Padhuka Sahasram-998

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Sri:

 

SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,

 

Translation by U.Ve. Dr. V.N. Vedanta Desikan Swamin:

 

998. thvayyAyatthoU Bhagavathi shilABhasmanO: prANadhAnA

dhAsthrIbAlam praThithaviBhavoU pAdhapadhmoU murArE:

thAmEvAham shirasi nihithAmadhya pashyAmi dhEvA-

dhAthmADhArAm janani! BhavathImAthmalABhaprasUthim

 

Oh Goddess Paaduka Mother! Even a child or womenfolk would know of

Your achievements in that You helped revivification of a stone or

burnt log of wood. My assigning them to Your credit cannot be

questioned by anybody. The Feet depend on You. While You are

Yourself the basis for Yourself, the feet depend on You. It is You

which inculcated the right spirit of the seld as subordinate to You.

And I feel honoured by Your being placed on my head.

 

Namo Narayana,

 

SriMuralidhara Dasan

 

Special Notes by V.Sadagopan (V.S):

 

SlOkam 998

 

1) UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam: Oh Worshipful Mother! the Stone at

the roadside became AhalyA, the wife of Sage Gouthama. The piece of

charcoal became King Parikshith. People say that these

transformations took place through the intervention of Your Lord's

holy feet. Those sacred feet are accomodated by You and supported by

You. Oh PaadhukE! Unlike the Lord's feet, You do not need any

support base and are responsible for the jeevan to attain its

svaroopa Jn~Anam. I consider myself fortunate in adorning You on my

head inview of the great vaibhavam that you are associated with.(

Swamy Desikan bases this verse on what is known as Kaimudhika

NyAyam according to which PaadhukAs can be understood as giving new

life to the jeevans at the end of their earthly life inside the

body).

 

2) SrImath Andavan's anubhavam:In this slOkam, Swamy Desikan

points out that the auspiciousness arising from being the servant of

the Lord's Paadhukais is unsurpassed in its vaibhavam and it is

something that is not easy to gain. It is indeed the Vaathsalya

guNam of the Paadhukais that makes it possible and not any planned

striving(prayathnam) on our part. It is PadhukA's motherly

affection for us and your their anugraha paramparais that lead upto

this Parama srEyas.

 

3) Oh Mother PaadhukE ( Bhagavthee Janani)! Your Lord's lotus feet

have the glories of blessing AhalyA, who was staying as a stone

(SilA) due to her husband's curse; those sacred feet saved the

embryo ParIkshith from apANDava asthram and transformed him form a

cinder block to a living infant (m basmAnO: PrANa dhAnAth); those

same sacred feet destroyed MurAsuran. Such feet with all these

vaibhavams are under Your control (MurArE: Paadha Padhmou

ThvayyAyatthou). Your Lord is the antharAthmA for all the world (

aathmAdharAm) and You are the bearer of that ParamAthmA. You are

worshipped by all the world ( SarvalOka Poojyai ); You have unique

and matchless vaibhavam ( nirathisaya prabhAvasaali ). You are the

cause for the Moksha sukham for the jeevans (Thvam aathma-lAbha

prasUthi). It is only through good fortune I am having You now on my

head without any special prayathnam ( aham dhaivAth sirasi nihithAm

adhya pasyAmi)...(V.S)