Sri Alavandhaar's SthOthra Rathnam- verse 28- Performing anjali [folded palms] to You removes all miseries and begets well being!

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SrI:

SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya namah:

Dearest Srivaishnavas,

 

Lord asks: The mother without even anticipating the

infant’s cries, takes the baby and feeds the same. I

am not like that. I am the mother for all and hence

can not grant you just like that and will be blamed

for being partial.

 

Alavandhar says: When a mother has two or three

children, she feeds the crying little one(helpless)

first and I am like that crying- and performing

Saranagathi. So give me first. Prapatti (Saranagathi)

is bhooyishtaam thE nama ukthim vidhEma- with a small

step or effort of Self surrender, it grants the

biggest. However, in addition to asking by words, it

would be greater if folded hand performing Anjali

(folded palms) as the token of my reverence and

affection. Let me do that…

 

This does not mean that the Saranagathi performed in

22nd verse is now null and void. This is only a

supplement to declare his mahaaviswAsam and

unconditional faith on Him.

 

tvat anghrim uddisya kadApi kEnachit yathA tathApi

sakrit krita anjali:

tadaivam mushNAti asubhAni asEshata: subhAni pushNAti

na jAtu heeyatE [28]

 

To Your Lotus Feet- [Or contemplation on Your Lotus

Feet]- whoever- whenever- however or whatever time or

manner- once- if he or she has performed the Anjali

[paying obeisance with two folded palms], at that

moment itself, the act removes all his sorrows and

miseries and does him or her good and well-being with

all auspiciousness [mangaLam] and it grows further and

further. In addition, that Anjali stands firm

resplendently (meaning: wondering what else can we

grant to the person who is doing…as this is not even

adequate for the performance of Anjali- the Lord is so

merciful ]

 

Each word of this verse is pregnant with meaning.

[given below is an extract from sri Sadagopan Iyengar

article posted few years ago on this anjlai – quoting

this sthothra- thanks to him for granting permission]

 

"Tvat anghrim uddisya"-This gesture is meaningful only

if addressed to the Lord. Anjali to all and sundry

human beings or to lesser deities would not bring us

any lasting benefit.

 

"kadApi"-There is no time specification for anjali.

Unlike sandhyavandanam which can be performed only at

the confluence of the three sandhIs, unlike Mantra

japam which requires purity of body and soul, unlike

yAgAs and yagyAs which too are time-specific, this

gesture of folded palms can be adopted any time, with

absolutely no restriction. Night or day, summer or

winter, full moon or new moon, makes no difference for

joining our palms in supplication to the Lord. We can

do it the moment we develop the urge.

 

"kEnachit"-Performing sacrifices is the prerogative of

the traivarNikAs. BrahmachArIs alone can perform

SamidAdAnam. Only males of the aforesaid group can

imbibe and propagate the Vedas. Unlike all these

restriction-bound deeds which are subject to

constraints of VarNa, Ashrama etc., anjali falls

within the domain of everyone, irrespective of cast,

creed, colour, age or sex.

 

"yathA tathA vApi"-Most of the karmAs which earn us

merit have to be performed in a particular fashion.

Doing them otherwise would not only deny us of the

intended fruit, but would also prove

counter-productive. We thus hear of TvashtA begetting

a son who would be killed by Indra, while his actual

prayer was for an offspring who would end Indra's

life, all because Tvashta erred in the intonation of a

Veda mantra. We hear of Brahmins turning into

BrahmarAkshasAs due to shortcomings in the performance

of sacrifices. Unlike all these rule-bound deeds, an

anjali can be executed in any fashion.

 

"Sakrit krita:"-While most of the meritorious deeds

require repetitive

performance, a single performance of anjali destroys

all inauspiciousness and builds up all that is good

for us.

 

 

ommAcchI, kai kooppu" is what our parents told us to

do, in our childhood. And it is what their parents

told them to, when they in turn were children. Thus,

as a tradition, we have been taught to fold our palms

in supplication, when standing before the Lord. What

exactly does this gesture, which has been in vogue

from time immemorial and is being passed on from one

generation to another, actually mean? Is it based on

some scriptural authority or is it just an empty

mannerism which, rightly or wrongly like so many

others of its ilk, has somehow survived the test of

time?

 

Scripture refers to this gesture of supplication with

folded palms,

as "anjali". And references to this anjali are

numerous and adulatory, be it in Srimad Ramayana, Sri

Mahabharata, Puranas or Acharya sreesooktis. The

greatness and glory of this simple gesture are so vast

that Swami Desikan thought it fit to author a separate

work on the same, titled "anjali Vaibhavam". Sri

Alavandar has enshrined the significance of this

gesture in his Stotra Ratnam, while other

Acharyas too are not lacking in glorifying the

greatness of anjali.

