Padhuka Sahasram-388

[Guest guest]

Sri:

 

SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,

 

Translation by U.Ve. Dr. V.N. Vedanta Desikan Swamin:

 

388. shruthiBhi: paramam padham* murArE:

anidhankAramanEvamithyupAttham

idhamitThamithi bravIShi nUnam

maNipadhAvani! manjuBhi: praNAdhaI:

 

In the matter of the nature and greatness of the Lord* (the Lord's

abode, the Lord's Feet), which is not comprehensible even to the

Vedas so that they only say " it is not this " and " it is not like

this " , You Oh Manipaaduka!, pronounce, in sweet tones, clearly, " it

is this " and " it is like this " .

 

*'Padam' can mean all the three given.

 

Namo Narayana,

 

SriMuralidhara Dasan

 

Special Notes by V. Satakopan (V.S.)

 

(1) Sri UtthamUr Swamy's anubhavam: Oh Mani PaadhukE! VedAs are

unable to describe the divine qualities of the lotus feet of Your

Lord. The glories of the Lord's feet are so profound and beyond

description that the VedAs fail in their attempts to characterize

them as this or that . Where the VedAs have failed , it appears that

You are able to define the auspicious qualities of the Lord's lotus

feet through the sweet sounds emanating from You.

 

(2) Srimath Andavan's anubhavam: The Svaroopam of perumAL and the

Svaroopam of His Supreme abode , Sri Vaikuntam are beyond the ken of

Vedams. They give up their attempts to describe them. AzhwAr's

ThiruvAimozhi however describes them clearly for our comprehension.

The sweet Naadham enmanating from You is that ThiruvAimozhi

explaining the two Svaroopams.

 

(3) " murAre " s Paramam Padham Sruthibhi: anidhamkAram " (It is beyond

the power of the VedAs to describe the Svaroopam of the Lord's Sri

Vaikuntam). When they have failed , Oh PaadhukE , Your sweet Naadham

precisely describe the nature of Your Lord's Parama Padham and His

Svaroopam ( thvam manjubhi: PraNAdhai: idham ittham ithi braveeshi ).

Such is the power of Your PaadhukA naadham....V.S.

[Guest guest]

Muralidhar Rangaswamy wrote:

 

> 388. shruthiBhi: paramam padham* murArE:

> anidhankAramanEvamithyupAttham

> idhamitThamithi bravIShi nUnam

> maNipadhAvani! manjuBhi: praNAdhaI:

>

> In the matter of the nature and greatness of the Lord* (the Lord's

> abode, the Lord's Feet), which is not comprehensible even to the

> Vedas so that they only say " it is not this " and " it is not like

> this " , You Oh Manipaaduka!, pronounce, in sweet tones, clearly, " it

> is this " and " it is like this " .

 

Dear bhaktas: Many thanks to Sri. Muralidhar once again,

for continuously bringing out the deep, esoteric meanings

embedded within many layers of the pAdukA sahasram. Like

a majestic queen whose gait renders awe-struck even those

who aren't aware of her royal lineage, Sri pAdukA dEvi's

divine journey across 32 paddhatis of this treatise by

Swami Desikan are capturing the attention of all readers

- thanks in no small part to dedicated postings by Sri.

Muralidhar and Sri. Sadagopan.

 

In slokam 178, Sri pAdukA dEvi was hailed as the Queen

at the throne of IkshvAkus, and the Empress of the eight

octants. Now in slokam 388, she is described as having

succeeded where even the apourushEya shruti have failed!!

Just as udayavar ascertained the true import of all the

seemingly conflicting shrutivAkyams in his Sri bhAshya,

pAdukA dEvi brings out the ananthakOti kalyANaguNams of

perumAL through her nAdhOpAsanam - a feat accomplished

skilfully without resorting to the unending complexities

of the vEdas! How incredible and soul-stirring, this

poetry of our thooppil piLLai Swami Desikan is...!!

 

Once again, may the twin efforts of Sri. Muralidhar and

Sri. Sadagopan continue unabated, to bring out these

crown jewels of Sri pAdukA sahasram in a language we

all can understand.

 

adiyEn,

-Srinath C.

[Guest guest]

Sri:

 

SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,

 

Dear Sriman Srinath,

 

Thanks a lot for your kind note. It is only the matchless greatness

of Padhuka Devi and the unsurpassed genius of Swami Desikan, which

make the postings enjoyable to Bhagavatas. In one succinct verse,

Swami Desikan refers to several important Shruti passages:

 

Lord Narayana's abode is glorified in the Vedas as " Tamasa: parAkE "

and " Tamasa: ParasthAth " , which refer to the fact that Srivaikuntam

is bereft of Tamas. However, Swami NammAzhwar provides a blissful

characterization of Sri Vaikuntam as being replete with shuddha

satvam in Tiruvaimozhi.

 

Similarly, the Taittriya Upanishad declares " YathO vAchO nivarthanthE

aprApya manasA saha " (meaning: Words cannot adequately describe the

Lord's greatness. The mind cannot fully comprehend the vast expanse

of His greatness). However Swami NammAzhwar eloquently discusses the

Lord's greatness in 1102 verses of Tiruvaimozhi, which contain the

essence of Sama Vedam. In particular, Swami NammAzhwar beautifully

summarizes the Gayathri Saman salutation " PurushA:.. " in his formal

SharaNagati at the Lotus Feet of the Lord of Seven Hills through the

famous " Ahala illEn... " Pasuram.

 

At this point it may be asked how is it that Swami NammAzhwar could

discern that which even the Vedam failed to adequately comprehend?

Swami Desikan forcefully answers this by noting that Swami NammAzhwar

is a Nithyasoori. Furthermore, he is none other than the Padhukas,

which are never separated from Lord Narayana's lotus feet. Therefore,

he was privy to the most intimate and intricate detail concerning

Lord Narayana. Consequently, Swami NammAzhwar prevails where the

Vedam stops short.

 

Namo Narayana,

 

SriMuralidhara Dasan