ThiruvahIndhrapuram RathnAngi Kaimkaryam: Part IX

[Guest guest]

ChithrabhAnu Kaarthikai Sukla Paksha TruthIyai

Poorada Nakshathram

 

SrI:

 

Dear BhakthAs:

 

Let us enjoy the 8th slOkam of Sri DEvanAyaka

PanchAsath today:

 

SlOkam VIII

***********

SamrakshaNIyam amarAdhipathE Thvayaivam

dhUram prayAthamapi dhusthyajya-gADabandham

aakrushtavAnasi BhavAn anukampamAna:

soothrAnubhaddha sakuni-kramatha: Svayam mAm

 

Extended Meaning

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

Oh DhaivanAyaka PerumAnE! adiyEn's previous karmAs

have borne their fruits and as a result adiyEn has been

tightly bound with samsAric bonds. It has not been

possible for adiyEn to free myself from these painful

bonds. This helpless and pitiable state of adiyEn has

positioned me far away from You and made it impossible

for me to approach You. Inspite of this hopeless situation ,

Your DayA has now focused on adiyEn. Who else can protect

adiyEn , if You do not decide to save adiyEn? Solely due to

Your limitless compassion , adiyEn has been pulled

near You and directed to travel on the auspicious

route of Moksha maargam to perform nithya kaimkaryam

to You at Your supreme abode at the end of the bodily

existence.

 

Oh Lord ! Your sport in locking adiyEn with SamsAric bonds

first and then pulling adiyEn out of that cruel fate reminds

adiyEn of the analogy of a wealthy man owning a bird .

That rich owner of the bird ties its leg with a long rope

and lets it fly away so that it can think it is free.

At the appropriate time ,the owner tugs at the rope at

his end and pulls the bird to his home . Oh DhaivanAyakA !

You are engaging in a similar sport by letting me roam in

the tempting bazzars of transient worldly pleasures

for a long time and now You have compassionately decided

to pull me home to be next to You. How can adiyEn give You

thanks to You for Your limitless DayA towards adiyEn ?

 

Additional Thoughts

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

In this slOkam , Swamy Desikan emphasizes the tight

and inviolable bond between him and his Lord ( " uRavu

ozhikka ozhiyAthu " ). The bonds that tie Swamy Desikan

and the Lord is that of the unbreakable type present between

the Jeevan and Isvaran. Jeevan is the property of Isvaran ,

the owner of that Jeevan . Swamy Desikan refers to that

eternal and unbreakable bond between the Lord and

His property through the choice words of " dhusthyaja

ghADa bhandham " . This group of words can also mean

the tight and painful bonds of SamsAram that bound

the jeevan tightly to the flag post (yUpa sthambham) of

samsAram . Now the Lord has decided to loosen that

knot and pull the bird towards Him.

 

The Lord , who had tied the leg of the bird earlier with a long rope

(sUthrAnubhaddha Sakuni kramatha:) now decides to tug at that

rope to bring His bird travelling long distances away from

Him back home and next to Him driven by His own limitless

concern for the plight of His wandering bird (dhUram prayAthamapi

BhavAn anukampamAna: sUthrAnubhaddha sakuni kramatha: Svayam

aakrushtavAn asi).

 

The reference here is to an autobiographical incident

in the life of Swamy Desikan , who had lived for more

than 20 years at ThiruvahIndhrapuram enjoying DevanAyakan's

dhivya MangaLa Vigraham and performing MangaLAsAsanam.

In the early part of that long stay , Swamy Desikan decided

once to visit Kaanchipuram to perform MangaLAsAsanam of

Lord DevarAjan ( Kaanchi VaradharAjan) and started on

his journey to Kaanchipuram. He was resting for the night

at a village on the banks of PeNNai river. That night ,

Lord of ThiruvahIndrapuram appeared in Swamy Desikan's dream

and commanded him to return to ThiruvahIndhrapuram and engage in

the composition of a number of SrI Sookthis about Him . Swamy woke up

from that dream and returned immediately to ThiruvahIndrapuram

to commence his work on the task assigned to him by His Lord

and stayed at ThiruvahIndhrapuram for number of years there

before moving on to SrIrangam to engage in AchArya's duties.

