SrI sArasAram --I(15)

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SrI sAra sAram – I (15)

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I – ThirumantrAdhikAram

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The Significance of the ‘a’ in PraNava (continued)

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SwAmi Desikan now shows the relationship between the first syllable, ‘a’,

of the praNava and the Supreme Lord:

“sarva-vAcya moolamAna SarVESvaran sarva-VAcaka moolamAna ivvaksharatthukku

vAcyan enRu ‘samasts-sabda-moolatvAt’ ityAdi purANa vacanatthilum vEdArththa

sangrahaththilum pratipaditthaadiyE ithu sarva kRaNa bhootanaik kATTukiraThuâ€

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The origin of all things denoted by words is The Lord of all, while the origin

of all words is the syllable (‘a’). This is indicated by the passage in

VAmana PurANa:

“samastaSabdamoolaTvAt akArasya svabhAvatah /

samastavAcyamoolatvAt brahmaNOpi svabhAvatah /

vAcya-vAcaka-sambandhah tayOrarthAt prateeyatE //†(VAmana PurANa)

(The letter ‘a’ is the origin of all words and Brahman is the origin of all

things denoted by these words. Therefore, ‘a’ denotes BhagavAn. He is

denoted by that letter. This relationship between the letter ‘a’ and

BhagavAn is seen from the meaning to be appropriate.)

Besides the passage in the VAmana PurANa, SrIbhAshykArar in his VEdArtha

Sangraha has also shown that the syllable ‘a’ denotes the Lord Who is the

cause of all.

This is what SrIbhAshyakAra said in the VEedArtha Sangrah:

‘aksharANAm akArOsmi’ iti / (Gita, 10-33) ‘a iti Brahma’ iti ca SrutEh /

‘akArO vai sarvA vAk’ iti ca vAcaka-jAtasya akAraprakrutitvam vAcya-jAtasya

Brahma-prakrutitvam ca suspashTam / atah BrahmaNah akAravAcytA-pratipAdanAt

akAravAcyO nArAyaNa Eva mahESvarah iti siddham //â€

(The Lord says, “I am the letter ‘a’ among the letters.†(Gita, 10-33).

The Sruti also lays down—“‘a’ is the designation of Brahmanâ€, and

“All speech is ‘a’â€. All speech evolves out of ‘a’ and all entities

constituting the subject-matter of all speech evolve out of Brahman. Therefore,

as Brahman is affirmed to be the meaning of ‘a’, nArAyaNa, Whose name

‘a’ is, is determined to be the Supreme.)

From this, it is clear that there are two basic concepts: one is the word; the

other is denotation. The origin of all words is the letter, ‘a’, as the

alphabets start from this only. The use of the word is to indicate a thing. All

things come into existence from the Supreme Lord, He is the Creator of all

things. Hence, it is concluded that ‘a’, which is the origin of all words,

indicates the Supreme Lord, Who is the origin of all things.

The Supreme Lord is not only the origin of all things but also their protector.

This aspect also is inbuilt in the first syllable of praNava, shows SwAmi

Desikan next:

‘ava rakshNE’ enkiRa dhAtuvilE vyutpanna-mAi rakshakanAkavum collukiRathu.

intha rakshaNam samkOcamillAmaiyAlE sarva vizhayam. ithu rakshaNeeyarudaiya

svaroopAdikaLilum nitya-muktar pakkalilum nirupAdhikam. mOksha-pradAnAdi-kaLil

vaishamya-nairghruNya-sarvamukti-prasangAdikaL vArAmaikkAka

svatantra-svAmi-cOditangkaLAna vyAjangkaLai munniTTirukkum. rakshakathvam

virOdhiyaip paTRa. virOdhitvam purushArthaththaip paTRa. ivai moonRum pada

trayaththil adaivE kaNDukoLvathu.â€

In Sanskrit, every word is derived from a root, invariably a verbal root to

which when prepositions are added forms various words with different meanings.

The syllable ‘a’, taken as a word, is derived from the verbal root, ‘av’

which means ‘to protect’. Hence ‘a’ as a derived word also indicates a

protector, besides the cause, as seen earlier. This is what SwAmi Desikan says

in this sentence:

‘ava rakshNE’ enkiRa dhAtuvilE vyutpannamAi rakshakanAkavum collukiRatu. –

He continues, “intha rakshaNam samkOcamillAmaiyAlE sarva vizhayam.†–

When there is no restriction to this protective sense, it relates to all. That

is protection of everything. As it does not refer to any particular thing or

person, the Supreme Lord, Who is indicated by this ‘a’, it becomes clear

that He is the protector all; His protection is universal and not confined to

any place, time or entity.

“ithu rakshaNeeyarudaiya svaroopAdikaLilum nitya-muktar pakkalilum

nirupAdhikam.†–

The Lord’s protecting quality extends to the svaroopa of the jIva, its

continuance indefinitely and is absolutely natural for Him. It is not due to any

reason. In the same way, the Lord provides causeless protection in the case of

eternally free jIvas (nityas) and the liberated jIvas (muktas) as well.

But, in the case of bonded souls, His protection is not universal. His

protection depends on the actions of the bonded jIvas:--

“mOkshapradAnAdikaLil vaishamya-nairghruNya-sarvamukti-prasangAdikaL

vArAmaikkAka svatantra-svAmi-cOditangkaLAna vyAjangkaLai munniTTirukkum.†–

While according moksham etc. to jIvas in samsAra, the Lord’s protection will

depend on the kind of means adopted by the concerned jIva. These means are laid

down according to scriptures by the Lord Who is totally independent. Otherwise,

if He grants mOksha to some who have not adopted any means, He will be accused

of partiality towards them and of cruelty towards others. Moreover, if He grants

mOksha to some without having adopted any means for it, a question may arise,

why should not He grant liberation to everyone. That is why, we must understand

that He will accord mOksha only on the basis of a means adopted.

SwAmi Desikan gives reasons for this stand of the Lord:

“rakshakathvam virOdhiyaip paTRa.†– Generally it is known that if any one

requires protection, it is from some enemy or obstacle. He needs to be protected

to tide over the inimical factor or the obstacle. Otherwise, he does not require

any protective cover. Why this obstacle?

“virOdhitvam purushArthaththaip paTRa.†--

It prevents one from attaining the mOksha, which is the highest benefit. Hence,

the one aspiring for mOksha needs protection in order to overcome any obstacle

that may occur in attaining it. This quality of protection can be understood in

the Thirumantra, says SwAmi Desikan:

“ivai moonRum pada trayaththil adaivE kaNDukoLvathu.†-- These three

aspects, namely, the protection, the removal of obstacle in the means and the

highest benefit, can be seen respectively in three words of the Thirumantram.

That is, the protection can be realized in the praNava, the removal of the

obstacle in ‘namah’ and the benefit in ‘nArAyaNaya’.

 

 

 

(To continue)

dAsan

Anbil S.SrInivAsan

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