Nava Raathri Season / Fund Raising for the Priest's quarters at Sri RanganAtha Temple : Part IX ( The Fourth SlOkam )

[Guest guest]

TaaraNa TulA Sukla Dasami , Dhanishta Nakshathram

Vijaya Dasami Day of NavarAthri Celebrations , BhruguVaasaram

October 22 , 2004

 

SrI :

 

Dear BhakthAs of SridEvi:

 

Here is adiyEn's daily samarpaNam of 7 NaamAs

from Sri Lakshmi Sahasra Naamam saluting Her

Vaathsalyam and anugraham for Her children :

 

(PraNavam) Abhayankaryai Nama:

(PraNavam) Tantra siddhAyai Nama:

(PraNavam) Yoga SiddhAyai Nama:

(PraNavam) Nithya ThrupthAyai Nama:

(PraNavam) ThrilOkasthAyai Nama:

(PraNavam) JagannidhayE Nama:

(Pranavam) ParamApthAyai Nama:

 

THE FOURTH SLOKAM OF CHATHUSSLOKI

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

SaanthAnandh(th)a MahA VibhUthi

Paramam yath Brahma roopam HarE:

Moortham Brahm atathOapi

tath priyataram roopam yath adhyadhbhutham

yAnyanyAni yaTAsukham

viharathO roopANI sarvANI thAni- -

aahu: svairanuroopa roopa vibhavair-

ghADOpagUDAni tE

 

anvaya Kramam ( Prose Order)

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

Saantha anantha mahA vibhUthi paramam

Brahma HarE: roopam ; yath tathOapi tath priyataram

adhyadhbhutham Brahma moortham roopam yath,

yathA sukham viharatha: anyAni roopANi yaani ,

thAni tE anuroopa vibhavai: ghADOpagUDAni aahu :

 

Word by word Meaning :

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

Saantha= That which does not have the Six afflictions

(ShaDUrmis) such as Hunger , thirst , sadness , lust , old age

and death

 

anantham = That which is beyond definition by the three measures

( Kaala , Desa and Vasthu parichinnam)

 

MahA VibhUthi = that which rules the LeelA and the Nithya vibhUthis

( The two Iswaryams of the Lord: This world and Sri Vaikuntam)

 

Paramam = that which has nothing equal or Supreme to it

(0ppAr mikkAr ilaa Maamayan)

 

Brahmam HarE: roopam yath = that Sarva mangala ParamAthma

svaroopam of Hari( That Lord's dhivyAthma Svaroopam)

 

TathOapi tath priyataram = even more delectable than that

Hari's dhivyAthma Svaroopam

 

(tath) adhyadhbhutham = that (the Other one , Dhivya MangaLa

vigraham) which is extraordinary in its beauty , aakruthi et al

 

Brahma moortham roopam yath = that thirumEni of His anantha

kalyANa guNams ( Dhivya MangaLa , anantha KalyANa guNa

hEya prathyayaneeka Vigraham)

 

yathA sukham viharatha: anyAni roopANI yaani = and for Him

who sports without hindrance all other different forms( Vibhavam ,

archA , Haartham , Param and VyUham ),

 

taani te anuroopa roopa vibhavai: ghADOpagUDAni aahu: =

You , Sri DEvi tightly embrace them all by taking appropriate and

corresponding forms .This is what the PramANams say about

Your unique anuroopa roopa vaibhavam .

 

Condensed Meaning of the Fourth SlOkam

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

Your Lord's ParamAthma Svaroopam is present everywhere

along with Yours (DhivyAthma Svarropam) . His dhivya

mangaLa vigraham at the site of Paramapadham sits

as Para VaasudEvan and is however most enchanting

through its soundharyam& guNams to bring His BhakthAs under

His spell and is therefore wonderful to behold and enjoy without

satiation ( AarAvamudhu) . Your eternal dhivya mangaLa

roopam is the dearest to Him . Your roopam is tightly coupled

with His other roopams ( Para , VyUha-archA-Vibhava and

hArta ) taken with His sankalpam for the purposes of

Srushti , sTithi and SamhAram . He is never ever without

You in any one of His manifestations and Roopams .

This is what the Veda PramANmas and the views of

Maharishis hold firm . You both are never sepearated

fom one anothe even for a trice .Therefore , there is no

confusion about both of You together being the means

and the goals of Mumukshus ( those , who desire Moksham).

 

Additional Observations from Commentators

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

1. Swamy PeriyavAcchAn PILLai (PVP) splits the first

compound word of this SlOkam " SaanthAnatha "

as "Saantha+aanandha ". Swamy Desikan splits

" SaanthAnatha" as "Saantha+ anantha ".

 

According to PVP , the Lord's dhivyAthma Svaroopam

is free from the six afflictions that mortals are exposed to

and is of the nature of aanandham ( bliss principle /

Jn~Anandha Svaroopam ) .

 

Swamy Desikan chooses the " Saantha+ anantha "

split based on Lakshmi Tantra Vaakyams (Second

Chapter) as moola pramANam for ParamAthma Svaroopam

( DhivyAthama Svaroopam) .