If we look into the etymological structure of this

word, we find it to be extremely significant-"am

jalayati iti anjali:"-this tells us that the

apparently simple folding of palms is so potent that

it completely floors the Lord and melts Him down,

making Him abandon all idea of awarding commensurate

penalty for our innumerable misdeeds. "am" in the

aforesaid sentence refers to the Lord, who is

represented by the letter "A" ("akArArtthO VishNu:").

 

Sage BharadvAja tells us that this anjali is the best

of all gestures and secures for us the favours of the

Lord , with all expedition-"anjali: paramA mudrA,

kshipram dEva prasAdinI". There are any number of good

deeds which earn us merit and ultimately afford us

liberation from this mundane morass-cleaning up the

Lord's temple, adorning it with floral designs,

fashioning garlands for Emperuman out of fragrant

blooms, lighting up the Lord's abode with lamps lit

with ghee,

gingerly oil etc., circumambulation of His sannidhi,

prostrating before Him in such a way that all eight

parts of the body touch the ground ("sAshtAnga

praNAmam"), constant contemplation on esoteric

formulations incorporating His hallowed names (Mantra

japam), engaging in melodious exposition of His

praises and so on. If the ultimate aim of all these

endeavours is to please the Lord, then one need not

resort to all these at all, and could confine himself

to a mere anjali, which is more powerful than all the

aforesaid in earning us the Lord's pleasure.

 

Whatever merits the other kainkaryams listed above

might earn

us in course of time, a single gesture of folded palms

secures for us in a trice, says Sri

Bharadvaja-"Kshipram dEva prasAdinI".

 

Why is this simple gesture touted to be such an

effective instrument in

accomplishing such exalted goals? Because it signifies

the surrender of one's soul, the absolutely priceless

offering which is relished by Emperuman. If we

consider the "anjali" mudrA, the palms folded together

resemble a lotus bud, which is also the shape of our

heart (Hridaya Kamalam)-"Padma kOsa prateekAsam

hridayam chApi adhO mukham" says the Narayana

anuvAkam. Just as the lotus is the best of flowers one

can offer the Lord, our heart and the soul resident

therein, are indubitably the most valuable of tributes

that we can submit at His feet. It is thus that the

anjali pleases Emperuman no end, signifying, as it

does, the ultimate offering that can be submitted by

anyone. And a tip here about the folded palm, learnt

from elders-the palms should not be pressed flat

together, but held loosely together with the tips of

the fingers touching one another, so that the joined

palms resemble a lotus.

 

A further beauty of the anjali mudrA is that while it

represents a gesture of surrender to the arcchA

murtthi we stand before at the Sannidhi, it

simultaneously envisages obeisance to the Inner

Dweller, the antaryAmi, who is forever resident in our

hearts and souls. The position of the palms in this

mudrA is such that it is in line with our chest,

inside which is situated our heart, in which is

enshrined the Lord, in His form as the "HArda" or the

Inner Dweller.

 

We might adorn the Lord at temples with any number of

the most brilliant of gems and jewels made of the most

precious of metals, but the ornament the Lord likes

the most is our "anjali", the simple gesture of folded

palms with an accompanying attitude of self-surrender,

says Sri Nammazhwar-

 

"dEsamAna aNikalanum en kai kooppu seigayE".

 

Just as a diamond's brilliance is enhanced by a

glittering gold setting, so too the efficacy of the

anjali is heightened by certain accompaniments, says

Sri KulasekharAzhwar. The palms folded in obeisance

should be accompanied by a head bowed in devotion,

hairs standing erect with the intensity of Bhagavath

anubhavam, a voice made extremely shaky with emotion,

eyes full of tears occasioned by depth of feeling for

the Paramatma and so on, all of which cumulatively

take us to unimaginable heights of sublime spiritual

experience. It is those who have all these external

signs of devotion, whose constant company

we should crave for, says Azhwar. Here is the

beautiful sloka from Sri Mukunda MAlA-

 

"baddhEna anjalinA natEna shirasA gAtraischa

rOmOdgamai:

kanttEna svara gadgadEna nayanEna utkeerNa bAshpAmbunA

nityam tvat charaNAravinda yugaLa dhyAna amruta

AsvAdinAm asmAkam SaraseeruhAksha! satatam sampadyatAm

jeevitam".

 

Swami Desikan in one of his chillarai Rahasyam named

Anjali Vaibhavam describes the power of Anjali as "

Praarthanaa poorvaka bharanyaasam of the Akinchanan "

(the saraNaagathi done with the folded hands as a

first step for the helpless to seek the Lord's

succour and protection.

 

Swami Desikan goes on to describe Anjali mudrai as

Phala visesha vyanjaka mudrai "(the gesture that

symbolizes special fruits to be obtained from the Lord

). Swami quotes the slokam of VishNu DharmOtthamam

which states unambiguously that the anjali made in

front of the Lord quickly helps one to receive the

Lord's immediate attention

and lets one become the object of his Daya..

 

Alavandhar ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Regards

Namo Narayana

dAsan

 

 

 

 

 

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