Fw: The Vaibhavam of Lord Varadarajan

September 26, 2004

The Vaibhavam of Lord VaradarAjan

****************************************

Blessed indeed are those , who have been born in Kaanchipuram

or experienced the bliss of attending there the Lord's Uthsavams or who are

fortunate to live there for a short time or for extended periods of their lives .

Mukthi daayaka Mukundhan at Hasthigiri

**********************************************

Sri PraNathArTihara Varadha Parabrahmam is saluted as " Mukthi-dhAyakAn" ,

the grantor of the Parama PurushArtham of Moksha sukham . " Kacchi

tanil Mukthi tarum "

Hasthigireesan is the One , who has blessed many AzhwArs and VaishNavite AchAryAs

from time immemorial to protect and nourish SrI VaishNava SampradhAyam .

AarAdhana Moorhty of Many AchAryAs

***************************************

Out of His infinite and overflowing mercy , He stands on top of Hasthigiri to bless us

as DevAthi Raajan and He is the abode of Samastha KalyANa GuNams . As Sathya Vratha-

KshEthra NaaTan , He is the Kula Dhaivam and AaarAdhana Moorthy for many of

our PoorvAchAryAs from BhAshyakArar to NadathUr AmmAl , Sudarsana Soori

and onto Swamy Desikan . In this context , The SaraNAgathy performed by

Sri Sudarsana Soori at the beginning of his magnum opus , Srutha PrakAsikaa

is a moving one :

" Varadham DhvirathAdhreesam SrInidhim KaruNA nidhim

SaraNyam SaraNam yaami PranathArTiharam Harim "

Veda VizhupporuL on top of Atthigiri

************************************************

With His Divine consort , SrI MahA Devi , our Lord of Ubhaya VibhUthi provides

nithya Sannidhyam in all the four yugams at Kaanchi , the Svyam Vyaktha KshEthram .

The MahOpakAram (anthamila udhavi ) conferred by Him ( AruLAzhi PerumAn )

for us steeped in anaadhi karmAs ( kazhiyAtha Karuvinai) is beyond count

by any one ( anthamilaa udhavi yellAm aLappAr yArO?). In Meyviratha Maanmiyam ,

Swamy Desikan salutes Him as " karai puraNDa Karunaik-kadal " . Swamy Desikan

is dismayed over the efforts of anyone to thank Him adequately and gives up

( yevaNNam pEsuveer ? yeethenna paangE ? ). Swamy Desikan recognizes

Lord VaradarAjan adorning all tatthvams and aayudhams and standing on top

of Hasthigiri as the quintessence of Vedams (" Sudar mihu Suruthi" ) :

" Garudan uruvAm maRayin PoruLAm KaNNan

Karigiri mEl ninRu anaitthum kaakkinRAnE "

SaraNAgathy by PoorvAchAryAs

***********************************

Lord VaradarAjan saluted as " Sri Hasthisaila SikharOjwala PaarijAtham "

revealed His ParadEvathA PaaramArTyam ( as the Supreme Lord)

to AchArya RaamAnujA through Thirukkacchi Nampi with the first of

His six upadEsams : " AhamEva Param Tatthvam " . Lord VaradarAjan broke

His archa SamAdhi to converse with Thirukkacchi Nampi to clear the doubts

of AchArya RaamAnuja . The elated Thirukkacchi Nampi performed SaraNAgathy

to Lord VaradarAjan for that blessing to future VaishNava Community through

the slOkams of SrI DEvarAjAshtakam commencing with :

" NamasthE HasthisailEsa SrImann ! AmbhujalOchana

SaraNam ThvAm PrapannOsmi PraNathArTihara PrabhO "

An uninterupted chain of AchAryAs from Swamy Natha Muni ,

His grandson , Swamy AlavanthAr ( Periya MudaliyAr) ,

Thirukkacchi Nampi , AchArya RaamAnuja , KurEsar ,

NadAthUr AmmAl , AathrEya RaamAnujar , Swamy Desikan

and other major AchAryAs have performed their SaraNAgathis

at the sacred feet of Hasthigiri Prabhu . Swamy KurEsar performed

his moving SaraNAgathy in the second slOkam of his Sri VaradarAja

Sthavam :

