SrI Alavandhaar's ChathuslOkI- Introduction

[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya namah:

 

Dearest Srivaishnavas,

 

We, the dAsabhUthars (servants) of Sriman Narayanan

should always behave, act in manners that please Him…

For that alone, He has blessed us with the instruments

of mind, speech and action. Out of those three, it is

not simple and easy to think of Him and meditate on

Him controlling the mind which runs faster than the

wind.

 

Also, the mind, body that perform are fruitful only

the doer (or the thinker); while the action of speech

does help a lot to the listeners as well. That’s why

the praises openly, loudly, publicly in these forms of

verses are greatly beneficial to mankind… They are

available for us for ages and hence these are to be

saved for future generations to get benefited… These

translations of the wonderful commentaries would thus

enable us understand the ruchi (taste) richness of the

commentaries in original as well as the sthOthras and

would tempt the reader to recite them and read the

commentaries. One may say just naama japam (or

repetition of names) would be adequate and why all

these verses… the response is: [To the dynamic human

intellect, any repetition is boring and tedious, even

if it is of the Lord's haloed name. It is much easier

to recite a stotram than to repeat a mere tirunAmam.

Moreover, a name could possibly convey only certain

limited aspects of His greatness, whereas a Stotram

could do much greater justice to the Lord and His

auspicious attributes. Thus reciting a stotram affords

the devotee much more enjoyment than mere recitation

of His names. Stotras generally conform to a specific

metre (chhandas), often lilting and pleasurable,

adding to the enjoyment of the subject. [sri Sadagopan

Iyengar wrote under “Praise the Lord”]]

 

If we write the Vedantha saasthrAs in prose form, very

few only would be able to follow and understand. Also

they would not address the Lord straight. Also

Bhagawan is called sthavya: sthavapriya: meaning: One

who likes being praised… Vedas can be recited only by

those eligible therefore, and uttering some mantras

too is subject to qualifications. Stotras do not

impose any such restrictions on anybody, and are open

to all universally.

 

Thus, the first such sthOthras [verses] of

Srivaishnavam in Sankrit language blessed by our

Poorvacharyas are these ChathuslOkI and SthOthra

Rathnam. ChauthslOki is on the divine Consort of

Sriman Narayanan – SrI Mahalakshmi.

 

Swamy Desikan blessed us with the commentary for these

two sthOthras referring and quoting the SriBhashyam,

Vedas, Upanishads, Smruthis, Ithihasa, PurANas,

Paancharaathra etc… In fact Swamy Desikan pays his

gratitude to Sri Alavandhar for his blessing us with

these greatest works:

 

[in the words of Sri Muralidhar Rangasway- Testimony

in support of his greatness can be found from Swami

Desikan's tribute to him in the Yatiraja Sapthathi and

the Daya Shatakam. Swami Desikan, who is renowned for

his careful choice of words employs the usage vigAhE

to characterize the stature of Swami Alavandar in the

Yatiraja Sapthathi. It may be interesting to note that

Swami Desikan reserves this tribute only for two

Acharyas-Swami Alavandar and Swami NammAzhwar in the

Daya Shatakam salutation " vigAhE thIrtha bahuLAm

shIthalAm guru santhathim " . Again in verse 59 of the

Daya Shatakam, Swami Desikan provides a thundering

declaration on the efficacy of Prapatti highlighting

in the process the exalted role of Swami Alavandar.

Swami Desikan declares " yathipathiyAmuna prabhruthaya:

praThayanthi dhayE jagathi hitham nanasthvayi

BharanyasanAdhaDhikam " (Lord Srinivasa is a master

artisan. The sky is his canvas and Daya Devi is his

paint brush. She sends us geniuses like Swami

Alavandar and Sri Ramanujacharya, who have established

that for the redemption of the entire universe, there

is no path greater than unconditional, total surrender

to Your Lotus Feet!

