Yes, Prime Minister

[Guest guest]

Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra

Mahadesikaya Nama:

Yes, Prime

Minister

 

Everybody agrees that Lord Sriman

Narayana is the Supreme Power, at whose will and

pleasure this universe and the animate and inanimate

beings inhabiting it subsist. He doesn’t have anybody

to report to nor does He have to carry out anybody’s

orders (“oppAr mikkArai ilai Aya mAmAyan”). However,

it would be surprising to note that even this Supreme

Emperuman listens with care to the words of somebody,

and approves of them without any disagreement

whatsoever. All proposals put up to Him by this

somebody are approved in toto, with nary a correction,

however insignificant. The Lord just says,

“Yes, Prime Minister”, and puts His seal of approval

to whatever is conveyed to Him. Who is this somebody,

who wields such power over the Lord that every word of

his is “vEda vAkku” to Emperuman? And why does the

Lord feel the compulsion to honour this gentleman’s

dictates without demur?

We can find the answer to these questions in Sri

Alavandar’s

StotraRatnam=

“Tvadeeya bhukta ujjhita sEsha bhOjinA

tvayA nisrishta Atma bharENa yed yathA

priyENa SenApatinA nyavEdi tat

TathA anujAnantam udAra veekshaNai:”

 

Sri VishvaksEnar is the Emperuman’s Prime Minister

(“Vaikunta Sachiva:”), Commander-in-Chief and Lord

Protector, all rolled into one. We know only too well

how difficult it is to manage our own households,

small units that they are;

just imagine how complex it would be to administer a

country, a continent, a world, a universe? And how

indescribably intricate it must be to be the Chief

Administrator of a whole set of Universes and the

Cosmos?

The Lord is able to carry out this difficult task

only because of the invaluable assistance rendered by

Sri Vishvaksena, in whom He reposes total faith.

While all of us are used to transferring our burdens

to the Lord (through Saranagati), our Lord too

unburdens Himself to Sri Vishvaksena, by investing him

with all His property and the entire responsibility of

administering the BrahmAndAs (“Sreemati VishvaksEnE

nyasta samasta Atma ishvaryam”). Such is the absolute

confidence reposed by Sri Vaikuntanatha in His

Commander-in-Chief that whatever the latter proposes,

the former accepts without a word of disagreement.

 

The greatness of Sri Vishvaksena can be understood

from the fact that it is he who is worshipped (even

before the Lord is) at the commencement of every

ritual, for the unhindered completion of the task

taken up.

“nirvignEna pari samAptyarttham Adou Vishvaksena

Aradhanam karishyE”- we begin every vaidika karma with

a prayer to this nitya suri.

Some Sri Vaishnavites confuse Sri Vishvaksena with

Pillayar, the Elephant-headed demigod. Even in some

Vishnu temples, we see the strange spectacle of

Pillayar at the entrance, with the sobriquet

“Tumbikkai Azhwar”.

The Sri Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram clarifies the

position-

“ Yasya dvirada vaktrAdyA: pArishadyA: parassatham

Vignam nignanti satatam, Vishvaksenam tam AshrayE”

“I seek refuge in Sri Vishvaksena, who clears all

hurdles at all times, and whose council consists of

hundreds of members like the elephant-faced GajAnana”

says the prelude to the Vishnu sahasranamam. It is

clear from this that GajAnanA is a parivAra dEvata of

the Lord, and is no way connected with Pillayar, who

is said to be the son of Rudra, and is held in high

esteem by non-SriVaishnavites as a facilitator.

Sri Vishvaksena is also glorified as “SEshAsanA”, or

one who partakes of the leftovers of the Lord’s meal,

a unique honour that does not seem to have been

bestowed on any other occupant of Sri Vaikuntam. And

as pointed out above, he is the principal officer of

the Lord, as evidenced by the Saranagati Gadya phrase,

“SeshAsana …..pramukha”.

