Sri Vilakkoli Perumal, Thoopul/ThirutthaNkA dhivya Desam: Nithya AarAdhana kaimkaryam for VilakkoLi PerumAL and Swamy Desikan : Part IV (The content of SaraNAgathi DhIpikai ).

[Guest guest]

SrI:

 

Dear BhakthAs:

 

adiyEn will start with the first of

the 59 slOkams now:

 

PadhmApathE: Sthuthi-padhEna vipachyamAnam

pasyanthviha prapadhana-pravaNA mahAntha:

madh-vAkya samvalithamapi ajahath-svabhAvam

mAnyam YathIsvara MahAnasa sampradhAyam

 

(meaning): My speech with blemishes is admixed with

the blemishless and sacred fragrance of the samprahdAyam of

Prapatthi VidhyA ;that fragrance arises from my connection

to the MaDappaLLi AaacchAn (PraNathArthiharar) , who learnt

sakala Saasthra arthams from AchArya RaamAnujA Himself , while

serving as the kainkaryaparar at His kitchen (MadapaLLi).

The essence of that MadapaLLi AacchAn SampradhAyam

has been included in this sthOthram about ViLakkoLi PerumAL.

It is fair to say that the MadapaLLI AacchAn SampradhAyam

has taken the form of this sthuthi. Even if this sthuthi is

made up of passages associated with my imperfect speech ,

the glory of this eulogy however is not diminished.

May the great ones , who have unshakable faith in

Prapatthi as the means for Moksham , recognize and

celebrate the sacrd MadapaLLi SampradhAyam !

 

Additional Comments :

*********************

FIRST LINE: " PadhmaapathE: Sthuthi-padhEna vipachyamAnam

**********************************************************

Swamy Desikan starts the sthOthram is with a statement

that it is a sthuthi about the consort of MahA Lakshmi

( PadhmA PathE: sthuthipadham ). PadhmA is Sri Maragathavalli

ThAyAr and Her Pathi(Lord ) is DhIpaprakAsan . Swamy Desikan

says that the Sriya: Pathi blessing us with His archA form

at ThirutthaNkA is the focal point of this sthuthi. To remind us

the dhvaya manthram and the rich relationship signified by

that manthra rathnam , Swamy chooses to address the Lord as

PadhmA-Pathi .

 

The Nithya SamyOgam of Periya PirAtti (MahA Lakshmi)

with her Lord is behind all the anugrahams of Prapatthi.

The significance of SrI sabdham ( PadhmA here) preceding

the Lord or qualifying the Lord is seen from the Sri VishNu

SahsranAmams ( 612-621) that celebrate the power of this

Nithya Yogam of PadhmA and Her Pathi :

 

Sridha: SrIsa: SrinivAsa: SrInidhi: SrivibhAvana:

Sridhara: SrIkara: SrEya: SrImAn lOkathrayAsraya:

 

The importance of Sri Devi in our sampradhAyam is

pointed out by the AchAryan of GhaDAmBi AppuLLAr ,

Sri NadAthUr AmmAL in His magnum opus , Prapanna PaarijAtham

to underscore the importance of PrapannAs performing

AarAdhanam for Sri Devi:

 

GurUNAm Visrama SthAnam IsAnAJagathOsya cha

MahishI DevadEvasya dhivyA NithyAnapAyini

 

Elaborate commentary on this important slOkam

on LakshmI Tatthvam has been provided by

Srimath U.Ve. V.S.KaruNAkarAcchAr Swamy in

the special issue of Sri HayagrIva PriyA

(October 2001).The five reasons for such

AarAdhanam are covered here.

 

Swamy Desikan also of the MadaipaLLi AacchAn

sampradhAyam salutes the Dhivya Dampathis

as being at the very top of AchArya paramparai:

 

Gurubhyasccha Tath Gurubhyasccha namOvAkamadhImahE

vruNImahE tathrAdhyou DAMPATHI JAGATHAAM PATHI

 

Padhmaa Pathi united with Her Lord as dhivya Mithunam

are recognized and saluted as the joint heads of

this universe .

 

To pay obescience to Sri Devi directly or indirectly is

SadAchArya SampradhAya kramam . This we see it in

AchArya RaamAnujA's SaraNAgathi Gadhyam , KurEsar's as well as

in PrAsara Bhattar's sthOthra granthams.Swamy Desikan seems

to be following this ancient tradition of AchAryAs as

he starts this sthOthram with reference to LakshmI first

and Her Lord next.

 

Swamy Desikan reveals another important aspect of

this sthOthram. He says: " PadhmA PathE: sthuthipadhEna

VipachyamAnam " . He points out that this sthOthram

about the Lord of Sri Devi ( PadhmA) is the embodiment of

MadaipaLLI SampradhAyam ( PadhmA PathE: sthuthipadhEna

vipachyamAnam MahAnasa SampradhAyam ).That sampradhAyam

(ancient tradition ) is all about SaraNAgathi Saasthram .

