Padhuka Sahasram-95

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>Sri:SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,

>Translation of Paaduka Sahasram by U.Ve. Sri V.N. Vedanta Desikan

>Swamin:

>

>95. parasya DhAmana: prathipAdhanArhAm

> vadanthi vidhyAm maNipAdhukE! thvAm

> yathasthavaIvADhigamE prajAnAm

> dhurIBhavathyuttharapUrvamamha:

>

>Oh Paaduka! Discerning ones declare that You are Brahma-vidya that

>secures Paramapada. It is quite fitting, because when You are resorted

>to, sins, of the past and the future varieties, both depart.

>(Strictly the past sins are destroyed; sins of future do not attach)

>

>Namo Narayana,Adiyen,

>SriMuralidhara Dasan

 

NOTES BY V.SADAGOPAN(V.S)

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(1) UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam :Para VidhyA or

the knowledge about our Lord is attainable to

a very few blessed ones. Oh RanganAtha PaadhukhE !

You however make that difficult-to-attain Para VidhyA

easily reachable through Your ability to present quickly

Your Lord's sacred feet standing on You . Those holy feet

are the goal of the PrapannAs , who take refuge in the Lord

for their Moksham . Through their worship of You ,Oh PaadhukhE,

You remove their sins to enable the Mumukshus to receive

the blessings of the vision of the Lord's lotus feet and

thereby become well versed in the Para VidhyA .

 

(2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam :

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Oh MaNi PaadhukE ! Lord RanganAthA destroys the sins of

any one , who performs Prapatthi or practises Bhakthi Yogam .

Your Lord not only banishes sins accumulated until the time

of Prapatthi but also makes sure that the sins accumulated

unconsciously do not stick to that noble soul .Similarly ,

Lord RanganAthA acts to remove the sins of those , who adorn

You ( His Paadhukai ) on their heads with devotion .Therefore

the learned ones recognize You as the embodiment of Bhakthi

and Prapatthi. The inner meaning here is that those , who

seek the refuge of a SadAchAryan receive the anugraham

of the Lord ,(viz)., Sarva Paapa VimOchanan .

 

(3) Swami Desikan addresses Lord RanganAthA as

" Parasya DhAmna: " in this slOkam (i.e).,He is the supreme

tEjas or ParandhAman . The word DhAman has two meanings :

(1) the abode or the place of dwelling (2) Lustre .

That Lord ParandhAman residing in BhUlOka Vaikuntam

(parama padham on this earth ,His LeelA VibhUthi )

is saluted here as the Param-Chudar or Param-JyOthi

as visualized by Swami NammAzhwAr (SatAri Soori )below :

 

paramsudar udampAi Azhukku Pathittha UdampAi

karanthum thOnRiyum ninRum kaitthavangaL seythum

ViNNOr SirangaLAl VaNangum THIRUVINNAGAR sErntha PIRAAN

VARAM KOLL PADHAM ALLAL ILLAI YAAVARKKUM VANSARANE

.......ThiruvAimozhi: 6.3.7

 

It is so delightful to see how the Param-JyOthi

of ThiruviNNagar at His Abhaya Sthalam is connected

by Swami Desikan through NammAzhwAr's ThiruvAimozhi

in the context of the above slOkam .One is also

reminded of the JithanthE Sthothra Vaakhyam :

" dEvAnAm dhanavAnAm cha saamAnyam Adhidhaivatham " .

 

The meaning of the ThiruviNNagar paasuram of SatAri

Soori has been given by U.Ve.VedAntha Desikan Swamy

of ThiruviNNagar this way :

 

" The Lord has a fine , finite , visible , supremely

effulgent Form, a Sui generis experience for His BhakthAs;

He is also the soul of the dirt-and- filth filled world

that is visible to all, which world is His body , this form

of His being understood and even believed by the non-devoted;

in this latter form , too, no stigma of the body will attach to

the soul ( contrary to the ordinary rules: If one does a bad

deed , one's soul becomes sinful and has to suffer!).

The non-devoted ones could even disbelieve the soul-nature of

the Lord , because they do not see Him. He conceals Himself

from the non-devoted. Bur to the devoted ones , He is ever

present in BOTH ways.

 

ADIYEN WOULD ASSERT THAT FOR ANYONE TO SEEK SALVATION ,

THERE IS NO OTHER PATH, NO OTHER REFUGE EXCEPT

THE FIRMLY HELPING FEET OF THE LORD OF THIRUVINNAGAR ,

WHOM ( AND WHICH PLACE ITSELF ) THE NITHYASOORIS

THMSELVES (NOT TO SPEAK OF DEVAAS AND OTHER DEMI-GODS)

RESPECTFULLY WORSHIP WITH BENT HEADS. " ......V.S

 

Swami Desikan captured the essence of the power

of the sacred feet (and the Paadhukais seen there)

of the Spreme Effulgence ( ParamjyOthi) at

ThiruviNNagar dhivya Desam . Swami reminds us

of the sadhupadEsam of SatAri Soori in Tamizh

Vedam of ThiruvAimozhi that there is no other

path , no other refuge for one seeking Moksham ,

(Naanya: panthA ayanAya VidhyathE )except the firmly

helping feet of the Parama Padha Naathan ...V.S