Bhagavan! (post-2)

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Sri Parthasarathi thunai

 

SrimathE rAmAnujaya Namaha

 

Srimad Vara Vara MunayE Namaha

 

Sri vAnAchala mahA munayE Namaha

 

 

 

" Srivatsachinha misrEbhO namavukthi madheemahi,

 

yadhuktayas trayeekantE yAnthi mangaLasootrathAm "

 

 

 

" Sri parasara bhattAryA: SrirangEsa purOhita:

 

srivatsAngitha sudhas sriman sreyasE mEstu bhooyasE "

 

 

 

In the previous posting we enjoyed the excellent sloka of Sri Koorathazhvan.

Azhvan in that sloka uses 2 similar words viz., gaNanaviguNAnAm and nisseemnAm

both have the same meaning 'uncountable'. The Vedas declare " yathAvAcho

nivarthanthE apprApya manasA saha: " the divine qualities of emperuman is beyond

our understanding and words. But why does koorathAzhvan use 2 words in the same

sloka to convey the same meaning?

 

 

 

GaNanaviguNAnAm- implies that the kalyana gunas of emperuman cannot be counted

as one, two etc (one flower, two fruits etc)

 

NisseemnAm- implies that they cannot be counted even in groups. Though we

cannot count sand as one, two etc we can always say a 'hand full of sand'

'bucket full of sand' etc even that is not possible with respect to bhagavat

kalyana gunas.

 

 

 

The phrase 'hand full of sand' immediately gets to our memory the excellent

episode of Sri parasara bhattar with a so-called pandit sarvagya bhattar in our

guru paramparai. What does Sri Parasara bhattar have to say about our topic,

the bhagavat kalyana gunas? Here is a sloka from " Sri Rangaraja stavam " (uttara

satakam-39) a masterpiece of swamy parasara bhattar.

 

 

 

" shatguNanyAth vAsudeva: para ethi sabharAn mukthabhOkyO balayath,

 

bhOdhAth sankarshanastvam harasi vidhanushE sAstra Ishvarya veeryAth,

 

pratyumnas sargadharmow nayasi cha bhagavan! Shakthi tejOniruththa:

 

bhibrANa: pAsi tattvam gamayas cha tathA vyuhya rangAdhi raja! "

 

 

 

[Oh! My lord RanganathA! You, the holy self incarnates as vasudeva and other

vyuha forms; filled with six kalyana gunas viz., jnana, bala etc in the name of

paravasudevan remain as the source of ultimate joy to the mukthAthmas. With the

combination of bala and jnana (strength and knowledge) you become sankarshana

moorthi and do the samhara (act of destruction) along with granting the sastras.

Combined with Ishvarya and veerya you become the pradyumna moorthi and do srusti

(Act of Creation) along with establishing/spreading dharma. Finally combined

with shakthi and tejas you become Anirudha moorthi and do the rakshanam (Act of

protection) along with giving tattvajnAnam (knowledge of the tattvas)]

 

Note: Dear bhagavatas sorry for the poor translation hope the meaning is

conveyed.

 

According to the above sloka, paravasudeva moorthi is filled with all the six

kalyana gunas whereas the other 3 vyuha moorthi have 2 gunas each required to

continue their responsibilities. Sri KoorathAzhvan has conveyed the same

meaning in the following sloka:

 

 

 

" gunais shatbhistvEdai: pratamatara moorthistva bhabhow

 

tatas thisra: tEshAm triyuga yugalair hi tribhirabhu: I

 

vyavasthA yA saishA nanu varadha sArishkruthi vasAth

 

bhavAn sarvatraiva tragaNitha maha mangalaguNa: "

 

(Sri Varadarajan stavam-16)

 

 

 

[Meaning: Oh Varada! You possess 2 gunas in three forms (moovirandu gunam). The

primary paravasudeva moorthi possess all the six kalyana gunas. After that the

other three moorthis possess 2 of the 6 qualities each. Though it is said that

the other moorthis have 2 gunas each that doesn't reduce your greatness actually

all your moorthis have innumerable kalyana gunas but in each moorthi the

particular qualities are prominent in order to support the activity they are

involved in]

 

 

 

In the above sloka Sri KoorathAzhvan in the second half clears the big doubt

that may arise in all our minds. We have heard that the bhagavat incarnations

are all filled with all the divine qualities " sarvam poornam " . Then will that

not be made false if we say the 3-vyuha moorthi have only 2 of the 6-kalyana

gunas? It is not that the other kalyana gunas are absent in the vyuha moorthis

instead the prominent feature of 2 qualities are highlighted for the proper

execution of their responsibilities but all the other qualities are of course

present inside in a unlighted form. That is what azhvar says, even when he

comes down taking different avatars he comes complete " Adhiyan soodhi vuruvai

angu vaiththu engE thOndri " .

 

 

 

(To be continued)

 

 

 

Alwar emperumAnAr Jeeyer thiruvadigalE sharaNam

 

Adiyen ramanuja dAsee

 

Sumithra Varadarajan