Nava Raathri Season / Fund Raising for the Priest's quarters at Sri RanganAtha Temple : Part V( Fourth Day of NavarAthri)

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SrI :

 

(PraNavam) MahA Maayai Nama:

(PraNavam) AdhyAthma VidhyAyai Nmaa:

(PraNavam) Jagath PriyAyAi Nama:

(PraNavam) RukmiNyai Nama:

(PraNavam) SeethAyai Nama:

(PraNavam) PuNya NilayAyai Nama:

(PraNavam) Saasvathyai Nama:

 

In the previous posting , we studied the meanings of

the First slOkam of ChathusslOki .

 

On this Fourth day of NavarAthri , adiyEn will focus on the observations

of MahA VidvAn Sri Chetlur SrivathsAnkAcchAr Swamy on Swamy

AlavanthAr's ChathusslOki . Most recently , HH Srimath NaarayaNa

YathIndhra MahA Desikan has covered in detail ChathusslOki BhAshyams

in His anugraha BhAshaNam section of Sri Nrusimha PriyA .

 

Sri VathsankAccAr's COMMENTARY ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF ChathusslOki

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As U.Ve . SrivatsAnkAcchAr Swamy has commented that all the

VishNavite AchAryAs

have benefitted from ChathusslOki as their path finder ( Marga pradharsikaa)

to create their own sthOthrams about MahA Lakshmi and develop their doctrines about

Sri Devi Tatthvam ( yEka sEshi Tatthvam and Her role as upAyam (means) and

the goal ( upEyam ) . His examples of such path finding Sri Sookthis on Sri Devi are :

 

1. The first choorNikA of SaraNAgathy Gadhyam of AchArya RaamAnuja

( Bhagavan NaarAyaNAbhimathanuroopa Svaroopa Roopa GuNa ----- )

 

2. Sri Stavam by Swamy KurEsar , which will be covered in this series

 

3. Swamy ParAsara Bhattar's GuNa Ratna Kosam : http://www.malolan.org

and Lakshmi KalyANam drama ( The First is a Sravya Kaavyam (sthuthi)

and the other is dhrusya Kaavyam ( Opera/play) .

 

4. Swamy Desikan's Sri Sthuthi , which will also be covered in this series

 

5. Swamy KumAra VaradAryA's Lakshmi Sathakam in MandhAkranthaa

metre in his commentary on Swamy Desikan's YaadhavAbhudhyam (18.1)

 

6. Lakshmi Sahasram by SlEsha-Yamaka Chakravarthi AthrEya Sri VenkatAdhvari

and its commentary ( Lakshmi Sahasra Rathna PrakAsikA ) by Sri ParakAla

Matam Jeeyar , Sri KrishNa Brahmatantra ParakAla MahA Desikan). They

establish and elaborate on Lakshmi Vibhuthvam clearly .

 

7. Thirukkudanathai Sri Gopala MahA Desikan's KOmaLA DaNdakam

6. Abhinava Lakshmi Sahasram by PaitthampAdi Sri RaamAnuja

Chakravarthy Swamy

 

These are some of the Sri Sookthis by many AchAryAs steeped in

SRIVAISHNAVA SAMPRADHAAYAM .Our JaganmAtha , MahA Lakshmi's

Vaibhavam has been hinted by the adage " CHATHUSSLOKENA

PANDITHA: " ( One is considered a VidhvAn and Saastra JnA~nam

based on demonstrating his knowledge about ChathusslOki

of Swamy AlavanthAr). The reason for this statement is that ChathusslOki

has deep and subtle meanings , which are central to the understanding

of the Sri SampradhAyam .

 

Our AchAryAs have analyzed the five points of view ( Pancha Paksham)

and have established one among the five (Vibhthvam of Sri DEvi)

to be the durable and tenable one as PramANam and have discarded

the other four . SaakshAth Swamy in his role as a great AchArya

has established the Vibhuthvam of Sri Devi and Her important role

as UpAyam and UpEyam in his " Sri Tatthva SiddhAnjanam " on impeccable

grounds based on VishNu PurANa vyAkhyAnam by Sri VishNuchittha

(AchAryan of NadAthUr AmmAl , who blessed us with Prapanna PaarijAtham ).

The MahA PravEsam of Eedu and other ancient commentaries are quoted by ChEtlUr

SrivatsAnkAcchAr Swamy in support of the Vibhuthva Paksham

( AasrayaNa vELayOdum , bhOga vELayOdum vaasiyaRa oru miTunamE

uddhEsyam " . She is considered as the Means and Goal as the divine

couple ( dhivya MiTunam) together with Her Lord . Their role is yEka

Seshithvam . The meaning of "Srimath Sabdham " is hinted through

this upadEsam : "EmperumAnai Sonna idatthil , PirAttiyayum solliRRu ".

 

Among the commentaries on ChathusslOki , Swamy PeriyavAcchAn PiLLLai's

MaNipravALa Commentary , Swamy KumAra VaradaachAryA's commentary

in Tamil , They have established the " Iswarathvam of Sri Devi" and

Mahaa Lakshmi's MOkshapradhathvam in their vYAkhyAnams .

The reason for Her to be recognized as Bhagavthi is unerstood from

the pramANam : " nirdhOsha mangaLa guNAkarathva Jn~ApanAya

Bhagavthyeethi uktha: " To remind us of Her blemishless , auspicious

assembly of attributes , She is addressed as Bhagavthy ( Jn~Ana Sakthi

Balaiswarya veerya tEjAmsya asEshatha: ) and having all the six defining

guNams of Her Lord , BhagavAn .

 

Swamy AlavanthAr wonders about the difficulty of anyone to describe

adequately the MahA Tatthvams represented by MahA Lakshmi

in the first slOkam of ChathusslOki and states in the spirit of

VishNu purANam ( na tE varNayithum sakthA guNAn jihvAapi

vedasa:) :

 

" SreerithyEva cha Naama tE Bhagavthy ! Bhruma: kaTam ThvAm vayam "

 

Lakshmi NaarAyaNa MiTunam is saluted therefore by Ahirbudhnya

SamhithA as : "yEka tattvam iva udhithou " ( born as a single tatthvam

as it were ). The same samhithai vaakhyams have been drawn as PramANam

by Swamy AlavanthAr in his slOka vaakyam about Brahma and other devAs

and their respective consorts being the servants of Sri DEvi :

 

" svata: sarvE aathmAna: ParamAthmana: " ( Mantra Raaja Padha SthOthram,

Twelfth Slokam ).

 

After expresssing his doubt and stating his inabity to eulogize Her

appropriately ( KaTam bhrUma: ) when Brahma and others have failed ,

Swamy AlavanthAr is emboldened to make an attempton the basis of

him being Her Daasan and Prapannan . This is the subject matter of

the second slOkam of ChathusslOki , whcih adiyEn will take up next .

 

At this time , adiyEn would like to extend my sincere thanks to

Sriman Aravidalochanan of Bombay , who helped me acquire

the original Sanskrit commentaries of Swamy Desikan on ChathusslOki ,

SthOthra rathnam and Gadhya Thrayam .

SrImath Azhagiya Singar ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam ,

Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan