The Sleeping Beauty

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Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra Mahaadesikaya Nama:

 

 

 

The Sleeping Beauty

 

 

The Lord possesses innumerable auspicious attributes, which are unique to

Him and are not found in other dEvatAs. His Paratvam, nityatvam, nirmalatvam,

anAditvam, antaryAmitvam, ananta kalyANa gunakatvam, the ability to grant

liberation, etc. are but a few of the aforesaid attributes, which no other deity

can boast of. His physical features too are beyond compare, for He is

unimaginably handsome, with perfectly proportioned limbs and with an

overwhelming beauty which floors even His archrivals.

 

In His arcchAvatAra too, where He resides in countless temples for our

benefit, His tirumEni is unique, with the distinguishing towering headgear,

Piratti adorning His chest, Sudarsana and Panchajanya ever ready on the two

upraised hands for protection of the good and destruction of evil, Srivatsam, et

al.

 

 

 

In addition to all the aforesaid features, Emperuman is unique in His posture

too. The Lord's postures in His arcchAvatAra are manifold-He is to be found

standing at many temples and sitting at a few. However, the posture He would

appear to like the most is that of reclining. To adiyen's limited knowledge,

there is no other deity who adopts the sleeping posture. To appreciate how well

He likes this posture, we only have to remember the numerous divya desams where

the Lord is to be found in a reclining posture. To name but a few, we have,

first and foremost, the holiest of holies, Sri Rangam, acclaimed as the Bhooloka

Vaikuntam or Paradise on earth, Tirukkudandai, Pullabhootangudi, Adanur,

Kapistalam, Tiruppulingudi, Karambanur, Tiruneermalai, Tiruvanantapuram,

etc.-the list is long.

 

This penchant for the horizontal posture is not confined to the arcchAvatAra.

Even the ParamapatanAtan is said to be reclining on the snake bed, according to

the KoushItaki Upanishad, which describes the Paryanka Vidya as a tool to

Liberation.

 

In the VyuhAvatAra too, the Lord reclines on the Sesha in the Milky Ocean

(KshIrAbdi).

 

And all of us have heard of the Lord's primordial form, the BAla Mukunda , a

lovable infant lying on His back on a banyan leaf on the swirling cosmic waters,

with all the universes safe in His little stomach, busy chewing the big toe of

His little foot . Here is a moving description from Sri Tirumazhisai Piran-

 

" VAnagamum maNnagamum verpum Ezh kadalgaLum

 

pOnagam seidu Alilai tuyindra PundarIkanE! "

 

To look at the Divine Toddler, one would hardly imagine that all the worlds,

oceans and mountains find a place in His tiny tummy. And as if this sumptuous

meal is not enough, He keeps chewing His toe in hunger! Another wonderful thing

is that the little banyan leaf is able to accommodate the Lord, whose form is

endless.

 

Struck by the incongruity of the Parabrahmam lying on a little leaf, Sri

PoigaiAzhwar poses a clever question to the Lord-

 

" BAlan tanadu uruvAy Ezhulagu unDu

 

Alilayin mEl andru nee vaLarnda mey enbar-Al andru

 

Velai neer uLLadO viNnadO maNNado

 

SOlai soozh kundru edutthAi sollu "

 

When the entire universe has been overrun by cosmic floods and no flora or fauna

exist, where did the leaf, (and the tree to which it belonged) on which you were

asleep, come from? Was it from the earth, which has already been swallowed up by

the cascading waters, or is it from a strange tree, which can grow in the sky

without support for its roots, or did it grow up magically from the swirling

ocean? This question of Azhwar's does not elicit a satisfactory response from

the Lord.

 

 

 

The blue-green Lord asleep on the Milky white Ocean resembles a giant Green

Stone or Jade embedded on the side of a snowy mountain, says Azhwar- " Varai mEl

maragatam pOla tirai mEl kidandAn " .

 

 

 

Azhwar is envious of the great good fortune of the sea waters, for they are in

constant touch with the Lord's tirumEni-

 

" Malum karum kadalE en nOtrAi-vayyagam undu

 

Alinilai tuyindra AzhiyAn- kola

 

KarumEni sengaNMAl kanpadayuL-endrum

 

TirumEni nee teenda petru " .

 

 

 

When we come to think of it, the Lord does indeed choose the best of environs

for His siesta. The peaceful Milky Ocean laps gently at His feet singing a

rhythmic lullaby ( " kadal Odam kAl alaippa kaN vaLarum sengaN adalOda vaNNar " ), a

sweet-smelling breeze blows, providing comfort to the body and mind, the bed

provided by Adisesha is softer than any known variety ( " uraga mellaNayAn " ), and

the Divine Consorts press His feet gently with their supple palms. With all

these soporifics, is it any wonder that the Lord adopts a reclining posture most

of the time?

 

 

 

However, we do wonder whether it is at all an appropriate pose for the Lord of

the Universe to adopt. When the head of a small family is so weighed down by

worries that sleep eludes him, how can Emperuman, with the mind-boggling

responsibility of having to innumerable universes, afford to sleep?

 

Sri Peyazhwar tries to fathom the reasons for the Lord's supine posture-

 

" andru ivvulagam aLanda asavE kol? " enquires Azhwar, wondering whether the Lord

is overcome by fatigue due to the strain of measuring all these worlds and the

ones above with His feet, during TrivikramAvatAra.

 

Or could it be the strain of churning up the ocean for bringing out nectar

( " asaindu kadainda varutthamO " )?

