Sri RanganAtha Temple , Priest Quarters consruction Support series : Posting X: Sri KrishNan Sannidhi

[Guest guest]

Sri :

 

Dear KrishNa BhakthAs :

 

One of the 8 Sannidhis at Sri Ranganatha Temple , Pomona , NY

is that of Lord Venugopalan in His most enchanting form .

Swamy Desikan saluted this Raaja VeNu GopAlan in his

First SlOkam of the SthOthram , Sri Gopala Vimsathy as:

 

VandhE BrundhAvanacharam vallavee janavallabham

Jayantheesambhavam dhAma Vaijayanthee VibhUshaNam

 

In this beautiful and sacred sthOthram full of SabdhAlankAram

and Rasaanubhavam , Swamy Desikan incorporated many

Sri KrishNa tatthvams .

 

Sri Raajagopaala Manthram is woven into the second slOkam

so that we all can benefit from the power of this manthram from

mere recitation of this sthOthram .

 

The condensed meanings of the 21 slOkams of this sthOthram

are archived in http://www.sadagopan.org under AchArya Desika

SthOthrams. The URL for this archived material is :

 

http://www.sadagopan.org/sd11.htm

 

Poundarikapuram Aasramam Monograph on Gopala Vimsathy

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On July 30, 2004 , U.Ve . Dr.V.N.Vedantha Desikan (VNV) of Oppiliappan Koil

released a monograph on Sri Gopala Vimsathy at the niyamanam of

HH SriMath Poundarikapuram Andavan . This exquisite monograph

contains difficult to access vyAkhyAnams (MaNipravALam and Sanskrit )

of three great sampradhAyic scholars in addiiton to Dr . VNV's own summaries

on the unique aspects of these commentaries . adiyEn will summarize

selected points from these expansive commentaries for the sake of brevity .

 

KRISHNAANUBHAVAM IS PARAMA BHOGYAM

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

The thirst for KrishNAnubhavam (KrushNa thrushNaa) is legendary

as experienced by Swamy NammAzhwAr in His ThiruvAimozhi.

The anubhavam of PeriyAzhwAr ( reference : Sriman MaadhavakkaNNan's

translations of PeriyAzhwAr Thirumozhi in general and the divine Flute

playing of the Lord in particular ) , the dhivya anubhavams of ANDAL

in Her NaachiyAr Thirumozhi , the delectable expressions of Leela Sukhar

in Sri KrishNa KarNAmrutham and the entire tenth canto of Srimath BhAgavatham

are anchor points for us as we stand before KrishNna Sannidhi

at the Temple at Pomona , NY .

 

FUTURE PLANS FOR KRISHNAN SANNIDHI AT THE TEMPLE

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There are plans to have the consecration of Sri SanthAna Gopalan

at this Sannidhi for blessing those who are seeking SanthAna

BhAgyam . DhwAraka SilAs will be placed at this sannidhi for

Lord KrishNa to be closer to His DhwArakaa RaajadhAni

and have His beloved Gomathi river flow next to Him at

this Sannidhi .

 

Please participate in the project for construction of

the living quarters for the archakaas , who perform

daily aarAdhanam for Sri VenugOpAlan now and

Santhaana GopAlan later at the Pomona , NY

temple . Please contact adiyEn for details on your

participation to realize permanent homes for them .

 

Sri Gopala Vimsathy of Swamy Desikan

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

Today adiyEn invites you to join in Sri KrishAnusmaraNam .

adiyEn will draw from the unique commentaries of the great Scholars

( Members of the PaatrAcchAr Family from KumbakONam and Anbil

Sri GopAlaachAr Swamy ) , all of whom are Vaikunta Vaasis now .

 

The first slOkam

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

The first SlOkam of Sri GopAla Vimsathy salutes Him as

" Vaijayanthee VibhUshaNan , Jayanthee Sambhavan ,

BrundhAvanacharan , Vallavee Janavallabhan and DhAman

( ParandhAman).

 

KrishNA's Parathvam ( Supermacy as the Lord of Lords ) ,

Soulabhyam ( ease of access to any one , be they simple

or unlettered cowherdess or Maharishis or DevAs ) are eulogized

here . His dhivya MangaLa Vigraham ( divine and auspicious form)

and Souseelyam as one of His anantha kalyANa guNams

are celebrated in all the slOkams of Sri GopAla Vimsathy.

 

This avathAram was intended for "Svaasritha SamrakshaNam "

( protecting those , who sought His protection ) and those who

longed for His divine company in this world itself. " VanamAlai

miniunga ninRu viLayAda VirundhAvanatthE KaNDOmE " is

the description of ANDAL in Her NaacchiyAr Thirumozhi .

Here She visualizes the Lord with His radiant Vyjayanthi Maalai

running around in BrundhA Vanam ( Vaijanthee VibhUshaNam ,

BrundhAvanacharam) . That garland made of TuLasee and

wild flowers from the forest shines and moves beautifully

in accord with His multi-paced movements in BrundhAvanam

with His friends and the band of cows and calves ( ittamAna pasukkaLai

initthu maRitthu neerootti vittuk-KoNdu viLayADa VirunthAvanatthE

KaNDOmE " : Please refer further to the delightful translations of

Srimathi Kalyani Krishnamachari on NaacchiyAr Thirumozhi .

At those times of caring for the calves and cows , He is like the full Moon

rising in the East ( PrAchyAm dhisee: indhuiriva Pushkala: ).

