The Strange Snake-1

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra

Mahadesikaya Nama:

The Strange

Snake-1

 

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When Her marriage is fixed with Sri

Ranganatha, Sri Andal is ragged by Her friends for

having chosen as Her groom, a grand old man, having a

strange bird as His conveyance and a stranger snake as

His bed ( " nAgEsaya: sutanu pakshi ratha:katham tE

JAta: swayavara:pati:purusha:purANa: " -Sri Godastuti)

The term " swayamvara:pati: " indicates the wonderment

of Sri Andal's friends – it is one thing if an old man

is foisted on a girl as her groom: it is quite a

different and foolish thing to choose such a person,

of one's own volition, as one's life partner. Perhaps

these girls were unaware that the old man's bed

doubled as His umbrella too- had they known, their

pity for Kodai Nachiar would have been even greater.

Ananta, SeshA or " aravarasa perunjOthi " , as he is

variously known, is a multipurpose servitor of the

Lord, and functions not only as His umbrella, but as

His bed when it is time for YoganidrA, His footwear

when He sets out for a jaunt, as a boat in the milky

ocean, as a shining lamp illuminating His path, and in

a myriad other ways. The Mudal TiruvandAdi pAsuram

makes this amply clear-

" ChendrAl kudayAm, irundAl singAsanamAm

nindrAl maravadiyAm neet kadaluL –endrum

puNayAm maNiviLakkAm poompattAm pulgum

aNayAm TirumArku aravu " .

 

The significant word " endrum " in this pasuram

denotes that from time immemorial, for aeons to come,

Sri Sesha has been, is, and will be serving the Lord

in these varied capacities. And by a logical

extension, the term could also be taken to mean that

Adisesha is at the beck and call of Emperuman,

whatever form He assumes-as Para Vasudeva,

KsheerAbdinAthA, VibhavAvatArAs like Sri Rama and Sri

Krishna, or in archAvatArA. (Emperuman is said to have

five states-Paravasudeva,or the Lord as He is at Sri

Vaikuntam, Vyuha murthies- Vasudeva,Pradyumna,

aniruddha and, SankarshaNA , Vibhava- avataras like

those of Sri Rama,Sri Krishna, etc., -Archavatara, or

the Emperuman present at various temples, and

Antaryami ,or the Inner Dweller in everybody's Atma)

..Let's see how Adisesha serves Emperuman in each of

these states:-.

The DhyAna shlokam for the ashtAksharam describes

Para VasudevA, as He is seen by the nitya sooris and

others at Sri Vaikuntam.

" Savyam pAdam prasArya srita durita haram dakshinam

kunchayitvA

jAnuni AdAya savyEtaramitara bhujam nAgabhOge

nidhAya "

In this beautiful posture at Paramapadam, the Lord

sits resplendent with His consorts , with one of his

hands firmly holding on to the velvety form of Sri

Ananta.

In VyoohAvatAram too, the Lord is to be seen

ensconced on the snaky bed, in the milky ocean

(KsheerAbdi). (This is borne out of SriNammazhwar's

pasuram- " PambaNai mEl ParkadaluL paLLi

payindraduvum " ).

In the Vibhava avatArAs like those of Sri Rama, the

Lord of Snakes is born as the inseparable brother Sri

Lakshmana, who is the personification of " kainkarya " .

Service to Sri Rama is the reasond'etre of His

younger brother's existence. Whether Sri Raghava is

asleep or awake, Sri Lakshamana is always awake,

catering to every need of his elder brother and His

consort. The essence of shastras, that all service is

to be done not only to the Lord, but to the Divine

Couple, is emphasized by Sri Lakshamana's words-

" BhavAnstu saha VaidEhya giri sAnushu ramsyasE

aham sarvam karishyAmi jAgrata: svapatascha tE " .

Sri Govindaraja (commentator of Srimad Ramayana) says

Sri Lakshmana never slept a minute during the 14 years

that Sri Rama spent in the jungle.

 

And in Sri Krishnavataram too, Sehsa is born as Sri

Balarama, to keep a watchful and protective eye on the

playful and adventurous Krishna. And who can forget

that stormy night when Adisesha provided a protective

canopy to the just-born Krishna from torrential rains

and enabled Sri VasudevA to cross over from KamsA's

prison to the safe haven of Sri Gokulam?

 

In Sri Nrsimhavataram, though there is no specific

mention of Sri AnantA accompanying the Lord, the

presence of a paduka on the lotus feet of Sri Malola

at the Sri Ahobila Matam confirms that Sesha was

indeed there during this avataram too, for the paduka

is after all one of the forms of sesha.

