vijayadAsara kavacha - part 2

[Guest guest]

Dear vaishNavas

 

Here is the second part of the kavacha. It covers the first five

verses including the common verse.

 

It is very gratifying that a lot of people have written to us,

appreciating the posting. We thank them for the feedback and would

like to submit this to vijaya viThThala humbly.

 

In the service of vijaya viThThala

 

Shobha Srinivasan (srinivasan),

CR Madhusudhana Rao (madhu_cr)

Hunsur Sriprasad (sripi)

 

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(vijayadAsara kavacha - part 2)

 

 

Translation overview

=================

Portions of this translation are based on a series of talks by the (Late)

Venugopal dasaru - a very well known harikatha exponent. Each verse

is followed by a simple translation, and a commentary, that highlights

aspects of the verse that are not obvious immediately, or are likely to

be missed or misinterpreted. This is the style followed by shrI

madhavAchArya, and like a firefly imitating the blazing sun, we have

tried to follow in his footsteps!

 

The whole kavacha is structured as if the author is directly addressing

you, and giving you a thumb-nail sketch of shrI vijayadAsaru. Quite a

few of the verses have dvaita or tattvavAda concepts embedded in them

and in our commentary we have to tried to throw more light on these.

 

Verse-by-verse rendition

========================

 

Verse 0:

=======

smarisi badukirO divya charaNakeragirO

durita taridu poreva vijaya gurugaLembara || pa ||

 

Translation:

============

Live your life, with his thoughts in your mind. Surrender at the divine

feet of the guru named vijaya, the one he who eliminates our troubles

and takes care of us.

 

Commentary:

==========

Beyond the simple message stated above, there is a hidden injunction

that we need to observe. Reverse the first two words and make a few

grammatical changes, you get 'baduku smarisiro' - remember (his) life.

In other words, the author is exhorting us to remember the glorious life

of vijayadAsaru and use that as a template for our own lives. It was a

truely extraordinary life encompassing depths that most people hear of

but never experience - extreme poverty, humiliation, death of several

blood relatives, ex-communication by a maThAdhipati - as well as heights.

Through all of this, he showed how a true

'hari-bhakta' should behave. That is why the author is asking us to

learn our lessons from his life.

 

The last two words identify the target for such devotion - 'vijaya

gurugaLEmbara'. The first and simple translation of this is 'a guru

called vijaya' i.e., vijayadAsaru. However, there is another meaning

that you need to understand. To see this, look at 'vijaya' i.e, arjuna.

As the mahAbhArata teaches us, arjuna's apparent guru was drONAcharya,

but the ones who truely stood by his side and guided him throughout

his life were bhIma and kriShNa. Therefore 'vijaya gurugaLEmbara' also

means vAyu and hari. Thus the author is asking us to seek refuge at the

divine feet of hari, vAyu and guru (in this case vijaya dAsaru). This

is not surprising because no mAdhva author, let alone an aparOksha

gyAni like shrI vyAsa vittala dAsaru, would begin a literary work

without an invocation to nArAyaNa and vAyu.

 

The term 'duritha' (troubles/problems) in this verse should be

understood to include all our material troubles (sickness, poverty etc)

as well as spiritual ones - lack of bhakthi, gyAna, vairAgya.

 

Verse 1:

=======

dAsarAyanA dayava sUsi paDedanA

dOSharahitanA santOsha bharitanA || 1 ||

 

Translation:

============

He earned the overflowing compassion of the great dAsa (purandara

dAsaru). He is without any blemishes or flaws and is full of happiness.

 

Commentary:

==========

Just before he became a haridAsa, vijaya dAsaru went to kAshi. One night,

shrI purandara dAsaru appeared in his dream, wrote 'onkAra' on his

tongue and gave him the ankitha of 'vijaya vittala'. From then he became

an aparOksha gyAni, revered and honored everywhere.

 

If you interpret 'dAsa rAya' to mean purandaradAsaru, then you will

understand what the the author is referring to. However, vijayadAsaru

earned the compassion of others besides purandaradAsaru. So, why is the

author stopping with one dAsa? To answer this objection, you have to

get the other meaning of 'dAsa rAya', which is 'rAya' of dAsas (ie., king

or Lord of dAsas, viz., hari Himself). This now gives you the more

balanced meaning that vijaya dAsaru earned the grace and compassion of

the Lord also.

 

In fact, in one of his suLAdis, vijaya dAsaru has stated that it was

actually nArAyaNa Himself, who took on the form of purandara dAsaru and

blessed him.

 

The term 'dOsha' in this verse refers to 'arishadvarga' (the six enemies

of man - anger, lust, greed, delusion, arrogance, jealousy). These are

the ones that prevent a person from reaching higher levels spiritually.

 

The term 'santOsha' literally means hapiness, but in this context it

refers to the grace of the Lord. Why? Because of 3 reasons. First, this

can lead to every other happiness that one can imagine. So, in effect,

it is the essence or extract of all happiness. Second, this is the only

thing that can create enduring or permanent happiness; all other sources

are ephimeral in nature, and have to end some time. Since their end would

cause unhappiness it may be said that have seeds of unhappiness embedded

in them. With the Lord's grace, there is no chance of any unhappiness

rearing its head in the future. Third, and perhaps the most important

reason is that a gyAni and bhakta like vijayadAsaru would have rejected

every other santOsha as worthless and would be happy only by earning the

grace of the Lord. So, from all angles, this is the correct interpretation

of the term 'santOsha'.