 

 

 

Sri Nammazhwar too poses such a rhetorical question to the Lord, querying Him as

to the reasons for His apparent tiredness-

 

" KodiyAr mAda KOLuragatthum PuLingudiyum

 

MadiAdhu indrE nee tuyil mEvi magizhndadhu tAn

 

adiAr allal tavirttha asavO andrEl ip

 

padithAn neeNdu tAviya asavO, paNiyAyE "

 

" You were after all a young boy during Vamanavatara. Still, your holy feet had

to traverse the entire universe and the heavens too. Has this been so much of a

strain on you that You had to lie down to rest? Or are You fatigued by attending

to frequent calls for succour from distressed devotees? " enquires Azhwar ,

seeking the reason for the Lord's supine posture.

 

Sri Tirumazhisaipian too enquires of the recumbent Lord of Tirukkudandai whether

His slumber is due to the debilitating battle with HiranyAksha and rescuing

Mother Earth from the depths of the ocean, as the Varahamurthy-

 

" nadanda kAlgaL nondavO nadunga gyAlam EnamAi

 

idanda mei kulungavO "

 

A more modern poet, expanding on the Azhwar's theme, adduces a variety of

possible reasons for Emperuman's kidandha tirukkOlam. Could it be due to the

strain of covering innumerable miles on foot during the vanavAsa as Sri Rama? Or

is it due to running after the elusive MArIcha, who, in a bid to isolate Sri

Mythily, dragged Sri Rama quite far from His Ashrama in hot chase? Is the Lord

tired from carrying out the stupendous task of bridging the ocean to reach

Lanka? Or has the terrible battle against Ravana and other RakshasAs taken its

toll on Emperuman's energy? Or is the sacking of Lanka responsible for this?

The Krishnavatara has been no less strenuous. As a mere toddler, Krishna pulled

a heavy grindstone after Him, and brought down two tall trees by passing between

them. Would it be due to the valiant effort He had to display in Krishnavatara

as the charioteer to Arjuna, shielding the Pandava from certain death many a

time and in the process sustaining injuries Himself? Or is it due to the

constant roaming in the hot sun, tending to cows, in the boisterous company of

gOpa brats? Listing all these, the poet plaintively asks the Lord- " En paLLi

koNdeer IyyA? "

 

 

 

Sri Nammazhwar denies that the Lord's apparent slumber is due to any of the

aforesaid reasons. In fact he even denies that the Lord is sleeping. According

to the Azhwar, the Lord merely appears to sleep, with His beautiful eyes

half-closed, concentrating all the time on ways and means to emancipate errant

humanity, devising newer methods of affording delight to true devotees, etc.

These are the Azhwar's worthy words-: " uranguvAn pOl yOgu puNarnda oLi

maNivaNNan KaNNan " .

 

 

 

There are some who can sleep through a noisy thunderstorm and no amount of din

can wake them up. In contrast, there are others who wake up at a mere whisper.

The Lord appears to belong to the latter category, for, appeals from devotees

for assistance never fail to galvanize Him into immediate action. Further, He is

prepared to forsake slumber at a mere word from a devotee.

 

It is common knowledge how the Lord YatOktakAri of TiruvekhA at Kanchipuram

rolled up His snaky bed and accompanied Sri Tirumazhisaipiran, at the latter's

command. The Azhwar's disciple Kanikannan was slighted by the then King of

Kanchi, and Azhwar decided to leave the kingdom of the errant ruler, and while

going, also issued packing orders to the Lord. ( " Kanikannan pOgirAn, kAmaru poom

Kacchi Manivanna...neeyum un painnAga pAi suruttikkoL " ). Preferring the Azhwar's

company to a comfortable bed, the Lord just upped and left, plunging the kingdom

in darkness and chaos. When the repentant King assuaged the Azhwar's feelings

through appropriate remedial action, Azhwar returned to Kanchi and advised

Emperuman too to resume His beauty sleep ( " nAnum pOkkozhindEn...neeyum un

painnAga pAi viritthukkoL " ) and the Lord obliged with alacrity. This Emperuman

came to be known from that day as " Sonna vaNNam seida Perumal " or the Lord who

did as He was told.

 

It is noteworthy that the same Azhwar commands Sri ArAvamudan of Tirukkudandai

to wake up from His slumber and reply to his (Azhwar's) queries- " kidandavAru

ezhundirundu pEsu vazhi KEsanE " ).

 

 

 

It is not merely the Lord who is fond of a sleeping posture: His devotees too

seem to prefer His Kidanda tirukkOlam, if the popularity of Srirangam and

similar divyadesams is anything to go by. Not only have all the Azhwars sung

paeans of praise on this Emperuman, but all Acharyas have also preferred to

spend their entire lives in the service of Rangaraja. Sri Ramanuja, in perhaps

his only stotra on a divyadesa Emperuman, waxes eloquent in Seshasayee's praise,

in the Sriranga Gadyam, while Sri Bhattar goes to the extent of praying for even

a lowly life as that of a dog in the streets of Srirangam ( " RatyAsunAm anyatamO

bhavEyam " ).

 

Sri Bhattar finds himself overwhelmed by the Sleeping Beauty of Srirangam

( " nidrA mudrAbiramam " ), and so does Swami Desikan, as is evident from the vivid

portrayal in Sri Bhagavat DhyAna SOpAnam.

 

Though it is indeed tempting to continue, adiyen stops here for fear of

transforming readers too into Sleeping Beauties.

 

 

 

Srimate Sri LakshmINrsimha divya paduka sevaka SrivanSatakopa Sri Narayana

Yatindra Mahadesikaya Nama:

 

Dasan, sadagopan.