vijayadAsara kavacha - part 7

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Dear vaishNavas

 

Here is the seventh part of the kavacha. It covers verses 21 to 24.

 

In the service of vijaya viThThala

 

Shobha Srinivasan (srinivasan),

CR Madhusudhana Rao (madhu_cr)

Hunsur Sriprasad (sripi)

 

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(vijayadAsara kavacha - part 7)

 

Verse 21:

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vyAdhi bAradO dEha bAdhe taTTadO

AdidEvanA suprasAdavAhudO || 21 ||

 

Translation:

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

No illness will come near you, nor will any physical problems

trouble you. You will get the grace of the Adi dEva (the first

or primary god - hari).

 

Commentary:

==========

This verse has 2 interpretations - material and spiritual. Let us

start with the material one.

 

shri vijayadAsaru's life is replete with examples where he cured

people of diseases that had been uncurable till then. For example,

his close friend and disciple, panganAmada timmaNNa dAsaru was

afflicted with a life-threatening disease and was counting his last

hours, when vijayadAsaru cured him. Among his great compositions,

the famous dhanvantari sulAdi ranks as one of the most popular. It

is said that reciting this with devotion can cure even extremely

potent diseases, in due course.

 

To understand the spiritual interpretation take a closer look at

the term 'AdidEvana suprasAda'. What is the highest gift that only

the AdidEva (hari) can bestow? Mukti or Liberation. In this vein,

the words 'vyAdhi' and 'dEha' have to be reinterpreted.

 

There is one rOga or vyAdhi that is even more horrific than the

deadliest ailments and that is 'bhava rOga'. This is a disease that

no physician can cure, no lab can diagnose and no surgeon can mend.

While other diseases affect only the health of the sufferer, bhava

rOga can affect every single aspect of the person's life. Since this

disease is the prime cause of rebirths and all the attendent sorrows,

it may not be an exaggeration to conclude that this is the root cause

for all the trials and tribulations that a jIva faces.

 

The term 'dEha' applies to all the three bodies that envelop the

jIva, i.e., sthUla dEha (gross or physical body), anirudhdha or

sUkshma dEha and linga dEha - a covering that is associated with

the jIva from times immemorial and is discarded only at the time

of the final disposition (liberation for good souls, andha tamas

for evil ones and 'nitya sansAra' for mixed ones).

 

What is the cure for 'bhava rOga'? How does one escape 'dEha

bAdhe' and the cycle of births and deaths? The answer is simple,

His grace; that can come only through pure devotion, coupled with

correct knowledge. To achieve this, one needs the grace of a good

guru like vijayadAsaru.

 

Hence what the author is really saying is that by the grace of

vijayadAsaru one can get cured of bhava rOga and achieve the

suprasAda of the Lord, which is discarding of the linga dEha.

 

Verse 22:

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patita pAmarA manda matiyu nA balU

tutisalApanE ivara atishayangaLA || 22 ||

 

Translation:

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

(the author says) I am an ignorant, dull-witted sinner. Is it

possible for me to describe his astonishing excellence and greatness?

 

Commentary:

==========

The author condemns himself and questions if he has the capability

to do justice to the greatness of his subject matter - vijayadAsaru.

This assessment makes sense since vijayadAsaru was a very, very high

level jIva. Ordinary people can never hope to even begin to grasp the

contours of his great personality. Only other great souls like gOpAla

dAsaru, jagannAtha dAsaru etc can do justice to this matter. This

list includes the author also, his protestations not withstanding.

 

The term 'manda mati' has 2 interesting connotations; the fairly

straightforward interpretation is 'dull witted' or 'slow brained'.

The other interpretation is one whose mind is attracted towards and

fixated on base objects. Such a person has a very high chance of

becoming 'patita' (fallen) and 'pAmara'.

 

Verse 23:

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karuNadindali emma porevanalladE

durita kOTiyA bEga tariva dayadalI || 23 ||

 

Translation:

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

Our of pity, he will take care of us and (in addition) will quickly

destroy our mountain of calamities.

 

Commentary:

==========

vijayadAsaru was a personification of mercy and kind-heartedness.

