Srimath Azhagiya Singar SathaabhishEkam Special series : 80.4 / SRI ACHYUTHA SATHAKAM : PART 3

[Guest guest]

SRI:

 

SrI NaarAyaNa Yatheendhra MahA DesikAya Nama:

 

Dear BhakthAs :

 

First SlOkam of Sri Achyutha Sathakam

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namatha ThridasAnAm NaaTam Sathyam sTira jyOthi:

Garudanadhee taDa tamAlam Ahindhranagara oushadhaachalaika gajEndhra:

 

(Meaning): SarvEswaran , the Lord of every one including Brahma and

Rudran with the name of DhaivanAyakan is roaming majestically

in the forests of Oushadha Giri like a matchless male elephant .

He appears as a pacchilai tree (TamAlam ) that grows on

the banks of the nearby Garuda nadhee . He is like a powerful

medicine for the disease of SamsArama and cooling balm

for the eyes of those , who see Him . The lustre from His thirumeni

mingles with the brilliance of His jewels in an ever resplendent

manner. He will never abandon anyone , who sought His protection .

He has taken on the name of " adiyavarkku Meyyan or Natha Sathyan /

Daasa Sathyan " to assure that He will bless His adiyArs with the Phalans

arising from His sankalpam .May You all prostrate before this Dhaiva

Naayakan to destroy Your samsaric afflictions !

 

(Comments ) : The key message from Swamy Desikan here is :

" Achyutham namatha ". As a logician par excellence , Swamy

Desikan states his case as to why we should worship the Lord of

Thiruvaheendhrapuram .

 

Swamy States Five reasons why we he is asking us to prostrate before

the matchless Lord of ThirvEndhipuram . After completing the composition

of the Beautiful 50 slOkams eulogizing Lord Deva Naayaka in "Deva Naayaka

PanchAsath " , Swamy Desikan instructs us to prostrate before the mighty Lord

for the following five reasons :

 

1. He is "Daasa Sathyan or DaasAnAm Sathyan ".He is true to His devotees.

He is within easy reach of His devotees ( Bhaktha Sulabhan , Bhaktha Vathsalan).

He is unattainable to those , who show enimity to Him (Dhushta Dhurlabhan) .

Thirumangai Mannan describes this dhivya dEsam of DevanAthan as

" adiyavarkku MeyyanAhiya Dhaiva Naayakan idam ". "adiyavarkku meyyan"

has the literal translation of " Daasa Sathyan " . When we prostrate before Him

as Daasa Sathyan , there is nothing for us to doubt about His anugraham .

 

2. He is " Achyuthan " . Avan kaivida MaattAn .He is One , whose karaavalampanam

is doubtless .He is steadfast and single minded about protecting His devotees ,

when they are in distress and cry out for His intervention . He never slips

from His exalted and incomparable position . There is nothing superior to

that position as Sarva Loka SaraNyan . There is no going back or back tracking

once He is approached as SaraNAgatha Rakshakan . He is Prapanna Jana

RakshaNa Dheekshithan . He has taken this eternal vow ( Nithya vrathee)

to come to the help of those , who sought Him out as their sole protector .

The Lord of Thiruvaheendhrapuram " is incapable of slipping down in

any manner or measure . This name means not only one that never

fails or slips , but also One that never allows His adherents to fall or slip ".

This is Achyutha Tattvam behind the naming of this Sathakam as

Achyutha Sathakam .

 

3. He is "sTira JyOthis" and "anaga JyOthis". He is a steady , unflickering ,

undiminishable JyOthi( lustre or effulgence) . He is the power behind all

the other JyOthis of the world and without Him , they can not shine : Tasya

BhAsA Sarvam idham vibhAthi ". Sri D.Ramaswamy IyengAr compares Him

to a DehaLi dheepam , which stays in the corridor between the front portion of

the house and the interior ( dEhaLee JyOthi). He is also like a lamp

shining on the top of the hill of Oushadha Giri for all to see and worship.

 

This sTira JyOthi is the eternal JyOthi referred to in ChAndhOgya Upanishad

III.13.7 :

" atha yadat ata: parO dhivO JyOthi: dheepyatE " . Reference here is to

the JyOthi , "which shines above this heaven , higher than all , highest than

every thing , in the highest realms ( worlds) beyond which there are no other

worlds " . That is the JyOthir maya Brahman that is the sTira JyOthi at

Thiruvaheendhra Puram . Brahman has been decribed as Sathya , Jn~Ana ,

Aanandha (Bliss ) , Ananta ( not confined to space or time or any other

entity ) , hEya guNa rahithan ( Free from any blemishes ) , BhUtha Yoni

( the source of the Universe) , AadhAra ( The support for the Universe) ,

antaryAmi (inner controller ) , Purusha or the Supreme Personal God

finally as JyOthis ( Supreme Light or radiance ) . This is the Supreme

Personal God in the form of sTira JyOthis that lights the way across the 74

steps that lead up to the Oushadha Giri , where that Jyothis has its abode .

 

4. He is like a TamAla tree with "an ever-growing and never Fading lustre".

This TamAla tree has a dark greenish hue and has medicinal value . This

Tamala tree known as Dhaiva Naayakan has the property of being

the never-failing medicine for the disease of SamsAram .

 

5. He is the OushadAchala " BhEshajam " and "Bhishak" . He is the fail-proof

medicine for the " incurable " disease of SamsAram ( asAdhya Bhava rOgasya

bhEshajam ) and He is also the Physician , who is an unquestioned authority

in the diagnosis and the treatment of the SamsAric disease . He is the

embodiment

of the oushadham on Oushadhaachalam (Mountain of Oushadhams/Sanjeevi Giri ) .

 

These then are the five reasons for Swamy Desikan to request us with the

unusual

choice of the word : "namatha" .

 

Sri D.Ramaswamy (DR) IyengAr has a different point of view about the meaning

for " namatha " . He speculates that Swamy Desikan chose this word deliberately

instead of the usual " vandhE " or " PrapadhyE " or "Paathu Maam " .

By choosing

"namatha" , Sri DR IyengAr suggests that Swamy Desikan has chosen Swamy

NammAzhwAr's mode of communication , when He is in distress as ParAnkusa

Naayaki and sends the birds and bees to worship and pray for him before the Lord

on His behalf and secure the Lord's grace and unite "her " with "her " Lord .

This view is intriguing but adiyEn is more comfortable with the view that

intreprets "namatha" as an exhortation by an AchArya (Swamy Desikan)

for us to prostrate before Dhaiva Naayakan and perform SaraNAgathy .

 

Srimath Azhagiya Singar ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam ,

Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri Sadagopan