" Svasthi Hasthigiri mastha sEkhara: anathanOthu mE santhatham Hari:

SarvabhUtha-suhrudham DayAnidhim DevarAjam athirAjam aasrayE "

Here , KurEsar recognizes the Lord of Hasthigiri as the precious treasure of

PerumdEvi ThAyAr and as the endless wealth for those , who seek boons

from Him . He is saluted as the One , who observes the vratham of granting

munificient purushArTams to those , who approach Him . He is described as

the DayA nidhi , SarvEsan , RajAdhi Raajan and as One who wishes always

the hitham for all jeevarAsis .

>From slOkam 81 to 95 , KurEsar performs exemplary SaraNAgathy

at the sacred feet of Lord VaradarAjan in SrI VaradrAja Sthavam :

"agathiracharaNO bhvaapthou ludan , Varadha ! saraNam ithyaham

ThvAm vruNE " ( Struggling in this fierce ocean of SamsAram ,

adiyEn who has no other upAyams seeks You as the ParamOpAyam

for release from the cycles of births and deaths). With touching Naicchiyam ,

KurEsar describes himself as being surrounded by tens of thousands of

hEya guNams and submits that he has chosen the DayA Nidhi ,

Hasthigireesan as the target of his SaraNAgathy ( asubha-guNaparas

sahasrAvruthE , Varadham urudayam gathim ThvAm vruNe ).

Swamy NigamAntha MahA Desikan's anubhavam of SrI Varadhan

************************************************************************************

In his Sri VaradarAja PanchAsath , Swamy Desikan chooses divinely-

directed words to hail his Ishta Dhaivam as UpAyam and phalan . Here are

few selected examples of Swamy Desikan's adoration of SrI Hasthigireesan:

" kalasa jaladhi kanyA vallaree kalpa saakhee kOpi kaaruNyarAsi: "

Varadhan is identified here as the embodiment of DayA intertwined

tightly with MahA DEvi ...SlOkam 1 . Dhvaya Manthram is extolled here .

In the third slOkam , Swamy Desikan addresses the Lord as

"avyAja Vathsalan " ( One who is naturally predisposed to love

the ChEthanams performing SaraNAgathy at His sacred feet ) .

This avyAja Vaathsalyam is unique to Varadhan . Swamy Desikan

hails the anugraha Sankalpam of the Atthigiri PeraruLALan here .

In the ninth slOkam , Swamy salutes Varadhan as the matchless ,

one and only boat to help us cross the fierce ocean of SamsAram

( SamsAra Vaarinidhi santharaNa yEka pOtham ) .

In the 12th slOkam , Swamy recognizes and salutes the Lord of

Kaanchi for His SarvAntharyAmithvam ( sarva charAchara aathman) ,

Sarva KaaraNathvam and Sarva Sabdha Vaachyathvam ( Him being

the limit of all the words as the Sareeram for the entire Naama Roopa

Prapancham ).

In the 16th and the 17th slOkams , Swamy Desikan has the exquisite

anubhavam of the dhivyAthma svaroopam and the dhivya mangaLa

vigraham respectively of this " KalyAna Kodistha MahAdEvi Mana :

Priyan ". Commentators have observed that Swamy Desikan linked here

the Sruthi vaakyam : " YathAthmakO BhagavAn , TadhAthmikA vyakthi: ".

Swamy Desikan echos as NigamAntha Desikan the above Veda Vaakyam

in his 17th slOkam this way : " YathAthmakas: Thvam vyakthim Kareesa !

kathayanthi tathAthmikAm tE ". Vyakthi refers to the ThirumEni of the Lord .

In the earlier verse , Swamy Desikan had eulogized the dhivyAthma Svaroopam

of the Lord of Hasthigiri at seven levels :

(1) akila hEya vipaksha bhUtham (Free from any blemish ) .