 

LINE 2: INVITATION TO MAHAANS

******************************

" Pasyanthu iha prapadhana pravaNA MahAntha: "

*********************************************

Here Swamy Desikan humbly invites all scholars

and pious ones to come and enjoy this SthOthram about

SrI DhIpaprakAsan as the distillation of the essence

of SaraNAgathi tatthvam that has come to him via

the MadaipaLLI SampradhAyam. He says: Let these great

souls look into this sthOthram as such.

 

Who are these great Ones (MahAntha: ), whom he invites

for examination of His sthOthram ? These are " Prapadhana

PravaNA: " . They are authorities in understading Prapatthi

Saasthram and have already performed Prapatthi and are living

their lives as post-prapannA: as instructed by SaasthrAs.

He invites them: " Oh revered Ones who fully comprehend and

practsie SaraNAgathi Saasthram ! May You all look at this

sthuthi as that which arose out of the sacred MahAnasa SampradhAyam " .

The great ones revel in reflection on the upadEsam of GithAchAryan

" SaraNya Saarathi girAm anthE ramanthE " --UpAya vibhAdhigAram

of Srimath Rahasya Thraya Saaram ).They are experts about

Prapatthi Yogyathai (aakinchanya , anya gahtithvams).

Following Swamy ALavanthAr , they have declared:

 

na dharma nishtOsmi nachAthmavEdhi

na Bhakthimamsthava CharaNAravindhE

akinchanO anyagathi: SaraNya !

thvath-paadhamoolam SaraNam prapadhyE

--SthOthra rathnam : slOkam 22

 

Such MahAthmAs are experts on the five angams of

Prapatthi and have practised Praatthi with

all those five angams without any lapses.

They have thus achieved the goals of

Svaroopa SamarpaNam , Aathma RakshA SamarpaNam

and Phala SamarpaNam .As a result they are

Krutha Kruthya MahAnthA:

 

These great souls stay in a comfortable and

contented state of mind with the thought :

" Paaram ganthum Bhara-NyAsam krutham "

(We have performed Prapatthi at the feet of

PadhmA Pathi to get to the other side of

terrible and vast SamsAric Ocean ).

 

These great souls are going to be described later by

Swamy Desikan as " mEdhini mEviya ViNNavar " in

the SvabhishtAbhijn~AnAdhikAram of Srimath Rahasya

Thraya Saaram . They are the Nithya Sooris residing

on this earth. Swamy Desikan's invitation to look

at his SthOthram as the essence of the venerable

(maanyam ) MahAnasa SampradhAyam (MadaipaLLI tradition).

 

THIRD & FOURTH LINES:

*********************

MADH-VAAKYA SAMVALITHAM API AJAHATH SVABHAVAM

MAANYAM YATHEESAVARA MAHAANASA SAMPRADHAAYAM

 

Here Swamy Desikan says that the most revered

MahAnasa sampradhAyam with its vital links to

the MadaipaLLi of YathirAjar (Udayavar) has

undisputed glory and this sthuthi based on it

will stay glorious inspite of the admixture with

his vaak with blemishes.According to Swamy Desikan ,

The power of the content of this sthuthi linked to

the most sacred MahAnasa sampradhAyam will quench

and quell all the blemishes and sublimate the sthuthi

on PadhmA Pathi to the lofty level befitting

the theme of the Sthuthi and its origin.

 

MahAnasa sampradhAyam

***********************

Mahaanasar is the Sanskrit name for PraNathArTiharar ,

who was the intimate sishyar of AchArya RaamAnujA.

He was selected by ThirukkOshtiUr Nampi , the AchAryan

of Udayavar to perform maadhukaram . He belonged to

AthrEya GOthram . The third sishyar in the AchArya

Paramaparai of AathrEya PraNathArTiharar (MadaipaLLI

AacchAn ) is AathrEya AppuLLAr , the AchAryan of Swamy

Desikan. This line of succession of AchAryAs that

treasured the upadEsams of AchArya RaamAnujA on

saraNAgathi is the madaippaLLI SampradhAyam .The essence

of that SampradhAyam is housed in Sri SaraNAgathi DhIpikai.

Swamy Desikan invites the attention of great ones to

look at this aspect in His sthuthi of Sri DhIpa PrakAsan

in the very first slOkam.

 

Sri DhIpa PrakAsa MahishIm Srayam AasrayAma:

Swamy Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Daasan, Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SatakOpan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sri DhIpa prakAsa MahishIm Sriyam AasrayAma:

 

Swamy Desikan ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam ,

Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil Varadachari SatakOpan