 

Quote " Sarvatha: SAANTHA yEvAsou nirvikAra: SanAthana:

ANANTHO dEsa-Kaala-Vasthu paricchEdha varjitha:

MAHAA VIBHUTHI: ithyukthO vyApthi: Saa mahathee

yatha: tath NaaraaNAkhyathAm- - - anyOnyEna

avinAbhAvAth , anyOnyEna samanvayAth taadhAthmyam

viddhi sampan Tamm MAMA NAATASYA SOBHAYAA ".

 

Swamy Desikan links the choice of Swamy AlavanthAr

words expressed in the fourth slOkam ( Saantha+ anantha )

to the exact words of MahA Lakshmi Herself describing

the ParamAthma Svaroopam of Her Lord in His anyOnya

avinaa bhAvam ( state of never being seperated from Her ).

 

2. " MahA VibhUthi " : PVP intreprets these words to refer to

the Lord's Vibhuthvam or all pevasiveness .Swamy Desikan

intreprets VibhUthi as Iswaryam and on that basis explains

that Swamy AlavanthAr was saluting ParamAthmaa as

"Ubhaya VibhUthi NaaTan " ( the Lord of both Leelaa and

Nithya VibhUthi).

 

3. " anuroopa roopa vibhavai: " : In Lakshmi tantram , Sri DEvi

describes in detail the four vyUham Moorthys , KesavAdhi

(Twelve) VyUhAnthara Moorthys , the 38 Vibhavams starting

from PadhmanAbhan and gives the names of every one of

the amsams of Herself , who accompany the Lord in all

these manifestations appropriately . If the Lord has a particular

roopam , She joins Him with a matching from ( anuroopam ).

Swamy AlavathAr chose the group of words( anuroopa-

roopa vibhavai: ) with MahA Lakshmi's own upadEsams

in mind.

 

4. The first line of this slOkam ( SaanthAnantha

MahA vibhUthi paramam yath Brahma roopam HarE: ) focuses on

the DhivyAthma Svaroopam of the Lord without any of the six

afflictions (Oormi: ) and with has none being equal or superior

to that dhivyAthma roopam and having Vibhuthvam ( all pervasiveness)

as well .

 

4. The second line ( Moortham Brahma tathOapi tath-priyataram

roopam yath adhyadhbhutham) focuses on the dhivya MangaLa

vigraham of the Lord Para VaasudEvan presiding over Sri Vaikuntam

and at the center of the orbit of the Sun with a crown and beautiful

aabharaNams , vastrams , ParivArams et al .

 

5. "Yaanyaani yathaa sukham viharathO roopANi sarvANi " :

Our Lord takes on many avathArams and is born amidst us

although He is without birth ( ajAyamAno Bahudha vijaayathE)

to reveal His soulabhya GuNam and to mingle with us. He takes

His avathArams for protecting His BhAgavathAs and to destroy

Bhaagavatha dhvEshis (Dharma samsTApanArTAya ---SambhavAmi

yugE yugE ). He incarnates as Raamaa and KrishNaa .

 

6. " ThaannyAhu: svair--anuroopa roopa vibhavair ghADOpa gUDAni tE "

In all these avathArams , Sri Devi joins Her Lord in an appropriate form.

In RaamAvathAram , She takes on the form of SithA PirAtti ;

In KrishNAvathAram , She becomes RukmiNI PirAtti . She is never

without Her Lord and vice versa in other avathArams as well

( RaaghavathvE abhavath SeethA , RukmiNee KrishNa janmani ,

anyEshu chAvathArEshu VishNurEshA anapaayinee).She takes on

the anroopa avathArams fitting that of Her Lord's roopam .

 

Te thundering conclusion of ChathusslOki is that Sri DEvi has

Vibhuthvam , Iswarathvam , Jagath--KaaraNathvam like Her Lord

and elected (on Her own volition) to be the subordinate to

Her Lord(Sesha BhUthai) in Her role as His dharma Pathnee and

divides appropriately Their joint duties . She stays as anugrahamayee

displaying PurushakAram and displays yEka sEshithvam while staying

as UpAyam (Means) and UpEyam ( Goal for SaraNagathan)

and accepts the havis/aathma samarpaNam together with

Her Lord during aathma samarpaNa samayam .

 

VaikuntE thu parE lOkE SRIYAA saardham Jagathpathi:

aasthE VishNur-achinthyAthmA Bhakthair Bhaagavathair-saha

 

(Meaning) : In His Supreme abode of Sri Vaikuntam ,

the Lord of the universe and whose svaroopam is

beyond our imagination sits with Sri DEvi , Their BhakthAs

and the BhAgavathAs .

 

Thvam Maathaa SarvalOkAnAm DevadEvO Hari: Pithaa

Thvayai yEthath VishNunaa cha Ambha Jagath vyAptham charaacharam

 

-- VishNu PurANam I-9-126

 

(Meaning): Thou art the Mother of the Universe and its beings .

Hari , the Lord of DevAs is the Father of the same universe and

its beings.This universe consisting of sentient and the insentient

entities is pervaded all around by both Yourself and Your Lord .

 

Swamy AlavanthAr ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam ,

Oppiliappan KOil VaradAchAri Sadagopan