Guest guest Posted August 31, 1999 Report Share Posted August 31, 1999 SrI: Shrimate Shri Lakshmi Nrusimha Parabrahmane Namaha: Shrimate Shri Seetha Ramachandra Parabrahmane Namaha: Shrimate Shri Ramanujaya Namaha: Shrimate Nigamantha Maha Desikaya Namaha: Shrimate Shrivan Satagopa Shri Narayana Yateendra Mahadesikaya Namaha: " SrimAn VenaktanAthArya: kavithArkika kEsarI! VedAnthAchArya varyO mE sannidhatthAM sadhA hrudhi " !! Subhasita Nivi is yet another kAvyam of Swami Desika. It is a book of instructive verses in 144 Slokas. " Subhasita " means good words, " Nivi " here refers to source. Subhasita Nivi can also be understood as a " Treasury of Golden sayings in fine verses " . In Subhasita Nivi Swami has shared his rich experience and ripe knowledge of men and matters. Singha Bhupala, the King of Rajamahendra was aware of Swami's greatness. He wanted to honour and propagate Swami's Greatness. The king sent some poets to Swami and prayed for Swami's blessings. Swami composed Subhasita Nivi and gave it to the poets. Swami also explained to them the correct way of understanding the meanings. The evil aspects of life are depicted in the first five sections and the good aspects in the remaining seven sections. The Slokas are simple with great depth in meaning. They appear to be full of wit and humour though in reality they have layers and layers of inner meaning! The aspects to be avoided are mentioned in the start as it should be given primary importance and the qualities to be cultivated are mentioned next. Subhasita Nivi is divided into Paddhati's. Paddhati refers to a chapter. In Subhasita Nivi, the name of each Paddhati is the essence of the chapter itself! The first chapter is named Anipuna Paddhati. A person lacking discrimination is referred to as Anipuna. The mental frame work of such a person and the results there off are described here. Anipuna, because of such bad qualities soon becomes a drpta => Proud and arrogant. This is dealt with in the drpta Paddhati. The next Paddhati is the Khala Paddhati which is a description of a degenerated drpta. Here the person behaves as he likes and stoops down to becoming a wicked person. Durvrtta Paddhati is the next which deals with one who lacks good character. The fifth is the asevya Paddhati which deals with persons who occupy a high position because of birth or other circumstances, but who can neither appreciate true service nor spare his servants from reproach. Swami, in this Paddhati states that such persons are not fit to be served, respected or be associated with the wise. From the above it is clear that each defect leads to the next and is like a chain reaction. After identifying and taking necessary measures to get rid of the undesirable qualities, one should concentrate on cultivating the desirable qualities. Swami elaborates this in the second part. The second part starts with the Mahapurusha Paddhati. One should acquire the right knowledge by following the example set by Mahapurushas. The next chapter deals with the importance of discriminative knowledge => samachitta Paddhati. Sadasrta Paddhati deals with the importance of association with good learned men. People have to follow noble principles. This is dealt with in the nItimat Paddhati. When all these qualities are developed, generosity and other virtues automatically fall in place. These are dealt with in VadAnya Paddhati. A generous person should also be polite and use sweet words => Sukavi Paddhati. When a person follows this ladder, he becomes perfect. The last chapter relates to such persons who are not misled by unwanted arguments. This is hence named Pariksita Paddhati. Subhasita Nivi is highly psychological in its insight into various facets of human character. In this unique work Swami has provided a guide for code of conduct that helps us lead a happy and peaceful life! This is an edited version of the Subhasita Nivi of Vedanta Desika as translated by Shri L. Srinivasan, New Delhi. " Kavi Taarkika Simhaaya Kalyaana guna SaalinE! SrimatE VenkateshAya VedAnta Gurave nama !! " ....To be continued! dEsikan tiruvaDigaLE SaraNam Praveena nAmni Ramanuja dasi 31st Aug 1999 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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