bhOgyAmrutam - puruShOttamaha (Continued..)

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4) He has four great arms : I have two arms. My Lord has four arms, you see. So,

just by numbers too, He is superior to me. They are not just four arms. They are

the four great arms which are adept at fulfilling the four necessities

(puruShArdhAs) – viz the dharma, ardha, kAma & mOkSha) of all His children.

 

 

 

dharmam – Behaving in a way that befits my nature i.e., total subservience to

Him.

 

 

 

ardham – Enhancing the possibilities of doing bhagavath and bhAgavatha

kainkaryam.

 

 

 

kAmam – The hunger to be of a perennial use to Him and His people.

 

 

 

mOkSham – Getting release from everything other than Him (and those who belong

to Him).

 

 

 

Only He is capable of giving these highest puruShArdhAs with immense

magnanimity. And so, He is the one and only puruShOttama – He always gives the

best things.

 

 

 

puru – In abundance Sha – The one who gives

 

uttamaha – The four best puruShArthAs

 

 

 

To grant all the four puruShArthAs at the same time, He has four celebrated

arms.

 

 

 

The hand which has the conch brings about the true knowledge of our nature

(dharmam).

 

 

 

The hand that wields the ever ready SudarShana creates a perennial longing in us

to do service to His devotees and Him (kAmam).

 

 

 

The hand which holds the lotus grants the required riches and enhances them for

doing such a service (ardham)

 

 

 

The hand which holds the mace smothers the attachments and thoughts that we have

towards everything which is other than Him and His devotees. It provides full

release from such useless fetters. This is the mOkSham which we require.

 

 

 

He is capable of and gives all these puruShArdhAs bountifully through His four

great arms.

 

 

 

5) He is untouched by any kind of mortality : If one has a decrease or a

constraint, He will not be able to give in abundance. In my Lord’s case, there

is no reduction of any nature to His opulence, compassion and all His auspicious

qualities. Its not possible to even think of measuring them. With an overflowing

love and compassion He gives away the best gifts to His devotees. And hence He

is known as the puruShOttama.

 

 

 

6) He is the one with the cool tulasi garland : The tulasi garland on His chest

never loses its fragrance and freshness. Its because His heart never gets heated

up or agitated. His heart is the abode of infinite compassion and love; It’s the

abode of our mother who is the personification of such an overflowing love and

compassion.

 

How then can such a heart get agitated in our case?. – Can a

mother get wild on Her children and kick them out?.

 

So, the tulasi garland which decorates such a loving heart stays

as fresh and fragrant as ever.

 

Only the one with such an endless love can be the best among the

best givers.

 

 

 

7) Ignoring my lowliness, He became my soul mate : Those who are madly in love

do not see the faults in their loved ones. A mother cries on seeing the pain of

Her child even though he is an unworthy and bad child. She never rejoices on

seeing his plight. In a similar way, my Lord, my swami loves me to the core as

His dearest soul mate. Ignoring my lowliness, He has joined me and has become

one with me. My lowliness is clearly reflected through the body I am in. If I

could carry myself in a way that could cause happiness to all, probably I could

have ended up in a divine body. But, praise my Lord’s magnanimity. All these are

of no consequence to Him. He came, He conquered my heart, He gave me His loving

embrace and has become one with me as my soul mate for ever.

Though both of us reside in this body (puram) and so can be called as

puruShAs, my Lord clearly stands out as the puruShOttama. I with my lowliness am

of no match to Him. Such is His inexplicable love towards me that He treats me

as His soul mate and cannot bear seperation of any sort from me. O my Lord, O

puruShOttama – what can this unfit soul give you in return?.

 

 

 

8) I have no words to describe Him. Tell me !!…What can I say?. :

 

 

 

pura = of the foremost; Sha = ones (those foremost ones) = the nityAs;

 

uttamaha = The best one – The primordial one (My Lord).

 

 

 

The foremost nityasUrIs (celestials) are like the vast oceans. Their greatness,

though out of the measurable bounds for even the highest of Gods, has its limit

somewhere (just like there are bounds to an ocean). But He knows no such

restrictions. He is like the unlimited sky which is spread everywhere. All His

enthralling auspicious qualities whether they be His beauty, compassion, valour

etc have no limitations.

 

First of all, can I make an effort to describe the greatness of

the celestials atleast?. No, no way. Then how can I even think of describing the

greatness of my Lord who is the pre-eminent among them and who is the source of

their very existence?. How can I ever describe that puruShOttama?. O fortunate

ones, you only tell me!!…

 

 

 

None other than that Sriyah pati is the puruShOttama.

 

 

 

He was clearly alluded as the “puruShOttama” by SrI BhIShmAchArya at the

beginning of the viShNu sahasranAmam itself. (jagat prabhum dEva dEvam – anantam

puruShOttamam). This was a direct reply to the query made by yudhiSThira – ‘kim

Ekam davaitam lOkE…’. Only that one who is the puruShOttama is the primordial

one and the pre-eminent one. He is the highest of all Gods. There is no match

for Him. Absolutely, no match…!!!

 

 

 

Jai Sriman Narayana