(2) nithyam ( without beginning or end ; eternal)

(3) Param ( state as Supreme entity )

(4) Sarvagatham ( Pervading all chEthanams and achEthanams )

(5) Susookshmam ( being the subtlest of the subtle to enter every thing)

(6) nishpandha nanadhadhu mayam ( embodiment of all pervasive bliss)

(7) SaanthOdhitham ( Among the two states of NithyOdhitham and

SaanthOdhitham , latter is the state of sankalpam of the Lord to

rule over His LeelA VibhUthi).

In slOkam 17 , Swamy Desikan points out that Lord VaradarAjan's ThirumEni

(divine body/dhivya MangaLa vigraham ) has identical glories to that of His

dhivyAthma svaroopam described by the above seven attributes .

In the 28th slOkam , Swamy Desikan states that the dhivya mangaLa

vigraham of Lord VaradarAjan serves as a coleryium (anjanam) to reveal

His dhivyAthma svaroopam . Without that coleryium , the dhivyAthma svaroopam

is invisible (adhrusyam) to samsAris . With the benefit of the visualization of

the ThirumEni, the samsAris are always able to see that dhivyAthma svaroopam

(nithyam pasyanthi).

Beyond SrI VaradarAja PanchAsath

************************************************

Swamy Desikan's indescribable attachment to Lord VaradarAjan is

mirrored in many other Sri Sookthis besides Sri VaradarAja PanchAsath (e.g) :

NyAsa Dasakam( SaraNAgathi anushtAnam); NyAsa Vimsathy ( the glories

of the SaraNAgathy performed at Varadhan's Thiruvadi) ; Meyviratha Maanmiyam

( avathAra Vaibhavam of the Lord); Adaikkala Patthu ( Tamil Sri Sookthi elaborating

the Prapatthi at SaraNyan's sacred PaadhAravindham ) ; ArTa panchakam ;

Panniru ThirunAmam ( The twelve NaamAs of the Lord starting with Kesavaa) ;

Sri VaishNava dinasari( Pancha Kaala Prakriyaa) and Thirucchinna Maalai

( the echo of the rahsya thrayams in the sound of Thirucchinnam of the Lord) .

Passing tributes are made to PEraruLALan in Rahasya granthams like Rahasya

RathnAvaLi ( two Pasurams ) , PradhAna Sathakam , UpakAra Sangraham ,

Tathtva Navaneetham and Rahasya Padhavee . In his magnum opus ,

SrImath Rahasya Thraya Saaram , Swamy Desikan salutes VaradharAjan

profoundly in every one of the 32 chapters of this SrI Sookthi. From the UpOthgAtham

(the first chapter) to Nigamanam ( the last chapter ) , moving tributes are made by

Swamy Desikan to Lord VaradharAjan .

Successors of Swamy Desikan & thier anubhavams

*******************************************************************

After Swamy Desikan's time , great AchAryAs like Sri KumAra VaradhaacchAr

(Son of Swamy Desikan ) , The First Brahma Tantra Swatantra Jeeyar Swamy

( Founder of the ParakAla Matam and direct sishyar of Swamy Desikan ) ,

GadikA Satham AmmAl , Adhi VaNN SaThakOpa Jeeyar , Shashta ParAnkusa

MahA Desikan of AhObila Matam , His disciple Pancha Matha Bhanjana

Taatha Desikan (1509-1591 C.E) , ThottayAcchAr (author of Sri DEvarAja

Panchakam ) linked to a special moment in PeraruLALan's Garuda SEvai ,

SrI Lakshmi KumAra Taatha Desikan ( 1572-1632 C.E) known for his many

Kaimkaryams to the dhivya Dampathis of Hasthi Giri , ArasANippAlai

SrI VenkatAdhwari Swamy , the nephew of SrI Taatha Desikan ( author of

SrI VaradarAja Champu and SravaNAnandham , tributes to the Lord of

Hasthi Giri) , Thirupputtkuzhi KrishNa TaathArya Desikan ( b.1823 C.E) ,

PaancharAthra Aagama adhikAris like Archakam Sri Raajam Bhattar ,

ThAyAr Sannidhi Archakam Sri VaradAcchAr Swamy and many Mahaans

from neighboring agrahArams like NaavalpAkkam , VilliyampAkkam ,

spent their life time in Kaimkaryams to Hasthigireesan and spread

the Bhagavath RamAnuja SiddhAntham .