Since he had personally experienced extreme poverty, humiliation

and hardships, he easily understood the difficulties people faced

and quickly provided solutions. There was nothing that he would

deny those who sought refuge in him. Nobody was turned away and

nobody returned empty handed. His generosity included material as

well as spiritual wants. Let me illustrate with an unusual example

from his life.

 

There was a old and pious brahmin who was a great devotee of

vijaydAsaru. Once when dAsaru was planning a pilgrimage of kAshi,

he invited all his followers to accompany him. The old brahmin felt

very miserable at his misfortune in not being able to undertake this

holy pilgrimage in such exalted company. dAsaru noted his distress

and while returning from kAshi brought back ganga jala for the sake

of the brahmin. This made the brahmin very happy, but he requested

dAsaru to bless him so that at least in his next birth he would be

able to personally visit kAshi and take a dip in the ganga. dAsaru's

heart melted at the old man's prayer; in addition, he also wanted to

do something for the other old and disabled people in that village.

He thought about it for a moment and said " Nothing is impossible for

gangA-janaka. Tomorrow, exactly at noon, ganga will take birth in

the tunga-bhadra and be present for an hour. Interested people may

take bath in the river and enjoy the benefits of gangAsnAna " . The

brahmin greeted this with tears of gratitude and said " dAsare, your

kindness is as deep as the ocean. We are indeed lucky to have your

gracious presence amongst us. However, look at this pApi (sinner),

even if ganga comes to our own village I am not destined to take

advantage since I cannot walk upto the river and take a bath " . The

old man's helpness, his overwhelming desire to have gangAsnAna and

his genuine remorse at his misfortune moved dAsaru, and he replied

" AchArya, you have not understood the true extent of our

gangAjanaka's kAruNya, and why the title of 'bhaktavatsala' is so

apt for Him. You cannot come to the river? Allright, ganga will come

to your house. Let your daughter-in-law keep two empty, large pails

in your courtyard. Tomorrow exactly at noon, after ganga takes birth

in the tunga-bhadra, she will come to your house and fill up these

pails with her presence. Ask your daughter-in-law to give you a bath

with water from these pails. You are indeed fortunate, lakshmIpati

has so much benevolence on you that ganga herself is coming to your

house " . The next day, at the exact hour promised by dAsaru, water

appeared in the two pails and filled them up to the brim. The brahmin

was beside himself with joy. His dream of taking a dip in the ganga

was realized, overcoming superhuman odds, thanks to the benevolence

of vijayadAsaru. He brought ganga, not only to the village, but to

the very house of the brahmin.

 

No wonder the author says that ordinary mortals cannot do justice

to vijayadAsaru's extraordinary capabilities and his kAruNya.

 

Verse 24:

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mandamatigaLU ivara chandavariyadE

nindisuvarO bhavada bandha tappadO || 24 ||

 

Translation:

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

Ignorant, dull people cannot comprehend his greatness. They criticise

him and entangle themselves in the bonds of sansAra.

 

Commentary:

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Criticising a parama-bhAgavata is a very heinous sin. There is no

easier way of provoking the Lord. In a devaranAma, purandaradAsaru

praises the Lord as follows, " When bhrigu kicked you, you tended

to his feet, when shishupAla criticised you, you heard him with a

smile, but when hiraNyakashipu harassed your devotee you displayed

an anger that scared even your own wife " . Truely, the Lord has

absolutely no tolerance for anybody who causes insult or injury to

His devotees. It does not matter if it is an asura or a devarishi

like durvAsa, hurting (or attempting to hurt) a devotee always

attracts immediate and swift retribution. As the ambarisha incident

illustrates, once you hurt a true devotee, even the gods will not

(and cannot) save you.

 

Most people know how shrInivAsAchArya (who later became the great

jagannAtha dAsaru) showed disdain for vijayadAsaru and suffered

as a result. He went to tirupati, ghatikAchala and mantrAlaya, but

did not receive any relief until he sought refuge at the feet of

vijayadAsaru, as instructed by raghavEndra swamigalu (my personal

observation - if rAyaru does not take pity on you, then your case

is so bad that nobody ever will!).

 

The point to remember is that vijayadAsaru was the personification

of serenity and patience. He remained calm even under great

provocation; so, there was absolutely no question of his cursing

somebody or wishing them any harm. People criticising him brought

trouble upon themselves and not because of any reaction from him.