 

The concept of SrI or MahalakshmI or PERIYA PIRAATTI

is unique to Srivaishnavam and has no parallel in any

other religion or philosophy in the world. Right from

Vedas to date, there are eight major works besides

innumerable minor texts, extolling her glories. Those

eight are: SrI Sooktham, SrI Sthuthi (by Devendran-

found in Sri Vishnu purana), ChathuslOkI (by Sri

ALavandhar- that we are now taking up), Sranagathi

Gadya (where Ramanuja first addresses PiraaTTi), Sri

Sthavam (by KooratthAzhwAn), SrI GuNa Rathna kOsam(by

Parasara Bhattar), SrI Sthuthi (by Swamy Vedantha

Desikan), Lakshmi Sahasram (Sri Venkatadvari)…

 

All these compositions contain enormous references to

Her eternal presence, eternal unity, and total

uninterrupted, never-ceasing indentify with the Lord,

Her unbounded Limitless dayA, benevolence, Her being

the MEANS as well as The GOAL… of all Humans and

lastly Her special role as Purushaakaara (Mediatrix)

between Her children (us) and the Father (the Lord).

The Lord and She are the Dhivya Dampathi – and thus

They Both are SEshi (Master) for all except Them..

While the Lord takes the role of dhaNdadharathvam

(punishing of the transgressors against saasthrAs –

and everyone of us are in this category- in accordance

with our karma) and She forgives us to recommend our

pitiable case to Him for protection and saving us..

For that, She expects us to turn to Her and look upto

Her as complete surrender to Her… Else, She would be

partial to few…

 

In Chathussloki (four verses), YaamunA focussed on the

theme of Purushakaara Prapatti and Eka Seshithvam

principles. He based this work of his on the doctrines

outlined by Lakshmi Tantram. Eka Seshitvam refers to

the practise of considering both Sri Devi and BhagavAn

together as the means and the goal (upAyam and Upeyam.

In this context, they are inseparable [agalagillEn

iRaiyum enRu alarmEl mangai.. – says NammAzhwAr] and

hence She is known as VishNu Patnee and He is known as

Sriya: Pathi.. She on her own accord serves Him. We

will learn more about Her greatest glories when we go

through the individual four slokas of ChathuslOkI..

 

ThirumaamagaL ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam

Alavandhar ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

Regards

Namo narayana

dasan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Sri:

 

SrimatE Gopaladesika MahadesikAya Namaha,

 

Dearest Sriman Madhavakkannan Swamin,

 

This happens to be adiyen's wedding day. On this day, adiyen is

delighted to read your writings on Our Supreme Mother, who ensures

that our Atma is wedded to Lord Narayana and highlighting Her

elevated role in this process. Testimony to Dampathyam can be seen

from the relationship between Lord Narayana and Sri.

 

The Sama Vedam benediction uttered during weddings is " Ethath thava

hrudayam hrudayam mama Ethath mama hrudayam hrudayam thava " . The

relationship between Lord Narayana and Sri is an exemplary

illustration of this Vedic statement. A matter of utmost concern and

dearest the heart of Our Supreme Mother is the well-being of Her

Children (Errant baddha jivans, who become the most egregious

violators of the Shastraic dictates, on account of karma accumulated

from beginningless time. As a result they languish in Samsara caught

in a seemingly interminable cycles of birth and death with no hope of

redemption). Although the baddha jivan is a most egregious violator

of Her husband's command, Thayar is filled with compassion and only

seeks the upliftment of the baddha jivan, i.e. the bliss of eternal

kaimkaryam for the Lord. As a result, he conveys her impassioned

appeal for forgiveness on behalf of the baddha jivan that approaches

her for sanctuary and rids them of their sins once and for all making

them fitting receptacles for the Lord's grace. One may ask, why is it

that Thayar exudes extreme compassion for such a baddha jivan? Swami

Desikan answers this through the Daya Shatakam salutation " manyE mAtha

jada iva suthE vatsalamAdhrushEthvam " , i.e., Thayar's affection for a

baddha jivan seeking refuge (performing Prapatti) is like that of a

Mother for her retarded Son-A mother is no doubt equally fond of all

her children. However, her affection for a handicapped child exceeds

that for all her other children. The plight of a baddha jivan bound

to Samsara is akin to that of a handicapped child, who is incapable

of elevating himself by any means. Hence, Thayar's compassion for him

exceeds that for all her other Children and therefore, She goes the

extra mile in order to elevate Her Retarded Child.

