sthOthra rathnam 2 - part 1

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Sri:

Srimathe Ramanujaya nama:

Srimad Vara Vara Munaye nama:

 

|| sri bhagavad yAmuna muni bhiranugrhItham sthOthra rathnam ||

 

thasmai namO maDhujidh anghri sarOja thathva

j~nAna anurAga mahima athishayantha sImnE |

nAThAya nATha munayE athra parathra cApi

nithyam yadhIya caraNau sharaNam madhIyam || - SR 2

 

Literal Meaning:

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athra - in this world(bhUlOka); parathra ca api - in vaikuNTa;

nithyam - eternal; yadhIya caraNau - whose(srI nAThamuni) feet;

madhIyam caraNam - my refuge; maDhujidh - one who experienced the

love and affection of the Lord; anghri sarOja - who sought the Lotus

feet(of the Lord); thathva j~nAna anurAga - cosisting of true

knowledge and intense love; mahimAthishaya anthasImnE - who

represents the farthest landmark of that surpassing greatness;

nAThAya - one who is my Master; thasmai nAThamunayE - to that Master

nAThamuni; nama: - my obeisances

 

Detailed meaning:

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Obeisance to that master,NAThamuni,whose feet are my eternal refuge

in this and the next world and who represents the farthest landmark

of surpassing greatness which consists of true knowledge of the lotus

feet of the vanquisher of maDhu and intense love for them.

 

In the previous slOka,srI ALavandhAr had paid obeisance to srI

nAThamuni. Since in srI vaiShNava sampradhAya, the principal AcArya

after nammAzhvAr is srI nAThamuni,yAmuna continues to offer

salutations to him. The lotus feet of nAThamuni are the refuge in

this world and the next world(vaikuNTa). srI nAThamuni has a perfect

spiritual knowledge about the Lord and hence is himself a "complete"

person. He had personally experienced the love and affection of the

Lord. The Lord had come to reside in him. Hence,srI ALavandhAr is

paying both before and after obtaining liberation.

 

A doubt may arise as to the appropriateness of paying obeisance to

the feet of the AcArya,both before and after obtaining liberation

("athra parathra cApi"). Should not the refuge,after obtaining the

liberation,be with the Lord? The answer is two fold. Firstly, it is

common to refer to those who have obtained liberation from this world

as persons who have attained the feet of the AcArya. Secondly,the

bhAgavathAs are to be worshipped in preferance to bhagavAn.

 

PS: Sri PVP's vyAkyAnam(with pramANam) for the first few slOkAs will

be added soon as I need some clarification! I request the readers to

bear with me for this delay in resuming this Jewel ST. BhAgavathAs,

without any hesitation,are most welcome to correct me at any

point/time.

 

ALavandhAr thiruvadigaLE sharaNam

AzhvAr emperumAnAr jIyar thiruvadigaLE sharaNam

NC Nappinnai