Sri GuNa Rathna Kosam : Slokam 8-- Part XVII

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Sri RanganAyakai Nama:

 

Dear BhakthAs :

 

adiyEn will cover the 8th slOkam in this posting.

 

SlOkam 8:

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anagrAthAvadhyam bahuguNa pareeNAhi manaso

dhuhAnam souhArdham parichitamivATApi gahanam

padhAnAm soubhrAthraadh animisha nishEvyam sravaNayO:

thvamEva Srirmahyam bahumukhaya VaaNee Vilasitham

 

Meaning by Dr.V.N.VedAntha Desikan

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Oh Goddess MahA Lakshmi! This work should have not

even a trace of defect. It should have abubdance of

many virtues; it should by its felicity , become dear

to the hearts of listeners; it should be friendly in

the intimacy of acquaintance and at the same time ,

be of yet-unfathomed depths of literary merit; it should

also have a perceptible concord between words used--

so that this sport of the literary muse would be

appreciated by the listeners with an alert and

attentive listening faculty that I would call

the analogue of winkless eyes to imply uninterruped

attention . May You Yourself open up to multitudes

of vistas to my poetic power!

 

Additional Observations(AdiyEn):

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In this slOkam , ParAsara Bhattar prays for the boon of

SarvathO-mukha paaNDithyam from Sri RanganAyaki to

compose an unassiled ( anAgrAthA) sthOthram on Her

without any dhOshams (avadhyam).

 

He wants the SthOthram to be delectable to the ears

of the listeners with the usage of words , which are

in common parlance. He wants the slOkams not to

have any viparItha arthams ( apArthams) and to have

the proper flow without the dhOsham of Prakrama Bhangam

(haphazard structure).

 

Besides the freedom from the above dhOshams , Bhattar

prays to Sri RanganAyaki to realize a sthOthram on Her ,

which is marked by clarity, sabdha as well as artha

alankArams . He prays further for deep VedAnthic

thoughts to illustrate the scriptural authority for

Sri Tatthvam.Bhattar prays for the boon of combination of

Padhams in a mutually enriching manner that would make

the listeners enjoy the beauty of the SlOkams like

one is taking in the beauty without winking one's eyes.

The ears would be engaged in such an effort .

 

Bhattar asks Sri RanganAyaki to enhance his

Vaak-VilAsam multifold (mahyam bahumukhaya VaaNi

Vilasitham) . He reminds Her that he is following

the dictum of Sage ParAsarA,his name sake and

the author of VishNu purANam , that " ArthO VishNu :

Iyam VaaNI " . That authoritative revelation points

that Vaak DEvathai ( The Commander and controller of

Speech) is MahA Lakshmi and not Sarsavathi. Indeed

Sarasvathi gets Her power as Vaak dEvi from MahA Lakshmi.

Therefore ,ParAsara Bhattar prays to Sri RanganAyaki for

the boon of auspicious Speech that will lead to divine

poetry .

 

First, the auspicious glances of Sri RanganAyaki

falls on ParAsara Bhattar and the choice expressions

rich in aptness and excellence follow in the form

of dhOsham-free poetry. Happy blend of words

(SaubhrAtraa) and Saarsavatha Vaak flow like

a torrent due to the grace of Sri RanganAyaki.

 

Dr.S.PadmanAbhan points out that ParAsara Bhattar

is a MahA Kavi in that " His words are familiar to

the readers , but assume the magnanimous dimensions and

unfathomable depths , once a critical mind tries to

understand the full significance of these words

( paricitamivathApi gahanam).There should be among the words ,

a close affinity and cohesion ( PadAnAm saubhrAtram).

This may be called sayA or pAka , which consists in

judicious juxtaposition of words in such a way that

the words do not allow any substitution or change.

The total effect of such a composition will be that

it is sweet to hear again and again (animishanishEvyam

SravaNayO:).The expression " bhauguNa parINAhi "

also suggests that according to ParAsara Bhattar

a good poem should also have the guNAs such as

PrasAda (clarity of word and meaning) ,Ojas

( the power to stimulate the mind of the listener),

SamatA (balanced Expressions ), SusabdhA ( refined

words and expressions), SabdhAlankArAs (Figures of

Speech), ArthAlankArAs ( upamaa/comparsions , UthprEkshA/

poetic fancy and RupakA/metaphor )and appropriate metres " .

 

ParAsara Bhattar sought and obtained the blessings

of Sri RanganAyaki to become a MahA Kavi adorned

with the above lakshanams.

 

Srimath Azhagiya Singar ThiruvadigaLE Saranam,

Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SatakOpan