vijayadAsara kavacha - part 8

[Guest guest]

Dear vaishNavas

 

Here is the eighth and last part of the kavacha. It covers verses

25 to 27. These three verse form a set and constitute the

phala-stuti for the kavacha.

 

In the service of vijaya viThThala

 

Shobha Srinivasan (srinivasan),

CR Madhusudhana Rao (madhu_cr)

Hunsur Sriprasad (sripi)

 

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(vijayadAsara kavacha - part 8)

 

Verse 25:

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indirApatI ivara munde kuNivanO

anda vachanavA nijakke tandu kODuvanO || 25 ||

 

Translation:

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

indirApati (hari) dances in front of him, and makes everything

said a reality.

 

Commentary:

==========

 

The term 'indirApati' should be understood in the context of what our

AchArya has stated so beautifully in dvAdasha stOtra ( " shrIryat katAksha

balavatyajitam nAmAmi " ). The essence of this is that every deity (brahma,

rudra, garuda, indra, sUrya, chandra etc) is able to function only

because of Lakshmi's grace, and that She derives her power from Him.

Since this indirApati was (and is) 'dancing' to vijayadAsaru's tune,

there is nothing that his devotees cannot achieve with his grace.

 

The same sentiment is echoed in our scriptures too. They say that the

highest achievement that any jIva can aspire for is attracting Lord

hari's pleasure. Once that is achieved, then there is nothing more

left to aspire for or to achieve.

 

The verse uses the phrase 'anda vachana' (what was said). This is

applicable at 2 levels. The first one is vijayadAsaru himself. As

long as he was physically present on earth, God ensured that

everything said by him turned out to be true. Today he is present

only in spirit in his 'kaTTe' at chIkalaparvi and continues to bless

worthy devotees. God ensures that every boon granted by vijayadAsaru

is fulfilled. The second and more potent application is to the

verse itself. In other words, the author is saying that indirApati

Himself will ensure that everything said in this kavacha is true and

will remain so forever. This is akin to the belief that Lord hayagrIva

Himself is witness to the veracity of the rAghavEndra stOtra.

 

Verse 26:

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udaya kAladi I padava paThisalU

madaDanAdarU gnyAna udayavAhudu || 26 ||

 

Translation:

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

If this prayer is recited early in the morning, one will get true

knowledge, even if one happens to be a dullard.

 

Commentary:

==========

You will recall that most of the verses had a material side and a

spiritual one. This verse too has that dual nature.

 

From the material viewpoint, the obvious interpretation is that if

recited in the morning, this prayer will grant wisdom and all its

attendant benefits. But there is more to it than just knowledge

because the very previous verse said that shrI hari Himself will

make everything said in this prayer come true. So, let us revisit

the prayer and list the direct benefits it promises:

 

- reduction of troubles, providing care (pallavi)

- acquisition of great munificence (Verse 2)

- avoidance of problems, overflow with happiness. (Verse 3)

- avoid the trials and tribulations of sansara (Verse 5)

- reduction of sins, removal of difficulties and pains (Verse 6)

- absence of worries (Verse 10)

- no unhappiness, bliss forever, grace of shrI hari (Verse 11)

- blocking of miseries and difficulties, reduction of sins, proximity

to the feet of shrIpati (Verse 12)

- acquisition of knowledge (Verse 16)

- happiness day and night (verse 20)

- no illness, no physical problems, grace of shrI hari (Verse 21)

- merciful care, reduction of problems (Verse 23)

- dawn of knowledge (Verse 26)

 

In addition, to the above, there are certain implied benefits too:

 

- achieving shrI hari's grace (Verse 13)

- removal of obstacles (Verse 14)

- achieving devotion (Verse 15)

- acquisition of knowledge (Verse 16)

- understanding true meaning of scriptures (Verse 18)

 

From the spiritual viewpoint, the question to be asked is - what kind

of udaya or dawn are we talking about? It is obvious that the author

is talking about a spiritual awakening when the jIva wakes from its

sleep of ignorance and begins to ask fundamental questions about itself

and God. That is the kind of 'udaya' that the author has in mind.

 

When this thirst for knowledge sets in, if the jIva seeks refuge in

a great soul like vijaydAsaru, then it is blessed with pure and true

gyAna, which in turn leads to the dawn of bhakti and vAirAgya.

 

Once the devotee reaches a level of perfection in bhakti, gyAna and

vairAgya, then all the other attendant benefits accrue automatically,

even if the devotee does not care or does not hanker after them.

 

Verse 27:

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saTeyidallavO vyAsa viThalaballanO

paThisabahudidU kELi kuTilarahitarU || 27 ||

 

Translation:

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

vyAsa viThThala knows (or is the witness to the fact) that this prayer

is not an exaggeration. Anybody who is without guile and deception,

can listen to this prayer and recite it.

 

Commentary:

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vyAsa viThThala is the ankita or poetic signature of the author, shrI

subbaNAcharya (or vyAsa viThThala dAsaru as he was also known). He is

stating that vyAsa viThThala is the witness to the fact that nothing

in this prayer is an exaggeration.

 

The author is also imposing very minimal conditions for the efficacy

of the prayer. There is nothing related to caste, creed, religion,

profession, color, education or level of knowledge. The only thing

that he is interested in is total absence of deception, hypocrisy,

guile or crookedness. In other words, all that is needed is sterling

character and a pure mind, full of faith, sincerity and devotion.

 

 

CONCLUSION:

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With this posting we conclude the series on shrI vijayadAsaru. For a

brief instant, as we focussed our minds on this great personality,

we felt a divine spark in our minds. This spark had the glow of

gyAna, the warmth of bhakti and the burning power of vairAgya. For

an all too brief and fleeting instant, we sensed His presence in

our hearts. We hope you too had a similar experience while

participating in this exercise.

 

It is our hope and belief that vijayadAsaru will pray to vijaya

viThThala, to act through vAyu dEvaru and shower you and your family

with His choicest blessings.

 

(shrI kRishNArpaNamastu)