Hayagreevasthothram of Desika

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9. vitarkadolaam vyavaDhooya satthve

brhaspathim varthayase yathasthvam

tenaiva deva thridaSeSvaraaNaam

asprshtadoaalaayitham aadhiraajyam

 

 

Oh Lord You alone saved Brhaspati , the preceptor of the devas from oscillating in doubt and made his conviction of reality firm and established as a result of which the kingdom of the gods stopped oscillating.

 

As made out in the previous two verses, The Lord in the form of Hayagreeva is responsible for the knowledge of Brahma, Sarasvati etc. and hence he alone could have made Brhaspati for what he was. The name Brhaspati has come to mean wisdom. And his wisdom was acquired through the grace of the Lord. To be able to impart knowledge to others one must have firm conviction. As long as the mind is riddled with doubts wisdom will not arise. The knowledge of reality, brahmajnana alone can resolve all doubts and create enlightenment, as the Upanishad says, by `bidhyathe hrdhyagranThih cChidhyanthe sarva samSayaah; ksheeyanthe asya karn maaNi thasmin dhrshte paraavare.' The obstacle to knowledge is the doubt, the clearance of which is prevented by karma which creates knots in the mind which in their turn prevent understanding. When the brahmasaakshaathkaara, the realization of the truth dawns which happens only with the grace of the Lord. `yamevaishavrNuthe thena labhyathe, says the Upanishad, meaning, only who He chooses obtains enlightenment.

 

Hence Desika says the Lord chose to make the mind of Brhaspathi free of oscillations due to misconceptions in order to make the kingdom of the devas firm and free from oscillation, meaning the ups and downs of fortune. He makes Brhaspathi cast off his swing, dolaa, of vitarka, arguments for and against based on misconceptions, and made him firm in his resolve. And the kingdom of the devas was made firm by the advice of Brhaspathi and was no more oscillating , dolaayitham, between good and bad fortunes. Asprshtam means `not touched by.' The aadhiraajya, the sovereignty of the devas ,tridhaSeSvara, is untouched by vagaries of fortune. Devas are called thridasaah as they have only three states of life, namely, childhood, SaiSava, boyhood, koumaara and youth, youvana.

 

 

10.agnou samiddhaarchishi sapthathanthoh

aathasThivaan manthramayam Sareeram

akhandasaarah havishaam pradhaanaih

aapyaayanam vyomasadhaam viDhathse

 

Oh Lord ! You manifest Yourself in the altar as the manthras chanted during the performance of yajna while the flame of the sacrificial fire burn bright and accepting the offerings which are rich with essence You give it to the devas .

 

saptathanthoH samiddharchishi agnou – the fire, agni, which is burning brilliant, samiddharchish in the sacrificial altar. Saptathanthu means a yajna as it is tanvathe, performed by sapthabhih, the seven chandhas, metrical hymns or by the fire which is known as sapthaarchish or sapthajihvaa, seven tongued, namely,kaalee, karaalee manojavaa, sulohithaa DhoomravarnNaa, sphulinginee, viSvadaasaa.

 

Lord Haygreeva is the embodiment of manthras and as such enables the devas to get their share of the offering through the manthras. Actually the fire itself is the manifestation of the Lord. In Srisuktha it is explained that the invocation of jaathavedas or fire to secure the grace of Lakshmi is actually addressed to the Lord Himself who is invoked in the for of fire.

 

The havis offered in the yajna is akhandasaara, of boundless essence as it secures the fulfillment of wishes by ensuring the cooperation of the devas who only act as the agents of the Lord. Hence it is said that He makes the devas partake the offering thus effecting the fulfilment of the yajna.