A Tribute to PeraruLALan

***********************************

Such is the glory of Atthigiri PeraruLALa PerumAl and His divine

consort , Sri PerumdEvi ThAyAr .adiyEn concludes this special

tribute by ThottAcchAr during the occasion of VaikAsi Garuda SEvai

of the Lord :

yath Veda MouLi gaNa vEdhyam avEdhyam anyai:

yath Brahma-rudra-sura naayaka mouLi vandhyam

tath PadhmanAbha padha padhmam idham manushyai:

sEvyam bhavathbhi: ithi darsayatheeva Taarkshya:

(Meaning): The Vaibhavam of Lord VaradarAjan's sacred feet are to be

comprehended with the help of Upanishads , which form the head of

Vedams . Their vaibhavam can not be understood by those , who do

not accept Vedams as PramANams .Those sacred feet of the Lord

are worshipped by the siras of Brahma , Paramasivan and IndhrAdfhi

devathais. Those sacred feet are soft and fragrant like the lotus flower

arising out of the Naabhi of the Lord.The Veda Moorthy Garudan carries

them in hand with reverence and reveals them to the people to remind them

about the importance of their (sacred feet's) worship .

NamO SrI VaradarAjAya ,

Daasan , Oppiliappan KOil VaradAchAri SadagOpan

P.S : Those who are interested to immerse deeply in SrI VaradarAja

GuNAmrutha anubhavam are directed to the 845 page comprehensive

Monograph by "Varadha GuNAmrutha Varshi " R. SrinivAsa Varadha

TaathAcchAr Swamy duirng Vikrama , Kaarthikai anusham (Nov 26, 2000).

September 27, 2004

The Vaibhavam of Lord VaradarAjan

****************************************

Blessed indeed are those , who have been born in Kaanchipuram

or experienced the bliss of attending there the Lord's Uthsavams or who are

fortunate to live there for a short time or for extended periods of their lives

..

Mukthi daayaka Mukundhan at Hasthigiri

**********************************************

Sri PraNathArTihara Varadha Parabrahmam is saluted as " Mukthi-dhAyakAn" ,

the grantor of the Parama PurushArtham of Moksha sukham . " Kacchi tanil Mukthi

tarum "

Hasthigireesan is the One , who has blessed many AzhwArs and VaishNavite

AchAryAs

from time immemorial to protect and nourish SrI VaishNava SampradhAyam .

AarAdhana Moorhty of Many AchAryAs

***************************************

Out of His infinite and overflowing mercy , He stands on top of Hasthigiri to

bless us

as DevAthi Raajan and He is the abode of Samastha KalyANa GuNams . As Sathya

Vratha-

KshEthra NaaTan , He is the Kula Dhaivam and AaarAdhana Moorthy for many of

our PoorvAchAryAs from BhAshyakArar to NadathUr AmmAl , Sudarsana Soori

and onto Swamy Desikan . In this context , The SaraNAgathy performed by

Sri Sudarsana Soori at the beginning of his magnum opus , Srutha PrakAsikaa

is a moving one :

" Varadham DhvirathAdhreesam SrInidhim KaruNA nidhim

SaraNyam SaraNam yaami PranathArTiharam Harim "

Veda VizhupporuL on top of Atthigiri

************************************************

With His Divine consort , SrI MahA Devi , our Lord of Ubhaya VibhUthi provides

nithya Sannidhyam in all the four yugams at Kaanchi , the Svyam Vyaktha

KshEthram .