Hayagreevasthothram-slokas26 to 32

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26.

thamaamsibhitthvaa viSadhaiH mayookhaiH

sampreenayantham vidhushaH chakoraan

niSaamaye thvaam navapundareeke

Saradhghanam chandhramiva sphurantham

 

 

 

I see You on a white lotus , shining like the moon among

the autumn clouds, breaking the darkness by white rays and giving joy to the

wise who are like chathaka birds.

 

The Lord Hayagreeva is visualized by Desika as being

seated on a white lotus, navapundareeke,

His form is also white like the moon among the autumn clouds, Saradhghanam chandhram iva, which are

white and the moon shines even whiter on account of that. The white rays that

His form emits, viSadhaiH mayookhaiH, break the darkness of

ignorance, thamaamsibhitthvaa, and

give rise to jnana and hence the wise are pleased, sampreeNayantham, like the chakora birds, vidhushaschakoraan, with moon light.

 

The Mythological Chakora birds are supposed to feed on

moonlight only. So also the wise consider knowledge as their only food which

they get from the Lord Hayagreeva. By praying to Him the darkness of ignorance

recedes and the light of wisdom dawns.

 

In this sloka Desika describes the whole form of the Lord

as seated on a white lotus and Himself being of crystal

white hue denoting pure satthva.

 

The wonderful vocabulary of Desika can be seen in his

usage of the words which are uncommon and meaningful. Here he uses the verb niSaamaye, meaning, "I see." Nisamana

means seeing or observing. Also the word `niSaamaye,'

is in-keeping with the general meaning of the verse, `removing darkness'

 

27. dhiSanthu me

dheva sadhaa thvadheeyaaH

dhayaatharangaanucharaaH kataakshaaH

Srothreshu pumsaam amrtham ksharantheem

sarasvatheem samSritha kaamaDhenum

 

May Your glances that follow Your mercy, always bestow

upon me always the eloquence ,which shower nectar into the ears of men and

which is the kamadhenu for the devotees.

 

The glances, kataakshaaH,

of the Lord Haygreeva , says Desika, follow the waves of His dhayaa, dhayaatharangaanucharaah, that is, His

mercy reaches the devotees even before His glances do. Such is the vatsalya of

the Lord that He brooks no delay of even

directing His eyes towards the devotees to show mercy but sends it by Will. The

glances when fall upon the devotee bestow the eloquence which can be had

spontaneously as from the celestial cow

Kamadhenu, sarasvatheem samSrithakaamadhenum, which gives

whatever one asks for. Such eloquence showers nectar into the ears of the

listeners, srothreshu pumsaam amrtham ksharantheem.

 

28.

viseshavidhpaarishadheshu naaTha

vidhagDhagoshteesamsrangaNeshu

jigeeshatho me kavithaarkikendhraan

jihvaagrasimhaaanam abhyupeyaaH

 

May You occupy the throne at the tip of the tongue of

mine, who wish to win over the masters of poetry and debate, in the assembly of learned men and critics, facing the giants

of knowledge in the battlefield of wit.

 

 

Desika entreats the

Lord Hayagreeva to get enthroned on the tip of his tongue, jihvaagra simhaasanam abhyupeyaaH, enabling him to come out victoriously in the

battles of wit with other learned men and critics.

 

 

It should be remembered that the Lord Hayagreeva appeared

before Desika while he composed this

hymn and as a result of which he emerged as the kavithaarkika kesari and

vedanthacharya. So those who wish for eloquence and knowledge should say these

two slokas, 27 an 28 of this sthothra before any challenging situation involving

wit and speech.

 

Viseshavith is the one who has specialized

knowledge on particular subject and their assembly is paarishad.

 

vidhagDhah

is the one has gone through the fire of knowledge like gold purified

through fire. Goshtee is their

assembly. samarangaNa is the

battlefield (of wit.)

 

Kavi means not only poets but people

with originality and thaarkika is

the one who is adept in argument. By kavithaarkikendhra,

Desika refers to the masters in both the fields.

 

29. thvaam

chinthayan thvanmayathaam prapannaH

thvaam udhgrnan sabdhamayena Dhaamnaa

swaamin samaajeshu sameDhisheeya

svacChandhavaadhaavaha badDha Soorah

 

May I grow into eminence, unrestricted in the halls of

battle of wit, thinking of You, Oh Lord, engrossed in You, whatever sound

that comes out of me being Your

manifestation.

 

Desika here describes what happens once the Lord occupies

his jihvaagrasimhasana. Whatever

sound that comes out of him will be the manifestation of Lord Himself, thvaam udhgrNan Sabdhamayena Dhaamna because he will be thinking of

the Lord only, thvaam chinthayan, totally engrossed in Him, thvanmayathaam prapannaH as it is expressed

in a well known song, `Indhavaram tharuvaai.' The lines that reflect

this ides which every devotee should have in mind are,' engengumE un uruvaai minna,

eNNangaL veRinRi unai dhinam unna, mangaLanaamam en vaai nidham

panna,vaarthaigaL yaavum un vaarthaaiyaai minna.' Let me see you everywhere, let my thoughts be of You only,

let my tongue say only Your name and let all my words be Yours."