 

Now the Lord, who is apparently angered by the transgressions of the

baddha jivan is just about ready to mete out suitable punishment.

However, he is most familiar with the innermost desires of the heart

of His consort Sri (i.e., the well being of Her retarded child). As a

result of Her appeals, He immediately returns to His Daya dominated

dispensation and graces the baddha jivan and blesses them with

Moksham as a result of their surrender.

 

Thanks again for commencing your superb kaimkaryam. Please forgive

adiyen's attempts of indulgence.

 

Namo Narayana,

 

SriMuralidhara Dasan

 

desikasampradaya , Madhavakkannan V

<srivaishnavan> wrote:

>

> SrI:

> SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya namah:

>

> Dearest Srivaishnavas,

>

> We, the dAsabhUthars (servants) of Sriman Narayanan

> should always behave, act in manners that please Him…

> For that alone, He has blessed us with the instruments

> of mind, speech and action. Out of those three, it is

> not simple and easy to think of Him and meditate on

> Him controlling the mind which runs faster than the

> wind.

>

> Also, the mind, body that perform are fruitful only

> the doer (or the thinker); while the action of speech

> does help a lot to the listeners as well. That's why

> the praises openly, loudly, publicly in these forms of

> verses are greatly beneficial to mankind… They are

> available for us for ages and hence these are to be

> saved for future generations to get benefited… These

> translations of the wonderful commentaries would thus

> enable us understand the ruchi (taste) richness of the

> commentaries in original as well as the sthOthras and

> would tempt the reader to recite them and read the

> commentaries. One may say just naama japam (or

> repetition of names) would be adequate and why all

> these verses… the response is: [To the dynamic human

> intellect, any repetition is boring and tedious, even

> if it is of the Lord's haloed name. It is much easier

> to recite a stotram than to repeat a mere tirunAmam.

> Moreover, a name could possibly convey only certain

> limited aspects of His greatness, whereas a Stotram

> could do much greater justice to the Lord and His

> auspicious attributes. Thus reciting a stotram affords

> the devotee much more enjoyment than mere recitation

> of His names. Stotras generally conform to a specific

> metre (chhandas), often lilting and pleasurable,

> adding to the enjoyment of the subject. [sri Sadagopan

> Iyengar wrote under " Praise the Lord " ]]

>

> If we write the Vedantha saasthrAs in prose form, very

> few only would be able to follow and understand. Also

> they would not address the Lord straight. Also

> Bhagawan is called sthavya: sthavapriya: meaning: One

> who likes being praised… Vedas can be recited only by

> those eligible therefore, and uttering some mantras

> too is subject to qualifications. Stotras do not

> impose any such restrictions on anybody, and are open

> to all universally.

>

> Thus, the first such sthOthras [verses] of

> Srivaishnavam in Sankrit language blessed by our

> Poorvacharyas are these ChathuslOkI and SthOthra

> Rathnam. ChauthslOki is on the divine Consort of

> Sriman Narayanan – SrI Mahalakshmi.

