Sri Srinivasa Vaibhavam- Great BhAgawathOtthamAs' / Achaarya purushas' enjoyment of Tirumala

[Guest guest]

SrI:

SrImathE Gopaladesika mahadesikaya namah:

 

Dearest Srivaishnavas,

Continuing on the glory of Tirumala Sri Srinivasa

perumAL:

 

The Lord of the seven hills has inspired the divine

Azhwars and the great upasakas of Karnatic music to

offer their soul-stirring music as nada naivedyam to

Him.

 

The poet-musician, Talapaakam Annamacharya has

composed countless adhyadmika , sringara and upachara

krithis on the Lord. He is considered the amsam of the

sword of the Lord Srinivasa celebrated as Nandakam .

He was a sishya of Sri Adivan Satakopa

yathi , the founding jeeyar of Ahobila Matam . In one

of his moving krithis in praise of the Lord's most

sacred feet , " Brahma Kadigina padamu " ,

Annamacharya declared : " These are the feet washed by

Brahma during Trivikramavatharam in Satya Lokam .

They are verily Brahman , the immortal and universal

truth . These feet fulfilling the heart-felt

desires of parama yogins prove that Thiruvenkatam is

parama padam (Sri Vaikuntam ) " .

 

Among the other great Karnatic musicians , Purandara

Dasa , Saint Thyagaraja and Muthuswami Dikshithar and

others of recent times have offeredd their musical

salutations . Purandara Dasa visited Thiruvenkatam

often and has considered himself blessed to have the

darsanam of the Lord here . One time , he accompanied

Sarasvathi Devi and had the good fortune to see the

Lord breakHis archa samadhi and dance to the Veena

music of the Goddessof learning . He broke forth in a

song set in Thodi ragam this way :

" Ninna Nodi Dhanya Nadeno Hey Srinivasa ! I am truly

blessed now to have seen You . O Garuda Vahana ! O

Lakshmi Kantha ! O friend of Pandavas ! Please save me

, the sinner , who has wandered from place to place

enjoying transient worldly plesures " .

 

Saint Thyagaraja climbed up these hills and prayed to

the Lord for the removal of the screen of arrogance

and delusion that stood between him and the

obtainment of the blessings of the four purusharthas,

Dharma , Artha , Kama and Moksha . In this Gowlipanthu

raga krithi , the bard pleaded with the Lord to remove

the veil that blinded him from the blessings of

Moksham . In another song set in Madhyamavathi ragam ,

Saint Thyagaraja declared that one needs

millions of eyes to take in the full beauty of Lord

Venkatesa .

 

Mutthuswami Deekshithar , a contemprary of Saint

Thyagaraja ,gave us the moving Varali raga krithi,

Seshachala Nayakam bhajeham .

 

Acharya Ramanuja 's service to the Lord of Seven

Hills:

 

Lord Srinivasan of Thrumalai was always in the heart

of this great Acharya , who spent many years with his

uncle,Thirmalai Nambi to learn the esoteric meanings

of Srimadh Ramayanam at this divya desam . He

installed the icons of Rama , Sita , Lakshmana and

Sugriva next to the processional deity (Sri Malayappa

Swami ) in the sanctum sanctorium of the Lord . The

beauty of Sri Rama in tribhanga pose is overwhelming.

 

In his magnum opus , Sri Bhashyam , Acharya Ramanuja

says : " May my knowledge assume the form of loving

devotion to Lord Srinivasa , who is the supreme

Brahman and who is the shining crown of the Vedas. He

takes the form of Upanishads and engages in the tasks

of creation , sustenance and destruction . He has

taken upon Himself the supreme vow (Deekshaa) of

protecting whoever that seeks His refuge as

Saranagatha " .

 

Acharya Vedantha Desikan 's tribute to the Dayalu of

Thirumalai

 

Sri Vedantha Desikan ( AD 1268-1369) is an illustrious

Acharya ,who intrepreted Sri Bhagavad Ramanuja

Siddhantham . He eulogized the Kalyana Guna of the

Lord celebrated as His Daya (mercy/Compassion )

through one hundred verses in his poem known as Daya

Satakam . Swami Desikan says that the most important

Guna of the Lord Srinivasa is His Daya . In this poem

, the concept of one's surrender (saranagathi )

to the Lord and the Lord's Daya stand out as hte two

overarching themes.

 

In Daya Satkam , every set of ten slokas reveals a

particular meaning associated with the divine

attributes of Sri Venkatesa that blossom as His Daya .

These ten divine attributes are :

 

(1) His power to bless us with Moksha or release from

the cycles of Births and Deaths

(2) His ability to carry out whatever he wills

(3) His power to destroy the enemies of those , who

surrender unto Him

(4) His role as the means (upaya) for attaining all

significant goals

(5) Being the fruit (palam ) of all earnest endeavours

 

(6) Being attainable without fail through the

Saranagathi route

(7) Helping the lowest and the highest with equal

haste , when they surrender to Him with sincerity

(8) Standing as the tower of strength on the top

of Venkatam hills to bless us as Kali Yuga Varadan (9)

Incarnating as Rama and Krishna to come into easy

reach of His devotees

and (10) Offering His Moksha Samrajyam right here on

this universe of His .

 

The Vaibhavam of Thiruvekatamudayan

 

Many Azhwars , kings , nadhopasakas and common folk

have worshipped Lord Srinivasan of Sapta Giri from

times immemorial and have been blessed with Moksham .

 

The Mahima of the Lord of Seven Hills is vast and is

beyond words. The unique status of those blessed to

have His darsanam at Thirumalai is hinted by

Kulasekhara Azhwar in one of the verses of his poem ,

Mukunda Mala : " For him , who had the darsana

sowbhagyam of Mukunda Srinivasan , this wide earth is

a small speck , the rolling oceans a water drop , the

raging fires a mere spark , the shoreless

winds a mere breath , the vast sky a pin hole. O Lord!

May Your unbounded Majesty excel ! " .

 

[The above is written by Sri Sadagopan swamin of New

york and thanks to him for making use of his great

write up as part of our introduction and avathArikai]

 

Sri Muralidhar Rangaswami Swamin shares his anubhavam

in his private response in appreciation:

 

[Thanks a lot for sharing your superb posting on the

Sharanagati Gadyam of Bhashyakarar. The connection to

Lord Srinivasa of Tirumalai was extremely special. As

Swamin is aware, the very mention of adiyen's kula

daivam touches his heart. The Seven Hills themselves

are sacred on account of the fact that the 7 Khandams

of the Vedam transformed themselves into Seven Hills

to respectfull bear the Lotus Feet of Lord Srinivasa.

This is a most poignant illustration of the fact that

the Vedam itself speaks as " Behold the glorious Lord

that is the subject of my tribute! " On account of this

fact, Sri Bhashyakarar refused to ascend the Hill at

first and later did so per instruction from his

maternal uncle Thirumalai Nambhi. Adiyen heartily

welcomes your kaimkaryam of enjoying the Lord of Seven

Hills through the delectable Pasurams of the Azhwars.

]

 

We would elaborate the anubhavam of AzhwArs vis-a-vis

the Daya sathakam and enjoy them in this series

 

SrI PadmaavathI samEtha Sri Srinivasa ParabrahmaNE

Namah:

Acharyan ThiruvaDigaLE SaraNam

Regards

Namo Narayana

dAsan