 

Verse 2:

=======

gnyAnavantanA balu nidhAni shAntanA

mAnavantana maha (bahu) vadAnyadAtanA || 2 ||

 

Translation:

============

He is a great gyAni. By nature, he is very patient and is always calm.

He is renowned and respected everywhere. He is also the granter of

great munificence.

 

Commentary:

==========

gyAna means knowledge. So, what kind of knowledge is the author

referring to? Our scriptures talk of 'para-vidya' - the highest form of

learning - and 'apara-vidya', lower or lesser forms. Knowledge of the

Lord constitutes the first category and everything else falls into the

second.

 

In the pursuit of para-vidya, the highest peak that one can hope for

is seeing the Lord face-to-face. Such a blessed soul is called an

'aparOksha gyAni' and there is nothing worth aspiring for beyond this

state. To such gyAnis, every action is worship of the Lord. All their

past and future karmas get wiped out (the only thing left is prArabda

karma, but lets not go into that). No action of theirs can result in

pApa (sin) or puNya (righteous merit). The past, present and future

hold no secrets for them. From this discussion, it is very clear that

vijayadAsaru was an 'aparOksha gyAni'.

 

One characteristic of such a person is the ability to accurately judge

the innate nature of another person. shrI vijayadAsaru demonstrated this

ability throughout his life, not for personal gain but to put inherently

good people on track. Look at the way he identified the innate worth of

enlightened souls like gOpala dasaru, jagannAtha dAsaru, vyAsa viThThala

dAsaru and helped them realize their true goal in life.

 

Another outstanding quality of vijayadAsaru was his extraordinary

patience and calmness, even in the face of great provocation. There are

several instances where he endured insults and humiliations, and blessed

the perpetrators. That is why the author calls him 'balu nidhAni' and

'shAnta'.

 

The phrase 'bahu vadAnyadAtana' is appropriate since there were very

few people who came across vijayadAsaru and did not benefit from that.

Nobody went away empty-handed. Health (relief from sickness), Wealth,

knowledge, fame ... there was nothing that he denied supplicants. Perhaps

the biggest beneficiary was his adopted son, mOhana dAsaru. vijayadAsaru

prevented mOhana dAsa's mother from committing suicide, and gave her and

mOhana dAsaru shelter in his house. He took care of mother and son as if

they were his own sister and nephew, throughout their life, and helped

mOhana dAsaru become a renowned haridAsa in his own right.

 

Verse 3:

=======

hariya bhajisuvA nara hariya yajisuvA

durita tyajisuvA manake haruSha surisuvA || 3 ||

 

Translation:

============

He worships hari, and performs actions to please narahari. He helps us

get rid of our problems, and makes the mind overflow with happiness.

 

Commentary:

==========

There is a very basic dvaita tenet hidden in this verse. It revolves

around the words - 'bhajisuva' and 'yajisuva'. Both of the words have

been used in a symbolic sense; the first stands for gyana, dhyAna

(meditation) and all kinds of mental activities, the second one stands

for karma (action), yagna (sacrificial ), and all kinds of physical

actions. Other doctrines specify a hierarchy amongst karma, gyAna,

vairAgya, bhakti. Some place importance on gyAna, others on karma and

son on. dvaita, however, has a unified approach in which karma, gyAna,

vairAgya, bhakti have their own place and importance.

 

vijayadAsaru lead his life in the manner specified by the scriptures.

For him, every action was hari-puja, done only with 'hari-prIti' as the

objective. He submitted the fruits of his action to hari without fail.

 

Verse 1 said that vijayadAsaru was full of santOsha. This verse goes

beyond that; it tells that being a totally selfless person, he did not

stop with his personal bliss. He made it a point to distribute happiness

wherever he went. This was done in two phases, the first was removal

of the troubles or difficulties that needed to be addressed immediately.

This was reserved for those whose spiritual level (and potential) was

limited, whereas the more enlightened ones got a more precious gift. They

were put on the road to true happiness through bhakti, gyAna and vairAgya.

That is why the author says 'durita tyajisuva, harusha surisuva'. As

stated before, 'duritha' (troubles) should be understood to include both

material as well as spiritual troubles.

 

Verse 4:

=======

mOdabharitanA pancha bhEdavaritanA

sAdhu charitanA manavishAdha maretanA || 4 ||

 

Translation:

============

Commentary:

==========

He is full of bliss and understands (or knows) the panchbhEdas. His

character (and behavior) are saintly, he has forgotten the sorrows or

unhappiness of the mind.

 

Of all the philosophical concepts that are central to dvaita, the

one that is exclusive to dvaita is 'pancha bhEda'(and its cousin,

'tAratAmya'). All other doctrines oppose these tooth and nail. By

mentioning 'pancha bhEda' in this verse the author is telling us that

shri madhvAchArya's way is the one and only way of finding true

happiness (liberation). Other ways may lead some temporary happiness,

but for true, lasting happiness there is no alternative to dvaita.

 

Another point is that several desirable attributes have been mentioned

in the verse - modha bharita (full of happiness), sAdhu charita (saintly

behavior), mana vishAda marevu (forgetting unhappiness of the mind). If

you look closely, you will see that these are all the characteristics

of a true bhAgavata, as identified in our scriptures. So, in a manner of

speaking one may conclude that those who understand the concepts of dvaita

and practice them in letter and spirit are true bhAgavatas.