 

Thus ,Desika says, that he should rise to eminence, sameDhisheeya, without restriction in

the assembly, samaajeshu, of

the learned and should come out

victorious in the battle of wit. .svacChandhavaahdaavaha

badDha Soorah.

 

30. naanaaviDhaanaam

agathiH kalaanaam

na chaapi theerTheshu krthaavathaaraH

Dhruvam thava anaaTha parigrahaayaaH

Navam navam paathram aham dhayaayaaH

 

Oh Lord, I have not learnt the various sasthras, nor have

I plunged in the holy waters or served the holy men. Surely I am the ever-fresh

receptacle of your mercy that embraces the helpless.

 

agathiH –na gathiH, not the abode

of, kalanaam – sasthras.

TheerTha has the meaning of holy waters as

well as holy men.

Parigraha , means embracing . The dhayaa ,

mercy of he Lord embraces all and the only resort for those who have no other

means like acquiring knowledge through the sasthras, undertaking the various

rituals like dipping in the holy waters which also means that getting purified

by the association of holy men. Hence Desika says that he deserves the mercy of

the Lord always, navam navam paathram, since he has not followed any of the disciplines

mentioned above.

 

It is inconceivable

that Desika the great seer is described as not following any of the means of

attaining the Lord, but it is to be understood in the same way as Thyagaraja or

the azvars describe themselves as erring or unworthy, which is actually aples

for mankind.

 

31. akampaneeyaani

apaneethi bhedhaiH

alamkrsheeran hrdhayam madheeyam

Sankaakalankaapagamojjvalaani

Thathvaani samyanchi thava prasaadhaath

 

Oh Lord, due to Your grace may the truths, unshaken by the

diversity of wrong arguments, being brilliant with the removal

of all doubts, well adorn my heart.

 

Due to the grace of the Lord Hayagreeva the right

knowledge rises in the mind which becomes unshakeable, akampaneeyaani, by the diverse arguments, bhedhaiH, of the opponents. This is because all the doubts vanish

with the rising of the true knowledge. The defects in cognition due to doubts, sankaakalanka, are removed, apagamana, and the truth shines, ujjvaa, of its own accord.

 

Desika has mentioned in the beginning that Lord Hayagreeva

is brahmasvarupa and he clinched it here by saying that the manifestation of

the Lord in the mind is brahmasaakshaathkaara by which alone all the doubts can

vanish and right cognition arises as the Upanishad declares,

Bhidhyathe

hrdhaygranThiH chidhyanthe sarva

samsayaaH

Ksheeyanthe asya

katrmaaNi thasmin dhrshte paraavare.

 

On perception of Brahman, all knots of the heart break,

all doubts are cut off and all his karma

cease.

 

 

32.

vyaakhyaamudhraam karasarasijaiH pusthakam sankha chakre

bibhrath bhinna sphatika ruchire

pundareeke nishaNnaH

amlaanaSreeh amrtha visadhaiH amSubhiH

plaavayan maam

aavirbhooyaath anagha mahimaa manase vaagadheeSaH

 

May Lord Hayagreeva manifest in my mind, having the

jnanamudra , book, conch and chakra in his lotus-like hands, seated on a beautiful

white lotus that looks like a crystal opened, with ever fresh glory, submerging

me with white rays of nectar.

 

Lord Hayagreeva is seated on a white lotus that looks like a crystal opened. He is having the

jnanamudra, book, shankha and chakra in His four hands. The white rays emitted

by Him pervade and submerge the devotee like nectar. Such a manifestation,

Desika yearns for, in his mind.

 

Vyaakhyaa mudra is jnanamudra. The white lotus is

beautiful, ruchire pundareeke, and with its crystal white

petals it presents a picture of a crystal being opened, bhinna sphatika. The

glory, anaghamahimaa, of the Lord is

never-fading, amlaanasree , that is,

ever fresh. The white rays emanating from Him are the rays of nectar, arthavisadhaih amsubhih, that engulfs the devotee, plaavayan.

 

Thus Desika ends the sthotra with a enchanting portrait of

the Lord to be etched in memory of the listeners.

 

 

 

33. vaagarTham

sidDhihethoh

paTatha hayagreeva samsthuthim bhakthyaa

kavithaarkika kesariNaa venkatanaathena

virachithaam ethaam

 

Let all read this sthothra of Hayagreeva, which is well-formed

praise of the Lord, composed by VenkatanaaTha, who is a lion among the poets

and logicians, with devotion for

attaining the skill of speech and knowledge.