 

Thus was born the PanchAsath on Lord DevanAyakan and other

sthOthrams on Lord DevanAthan of ThiruvahIndrapuram

like Achyutha Sathakam , MummaNikkOvai, Nava MaNi Maalai et al.

 

The Birth of Para Matha Bhangam at ThiruvahIndhrapuram

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

The defense of VisishtAdhvaitham against Jainism and Budhdism

et al took place also on the bank of PeNNai river/Garuda nadhi

in front of Lord DhaivanAyakan and led to the creation of

the great work revered as " Para Matha Bangam " as a part of

the task assigned to Swamy Desikan by Lord DhaivanAyakan,

the Lord of ThiruvahIndhrapuram.

 

The structure , content & Significance of Para Matha Bhangam

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

Paramatha Bhangam is a monumental work with 24 chapters .

The first four chapters are :

 

1. PrasthAvana adhikAram ( Introductory remarks)

2. Jeeva Tatthva adhikAram ( Doctrine of Jeevan in our SampradhAyam)

3. Achith Tatthva adhikAram (Doctrine of insentients)

4. Para TatthvAdhikAram ( Doctrine of Isvaran as the Supreme One)

 

The chapters 2-4 focus on the BhOkthA, BhOgyam and PrEritha

as sentient , insentient and the One who commands both of them.

Swamy Desikan establishes in the front end , the Chith-achith-Isvara

Tatthvams according to VisishtAdhvaitham and defines any doctrines

outside those three tatthvams as Para mathams that need critical

evaluation and dismissal (Bangam) .

 

The fifth chapter is entitled SamudhAya DhOshAdhikAram .

Here Swamy Desikan sums up the common defects/fallacies of

the Para Mathams following the path shown by Swamy ParAsara

Bhattar in his celebrated SrI Sookthi , Para Matha dhUshaNa

Prakriyai. In the fifth chapter , Swamy Desikan establishes

the lack of Veda PramAna balam in the other Mathams .

 

From the sixth to 20th chapters of Para Matha Bhangam , Swamy Desikan

focuses on 15 individual Para mathams and shows their deficencies

to establish the Veda PramANam of VisishtAdhvaitham . The fifteen

Mathams analysed are : ChArvAkam , four branches of Buddhism

( SouthrAndhikam , Soonya Vaadham , YogAchAram and VaibhAshikam ).

The remaining ten are: Saankaram , Jainam , BhAskaram ,

Tatthva vichAram aspect of VyAkaraNars , VaisEshikam ,

Gouthama NyAyam , NirIswara MeemAmsakam , NirIswara Saankyam ,

Yoga Matham and Paasupatham. (Swamy Desikan will develop further

these criticism of Para mathams in Tatthva Muktha KalApam and

SarvArTa Siddhi).

 

In the 21st chapter of Para Matha Bhangam , Swamy Desikan

presents PaancharAhtra Saasthram as Bhagavath Saasthram

to defend it against the criticisms of Para Mathams.

 

The 22nd and 23rd Chapters point out that the Para Mathams

do not have either the UpAyam of Moksham(means for Moksha

siddhi) or the fruits of Moksham ( the phalan of Moksham).

The final chapter is known as NigamanAdhikaram , the summing

up chapter, where Swamy Desikan declares that the Bhagavath

RaamAnuja SiddhAntham based on VedAntha (Upanishadic )

PramANams is the only one , which will give the fruits of

MokshAnandham without fail.

 

The eighth slOkam of DEvanAyaka PanchAsath refers thus to

the Lord of ThiruvahIndhrapuram commanding Swamy Desikan

to create the RakshA granthams like Para Matha Bhangam

and ever-fragrant Sthuthis like Sri DevanAyaka PanchAsath,

SrI Achyutha Sathakam , MummaNikkOvai, NavaMaNi Maalai et al.

 

Swamy NigamAntha MahA Desikan ThiruvadigaLE Saranam

SrI Taranga Mukha Nandini SamEtha SrI DEvanAyaka SwaminE Nama:

Daasan , Oppiliappan Koil VaradAchAri SadagOpan/SaThakOpan