 

He has a pleasing tEjas (Dhaman) . He is the beautiful tejas born

in the vamsam of cowherds ( Aayar Kulatthinil thOnRum aNi ViLakku )

and " aadhiyam sOthi uru " ( Primordial self-radiant JyOthi ).

 

KAMM VAA KRISHNO NA KARSHETH ?

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

Who will not be drawn towards KrishNan and His

Tatthvam ? " Karshathvam tasmin asaadhAraNam ,

kasya svidhanyasaya KrishNa ithi naamA ? SarvathO

viraktham nairguNyE parinishtitham Sukham KrushNam vinaa

kOanya: aakrushtum prabhavEth ? " asks Sriman GopalAcchAr

Swamy . He asks : Who will not be drawn to KrishNaa?

His aakarshaNam(pull) is not of the ordinary kind.What is in

this extraordinary name , " KrishNaa" ? Who else other than

Sukha Brahmam , the topmost VairAgyasaali ( Onewithout any

attachments) can be drawn to KrishNa like iron to the magent

( Sukhar is the author of Srimath Bhaagavatham and its

10th canto dealS entirely with the delectable KrishNa charitham) .

We do not know of any other divinity than Krishna to perform

this act of enchantment through His Karshaka GuNams .

His sacred feet roam in the dense forests of Upanishads

( Upanishad aDaveeshu sancharathy) as well as in

the deep forests of BrundhAvanam( BrundhAvana charam ).

BrundhAvanam becomes the Rasa BhUmi and RaasakreeDA

BhUmi.

 

KrishNAth Param Tatthvam aham na jaanE

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

" dhvaja-rEkhAngitham asya charaNAth : anyam

aham na jaanE " . Other than the sacred feet of KrishNa

with the divine marks of flag and lines , I do not know of

any other vasthu for my rakshaNam says a Bhakthan .

 

The One who blessed us with Geethai using Arjunan as

a vyAjam is the Para Brahmam . As we stand before the Sannidhi

of KrishNan , we should experience the SukhAnubhavam of

deep immersion in the nectarine ocean of bliss named

Sri KrishNaanubhavam. He takes on the deceptive role of

a cowherd among the GopAs ( Guhanaa Gopan ).

 

Sri Gopala Vimsathi starts with the anjali sabdham : "VandhE " .

Even before He expects or asks , anjali mudhrai is presented

to Him ( VandhE BrundhAvanacharam) since anjali melts His heart

(am jalayathi ithi anjali: ) and is Kshipra PrasAdhini ( Quick result

yielder) .

 

The place He was seen performing His leelAs is BrundhAvanam

( BrundhAnAm avanam yasmin tath BrundhAvanam = the place ,

where He nourished the cows and calves and protected them ).

His roopam is the JyOthirmaya , svaprakAsa VaasudEva roopam .

Among all the GuNams of our Lord are Four , which are most enjoyable .

These are:

 

1. Vaathsalyam (deep affection for us and patiently waiting for

us to approach Him for His rakshaNam thru aathma samarpaNam) .

 

2. Souseelyam ( Inspite of His Supreme status as the Lord of the universe ,

he descends down and mixes with us , the lowly ones , during His avathArams)

 

3. Soulabhyam (Ease of access with one and all without discrimination )

 

4. Swamithvam ( Role as our Lord as antharyAmi and niyanthaa/

indweller and commander ).

 

1.1. Sri GopAlAcchAr Swamy points out that Lord displayed Vaathsalya GuNam

to the cows and calves of Gokulam by chosing the Padham : "BrundhAvana

charam". BrundhAn avanathee ithi BrundhAvanah is the definition .

 

2.1. Although He is blessed to have the bliss of companionship with

Sri DEvi , He came down to BrundhAvanam and considered His union with

the Gopa Sthrees as the most enjoyable act. This aspect of enjoying

His association even with common/illetrate folks is indicated by the word

group , " Vallavee Jana Vallabham " representing His Souseelya GuNam

(Extreme Simplicity ) .He acted like one of the "rustic youths " of Gokulam .

He blended with them(GOpAs and GOpis) in utter simplicity without

imposing on us the consciousness of Him being the Supreme Lord .

 

3.1. " Jayanthee Sambhavam" : Descent from Sri Vaikuntam to MadhurApuri

first and moving on next to Gokulam (avatharaNam) is recognized here

and this is a manifestation of Soulabhya GuNam .

 

4.1. " Vyjaynthee VibhUshaNam ": Vyjayanthee garland is a LakshaNam

of the GuNam of Swamythvam . "Dhaama" sabdham is also an indication

of ParandhAma , Swamythva GuNam.

 

Thus in KrishNAvathAram , Our Lord displays the four dominant attributes

that draw one and all to Him . This SampoorNAvathAram is saluted in

the very first slOkam of Sri Gopaala Vimsathy .

 

adiyEn will move on now to the next Sannidhi at the temple , (Viz.,) ,

Lord SrinivAsa"s Sannidhi , where we also find the Lord of all

VidhyAs , Sri Hayagreevan .

 

Please help the archakAs at the Sannidhi of Sri KrishNa have

a suitable living Quarters and join in this Kaimkaryam for

His KaimkaryaparALs .

 

Sri KrishNaswAminE Nama:

Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil V.Sadagopan

Secretary of Sri RanganAtha Temple Board