Thus, if truth were to be told, what Swami Desikan

says about Sri Mahalakshmi assuming forms

complementary to the Lord's avataras ( " yat bhAvEshu

prithak vidhEshu anuguNAn bhAvAn swayam bibhrati yet

dharmai: iha dharminee viharatE nAnakruti: nAyikA " -Sri

DasAvatAra Stotram) is true of Adisesha too, for,

whatever forms the Lord assumes, Sesha is there in

some form or the other, to be of service to Him.

And when Azhwar says " Adiyam sOthi uruvai angu

vaitthu ingu pirandu " , perhaps he includes Sri

Adisesha too!

 

And in archAvatArA too, we see Sri Ananta being the

Lord's inseperable slave, in almost all divyadesas,

irrespective of the Lord's posture. If He reclines,

Sri Sesha is His bed – as at Sri Rangam,

Tirukkudandai, TiruAdanur,Tiruneermalai,

Tiruvanantapuram, etc.

If Emperuman adopts a sitting posture, Adisesha

serves as His Asanam, as at Tirukkoodal and other

divyadesams.

When the Lord prefers to stand, as at Tiruvallikkeni,

Adisesha serves as His footrest or paduka.

Thus we see Adisesha offering sarva kAla, sarva

vidha kainkarya to the Lord, wherever He is and in

whatever form.

It is but rarely that a person's name suits him-for

instance though adiyen carries the venerated Azhwar's

name, adiyen's knowledge or conduct could hardly

entitle adiyen to the haloed name. And the most

seasoned criminal would , more likely than not, carry

the name DharmarAjA. Sri Adisesha is an exception to

this common rule- the name Sesha suits him to a T.

Defining SEshatvam, Sri BhAshyakarA says " paragata

atisaya AdhAna icchhayA upAdEyatvamEva yasya swaroopam

sa sEsha:para:sEshi " . Thus, broadly, one who exists

solely for the purposes of being of some use to

another, is a SEshA , and the counterpart, for whose

sole benefit he exists, is the SEshi. Wouldn't you say

that the epithet " Sesha " suits Sri Ananta perfectly?

 

 

It is a wonder that the other nitya sooris do not

feel jealous of this ubiquitous snake, for he has

appropriated for himself the choicest of kainkaryams,

leaving only morsels for the other residents of Sri

Vaikuntam. A doctrinal question here in a lighter

vein- how can the muktAtma be termed " free " and " his

own master " , etc., ( " sa svarAt bhavati " etc.) when

he cannot opt for the particular kainkaryam he wants

to perform for the Divya Dampati?(For, all the

antaranga susrooshaNam seems to have been reserved for

the Lord of Snakes, who obviously wants to have the

Lord's tirumEni sambandham at all times, in some form

or the other.) Accidentally, adiyen found the answer

to this question too in that magnum opus Srimad

Rahasyatrayasaram- Swami Desikan says that once one

reaches Sri Vaikuntam, one would not wish to perform

the services to the Lord that have been reserved for

others, but is perfectly content with the kainkarya

that has been allotted to one.( " Orouttharukku

vayavasttitangaLAna kainkaryangaLai tAngaL anushtikka

vENum engira abhisandi vEroruttharukku piravAmayAlum……

sarvarukkum sarva vidha kainakrya siddhi undu engayil

virOdhamillai " ).

 

There is no doubt that even among nitya sooris, Sri

Adisesha occupies the pride of place. Wherever there

is mention of the eternal servitors of the Lord,

Sesha's name is referred to first, followed by those

of the others (as in Saranagati Gadyam- " Sesha SehAsana

Garuda pramukha nAnAvidhAnanta parijana parichArikA

paricharita charaNayugaLa " ).

In sri Stotraratnam too, Sri Alavandar talks about

Adisesha immediately after describing PirAtti and

before referring to VainatEyA-

" nivAsa sayya Asana pAdukAmsuka upadAna varshAt

apavAraNAdibhi:

sarira bhEdai:tava sEshatAmgatai:yatOchitam SeEsha

iteeritE janai: "

One could perhaps go on writing in this vein about

this strange and wonderful snake, for it is doubtful

that even the thousand-tongued Sesha himself could

describe his own greatness adequately. However, adiyen

would like to conclude here, for fear of testing the

readers' patience.

- to be continued

Srimate Sri LakshmiNrsimha divya padukasevaka

SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra Mahadesikaya

Nama:

_dasan,sadagopan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Sri:

 

SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,

 

Dear Sriman Sadagopan Iyengar Swamin,

 

Thank you very much for blessing us with a superb, anubhavam-filled ,

Bhakti-laden post with copious references from the Sri Sookthis of

Swami Desikan, Swami Alavanadar, Sri Ramanujacharya and Azhwar

Pasurams. Adiyen learnt several fine points of our Sampradayam from

your most illuminating post and feels fortunate to inhabit this earth

at the same time as your esteemed self.

 

Namo Narayana,

 

SriMuralidhara Dasan