 

Swami Desikan showers special praise on this nitya

suri, in Sri Daya Satakam-

“anEka vigna samanam aneekEswaram AshrayE

sreemata: karuNAmbOdhou sikshA srOta ivOtthitam”

Confirming the capability of Sri Vishvaksena to ward

off all obstacles and his status as the Lord’s

Commander-in Chief, Swami Desikan describes him as a

canal branching off the ocean of mercy that is

Emperuman. The Lord’s karuNA takes several forms: even

when He chooses to punish someone, it is also a form

of anugraham (“nigraha anugraham” as it is called).

When He decides to chastise someone, He has it carried

out through Sri Vishvaksena. However, one must not

jump to the conclusion that this nitya suri is the

Lord’s executioner with little else to do-

we must also remember that he clears all obstacles in

the way of the good deeds we contemplate. This is the

purport if we take the word “siksha” in the aforesaid

sloka to mean punishment. However, “siksha” could

also refer to instruction, in which case Sri

Vishvaksena acts as

the conduit for the Lord’s words of wisdom.

 

Thus Sri Vishvaksena has been accorded the unique

privilege of a place in the Guruparampara, which other

nitya suris like Sri Adisesha or Sri Garutman do not

enjoy.

After Emperuman and Piratti, it is Sri Vishvaksena who

adorns the liineage of Acharyas. It was he who passed

on the divine lamp of knowledge to Sri Nammazhwar”,

who in turn spread the same the world over through the

Tiruvaimozhi. If we hail Sri Nammazhwar as “mayarvara

madi nalam aruLa petra Azhwar”, it is Sri Vishvaksena

who made this possible. Thus it is this NityaSuri who

acts as the link and line of communication between the

Acharyas who are residents of SriVaikuntam and

Acharyas located in the mundane world, ensuring

uninterrupted propagation of the Sampradaya.

 

In another fitting tribute to Sri Vishvaksena, Swami

Desikan says in Sri Yatiraja Saptati,

“VandE Vaikunta sEnAnyam dEvam SootravatI sakham

yat vEtra shikara: spande visvam Etat vyavastthitam”

Two other attributes of Sri Vishvaksena are brought

out by this sloka-

He is the beloved husband of Sri Sootravati. This is

unique to Sri Vishavaksena, an honour not extended to

other nitya suris like Sri Adisesha or Sri GarutmAn,

both of whom do not appear to be assisted by their

consorts, in the Lord’s service.

Further, he wields a golden cane, studded with

diamonds. The whole world hangs upon the end of this

cane, and looks to it for guidance, as would an

orchestra to the cane of the conductor. So powerful is

this Commander-in-Chief of the Lord that the slightest

movement of the cane could sway whole worlds this way

or that. However, unlike in the case of most

plenipotentiaries, absolute power does not influence

the just administration of Sri Vishvaksena.

 

A noteworthy feature is that only undisputed Kings

holding sway over large kingdoms are entitled to hold

a cane in their hands, and by this token, Emperuman is

said to hold one-(“SengOl udaya Tiruvaranga

SelvanAr”-Sri Andal, “Ettra Ezhulagum tanikkOl sella

veevil seer Attral mikku Alum

ammAn”_-Sri Nammazhwar)

 

It is a mark of Sri Vishvaksena’s importance in Sri

Vaikuntam that he too has the authority to wield a

cane, on par with the Lord. It is another measure of

this senior official’s greatness that before any

tiruveedi purappAdu of Emperuman takes place, Sri

Vishvaksena precedes Him to check whether the Lord’s

path is hurdle-free and fit for His passage.

Though all nitya suris are endowed with poorNa gnAnam,

Sri Vishvaksena has the distinction of deriving his

knowledge, especially the Dvaya Mantra, directly from

the Lord Himself. This is clear from the Vishvaksena

Samhita, one of the principal SamhitAs of Sri

PanchrAtra AgamA.

 

The greatness of this nitya suri is such

that however much one might write, it would be

probably be a grossly inadequate depiction. With his

blessings, adiyen would like to continue this piece

some time later.

 

Srimate Sri LakshhmiNrsimha divya paduka

sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana Yatindra

Mahadesikaya Nama:

----dasan,sadagopan.

 

 

 

 

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