Sri Guna Rathna Kosam : Part 54: slOkam 44

[Guest guest]

Dear BhakthAs of Sri RanganAyaki ThAyAr:

 

In this 44th slOkam , Sri Parasara Bhattar elaborates

on the meaning of one of the ThiruvAimozhi Paasuram passages

of Swamy NammAzhwAr( T.V.M. 10.10.2: " Unn ThirumArvatthu

Maalai Nangai " acording to Dr.V.N.VedAntha Desikan(VNV) :

 

AamOdhAdh-adbhuthasaali Youana-dasA vyAkOcham amlAnimath

SoundaryAmrutha sEka seethaLam-idham laavaNya SoothrArpitham

Sri Rangeswari! kOmaLAnga Sumanas-sandharpaNam Devi! tE

KaanthOra: pathiyathnam-arhathi kavim dhingmAkaNDAkulam

 

(Meaning according to Dr.VNV): As Swamy NammAzhwAr pointed out

in TVM 10.10.2 , Oh MahA lakshmi! You are a veritable garland

in the chest of the Lord . The flowers of the garland are in

the just-now-blossoming state , even as You are in the stage of

passing to Youth from Childhood--eternal though , this transition!

The blooming flowers emit a unique fragrance . The flowers will emit

this permanently , since they know no withering even as you know

no further ageing beyond the conjunction stage between childhood

and Youth .

 

The flower --garland figured here has a coolness from the sparkling

of nectar from the beauties of all component organs of Your

physique. These individual beauties --called Soundharyaas --are all

strung together in a twine, so to say , to give the resultant

total beauty called Laavanya ; the individual limb beauties

and the total garland are very sensitive even to touch --why ,

even to a verbal praise (such as my verse in praise)!

 

This garland --namely Yourself --is a wonderful decoration

to the Lord's chest. But, what have I done in my folly ?

I am a bad sinner, surely this! Fie upon me! Can I harm

the far-too-sensitive , delicate , flower garland by my verbal

praise ? What is Your nature ? Your feet can not bear trampling

on the pollen--dust even; Your hands can not bear the toy-flower

itself ; in fact , how could I reconcile to Your playing on

the rough and tough chest of the Lord ? How could I dare

describe You as a flower-garland on His chest , knowing fully

well Your extreme sensitiveness ? What a bad poetry this, that

I have created --not taking into account Your unique nature

properly ? May I be cursed for this !

 

Comments: Sri Paraasara Bhattar takes himself to task for

daring to describe through comparison of Sri RanganAyaki to

a perfectly fitting flower garland on the chest of Her Lord .

He has second thoughts about the poorness of that similie

and feels contrite.

 

Sri RanganAyaki's dhivya mangaLa Vigraham is described first

as an exquisite flower garland of unmatched fragrance.

 

" AamOdhAdhbhuthEna adhbhutha Sougandhya: " As a result of

this dhivya gandham (fragrance) , this garland on the Lord's

chest(Sri RanganAyaki) , it attains an unmatched state of

excellence (adhbhuthasAli)in fragrance . Swamy NammAzhwAr

celebrates the divine fragrance of the tresses of MahA Lakshmi

taking residence on the Lord's chest this way: " Unn

Thiru-mArvatthu Maalai Nangai vaasam sey poonkuzhalAL " .

She is like the most beautiful & fragrant garalnd on the Lord's

chest . She Herself declares that She will not leave that seat

even for a fraction of a second (ahalahillEn yenRu ). This is

a permanent fragrance , which does not ever diminish (youvana

dasA vyAkOcham) . It is associated with the blossoming of

Sri RanganAyaki as She lingers eternally between the state of

a child and a Youth full of femenine charm.Her soundharyam

has a never fading coolness like an object sprayed with nectar.

 

" amlAnam " here stands for a bright object that is unwithered .

That amlAna Soundharyam ( beauty) is " soundhryAmrutha sEka

SeethaLam " .Her soundharyam achieves its unfaded peak status

due to the sprinkling of the nectar Her avayava sObhai

( beauty of the individual limbs being at the top of their youth ).

Those limbs brimming with beauty are the flowers making

up the garland that is Yourself of exquisite beauty. Those

flowers are strung together in the base string (twine)of Your

LaavaNyam (beauty). Your laavaNyam is like a fast flowing

stream that flows all over Your limbs (SamudhAya avayava

sObhai). Strung together by Your laavaNyam , the flowers

(limbs) constitute the most beautiful garland (Yourself)

resting on the Lord's chest.

 

Sri RangEswari ! This delicate and beautiful garland (Yourself)

is a magnificent and noble alankAram for the chest of Your

Lord .

 

What have I done now to this unique garland as a poet ?

I have crushed unintentionally this most delicate

garland by my words stating that this garland is the most

appropriate one for Your Lord's chest . How could that be?

Fie on me for my poverty of imagination! I should have

known that Your tender feet suffers even from the brushing

with the pollen dust of the lotus on which You are sitting!

Your delicate hands feel the pain of lifting and holding

the lotuses (leelA pushpams) on Your two upper hands!

How could such a tender and delicate fit as an appropriate

ornament for the hard and strong chest of Your Lord ?

I am thoroughly mistaken in my comparison of You

to a soft garland that finds its match on the chest of

Your Lord . I could not adequately express myself due

to my poverty of imagination as a poet daring to describe

Your uniqueness.I deserve condemnation for my poor efforts

to describe Your uniqueness !

 

Sri RanganAyaki ThAyAr ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam ,

Daasan, Oppilaippan Koil VaradAchAri SatakOpan