed by the movement of His beautiful brows, says Swami

Desikan.

 

If the eyebrows of Emperuman can be so beautiful, it stands to reason

that those of His Consort must be more so, for beauty and elegance

are usually the preserve of the fairer sex. We thus find that Sri

Sita Piratti, who is the personification of beauty and loveliness,

sports infinitely exquisite brows, which is evident from Her being

addressed as “Shubhroo”.

 

According to Sri Bhattar, in carrying out the Creative function, the

Lord looks at every stage for approval to His Mahishi and the

innumerable differences in social, economic and spiritual status that

we find in the world are but the result of the raising or lowering of

Piratti’s brows, to signify approval or disapproval. Such is

the power this Fist Lady wields over the Lord, that Her implied

wishes, not even expressed, through the movement of Her brows, form

the very basis for the Lord’s functions, says the

Acharya—

“Yat bhroo bhangA: pramANam stthira chara rachanA tAratamyE MurArE:”

 

It appears that Piraatti blesses other celestial consorts too with the

capability of moving their husbands with the raising of their brows.

Swami Desikan says that PArvati dEvi too is able to wind Shankara

around her little finger, with a slight movement of her

brows—none other than the virile Shankara, who has to his

credit the exploit of having bent the colossal MEru mountain itself

as a bow, during Tripura SamhAram—“Yat bhroo bhangAt

kusuma dhanusha: kinkarO MeEu dhanvA”.

 

We find that almost the entire range of human emotions like anger,

surprise, annoyance, happiness etc., can be conveyed by appropriate

movements of the eyebrows. A knitting of the brows, for instance,

indicates displeasure, while the lifting of the brows in a particular

way conveys surprise. The following sloka from Srimad Ramayana tells

us that eyebrows could be used as effective indicators of displeasure

and anger—

 

“TadA tu baddhvA bhrukutim bhruvo: madhye nararshabha:

nisasvAsa mahA sarpam bilasya iva roshita:”

 

When told by Rama that the dramatic turn of events culminating in His

having to leave for a long sojourn in the jungles, (instead of His

being crowned the Prince of Ayodhya) is due to the unseen but ever

present hand of fate, Lakshmana refuses to buy this argument and

expresses his dissatisfaction, distress and anger at those

responsible for the happenings. And before bursting into a voluble

condemnation of KaikEyi and others, he eloquently conveys his anger

through a knitting of his eyebrows.

 

Another person who manages to terrorise the whole world by a mere

knitting of his eyebrows is the God of Death, YamadharmarAjA.

And we all know when his terrifying brows and lethal glances fall on

us—when our sojourn in this world comes to an end. However, if,

before this avenging angel’s fleeting look falls on us, if the

Lord were to be kind enough to look at us with His soft and cool

lotus eyes, imminent death would be immediately converted into

immortality, says Swami Desikan, praying for the rejuvenating glances

of Sri Varadaraja—

 

“yAvat na pasyati nikAmam amarshaNo mAm

Bhroo bhanga bheeshaNa karALa mukha: kritAnta:

TAvat patantu mayi tE Bhagavan! DayAlO;

unnidra padma kalikA madhurA: katAkshA:”

 

Brows appear to be a beautiful bow, when on the forehead of the Lord.

The same Brows, situated atop the eyes of another, resemble a

venomous snake stretched full length. This is how the brows on the

face of Yamadharma appear to those forever indulging themselves in

the pleasures of the flesh, says Swami Desikan in Sri Achyuta

Satakam-

 

“Karma gati dOsha du:khitA: kritAnta bhrukutee bhujangee darsana trastA:

archanti tava charaNou achyuta prabhrashta Manmatha rasAsvAdA:”

 

Brows are probably the most insignificant part of the human anatomy,

consisting merely of a line of hair across one’s forehead.

Their absence would in no way affect our effective functioning.

However, when they adorn the Lord’s face, they acquire a

beauty, seemliness and significance of their own, due to their

exalted association. Like other parts of the Paramapurusha’s

divya mangala vigraham (Divine Body), His Brows too are boundlessly

beautiful and captivating. If one were blessed with even a millionth

of Swami Desikan’s creativity and poetic skills, composing a

thousand verses on these High Brows would pose no difficulty at all.

 

Srimate Sri lakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri

Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya nama:

dasan, sadagopan