Bhagavan! (post-2)

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Sri Parthasarathi thunai

SrimathE rAmAnujaya Namaha

Srimad Vara Vara MunayE Namaha

Sri vAnAchala mahA munayE Namaha

 

“Srivatsachinha misrEbhO namavukthi madheemahi,

yadhuktayas trayeekantE yAnthi mangaLasootrathAm”

 

“Sri parasara bhattAryA: SrirangEsa purOhita:

srivatsAngitha sudhas sriman sreyasE mEstu bhooyasE”

 

In the previous posting we enjoyed the excellent sloka of Sri

Koorathazhvan. Azhvan in that sloka uses 2 similar words viz.,

gaNanaviguNAnAm and nisseemnAm both have the same meaning

‘uncountable’. The Vedas declare “yathAvAcho nivarthanthE apprApya

manasA saha:” the divine qualities of emperuman is beyond our

understanding and words. But why does koorathAzhvan use 2 words in

the same sloka to convey the same meaning?

 

GaNanaviguNAnAm- implies that the kalyana gunas of emperuman cannot be

counted as one, two etc (one flower, two fruits etc)

NisseemnAm- implies that they cannot be counted even in groups.

Though we cannot count sand as one, two etc we can always say a ‘hand

full of sand’ ‘bucket full of sand’ etc even that is not possible with

respect to bhagavat kalyana gunas.

 

The phrase ‘hand full of sand’ immediately gets to our memory the

excellent episode of Sri parasara bhattar with a so-called pandit

sarvagya bhattar in our guru paramparai. What does Sri Parasara

bhattar have to say about our topic, the bhagavat kalyana gunas?

Here is a sloka from “Sri Rangaraja stavam” (uttara satakam-39) a

masterpiece of swamy parasara bhattar.

 

“shatguNanyAth vAsudeva: para ethi sabharAn mukthabhOkyO balayath,

bhOdhAth sankarshanastvam harasi vidhanushE sAstra Ishvarya veeryAth,

pratyumnas sargadharmow nayasi cha bhagavan! Shakthi tejOniruththa:

bhibrANa: pAsi tattvam gamayas cha tathA vyuhya rangAdhi raja!”

 

[Oh! My lord RanganathA! You, the holy self incarnates as vasudeva and

other vyuha forms; filled with six kalyana gunas viz., jnana, bala etc

in the name of paravasudevan remain as the source of ultimate joy to

the mukthAthmas. With the combination of bala and jnana (strength

and knowledge) you become sankarshana moorthi and do the samhara (act

of destruction) along with granting the sastras. Combined with

Ishvarya and veerya you become the pradyumna moorthi and do srusti

(Act of Creation) along with establishing/spreading dharma. Finally

combined with shakthi and tejas you become Anirudha moorthi and do

the rakshanam (Act of protection) along with giving tattvajnAnam

(knowledge of the tattvas)]

Note: Dear bhagavatas sorry for the poor translation hope the meaning is conveyed.

According to the above sloka, paravasudeva moorthi is filled with all

the six kalyana gunas whereas the other 3 vyuha moorthi have 2 gunas

each required to continue their responsibilities. Sri KoorathAzhvan

has conveyed the same meaning in the following sloka:

 

“gunais shatbhistvEdai: pratamatara moorthistva bhabhow

tatas thisra: tEshAm triyuga yugalair hi tribhirabhu: I

vyavasthA yA saishA nanu varadha sArishkruthi vasAth

bhavAn sarvatraiva tragaNitha maha mangalaguNa:”

(Sri Varadarajan stavam-16)

 

[Meaning: Oh Varada! You possess 2 gunas in three forms (moovirandu

gunam). The primary paravasudeva moorthi possess all the six kalyana

gunas. After that the other three moorthis possess 2 of the 6

qualities each. Though it is said that the other moorthis have 2

gunas each that doesn’t reduce your greatness actually all your

moorthis have innumerable kalyana gunas but in each moorthi the

particular qualities are prominent in order to support the activity

they are involved in]

 

In the above sloka Sri KoorathAzhvan in the second half clears the big

doubt that may arise in all our minds. We have heard that the

bhagavat incarnations are all filled with all the divine qualities

“sarvam poornam”. Then will that not be made false if we say the

3-vyuha moorthi have only 2 of the 6-kalyana gunas? It is not that

the other kalyana gunas are absent in the vyuha moorthis instead the

prominent feature of 2 qualities are highlighted for the proper

execution of their responsibilities but all the other qualities are

of course present inside in a unlighted form. That is what azhvar

says, even when he comes down taking different avatars he comes

complete “Adhiyan soodhi vuruvai angu vaiththu engE thOndri”.

 

(To be continued)

 

Alwar emperumAnAr Jeeyer thiruvadigalE sharaNam

Adiyen ramanuja dAsee

Sumithra Varadarajan