>

> Swamy Desikan blessed us with the commentary for these

> two sthOthras referring and quoting the SriBhashyam,

> Vedas, Upanishads, Smruthis, Ithihasa, PurANas,

> Paancharaathra etc… In fact Swamy Desikan pays his

> gratitude to Sri Alavandhar for his blessing us with

> these greatest works:

>

> [in the words of Sri Muralidhar Rangasway- Testimony

> in support of his greatness can be found from Swami

> Desikan's tribute to him in the Yatiraja Sapthathi and

> the Daya Shatakam. Swami Desikan, who is renowned for

> his careful choice of words employs the usage vigAhE

> to characterize the stature of Swami Alavandar in the

> Yatiraja Sapthathi. It may be interesting to note that

> Swami Desikan reserves this tribute only for two

> Acharyas-Swami Alavandar and Swami NammAzhwar in the

> Daya Shatakam salutation " vigAhE thIrtha bahuLAm

> shIthalAm guru santhathim " . Again in verse 59 of the

> Daya Shatakam, Swami Desikan provides a thundering

> declaration on the efficacy of Prapatti highlighting

> in the process the exalted role of Swami Alavandar.

> Swami Desikan declares " yathipathiyAmuna prabhruthaya:

> praThayanthi dhayE jagathi hitham nanasthvayi

> BharanyasanAdhaDhikam " (Lord Srinivasa is a master

> artisan. The sky is his canvas and Daya Devi is his

> paint brush. She sends us geniuses like Swami

> Alavandar and Sri Ramanujacharya, who have established

> that for the redemption of the entire universe, there

> is no path greater than unconditional, total surrender

> to Your Lotus Feet!

>

> The concept of SrI or MahalakshmI or PERIYA PIRAATTI

> is unique to Srivaishnavam and has no parallel in any

> other religion or philosophy in the world. Right from

> Vedas to date, there are eight major works besides

> innumerable minor texts, extolling her glories. Those

> eight are: SrI Sooktham, SrI Sthuthi (by Devendran-

> found in Sri Vishnu purana), ChathuslOkI (by Sri

> ALavandhar- that we are now taking up), Sranagathi

> Gadya (where Ramanuja first addresses PiraaTTi), Sri

> Sthavam (by KooratthAzhwAn), SrI GuNa Rathna kOsam(by

> Parasara Bhattar), SrI Sthuthi (by Swamy Vedantha

> Desikan), Lakshmi Sahasram (Sri Venkatadvari)…

>

> All these compositions contain enormous references to

> Her eternal presence, eternal unity, and total

> uninterrupted, never-ceasing indentify with the Lord,

> Her unbounded Limitless dayA, benevolence, Her being

> the MEANS as well as The GOAL… of all Humans and

> lastly Her special role as Purushaakaara (Mediatrix)

> between Her children (us) and the Father (the Lord).

> The Lord and She are the Dhivya Dampathi – and thus

> They Both are SEshi (Master) for all except Them..

> While the Lord takes the role of dhaNdadharathvam

> (punishing of the transgressors against saasthrAs –

> and everyone of us are in this category- in accordance

> with our karma) and She forgives us to recommend our

> pitiable case to Him for protection and saving us..

> For that, She expects us to turn to Her and look upto

> Her as complete surrender to Her… Else, She would be

> partial to few…

>

> In Chathussloki (four verses), YaamunA focussed on the

> theme of Purushakaara Prapatti and Eka Seshithvam

> principles. He based this work of his on the doctrines

> outlined by Lakshmi Tantram. Eka Seshitvam refers to

> the practise of considering both Sri Devi and BhagavAn

> together as the means and the goal (upAyam and Upeyam.

> In this context, they are inseparable [agalagillEn

> iRaiyum enRu alarmEl mangai.. – says NammAzhwAr] and

> hence She is known as VishNu Patnee and He is known as

> Sriya: Pathi.. She on her own accord serves Him. We

> will learn more about Her greatest glories when we go

> through the individual four slokas of ChathuslOkI..

>

> ThirumaamagaL ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam

> Alavandhar ThiruvadigaLE SaraNam

> Regards

> Namo narayana

> dasan

>

>

>

>

>

>

>