Manthra Raja Part I

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Sriman nArAyanAya namaha|

Srimathe RamAnujAya namaha|

Srimathe VedAntha DeSikAya namaha||

 

govinda kesava janArdana vAsudeva

viSvesa viSwa madhusUdana viSwarUpa|

sri padmanAba purushotama pushkarAksha

nArAyanAccuta nrusimha namo namaste||

 

I Introduction

 

Many of us would be familiar with the mantra rAjA:

 

'ugram vIram mahAvishNum jwalantam sarvatomukham

nrusimham bIshaNam bhadram mrutyummrutyum namAmyaham'

 

This mantra rAjA along with the gAyatri mantram (mantra rANi)

and the verses of the rahasyatrayam would provide immense joy

and salvation to the bhaktas. We can say that the mantra rAjA

extols the rAjAtirAjA who incarnated as the mruga rAjA.

 

The nrusimha pUrva tApini upanishat provides the condensation of

various vedic and upanishatic thinking in just ten words and

explains all the words using short commentaries. Then the upanishat

goes on to explain other things like the main upanishats by

comparing Atma, etc. with Him. This upanishat is considered as a

vaishnava upanishat and forms a basis for bhakti mArgam with

Sri Nrusimha avatAram as the object of worship.

 

Swami DeSikar won't miss the opportunity to mention this

upanishat in his Sri KAmasikAshTakam. He would say:

 

tapaNentu agni nayana: tApA napacinotu na:

tApaniya rahasyAnAm sAra: kAmAsikAhari:

 

Sri KAmaSikA Nrusimhan having three agnis ( tapana, indu, agni )

for his eyes and being a sArAtam of tApini upanishat should remove

our three tApAms( Adyatmikam, Adiboudikam, Adidaivikam .)

 

Now we can surmise the meaning of tApini in the name of the

upanishat.

Sri Nrusimha is the remover of the tApams. Hence He and this

upanishat

extolling him are the tApinis.

 

Let us look at the meaning of the words in this mantram in

this article.

 

Each word in the mantra can be considered to high-light the

importance of a verse in the main portion of the vedas. Hence

you will see in each of the following subsections an explanation

followed by a familiar verse and concluding

phrase 'tasmAdyucAte ...'.

 

II.1 Meaning of ugram

 

yasmAt svamahimna sarvAn lokAn sarvAn devAn sarvAnAtmAna: sarvANi

bhutAni udgruhNAti ajasram srujati visrujati vivAsayati udgrAhyate|

stuhi Srutam gartasadam yuvAnam mruganna bIma mupahatnu mugram|

mrudA jaritre simha: stavAno anyante asmin nivapantu senA:

tasmAducyata ugramiti||

 

Because of his lofty actions He absorbs all worlds, all devas,

all jivas, all bhUthas, and He creates, grows, destroys, and

elevates them to a higher status. Hence it is said that He is ugram.

Nrusimha! even as you are praised by me now, please grant me

endless joy as I live in this life. Let your ganAs be with me

and destroy my enemies.

 

Here the vedic verse on Sri Rudra is enhanced to portray Sri

Nrusimha -

a nice word play revealed to the rishi. The vedic verse describes

The Lord

as 'upahatnu mugram' - He is ugram, very hot, in destroying the

enemies.

Also see the bhagavad gIta verse 11-20 which mentions Him as ugram.

 

The taitrIya brigu valli verse 10.4 would echo His power to

destroy the enemies by saying

 

tat brahmana: parimara ityupAsita|

paryenam mriyante dvishantas spatna: |

pari ye (a) priyA prAtruvyA:||

 

We should (also) worship Him as the destroying force. The person

doing so

would conquer and destroy all His enemies, haters, and bad persons.

 

Since He is busy taking of care the dynamic aspects of the universe,

He is portrayed as a highly-charged hot person, ugram. Such busy

person

should also be bold. Hence the next word in the mantram.

 

II.2 Meaning of vIram

 

yasmAt svamahimnA sarvAn lokAn sarvAn devAn sarvAnAtmana: sarvANi

bhutAni viramati virAmayati ajasram srujati visrujayati vAsayati|

yato vIra: karmaNyo: sudaksho yuktakgrAvA jAyate devakAma:|

tasmAducyate vIramiti||

 

>From His lofty self mahima He provides rest, creates incessantly,

grows, and absorbs all worlds, all devAs, all jivatmas

and all bhUthas. Hence it is said that He is vIram.

He is a vIrA, creator of all works. He is skilled, mountain-like,

and satisfies the desires of the devAs.

 

Compare 'vishornukam vIryAni' verses recited at the end of

nArAyana sUktam and in vishnu sUktam with this one.

 

Compare how Swamy DeSikar would describe Sri Rama in RaghuvIra

gadyam:

'jaya jaya mahA vIra mahA vIra dowreya.'

 

As Swamy Desikar would point out in Sri dasAvatAra stotram

that the Lord has a lot of weapons and possesses powers

that can never be wasted -

'purAdana praharaNa grAma: ... akunTha mahimA vaikunTha kaNThIrava:'

 

Thus we can establish He is vIram.

 

II.3 Meaning of mahAvishNu

 

ya: sarVan lokAn vyApnoti vyApayati sneho yatha pallapiNda

motaproda manuprAptam vyatishakto vyApyate vyApayate|

yasmAn na jAta: paro anyo asti ya AviveSa bhuvanani viSwA|

prajApati prajayA samvidAna strIni jyotImshi sacate sa shoDaSiti|

tasmAducyate mahavishNumiti||

 

He makes all worlds manifest. He makes them all manifest themselves.

Just like fat is found through the length and breadth of meat,

he permeates everywhere. Hence it is said He is mahAvishNu

( exists in everything ). Nothing exists or manifests

without him. He exists as viswA through all the bhuthAs.

He is prajapAti. The worship of the jivAs is His worship.

He is in all the three jyotis ( sUrya, chandra, agni ).

He is the master of all the sixteen arts.

 

The permeation is taken as the reason for Him being known as vishnu.

The permeation is exemplified in a mechanical manner and more

beautifully

in taitrIya upanishat Ananda valli verse 6.3. It would say

 

tat shrushTvA tato anupraviSat|

 

It creates and then enters what it creates.

 

It enters its creation because it is the life principle.

The most intrinsic characteristic of all objects is Him.

We wonder how the universe holds up or was created irrespective

of what we immediately observe or even after Nobel-prize

winning discoveries. Who dictates the precise mass of objects

and who calculated and put in place the precise forces between

all the possible pairs of all particles in this universe.

The person responsible for this precision design is Him.

 

The taitrIya upanishat says in Ananda valli 6.3

 

tatanupraviaSya sacca dyaccAbhavat|

 

After performing anupravesam He remains as what is explicitly

seen and what is not explicitly seen. He covers all the bases.

Thus He is vishNu.

 

.... continued in Part II ...